The following archetypes are common in the Empire:
Behind every great Vauldan leader stands one or more devoted Bandikha, aides and assistants who have chosen (or been assigned) to follow a lord or commander, doing what they can to ensure that their patron’s will is carried out as smoothly as possible. Bandikhae do not seek personal glory, instead preferring the quieter satisfaction of seeing someone else’s goals accomplished to the best of their abilities. Many Bandikhae get their start as adjutants in the Legions, but whether their training is in the military, business, or a noble house, a good Bandikha can find employment almost anywhere.
The Cataphracts don’t get the glory and songs that Legionaries do, but they’re just as important to Imperial war doctrine. Armed with bows, spears, and light one-handed hammers, Cataphracts go to war alongside their trusty ponies, acting as highly mobile infantry, scouts, and skirmishers. The goal of most Cataphract combat missions is to get into position, take out as many of the enemy as possible before the enemy has a chance to catch them, then mount up and ride to another defensible position to repeat the whole process. They often act as the hammer to the Legionaries’ anvil, carving away at the flanks of a force that has been pinned down by the Legion’s shield wall until it breaks and flees.
The Commercios are the lifeblood of the Empire: merchants, traders, and caravaners who take goods across the nation and to all the corners of the Continent, bringing wealth and goods back with them. Most are associated with the Golden Wheel to some extent, agreeing to that organizations rules on standards and units in exchange for a small discount on all prices from other members. Many Commercios are lay followers of Bakharos, and specifically Tekatli, following that Saint’s practices and philosophies fanatically; quite a few are true mystics of the Laughing God, and use their magics to enhance their own prosperity and that of everyone around them. The dream of every Commercio is to earn enough to spread the wealth, to become known and admired as a Benefactore who uses their wealth to aid great and small throughout the Empire.
Vauldans have developed a passion for preserving the past and making knowledge available to any who seek it, and the Custodians are the ones responsible for that task. Working in libraries, museums, and scriveners throughout the Empire, Custodians are Clerics of Oruunos, devoted followers of Tholmar and keepers of all the lore that the Empire has managed to collect in the millennia of its existence. Some Custodians train to be able to go out into dangerous areas and recover lore, functioning as adventuring archaeologists as much as librarians, but they are generally seen as outliers to the archetype’s true mission of cataloguing, preserving, and sharing the lore that others bring to them. Most Custodians prefer to use their magics to learn about the world, archive and recover lore, and share the wonders of the knowledge they protect with others.
The Fabricae are the people in the Empire who make things. Whether they’re blacksmiths, tailors, architects, alchemists, or enchanters, the Fabricae are respected by every Vauldan for their skill and craft. Some are followers of Bakharos, and particularly of O-Del, the patron Saint of craftsfolk. Most, though, choose to focus entirely on their craft, merely offering prayers to the Laughing God and the Iron Saint for guidance and inspiration, rather than spending the time and focus necessary to learn actual Clerical magic. Fabricae exist in every corner of the Empire, and act as the foundation for its greatness. The best of them are treated as heroes by common folk and nobility alike, their stories and approach to their craft carefully recorded so that new generations of Fabricae might be inspired by their forebears’ journeys and creations.
The Incantari were originally an Order of ritualists for hire in the Second Millennia, selling their magical services to merchants, nobles, and civil engineers across Astror and helping to build that province up into a shining rival to Vauldis’ own glory. In time the name Incantari was used to describe any arcanist for hire in Astror, and when that kingdom was conquered (or liberated, depending on which historian’s account you read) the term spread throughout the Empire. In modern times, the term Incantari is used to describe any Vauldan arcanist who uses their skill with rituals, healing magic, or combat curses to earn a profit. They tend to form tight-knit Orders that are hyper-specialized in a given service or set of rituals, becoming very good at one or two specific things rather than trying to be capable of but mediocre in a wide variety of magical skillsets.
There is a growing faction of Incantari who are pushing for the arcanist Orders of the Empire to expend more resources on charitable efforts and helping others, believing that successful Incantari must strive to become Benefactore just as successful Commercios do. The archmages who lead the greatest and most highly-paid Incantari Orders are begrudgingly starting to come around to this view, but many of the newer Orders have lost patience with persuading their seniors and have started taking matters into their own hands, offering their services pro bono to worthy causes that will help improve the Empire’s prosperity.
Wearing their trademark lorica heavy armor and wielding a broadsword and large shield, Legionaries make up the bulk of the Empire’s armed forces, serving as front-line troops on campaign and as city guards while stationed in one of the Imperial Provinces. The Legions train their troops to stay together, form a tight shield wall, and slowly grind through any opposition before them. While they aren’t as maneuverable as many other forces, this makes a unit of Legionaries who can maintain formation and discipline a frighteningly hard nut to crack. On their own, the average Legionary usually isn’t a terribly effective warrior, but when they work together they have been the driving force behind the Empire’s many military victories.
Legions are never stationed in their home Province, and are rotated out to a new Province every six years so that no army becomes too attached to a location or its criminal, mercantile, or noble elements. This means that any Legionary who has spent more than a few years in the Legions will have seen multiple different parts of the Empire in their career. When a Legionary retires, they often end up purchasing a Farm or other business or patch of land in the Province they were stationed in that they enjoyed the most, which causes a slow but constant blending of customs and cultures between the Imperial Provinces.
The Magi are clerics of Alethos, trained as keepers of law and shepherds of the Empire’s people. The many Magi Orders are each devoted to one of Alethos’ Saints, with their chosen Saint defining their approach to magic and what services they provide to others. The Magi of Nbatu and Elemi are lawyers, magistrates, and investigators, using their magics and skills to maintain order and enforce justice throughout the Empire. The Magi of Rahama and Vadesh are healers and caretakers, walking the roads of the Empire and living amongst its communities, healing those who are in need and using soft words to keep communities safe, healthy, and stable. The Magi of Baellin serve as advisors to other Orders and the nobility, guiding them and offering their services to ensure that order is maintained and prosperity spreads throughout the Empire.
The Occulare are a class of officially-approved rogues, employed by the Eyes of the Throne to carefully watch the people of the Empire and keep tabs on the goings-on in the Empire’s neighbors. Many Occulare are simply informants, paid to feed information into the Empire’s intelligence network while they go about their normal lives. Others, though, are fully committed to the rogueish lifestyle and make their living as brokers, fixers, and spies, buying and selling information and doing their own share of snooping and infiltration to unearth more valuable secrets. The best Occulare know everybody who’s worth knowing, have hundreds of informants throughout their chosen territory, and are always one step ahead of anyone they go up against. All Occulare are instructed in the Code Of Eyes, a detailed list of what they’re allowed to do and what is forbidden; most prominently, they are never allowed to steal physical things, and murder is strictly forbidden except in self-defense. Though many Vauldans look at them with suspicion and often question why they’re allowed to exist, given the… questionable legality of many of their actions, so long as the Occulare hold to their Code they are far too useful for the Throne or Governors to willingly get rid of them.