text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, serious]
  
  Year 25
  
  "Another protest? What the hell is going on now?" you say.
  "I don't know the exact details, just that the miners are protesting their work conditions in the town of Keplavisk." Lieutenant Verant replies.
  "I'm getting sick of these protests, the Empire provides everything for these ungrateful wretches and they complain? They ought to be lucky we haven't sent slaves to do their job! Alright send a detachment there and if they don't break it up, kill a couple to make a point and remind them that it could be much worse."
  "Yes sir."
  
  You sit stuck at your desk wondering when something worthwhile is going to happen. When you were first assigned to this job, the frontier was still dangerous. Even with the elimination of the wendigos and the elven home, there were still minor hostile barbarian tribes running around and sometimes even tribes of ogres or the odd giant who had wandered down from further north.
  
  Eventually you eliminated all of those threats to a degree that they were no longer a factor. Then boredom set in as the area became peaceful. For a moment you tried to take Alison's advice she once gave you, but the problem is, the peace lasted too long, at least for you.
  
  Lately though the boredom has become annoyance. There has been a shift in the average Empire citizen's attitude, namely one of insolence. many have started to complain about their jobs, their food, their freedom, everything. At first you questioned if it wasn't some sort of supernatural influence as that could at least be a rational explanation of this mass madness. When the first open protests started, you handled them in an efficient manner and they stopped for a while, but only for a while. It's as if the citizens want you to kill them.
  
  And apparently the problem isn't just here. If anything this sort of open disobedience has been rearing its ugly head in other parts of the Empire a lot more than it has here and a lot sooner.
  
  Don't these people understand that the Empire protects them and gives them everything? If it were not for Emperor's wisdom to expand, they wouldn't even have their homes, jobs in whatever province they hail from, never mind the constant vigilance to protect them against monsters that would rip them apart.
  
  Sometimes you wish you had been transferred to the Arat province. At least there's a war going on there. You can only imagine that Warrick and Gerald don't have to put up with this nonsense. Assuming they are still alive, as you have heard nothing about them and despite your new ranking, you can't seem to get any information on them either. No word about about Roldan or Brenda either, but you do know that the Nalin province is known to be one of the most orderly places in the Empire now.
  
  You would even settle for being transferred to Fort Defiance at this point, they at least have to still have to stem the tide of beasts and monsters from the north. You've also wondered about Kane and Edgar. They're the only two you do have some updated information on, but while you've all been in this territory for years you haven't seen them since the day you separated company. Oh you've heard a few stories about Edgar killing giants single handedly, but that's about it. In fact you're surprised that neither one of them has earned command of Fort Defiance like you have with Fort Destiny.
  
  Sometimes it's funny how thinking about something causes it to happen.
  
  You get a message from Fort Defiance and it's from Kane! He states that he's just taken command of Fort Defiance and would like to speak with you in person about some possible joint military operations. You naturally leave for Fort Defiance immediately. A certain excitement and even happiness dwells within you, it'll be good to see a fellow Eternal again, even if Edgar is probably going to still be combative with you. Who knows though? Maybe he's changed, it's been years after all.
  
  Your trip to Fort Defiance is uneventful and when you arrive at the fort it's as large as you've heard, but then it would have to be to fend off giants. You are greeted by several heavily armored orc troops and what looks to be a battle mage. (You still never managed to get either assigned to your fort)
  
  "Welcome to Fort Defiance captain! I am to take you to General Kane. He is most eager to see you! Come this way!" the battle mage says and as you are escorted through a series of dimly lit corridors one thought goes through your mind: "General?"
  
  When you arrive at Kane's office he looks a little different with his head completely shaved, but other than that he hasn't changed. He also has another man in his office dressed in dark leather armor, with a cloak. You've heard of their reputation, but this is the first time you've seen a member of the Shadow Guard. You knew a few were stationed up here though.
  
  Kane stands up and greets you.
  
