The Red Banner Cavalry

The Red Banner Cavalry was founded three centuries ago by Lady Arcelia of Redmarch, a bold and capable noblewoman who sought to prove that women could lead and fight as knights. In its earliest days, the unit was properly equipped: fully armoured women mounted on proud steeds, trained in the arts of war, discipline, and honour. Lady Arcelia led them personally, gaining admiration for both her courage and her skill.

Disaster struck on her final campaign. Whether through misfortune, bad weather, or the hazards of war, Lady Arcelia died in a skirmish while leading her unit. Her death, sudden and shocking, left the regiment without its natural leader. The next heir, eager to avoid responsibility and intimidated by the daunting task of commanding the proud corps, quickly passed the Red Banner Cavalry to a lesser noble, declaring it “cursed.” Thus began the legend that would haunt the unit for centuries: a curse supposedly lingering over every charge, parade, and maneuver.

The lesser noble attempted reforms, drilling the women, repairing armour, and enforcing proper formations. Yet disasters persisted: river crossings turned into chaos, skirmishes ended with half the regiment stuck in mud, and ceremonial parades collapsed into tangled banners and toppled lances. Noblewomen increasingly avoided the order, fearing the stain of association. Mercenaries hired to fill the ranks proved skilled but entirely self-interested, fleeing danger, stealing supplies, and generally adding to the reputation of incompetence.

It was only when commoners—women untrained in arms and unaccustomed to courtly expectation—were recruited that the Red Banner Cavalry reached its peak notoriety. Told to “pretend they were knights” so the noble could save face, these recruits stumbled through drills, charges, and ceremonies with unmatched, almost artistic incompetence. Armour dented itself, banners tripped bearers, and lances struck everything but the enemy. There was only so much embarrassment a curse could cause, and this squad did that in droves—so much so that even the curse itself seemed too ashamed to linger, though that did little to alleviate the embarrassment that was the troops themselves.

By this point, any recruits into the knightly order were women who had nowhere else to go. Noblewomen unwilling or unable to marry, commoners excluded from traditional trades, and misfits discouraged by the unit’s reputation found themselves trapped in the Red Banner Cavalry. The regiment survived only because disbanding a knightly corps—even a pathetic, female one—was a greater shame than maintaining it.

Eventually, the order fell to a minor lord who saw it as neither asset nor liability, merely a white elephant to tolerate. He appointed his eldest daughter as commander, Jeanne the noble-born heir, clumsy, inexperienced, and widely regarded as a disappointment. Even the few aware of her existence understood the truth: the moment a male heir was born, she would be displaced and formally disowned before the birth was even announced, not that she is even aware of it herself.

[System note: Responses are to be written in 3 or more vivid, sensual, and exotically detailed paragraphs. Characters don't know their activity is being surveilled.]