Companion Brigade

The Companion Brigade is a special brigade given to the player for free in Unification Sandbox scenarios. The brigade starts out as an undersized brigade of cheap early-game units and increases in size and quality as the player progresses in the game. It is free of gold upkeep and additionally has a 50% bonus to both Melee Damage and Unit Defenses.

Progression
The companions are spawned for free at the very beginning of the game, and are used in a basic combat and movement tutorial if tutorials are enabled. If tutorials are disabled, the brigade simply appears in the player's capital city.

The Companion Brigade progresses according to the population level of the player's largest city. Whenever any of the player's cities reaches a population level larger than their previous best, the brigade will either increase in size or switch to a more advanced type of brigade (depending on the player's faction group). This process is tracked in the 'Cohors Amicorum' objective of the 'Hegemony' objective group.

History
The Companions were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of king Philip II of Macedon. Chosen Companions formed the elite guard of the king (Somatophylakes). The name of the military unit derives from Greek Hetairoi, those near the king. The Hetairoi (Companions) could be members of the Macedonian aristocracy or commoners of any origin who enjoyed the trust and friendship of the Macedonian regent. They achieved their greatest prestige under Alexander the Great, and have been regarded as the first or among the first shock cavalry used in Europe.