  "Well if it isn't the Bane of Rask! Ha ha ha! How are you my brother?" Kane says in a jovial manner.
  "I'm fine...brother?" you reply being a little confused by Kane's demeanor and him calling you brother.
  "Yes! Of course! We are brothers! We grew up together, we trained together, and we fought together, and we are Eternals! Would that not constitute a brotherly bond?" he says.
  "Heh, I suppose it would. Never thought about it before I guess." You reply with a smile.
  "Hey I'd like you to meet another brother of ours, this is Cyrus. Remember him? He was in our class, but he got transferred to the Shadow Guard when they first separated us."
  "Cyrus...oh yes, I do remember him. I have sometimes wondered what happened to some of during that first separation. I guess the rest went to the Shadow Guard then?"
  "Yes, but only a few of us survived Shadow Guard training. Very few."
  "Sounds like us, a few of our class didn't make it through our training either."
  
  "No, it was nothing like what you went through. Trust me." Cyrus says coldly.
  
  Kane quickly intervenes.
  
  "Don't mind Cyrus, he's a little on the serious side, sort of like you eh?"
  "As I recall I don't remember you being so talkative or jolly either." You say.
  "Hey what can I tell you, I've changed as the years went by! I've learned to take more joy in life and not worry so much about duty or about the Empire!"
  
  This last comment is cause for concern.
  
  "Not worry about the Empire? What kind of talk is that for an Eternal? And I have a few questions, how did you get promoted to general? I mean why would they need a general up here, this fort has been doing fine without one, the Rask frontier is as quiet as ever and there's a war going on with the Felkan Kingdom. In fact, where is Edgar? I've heard so much about his deeds that I would've figured that he might get promoted to command here and certainly not to general."
  
  At this point Kane and Cyrus look at each other and Kane looks back at you with a less cheery disposition.
  
  "Very well. It was only a matter of time before I was going to have to bring this up to you anyway. I've made myself general and as of recently this fort is no longer under Empire authority."
  "You what?!"
  "I saw the light, with the help of Cyrus here I suppose. The Empire is crumbling, I give it a decade at best and we need to make sure we have a good position when the shit goes down. Don't you see? That's why I called you here. You've got the plebs further south of the Rask frontier under control and if we combined forces, nobody could stop us!
  
  You're in shock for a moment. Nothing could have prepared you for something like this.
  
  "...Kane, you can't believe that I would go along with something like this!"
  "But why not? Surely you have heard the reports of the mass civil unrest going on in the Empire, why even in your own area you have had to put civvies in their place."
  "Yes, and that just means we have to work harder to preserve the Empire, not abandon it in its time of need!"
  "Bah! Why bother? It had its time in the sun and now its time for something new to take its place. What better than us? We're Eternals after all. Just think we could even unite with some of our other siblings in this dying Empire to make ourselves even stronger!"
  
  You hold your head in your hands at Kane's words of secession and treason. This is not the same man you knew, and he is certainly not your "brother." You never thought the day would come when you'd have to kill a fellow Eternal.
  
  > decline his offer
  The idea is so repugnant to you that you can't even bring yourself to even lie about joining him. It probably wouldn't work anyway; you've never been a good liar. You breathe deeply before speaking again.
  
  "Kane, I am NOT going to help you. Now you do what you must, and I shall do what I must."
  "Told you this was a waste of time, let us be done with this." Cyrus says and points a small crossbow on his wrist and fires it at you, though Kane knocks his hand away causing the bolt to just hit your shoulder.
  
  You fall back in your chair and grab the battle mage who was still standing by. He falls to floor on top of you and you break his neck. You feel a little dizzy though; whatever was in that dart is putting you to sleep fast.
  
  You hear Kane and Cyrus arguing as large orcs stomp into the office and begin kicking you as you fall unconscious.
  
  When you wake up, you hear an unexpected familiar voice, though the most unexpected thing is that you woke up at all.
  
  "Hey, get up. Good thing that weak ass poison doesn't work on us very well." Edgar says helping you up.
  "Edgar? What's happened here?" You ask looking around and finding yourself stripped of most of your clothing and in a cell.
  
  "I knew he wouldn't be able to convince you. I told Kane that, but he kept going on about how you'd understand, just like how in time I would come to understand. He said that siblings may have their fights, but in the end they always make up."
  "Is that how come he hasn't killed us?"
  "I guess so, though I don't think Cyrus would have such sentimental feelings and would have us killed if he had more say in the matter."
  "Well, Cyrus at least seems to be thinking like an Eternal in that respect. Kane has apparently gone completely mad though...how the hell did this happen?!"
  "You got time for a story?" Edgar asks rhetorically before explaining from the beginning.
  
