This is the beginning of a series of posts showing a bit of the worldbuilding and thought processes I go through for my writing.
First off, I want to stress that the militaries of Gaia Terra are highly fictionalized and based extremely loosely on real-world militaries. I specifically wanted to establish a disconnect between the militaries of my world and real world militaries.
Ranks, particularly of units and individuals with no real-world counterparts, are depicted with the intent of ‘courtesy rank’, as they are often utilized across branches and shared among militaries on special assignments.
We’ll begin with dragonriders. All dragonrider pairs just out of training are commissioned by their home region’s military as 1st or 2nd lieutenants. Typically whoever is wingleader is awarded 1st lieutenant, while the others are 2nds. This rank extends across any cross-assignments the wing or individual may be given. Advancement is based on performance, and rank may be awarded via field or board in any military the pair is assigned to. That rank will then carry through for all assignments. I say dragonrider pairs because the dragon of the pair carries the same rank as the rider, although it means a bit less to them.
Within the actual Dragonflights, dragons are simply considered by their ages, whether hatchling, young adult, adult, or elder. Pairs are ranked as Apprentice until their graduation from a sanctioned training program, then they are considered Journeyman, and finally, after gaining a few years of experience, full Dragonriders. It is possible for an experienced pair where the dragon is only a young adult, to carry the draconic equivalent respect of an adult or elder, depending on their reputation and accomplishment.
The human or elven side of the pair generally thinks in terms of the commissioned rank, hence why Kylara is so excited for her commission as 1st lieutenant aboard the Thunder Child, and mentions their apprenticeship, but not the Dragonflight journeyman rank that she and Illvaren carry.
There is a similar consideration among the War Mages. Within their own organization, they have the following ranks: Supplicant, Apprentice, Journeyman, and 3 levels of Mastery before being considered a Grandmaster. Like dragonriders, they are assigned a courtesy rank beginning at 2nd lieutenant upon being graduated as a Journeyman. This rank operates the same as that of a dragonrider pair, crosses assignments, etcetera.
Further tales in Gaia Terra may involve other militaries, like a modern Rome, or the Mayan Imperial Army, and they will have their own structure and titles. It’s an interesting journey in worldbuilding, and I’m glad I started on it without bogging myself down too much. That was a trap I almost fell into, and one of the many reasons it took me so long to finalize the draft of book one.
