The @Vlandic Marches sustain a large rural population spread across estates, villages, and road corridors anchored by castles. The land is fertile enough to support dense settlement along rivers and trade routes, but much of the population remains tied to agricultural cycles and seasonal labor. Population is not evenly distributed. River valleys, road junctions, and coastal lowlands hold the greatest concentration of people. Hill regions and forest margins thin quickly into scattered hamlets and grazing lands.
The total population of the Vlandic Marches is commonly estimated at over a million souls, with most inhabitants living in villages and estate lands rather than in fortified towns. Only a small fraction of the population lives within castle walls or market towns. The majority of Vlandians are rural laborers whose obligations to land and lord determine their availability for military service.
Military musters in Vlandia are regulated by law and charter rather than by personal persuasion. The right to raise armed men is tied to recognized authority over land. Those who hold estates or command charters have the legal right to issue muster calls within the bounds of their jurisdiction. Anyone raising armed groups outside this structure is treated as a band leader or rebel unless later sanctioned by higher authority.
At the lowest level, village leaders and estate reeves may call upon local levy groups for defense of their own lands. These levies are small and intended for emergencies such as bandit attacks, fires, or the defense of a bridge or granary. A typical village can field between twenty and sixty able-bodied fighters for short periods without endangering harvest and livestock. Larger villages or clustered estates may raise a hundred or more in moments of crisis, but such musters cannot be sustained for long without disrupting food production.
Local lords, castellans, and banner-holding nobles have the lawful right to raise forces from their estates and attached villages. The size of such a muster depends on the wealth of the land, the number of villages under authority, and the season. A minor baron controlling a single castle and several villages may raise several hundred troops for a campaign season. Wealthier lords with multiple estates and road corridors can field over a thousand men when fully mustered, though doing so strains local labor and supply. These forces include a mix of levies, professional soldiers, and household retainers.
Counts and dukes, who hold authority over multiple baronies and strategic regions, can raise several thousand troops by coordinating musters across their domains. Such musters are rare outside of major wars, as calling too many men for too long risks harvest failure, unrest, and long-term damage to the tax base. For this reason, higher nobles are expected to coordinate their levies carefully and rely on layered musters rather than stripping entire regions of labor at once.
The crown alone holds the authority to call a full March-wide muster. This is an extraordinary measure reserved for existential threats or major campaigns that determine the borders of the Kingdom. A full muster draws levies, professional soldiers, and noble contingents from across the Marches. Such a host may number in the tens of thousands, but it cannot be maintained indefinitely. Extended full musters weaken the countryside, empty villages of labor, and strain supply networks. Kings who overuse this authority risk famine, revolt, and the slow collapse of the road and castle system that sustains the realm.
Muster obligations are recorded in estate charters and royal writs. Each village and estate owes a specific quota of able-bodied men, mounts, carts, and provisions when called. Failure to meet quota is treated as breach of fealty or charter violation, not mere negligence. Exemptions exist for villages struck by famine, plague, or disaster, but such exemptions must be formally recognized by stewards or castellans. Unrecognized refusal to muster invites legal sanction, seizure of goods, or punitive levies.
Not all armed men in Vlandia are levies. Professional soldiers, household troops, and garrison forces form a standing military presence tied to castles and road forts. These troops remain in service year-round and are not counted against levy quotas, though their maintenance draws from the same tax base. Mercenaries may supplement forces during campaigns but do not fulfill legal muster obligations and are not counted toward quotas owed by landholders.
Raising troops outside lawful authority is a serious offense. A commoner who gathers armed followers without writ is treated as a band leader or rebel. A noble who raises forces without recognized sanction risks being declared oath-breaker and may face intervention by higher authority. Even in times of crisis, spontaneous militias are expected to place themselves under lawful command as soon as possible. Vlandic law values controlled violence. Uncontrolled musters are seen as the seed of civil war.
In practice, musters are slow, bureaucratic, and visible. Bells ring, writs are read aloud, rolls are called, and men present themselves at designated gathering points. This process limits surprise but reinforces legitimacy. Armies raised in Vlandia are not mobs drawn by charisma alone. They are legal instruments of the land, bound by oath, quota, and record.