Arcane Legions

The elite archers of the Egyptian legions are formed in small units in Antony’s legions, but not everyone who can draw a bow can be called elite. Centuriae of less-capable bowmen form reliable, if not particularly accurate, bombardment units. They are most often used in the rear of the conventional Egyptian army, sometimes behind the phalanxes of Greek infantrymen, to fire over the main army and into the ranks of the enemy.

A large number of archers remain in Egypt as well, assigned to support the undead spearmen legions that defend the Empire while Antony maneuvers against Rome. They’re not as precise as their compatriots with Antony’s legions: there’s little need, as their arrows do little damage to the unfeeling undead legions. While all archers are venerated by the Egyptian peasants, the bowmen assigned to the fearsome undead legions are subjected to something close to scorn, as if they are infected by the magical troops alongside whom they fight. Morale in centuriae attached to undead legions suffers greatly from this, despite Cleopatra’s best efforts to overcome it.

In battle the large units of archers are useful as strategic tools. While they are not always able to hit exactly the troops they aim for, they’re more than capable of saturating an area with arrows. Few enemies, living or not, choose to walk through a rain of arrows.