IN DA RÄNKZ

In my stories, encampments and outpost communities feature prominently. There is a reason why the ranks, in historical fiction and fairytale fantasy, take up so many commoners' sons in pursuit of their fortune, as well as nobles' sons in pursuit of adventures...
For instance, in the Beaumont version of Beauty and the Beast, the heroine is not exactly an only child... and she sees, in her magic mirror, that her brothers (commoners) "have joined the army" (otherwise, "have gone to the army"). The French original states: "Ils sont partis pour l'armée". In the webcomic, she has no male siblings, but a brother-in-law called Claude... who I bet my life will enlist!
You can get called up or enlist of your own free will. You may come from a clan with a military tradition and be confronted with the choice of the pen or the sword. You may be slain in battle or made a POW, or even desert when confronted with the dark side of war...