On the Hussars, Husaria and their aspects
by János Kurozwecki
Part I
Husaria we were to the Ducal people, Hussars to the outside world. We were no more than bandits, looters and thieves before we became Hussars in service of the Grand Duchy. This was probably why the Grand Duchy had so few prisons, most of those convicts were conscripted as Hussars, and then if the said convict had served his time and wished to remain, he would be labelled a Ducal Husaria, or the Winged Hussars. It would take months, even years of hard work in battle to - as the men are now stating -
earn your wings. This was true, for the Husaria are chosen above the rest of the conscripts. Ironic how we started out as bandits and we would become the elite of the Grand Dukes. Elite, ha! I wouldn't dare call ourselves elite. We are arrogant fools, bandits turned elite warriors, this isn't unexpected. Well, for me it isn't, I don't know how the Parliament acts about this, but I'm damn well sure they're not happy. Not that they can do anything about it, if we were removed from service the army would be crippled beyond belief, and there would barely be a soldier strong enough to stand against the Vaegirs.
The one thing that makes me wonder is the fact that we have wings. Why do we have wings? Some of the Husaria have always said they were to stop Ormeli lassos, I hardly doubt this is the truth, I've seen plenty get taken down by lassos during patrols. Some have said that the wings make a sound that frightens enemy horses, Vaegir horses to be precise. I doubt the sound would make any difference to Ormeli horses, the Ormeli horses are prized in our lands. The rest who are indifferent to the wings say it is to shake the morale of enemy soldiers. This, I think is closest, as a hundred or so Winged Hussars charging at you would frighten any man. Wings, they mean nothing to me, any man should be scared of us charging the battlefield, winged or not. We frighten the very soul of the Vaegirs, and we tear apart the souls of the Ormeli. Those who did not recognize us call us angels, those who do run away before we get close.
We were decorated beyond any soldier, and beyond any army. Our armour would be plated with at least one ruby or any other gem to start, our armour would be gilded with gold and silver and our helmets would be embroidered with golden symbols. This was nothing to begin with, our blades would be given to us with a gem on the hilt, and the guard would be lined - if not made - with gold. And beyond that, the saddles and reins on our horses were decorated with golden symbols similar to our helmets. Useless decorations, this is the effect of the aristocratic Parliament.
Only recently, some of the lower hussars were given pistols for their ride. What damn uselessness the Parliament has given us again? Firearms? On horse? What stupidity have they gone down to? You're more likely to shoot your brother hussar than shoot the enemy with those clumsy things. If we're lucky maybe... One in five shots is a hit, maybe ten. Depending on the speed of the horses. Which leads me to another thing, horses. The Hussars and Husaria alike are given both the fine Ducal Hunters and some of the local Coursers. Although some of the Hussars are now complaining about an unfamiliar horse, they talk of it as though it were an Ormeli horse, but no. These horses were found by farmers up north, by the Vaegir frontiers, probably some Vaegir breeds that strayed or were let loose. The farmers named it
Orlov, after an abandoned Vaegir frontier town where they found the horses. They were characterized with great endurance, able to stay out in the cold without warmth for more than a day, and are fast and agile on their feet. Though this comes in a downside, barely ten of these
Orlov's are seen riding with the Hussars and Husaria. The farmers I talked to stated that they were very hard to tame, if they are tame then it wouldn't be a problem to breed them due to their resilience to the cold environment. But if it's hard enough to tame one, I dare not think how hard it is to find one!
The man leaned back on his wooden chair, lost in thought. He closed the book he was writing on, put a lid on the ink bottle and lit out the candles. He would continue this after some rest, it seems.