  Edgar says that when he and Kane first arrived they were met with a little hostility from everyone else and while their prowess in battle earned them respect, they still were never really "accepted" by anyone.
  
  Edgar says he didn't care of course and was content with the respect that he had earned and getting accolades for slaying giants and such. Kane wasn't handling the isolation as well and was becoming increasingly more withdrawn. He did his job, but he behaved in a manner that even the orc soldiers found a little unnerving. Nobody wanted to even eat with him, got to a point where the captain of the fort had to send him out primarily on scouting missions by himself.
  
  Edgar believes that Kane must've really taken the split of the team harder than any of you could've known. He suspects that might've first lead to his quirk of referring to other Eternals as siblings. He would often mention to Edgar sometimes about how much he missed spending time with you all and couldn't wait for the day when you all would be together again.
  
  "(Sigh) All he needed was for me to interact with him on a regular basis, but I was too busy concerned with my own glory. Time in this cell has really given me time to reflect on a lot of bad choices I've made in the present and the past."
  "What's done is done now, but where does Cyrus come in?" you ask.
  
  Edgar explains that Cyrus was transferred here four years ago as part of a replacement Shadow Guard detachment to help with the latest giant incursion. He knows Kane was sent on a mission with the Shadow Guard during that time and that's probably where they started to talk more to each other. Normally Shadow Guards don't interact with anyone other than other Shadow Guards, but Kane hung around him to such a degree that Cyrus eventually began to talk with Kane on his own accord.
  
  "I don't think Cyrus' Shadow Guard buddies approved of it too much, but he was their leader so they didn't say much." Edgar says.
  "So how did they control over the whole fort?"
  
  Edgar explains again that Cyrus and Kane must've cooked up this plan in secret for years, as in time various changes began to occur.
  
  The only initial thing that Edgar began to notice was the increase in orc troops being sent here. Granted there was always some stationed here, but now they were starting to out number the human soldiers, and he thought they were mostly going to the front lines on the Felkan border. However, this area was still very dangerous, so ultimately more orc troops here didn't raise any immediate alarms.
  
  The next thing he noticed was that there were less and less attacks by giants and ogres, but Edgar chalked that up to him killing so many of them that naturally they would probably have less members to spare now. Not to mention with all the orcs here now, the giants were having a tougher time of it.
  
  The third thing he noticed was Kane becoming less introverted and more aggressive towards the orcs. He witnessed several fights that Kane himself started with various orc leaders. He won with ease of course and it appeared as if he was just being combative out of boredom, but in retrospect there was very real purpose. To establish no doubt to as who is the "real leader." Captain Ian wasn't fond of this sort of behavior in any way though and reprimanded Kane several times, but it was obvious he didn't care.
  
  "It was at this point I finally started to talk to Kane on a serious level, just to figure out what was going on with him. All he said to me, was you'll see in another year brother, with a great big grin on his face. Of course when that year came I found out everything. His private orc army. his alliance with the neighboring giant and ogre tribes, his plans to unite this land completely under him and take on the Empire itself. As you can see I didn't agree with his plans. I know I have my faults, but disloyalty isn't one of them."
  "He's allied with ogres and giants? So wait, how long has Kane taken control of this place?" You ask. "We were still getting reports from here from Captain Ian up until last month."
  "Hah! Captain Ian's been dead for more than a few months now! Kane's just been going through the motions of sending reports and messengers, probably to make sure you or nobody else sent anyone to investigate before he was ready to openly defy the Empire."
  "By the Emperor I can't believe I was so close and never suspected anything wrong going on up here, let alone treason!" you say.
  "If it's any consolation, you weren't the only one. Besides like I said, I was here and I should've been the one to do something before anyone. Instead I got myself captured. Tried to bust out a few times, I figured I'd either escape or die trying. There's just too many of those tough orc bastards though. Even when I managed to get a weapon the blasted battle mage would cast some sort of spell and I'd go completely weak and groggy. Then I'd end up back here again. Heh, Kane's so crazy now that he still believes that I'll eventually side with him."
  "Did you say battle mage? As in one?"
  "Yeah, used to have two and they probably would've liked to get more stationed here before unleashing their plan, but they had to make due with the ones that cooperated. I killed one of them before my first capture."
  "Well they don't have any now, because I killed the other one before I got sent here."
  
