Ageme

"Retainer", "housecarl", "samurai".

A warrior, usually of good birth, acting as military retainer in the agema of a powerful man or family. Agema act as bodyguards, aides, and political "muscle", and they serve chiefly in the expectation of future exertions of patronage on their behalf or that of their family.

In the Decadent Period some patrons engage poets, troubadours, athletics champions, Go champions, and noted dancers, avatars, demigods, etc. as agema, more for their fame than their martial prowess. More pragmatically, some patrons engage tacitician, military engineers, magicians, an proponents of the mystic disciplines as agema if they are of warrior age.

Agema are usually expensively armed and equipped. They fight as makhētēs rather than regulars.


Copyright © 1991 by Brett Evill. All rights reserved.