Levies

The Levy system is used throughout the continent, to raise armies for both the  Empire  and the many minor nobles in the realm. Under the traditional forms of monarchic and feudal government, the  nobles  who own the land that their serfs live on are allowed to raise the able-bodied people on that land into an army, that the noble themself must provide for and field. Today, the levying system is also used by the  Imperial Military , in the case that there is a shortage of recruits for the regional army (known as the Maraille in the tongue of the pointed men).

Because of the introduction of the Imperial Army, as the first standing army in the world, the military systems of the realm have changed drastically, but nobles are still allowed to levy troops and hold personal garrisons, so long as they provide the funding for it themselves. For this reason, the richest nobles still have veritable private armies, though none that rival the might of the full Imperial war machine. Many Imperial conscripts later go on to serve in these garrisons, or as free lances in mercenary companies- for both pay better than the Empire.