  Edgar tries to contain his enthusiasm.
  
  "That's great! I mean with you by my side and none of that magic shit to complicate things, you've given us a much improved chance to escape for good!"
  
  Never thought you'd hear Edgar to be so happy to fight along side you, and normally you might even be a little happy too, but right now you're concerned with escape. The longer you're gone, the more likely Lieutenant Verant will send someone up here to investigate. They'll be killed of course and then Kane will undoubtedly push a full attack on to Fort Destiny ad you don't have the highest hopes that they'd survive an attack by a combined army of orcs, ogres and giants without being prepared at least.
  
  You waste no time coming up with a plan. Simplest ones often work the best, Edgar tells you that it'll be feeding time soon and that you should remain "unconscious" and he'll do the rest.
  
  You get into position and eventually hear the footsteps of your orc jailer.
  
  "Here's yer food, Ed!" one of them says carrying a bowl.
  "Hey! Why'd you dump a dead body into this cell with me?" Edgar says.
  "Wha? He ain't dead he's just knocked out! I should know I was one of guys that kicked him in da head! Har har har har!"
  "Well he died in his sleep then from your kick to his head. I recognize him as an Eternal and Kane's gonna be pissed that you killed him!"
  "He ain't dead! He sleep!"
  "I'm telling you he's dead! Don't believe me, you better check yourself."
  "Oh no, I know you Ed. You gonna try bash my skull in as soon as I open door. If he really dead, then I just say you killed him."
  "And you really think Kane's gonna believe that? He knows Eternal don't kill each other, that's why he's keeping me alive even though I escape!"
  
  The orc pauses for a moment and decides he can't take the chance.
  
  "Bah, alright, I'll check, but I'm tellin' you he's just still unconscious! That shadow guy hit 'im with one of doze bolts of his. But YOU are gonna do something first."
  
  The orc tells Edgar to turn his back and get close to the cell bars, at which point the orc shackles him so her is unable to attack him. Thank the Emperor that most orcs are still not the brightest lanterns.
  
  The orc approaches you and that's when you spring into action. You struggle with the orc jailer until you manage to grab his dagger and repeatedly stab him in the throat with it to the point where you nearly decapitate him.
  
  After kicking the dead orc in the face you grab his keys and release Edgar.
  
  "Okay I know of a route we can try to escape through, nearly made it the last time, but again the mage showed up. That won't be a problem this time and they probably won't think I'll try it again." Edgar says.
  
  The obvious thing to do is to concentrate on escaping the fort, though another part of you wants to go back to find Kane and Cyrus to kill them.
  
  > Escape
  As much as you'd like to kill both Kane and Cyrus, you're outnumbered and you can't even be sure if you'd catch them together again in this big fort. Better to escape and come back later better prepared to punish them. Still you're going to need some sort of gear to survive the cold outside of the fort.
  
  "We can't just escape half naked like this. We're going to need some sort of clothing or better yet armor and weapons." You say
  "Yeah, there is a small supply room on the way. It isn't the main one, but it shouldn't have any guards by it either. We have to make our way to the kitchen area first, should be relatively empty right now."
  
  It takes some sneaking around, but Edgar's knowledge of the layout gets you there with relative ease. When you do get to the room you find some old battered armor and dull weapons. It will have to do. Edgar mentions that there is a garbage dump chute in the kitchen which leads underground, from there, there's a long tunnel which eventually leads to a dead end with a hidden hatch. He says he's knows it leads into a forest area, but not much more than that since the battle mage zapped him and he was dragged back by that time.
  
  You and Edgar sneak into the kitchen, but it isn't completely empty. The cook and a couple of his assistants are there, you and Edgar make quick work of them before they notice you, though Edgar is a little sloppier than you and the assistant that he cuts down knocks over a bunch of pots as he body hits the floor. The clatter is quite loud and you waste no time in looking for the garbage chute. It's foul and disgusting, but there's no other option. You jump in and slide down quite easy due to the slimy remains of food greasing the chute.
  
