21.22 The newly matured villager or citizen CCC.

Guilds and cities are an alluring prospect for a young villager or city dweller newly maturing and looking about the land for a future 'calling'. Not all wish, after all, to follow their family trades (village farmboys yearn to join magical guilds, while city apprentices burn to battle their enemies and rise through the ranks of the glorious soldiery). Thus there is a constant flow of CCCs appearing about the land (within villages and citywalls overwhelmingly), of an age perfect for bringing into the soldiery or fieldworker legions of a particular city or guild.

These new arrivals onto the scene are often hard fought over for fresh faces is the lifeblood of a strong soldiery. They begin, one and all, with a strong preference to join a particular city or guild. This may be based simply on their birth but is usually influenced by a more complex blend of circumstances, many of which can be strongly affected by your (and your guild/city's) actions. For the process of transforming a youngster with eyes for your CCC or guild into a fully-fledged member of the fieldworkers or soldiery see HELP ENLISTING. Guilds can affect their ideals and target their recruitment (see HELP RECRUIT and HELP BECKONING, as well as Section Eleven). Cities can affect their reputation and recent historical impact landwide in many ways but the divine globes (see HELP GLOBES) give some insight into the success of recent endeavour - particularly since all are likely about the same business of attracting the young to their cause. Cities can also use enlisting passes as explained in HELP BECKONING.

The landwide reputation of a city or guild, its recent history, sphere of influence thereabouts, local occupying forces (squeezing out tributes), the efforts a guild - specifically - has stated to try influencing those newly maturing in this or that village/city, its popularity, successes and failures, its relations with the specific village/city, individual efforts to bribe, drug, coerce, etc... so many factors influence a youngsters start choice of guild or city. All villages and towns, and indeed the continent as a whole, have a 'population' and this also delimits appearance of enlistables; likewise total number of enlistables across all Avalon for a particular city or guild will seldom exceed five hundred. If five hundred are already kicking their heels waiting for enlistment, freshly maturing villagers/townsfolk will be turned instead to their second or third choices. It is well worth, therefore, keeping on top of your city or guild's enlistment program.

Let us assume, then, the youngster is ready, willing and able to be enlisted in a particular city or guild. The actual leading of the enlistable to barracks or dormitory (whichever is appropriate) and subsequent ENLIST can be done by any guildmember or citizen of sufficient rank. Barracks and dormitories have maximum numbers each single construction can hold - typically 20,000 - beyond which there will be no room for the enlistable to crush into a fledgling legion. Enlistment is carried out to take the youngstr into what is known as a 'legion or group without banner'. This is the stage before assembly into actual legions or fieldworker teams. See HELP ASSEMBLY for info on binding guild/city enlisted men to a legion/fieldworker banner. Do also be aware the enlisted men are very vulnerable both when untrained and unenlisted (out in the open, free to be attacked or bribed) and after enlistment, before banner assemble where they are untrained and unarmed.

Guildsfolk may wish to see HELP REPUTATION and HELP IDEALS for further insight into their guild's preferred modus operandi and a yardstick against which to judge your own contribution, while citizens might explore HELP GLOBES and HELP GLOBEIDEALS, even go visit the divine globe associated with your homeland and examine it thoroughly, to gain an indication of the recent impact relative to its rivals your city has been achieving and what your own role has been, where it may improve, etc. There will always be a trickle of absolutely stubborn young enlistables to stick doggedly to this guild or that city but as a rough breakdown, when a villager or citizen matures into an enlistable their starting loyalty is determined as follows:

- total population of village, town or city

- total number of enlistable-age men already in existence around the continent

- local sphere of influence: occupations, conquests and tribute demands

- foreign tribute-exacting legions present nearby

- individuals in the land, citizenship and guild membership

- popularity of guild and/or city initially favoured by youngster and on
through various possible choices

- recent enlistables locally reduce popularity of choice slightly for each

- recruitment defined by guild, targetting a specific city/guild's youngsters

- city's sphere of influence and recent history (past decade) in the region

- guild rank and city globe-might taken into account

- traditional links or shared homesoil (city or guild alliances/locations)

- individuals in the land near the point of emergence of enlistable

- recent violences done locally to youngsters picking this or that loyalty

- recent successful enlistments completed for those local youngsters

- direct comparison of guildideals versus city citizen ability to live up to,
or success in attacking said ideals; depending on alignment of youngster

- bribes undertaken lately, bribes in place village/citywide, corruption
having its minor influence.

The list above is in roughly descending order of importance, the most significant listed first, although factors of roughly similar weighting may influence more strongly under special circumstances (like a recent conquest of a village by city A from city B is likely to make city A appeal to youngsters lusting for power, victories in the field, ambition and domination, while city B will appeal to those enlistables of an altruistic, underdog or pacifist predisposition). It is left for the experienced gentlefolk of the land to speculate on and ultimately pinpoint with greater accuracy the weightings of the various influences, to develop their own city/guild tactics for handling the young - recruit, ignore, slaughter, bribe; remember too that youngsters are fickle and left to their own devices too long unrewarded by their initial targets, they are prone to changing direction with remarkable alacrity.