Heavy horse archers

Heavy horse archers typically fight as formed-up units, and instead of harassing the enemy without ever making contact, the Heavy horse archers would fire in volleys and weaken the enemy before they would switch to their melee weapons. These weapons would consist of short lances and medium-length swords, should they get stuck in close combat.    Sometimes, the Heavy horse archers would intermingle with the other types of heavy cavalry. Likewise, they could typically outrange their enemies, and, because they wore heavy armour on both riders and horses, they could normally withstand some return fire.   There exists a subversion of the Heavy horse archers, the mounted crossbowmen, who would act as scouts and heavy skirmishers and were typically used to protect the army's flanks when lined up for battle and to chase and engage the enemy's light cavalry should they have fielded such.   The first units in the service of the Empire of Dercia would be formed under the leadership of Princess Eza. She had long had an interest in introducing this type of unit into the armed forces of the empire, and after extensive negotiations between her and her father, Emperor Malthin II she would select the first 100 riders and begin training, partaking in the training, the training would resemble in large parts the regular training for calvalry units in the army, where the unit would form up in two groups of soldiers, and the two groups would then maneuvere agaisnt each other in the attempt to outflank the other, both rider and horse would be heavily armoured during training, both to get them used to the weight of the kit but also to protect them from the training weapons used, although the swords would be blunt and spears fitted with soft couchins, they could still break bone should they hit wrong, besides the regular training they would add training in shooting from horseback, both when in motion and when stationary on the horse.