Eröfringsmän
Eröfringsmän comes from the Imerian term for "Conquers" or directly translated "Conquer men" is the term often used to describe the soldiers, explorers and adventurers of the early absolute royal federation that enjoyed great successes in military campaigns first in Erathia and the unification of Scandera in the two hundred year war and later on even in Taranaka, Blaland and Sydvinland where they helped to create the first oversea Scanderan colonies and helped to unite the fragile federation on the mainland into a colonial force with large oversea territories.
Characteristics and behaviour
As most Imerian soldiers so were the Eröfringsmän highly religious and often had warpriests leading blots before the battles and singing battle hyms during the battles themselves as well as enforce strict religious doctrine and chronological war rules and punish those that broke them. However while the main core of the army was made out of professional Scanderan warriors did the armies often have countless native allies as light skirmishers, servants, cooks, scribes, guides, informants and as translators.
Often did also the soldiers take native women as their wives and later expeditions had often large amounts of halfbreeds serving either as leaders of the native soldiers or besides their Scanderan half brothers.
Equipment
The most used armour was the Scanderan chainmail hauberk and broad helmets with pieces of plate armour used as well even if plated leather also remained common amongst the poorer soldiers. The soldiers themselves were often armed with large crossbows or earlier handguns or the well traditional roundshield and a trusty waraxe even if halberds, pikes, swordstafs and other longer and heavier weapons started to make their appearance and slowly replaced the well known tactics of the long shieldwalls with thick formations armed with heavy two handed weapons and archers at the flanks as support.
Also common was the new cannons that started to show up, these early bronze guns were often very light to be able to easily travel with the armies to shoot quickly at enemy formations. However did the armies also carry larger siege guns whom were rarely used due to how slow they were, the lack of accuracy and the ungodly times it took to reload them.
Gaining more importance again were also medium cavalry as men armed with pistols, sword and lances or just with large amounts of pistols, so called "bredside ryttare" or "Lardiner" were used to either ride forward and shoot broadsides of pistol salvoes at enemy units before retreating to their own lines in the case of bredside ryttarna or as heavy flanking units and shock cavalry for the Lardins.