Aztec Warrior Societies

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While the Aztecs have conscription, their professional corps of troops are the warrior societies. This will detail the major recognized warrior societies within the Aztec Sultanate

Eagle Warriors

Jaguar Warriors

Seal Warriors

Snake Warriors

Orca Society

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Societies.....

Membership in Societies is not voluntary....it is so much more than that.  To be inducted, not only must a young man volunteer, he must be selected.  This can be through skill or prowress, or valor in battle that is recognized.  While a typical enlistment or mandatory service period is two years, one who joins a society is required to serve for 20 years and be subject to recall for the rest of his life.  Societies are a huge part of Aztec life, and young men who are selected and join one gain much social standing and many privileges from their continuing membership throughout their life.

One way to think about Society members is to consider them to be the 'regular elite' of the military.  They're not special elite troops, but rather a corps of high skill long service warrior who has lots of experiience, esprit de corps, and unbreakable bonds with his society brethren.  Society members typically form the officer and senior enlisted cadre in all units, and it is not uncommon for a deployment outside of the Sultanate to be entirely society troops.

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Eagle Warriors.

They are the elite of the elite.  And they know it.  Every member of the Sultan's personal guard is an Eagle Warrior.  A hand-picked warrior known for skill, valor, or a combination of both.  Traditionally the personal entourage of the Monarch in the field, they fulfill both ceremonial and some policing roles in the capital, as well as forming a crack cadre of troops in the field when required.  In the field they are light infantry, experts with rifle, pistol, and melee weapons.  They're typically found in small units performing raids, gathering intelligence, and advising commanders of militia or regular units.  Their shoulder flash is a fan of eagle feathers, and they wear a feathered baldric in ceremonial duties.

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Jaguar Warriors

One of the oldest warrior societies, the Jaguar Warriors can date their lineage back well over a century.  They are also the largest society, with tens of thousands of active members.  Currently most are selected through prowress in contests or tournaments, though there are plenty of skirmishes on the Maya line or in the Northern colonies to generate a steady stream of new inductees. 

Jaguar Warriors are crack heavy infantry, riflemen backed with machine guns and artillery.  They form the cadre for all regular units, the NCOs and most officers in the Army will be Jaguar Warriors.  They pride themselves in being the premier main battle force of the Sultanate's ground arm.


Their shoulder flash is a roaring jaguar, and their ceremonial baldric is jaguar skin.

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Orca Warriors

These are unusual in two ways.  First they are one of two societies within the Navy rather than the Army.  Second, the Orcas are selected for technical skills rather than purely for tactical prowress.  If one wishes to be advance as an officer or petty officer within the Navy, meeting the stringent standards of the Orca Warriors is practically a must-do.

Orcas wear a shoulder flash of an Orca head with mouth agape and a ceremonial baldric of orca skin.

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Seal Warriors

A relatively young society, formed at the order of Sultan Ali the 8th, the Seal Warriors are the littoral and ground combat elite of the Navy.  All of the Navy's ground troops (Marines) have passed the stringent selection process of the Seal Warriors, or have laterally transferred from the Jaguar or Eagle warriors at request of the Sultan. 

Seal Warriors are trained for landing operations, as well as raids from naval vessels.  Seal Warrior officers are also the commanding officers of ships dedicated to the purpose of amphibious operations or littoral operations against ground targets/forces.  Seal Warriors are more eclectic than their Jaguar counterparts, being predominately medium infantry with only light supporting arms brought ashore while heavier supporting fires are provided by shipboard assets.  Seal Warriors also prefer the 1909 Carbine to the 1910 rifle as their duties find themselves more often in rapid, close combat where the magazine capacity and rate of fire of the carbine are more important than the range of the standard rifle.

Seal Warriors wear a Sea Lion shoulder flash and a Sealskin ceremonial baldric.  Some also wear sealskin boots.

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Snake Warriors

The other new society formed by Sultan Ali the 8th, the Snake Warriors are the first made in direct response to a foe.  The horse-warriors of the northern colonies and the great plains and deserts of the North required a complete response rather than just massive overkill numbers of infantry. 

The Snake Warriors are light cavalry, or light dragoons, riding the rugged native painted mustangs of the northern colonies.  Tactics are drawn from the raiding and fast column tactics of the Comanche people, with some traits of European light and heavy cavalry that have been observed from the Romans and others  They are armed with some machine guns and some jungle artillery repurposed with large-wheeled carriages for mobility across vast flat terrain, though their general issue of these weapons is in far smaller numbers with batteries being just two guns rather than the typical four to six and machine guns being of the lighter 6mm type rather than the heavier 8mm type beginning to see service in the infantry branches.  The individual warriors are riflemen first, trained in mounted and dismounted combat with rifle and pistol, and melee troops second with sabers.  Their sabers are distinct in being curved scimitars, unlike the straight blades preferred universally within the Sultanate's armed forces.  A typical snake warrior will be armed with a rifle and bayonet, two pistols (one mounted on saddle) and a scimitar (also typically mounted to the saddle rather than to the rider himself to allow for swifter mounting and dismounting from horseback) 

The Snake Warriors do not yet have the long service of their legendary counterparts, though many of the Snake Warriors are drawn from Jaguar or even Eagle warrior transfers at the blessing of the Sultan.