For a deeply involved military/high fantasy world, I think it's often best to lay a very solid preliminary foundation. I've read fantasy where it's clear that the writer wasn't interested in lavishing a lot of attention of worldbuilding, and it shows, particularly in cultural aspects. And I'll always be here to respond to your threads
I certainly understand the need to get a story's background straight. I don't write fantasy ...I write historical fiction, and I'm pretty obsessive about getting the smallest details right. As you say, nobody wants to have to go back and rewrite tons of the work because they've made some silly mistake. I still get the cold shivers when I pick up a nonfiction book set in 'my' era, and hope to god I didn't get some major thing wrong ...as my novel is actually finished now. However, especially with fantasy, the backstory is yours to create, and not too many other people are going to get as immersed in its creation as you are. So it's lonely work, I'm afraid. If you do find a kindred spirit to share the worldbuilding with—as you seem to have done here—that's great. But, in general, people don't enjoy being asked to judge the minutiae of your preparation details before the story appears. So these kinds of threads won't appeal to everybody. But more power to your arm. I hope you are able to see your way through to create the military background you need. If putting questions out here helps to solidify answers in your own mind, then it's a good tactic. Just be aware that a complicated and arcane question like yours is likely to skate right over heads like mine. Doesn't mean you're not on the right track; it just means we're not necessarily going to be able to help.
