Arcane Legions

Even after the Night of Mists the archer is a powerful weapon on the battlefield; though the Egyptian armies rely heavily on their undead legions, the dead make poor archers. Not much mind is required to charge forward, swinging a khopesh, or to stand firm and receive a charge on a spear wall, but it takes a man to draw and aim a bow. While the Egyptians don’t have the history of archery as deeply engrained as the Romans or Xiongnu, they learn swiftly, and every Egyptian conscript wishes to kill his enemies before they get close enough to send the conscript to the undead legions.

The majority of the best Egyptian archers are formed into contubernia and attached to Antony’s cohorts, where they use their skill with the bow to serve the general as sharpshooters. Deprived of the large contingent of cavalry to which he’d grown accustomed in Rome, Antony is forced to rely on his archers to project power across the battlefield. Although they wear little-to-no armor, their sharp eyes and keen attention help protect them during battle.

In Egypt the elite archers of Antony’s cohorts are held in high regard, hailed as heroes whenever they return home. Their skill with a bow makes them minor celebrities among Egyptian peasants, who value their protection from the myriad monsters and dangerous beasts awakened by the Night of Mists.