  When you reach the bottom a giant pile of garbage cushions you. The smell is almost overpowering, but you have no time to worry about awful smells as you are attacked by larger than normal vermin feasting through the pile. Your boots squish through the disgusting muck as you swing your weapon to drive away or kill the aggressive rats. Edgar comes crashing down from the chute and helps you.
  
  "Ugh, forgot how bad this place smelled." Edgar says kicking a rat.
  "Guess you forgot about the giant rats as well?"
  "No, but I figured it wouldn't be that big of a surprise for you."
  
  You and Edgar manage to fight your way down the small mountain of trash and make your way down the tunnel until you eventually get to a built in ladder leading up to a hatch.
  
  "Is this it? It seems like a terrible idea to have this at the fort. Anyone could sneak down here and infiltrate." You mention.
  "Nah, it's pretty well hidden from the outside, in fact it can only open from the inside. Not like any ogre is bright enough to notice it and a giant certainly couldn't get down here. Plus it locks shut when you get outside. I think it was originally supposed to be an escape tunnel in the first place, but it looks like it got turned into a garbage pit instead. Come on."
  
  Edgar opens up the hatch and holds it open for you as you make your way to the cold outside world. You look around and it is just as Edgar said, a forest area with no major distinguishing markers. You see that the sun is setting and use that as a guide for which general direction you need to go. You figure it'll probably take a few days to get back to Fort Destiny, but you should be able to make it.
  
  You and Edgar walk a good half hour before you realize something is wrong.
  
  "Shhh. You hear that?" you ask.
  "Can't be ogres, they would've attacked us by now."
  "It probably isn't...find cover!" you exclaim.
  
  Several bolts whiz past you as you duck down rolling around in the snow and run in a zig zag fashion getting behind several trees so as to not get hit. Edgar isn't as quick as you and he is hit by two of the bolts. Not enough to kill him, but if they have that same toxin that you experienced on them he's not going to stay conscious for long.
  
  The Shadow Guard assailants finally show themselves and jump out of the trees. Edgar is feeling the effects of the toxin, but he struggles to stay awake to defend himself. You find yourself fighting three of the shadows that circle around you. One of them attacks and you grab his arm breaking it in one quick move, when another attacks you, you shove his broken arm friend into his blade. They both fall to the ground.
  
  The third one lands a couple of hits on your back; cutting through the poor armor you're wearing. You deliver a hefty back kick to his gut and follow up with a spinning swipe with your sword. Your sword's edge is dull and not sharp enough to cleanly decapitate the shadow, instead it makes a large cruel gash in his neck which spurts blood like a small fountain. The result is still effective and he collapses into the snow. Your other adversary has gotten up off the ground and throws a dagger at you, which you just narrowly avoid. He tries to fight you fairly, but it's clear he is no match for you and you easily dispatch him. You then finish off the shadow with the broken arm and wound in his belly.
  
  Edgar is still fighting the two shadows attacking him. Under normal circumstances, he'd probably easily dispatch them, but the toxin is having its effect and from the front and back their short swords stab him. He falls to the ground when the shadow behind him cuts at his tendons. You strike your blade into the skull of one of the shadows when he only crumples to his knees, you slam the dull blade on his head again splitting it open and revealing the gooey brains within. The last shadow tries to run away, and climb to a nearby tree in the hopes of escaping you, but you manage to jump up and grab hi dangling legs and pull him crashing to the ground. After a small scuffle you wrap your forearms around his neck and break it.
  
  You walk over to Edgar who is still struggling to stay awake, but he's fighting more than just the toxin now, his wounds are quite severe. You kneel down beside him, it seems odd for you given your past history, but you feel a sense of sadness.
  
  "He...hey...did you get him?"
  "Yeah, Edgar, I got him."
  "That's... good. I'm sorr.."
  "It's in the past Edgar. Don't worry about it." You tell him, as you know what he's going to apologize for. He then quietly loses consciousness and stops breathing altogether.
  
  After a few moments of silence, you carry on to Fort Destiny without Edgar. You think about all the things you plan to do to Kane and Cyrus if you manage to get your hands on them the entire time you're traveling back to Fort Destiny.
  
