Seanchan (Military)
Unless stated otherwise, all information herein is taken from The World of Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time", Chapter 17.
Contents
General
The Seanchan Empire has a large military, responsible for keeping control of the nation, preventing rebellion, seeking out traitors and conquering new territory. Though there had been no major conquests in the previous two hundred years (This passage needs a reference), there were other occasional uprisings (TPoD, Ch. 24, CoT, Ch. 4).
The uniform of the Seanchan soldier is typically overlapping steel plates painted, in colours such as red, green or gold, with helmets that resemble an insect and dark leather in the areas the steel does not cover (TGH, Ch. 29; TFoH, Ch. 32) .
Organisation
The Seanchan military is highly organised, with land, air and sea elements, in addition to those of the internal security. The overall term for the armed forces, is the Ever Victorious Army. The armies are highly adaptable, and most commanders follow the same sort of strategies as the five Great Captains of the Westlands (TGS, Ch. 5).
The Return
- Main article: Corenne
Although the armies sent across the ocean to conquer the Westlands were formidable, the initial portion, the forerunners, commanded by Suroth were only a minor portion of those armies, as were the rest of the Return, who followed after.
Ranks
Captain General
Lieutenant General
Banner General
Other Ranks include Captain of the Green
Exotics
- Main article: Seanchan Exotics
The Seanchan armed forces are bolstered by the presence of animals that had been taken from other worlds through Portal Stones. These include grolm and raken.
Damane
- Main article: Damane
Much of the power of the Seanchan empire comes from the ability to use the One Power in battle as a weapon. This is done by damane, women who are able to channel who are controlled by a sul'dam, by means of an a'dam.
Deathwatch Guard
- Main article: Deathwatch Guard
The Deathwatch Guard are the imperial guard of the royal family and as such, do not fall within the normal ranks. A rank in the Deathwatch guard is considered higher than that in the rest of the military. Human members are all da'covale, but there are also Ogier in the Guard, in the Gardeners, who, while sharing the loyalty of the humans, are not property.
- Members of the Deathwatch Guard
Seekers for Truth
The Seekers for Truth are the police and spy organisation of the Seanchan Empire. They are entitled to use torture against suspects, though not to spill the blood of any of the Blood, so have devised many highly effective tortures. They also are responsible for hunting out Darkfriends, though despite the level of organisation involved, the proportion of Darkfriends does not seem lower in Seanchan than elsewhere
Listeners
- Main article: Listener
Listeners are the information gatherers for the Seekers. Anyone may be a Listener, leading to a certain level of paranoia amongst the Seanchan (WH, Ch. 28).
Quotes
"The helmet looked very much like some monstrous insect's head, with thin red plumes like feelers; the wearer seemed to be peering out through mandibles. It was painted and gilded to increase the effect, and the rest of the man's armor was also worked with paint and gold. Overlapping plates in black and red outlined with gold covered his chest and ran down the outsides of his arms and the fronts of his thighs. Even the steel backs of his gauntlets were red and gold. Where he did not wear metal, his clothes were dark leather. The two-handed sword on his back, with its curved blade, was scabbarded and hilted in black-and-red leather" (Domon, on Egeanin's uniform, The Great Hunt, Chapter 29).