  Eventually you get to a town where you ride the rest of the way to Fort Destiny. Lieutenant Verant is relieved to see you. He says was just about to send someone up to Fort Defiance to see what happened to you. You'd really like to raise your entire force from the fort and march upon Fort Defiance immediately, but you question if you'd be able to take it. Other than the defenses being on full alert now, Kane may have already rallied his ogre and giant allies. It might be best if you report this back to the generals at home. Surely they'll spare you some reinforcements for something like this, not to mention they'll need to be warned anyway due to the Shadow Guard revolt that's already been in planning for quite some time. Still, it could be awhile for you to wait, not to mention they may not send you any at all. All which would be wasted time you could've spent attacking Kane so he doesn't get too dug in.
  
  > wait for reinforcements
  With all the extra allies Kane has, you can't possibly take the fort without heavy losses and with all the problems you've been having with peasants you're still going to need enough troops to keep them in line afterwards. You need at least another army up here. You tell Verant to send a message to the generals back home about the situation and if they can provide reinforcements then to do so right away. In the meantime you're going to build up the defenses on the fort and the towns in the surrounding area.
  
  A week or so passes before you get any sort of reply. You are given orders to hold the area, but that's about it. With this new revelation of the Shadow Guard treachery and dissention within the orc ranks the generals are busily attempting to weed out any more within the home territories as well as having to redistribute regular soldiers where Shadow Guard were keeping the peasants in line. The war with the Felkans is also still going on, so any immediate reinforcements would go to that area first anyway.
  
  In short, you're on your own as usual and reports are already coming in about ogre attacks on the outer villages. It'll only be a matter of time before those are giants or Kane's entire army of orcs. You curse your situation and prepare yourself for a long ongoing war.
  
  Year 26
  
  "Shoot the bastards!" you shout at the catapult crews. They unleash another volley of rocks on the attacking giants. Several of the rocks hit their targets, but it's not like you're not taking a barrage of large boulders either, in fact the orcs have taken to lobbing large balls of dung over the walls and it's already been starting to cause sickness among your troops. Especially after days of ongoing attack, a dwindling food supply and no relief in sight.
  
  The months of battling Kane's traitor brigade has all lead up to this, completely surrounded by them. You did your best to hold them back, but ultimately Kane could replace his losses faster thanks to the brutality of his own troops. After ogres destroyed several of the smaller villages completely along with the mere threat of giants it wasn't long that some of the peasant communities were willing to accept Kane's "rule" more readily than the Empire's, which they were already disgruntled with due to the lack of proper protection among other things.
  
  The Shadow Guard didn't help matters as most of them that had been rooted out in the home territories fled up to the Rask under Cyrus' leadership, along with some of the orcs that had heard about the rebellion. Any towns that hadn't immediately fell under the sway of the direct fear from Kane's army fell to the subversive and terror tactics of the Shadow Guard.
  
  "Get those orcs on the north side! They're climbing up the fucking walls!" you shout.
  
  Boiling oil is thrown over the side of the wall, scalding the orcs on ladders. Some of them fall, others are tougher and maintain their grip. You shove the ladder back, making sure to get the ones that the oil failed to. You look around and see that the orcs have begun to break through the front door. You then have that familiar sense that you've had so many other times over the past few months. You duck down and roll while swinging your sword in front of you. You hit something and uncloak a Shadow Guard that has managed to infiltrate the fort. He isn't the only one though. Several more appear nearby to kill the remaining men you have defending the walls.
  
  You continue to fight valiantly, cutting down many of the Shadow Guard that have managed to get inside the fort. A boulder crashes into the side of the wall destroying it and causing you to fall off the walkway and to the ground within the fort.
  
  You get back up as quickly as you can to see orcs pouring into the front gates and the remainder of your men slaughtered. Griping your sword one last time your only regret is not taking the opportunity to kill Kane and Cyrus a year ago when you were captured at Fort Defiance. Indeed you played everything a bit too cautiously. None of it matters now though, the only thing you can do is go out like a true warrior. If not victory, then you can take comfort in that at least.
  
  "For the Empire!" you shout and charge into the horde.