text: Year 35
  
  Another rebellion put down. You wipe your sword of blood and shake your head as you look around at the chaos. This is the Quala province, the very heartland of the Empire. You shouldn't have to be trying to maintain order here only a few miles away from the capital itself.
  
  "Ha ha ha! Come on bitch, give it up! I'm an Eternal, you oughta be flattered that I'm even wasting my time on your normal ass!" private Felding says as he attempts to rape a nearby girl.
  
  You briskly walk over to Felding and pull him off her. You know damn well that the rest of his kind are probably doing stuff like this all over the place, but this one is in your direct sight and under your command.
  
  "What the hell, captain? If you wanted first dibs you could've just said so! Ah look, now she's getting away!"
  "We're here to maintain order private, not create more chaos."
  "Oh yeah? Coulda fooled me by destroying the entire town like this."
  "Regrettable, but during battle only victory matters."
  "Exactly! We won! So now it's time to have our fun with these disobedient peasants. Y'know instill fear in them so they won't do it again."
  "You're not instilling fear though, you're just satisfying your own desires."
  "Hey, who says we aren't supposed to have fun while doing it?"
  
  It's like talking to a brick wall. You've had these "New Eternals" under your command for a few months now and they are some of the most undisciplined troops you've ever had. You can try to encourage them, you can try to reason with them, you can punish them, and none of it has a real effect. The only constant is that they know of your reputation and know that you're also an Eternal, which makes them just fearful of you enough that they don't attempt to directly challenge your authority like they have with so many of their other commanders.
  
  If it were up to you, you would've had them all killed for treason as soon as they murdered their first CO, but for whatever reason the Empire wants them active. You're guessing because the Empire's desperate. So they were ultimately transferred to you and unfortunately you're not allowed to kill them either...well unless they try to kill you first.
  
  You swear this must be what it's like to be a svelk.
  
  They are like children, malicious hateful little children. It's not even their suspect loyalty that baffles you; it's their complete lack of discipline. Even Kane and Cyrus who opposed you had discipline. Hell, Edgar who was arguably the most emotional and hotheaded of the group was a hundred times more disciplined than any of these new "Eternals." You remember back to your own training and there were a few of your fellows that didn't learn proper discipline either. They never made it past Mistress and the few that did, didn't survive Gruz. Whoever was in charge of their training did a horrible job and should've been executed for incompetence along with the rest of these vicious monsters. That old orc was right, they will destroy what's left of the Empire, but you doubt if they'll survive long after its downfall.
  
  You think back to all the real Eternals. You, Edgar and Brenda are the only ones left, as Warrick killed in the final days of the Felkan War. At least you assume that's what happened, his body was never found and you know he would've rather died than let himself be captured to rot in a P.O.W. Camp. Either way it's truly a loss you never ever got to talk with him again.
  
  From what you know Edgar is still stationed in the Arat province, probably trying to keep his own "eternals" in line to keep the peace there. As for poor Brenda you know she has her command in the Nalin province and probably still quietly grieving for Roldan.
  
  After all you've been through, it's come to this and you're wondering what the hell you're still fighting for. The Emperor? You haven't cared about that unknown ruler for years. For all you know he's some feeble minded inbred idiot figure head that his advisors keep locked away while they bumble around ruling things probably about as well as he would.
  
  The Empire? Perhaps at one time, but as it has lost territory, respect and apparently all resemblance of sanity over the years you've lost all faith that it can ever regain any sort of glory it might have had, if it ever had it to begin with. You've tried your best to stem back the tide of chaos, but you're only one man even if you are an Eternal.
  
  While you ponder your potential future, private Felding interrupts you.
  
  "Hey, cap? You're in a bit of a daze there. So if you're done I'm going to go now."
  "Hold on, I have one more thing to tell you."
  "(Sigh) What?" Felding says with an exasperated tone.
  "You're not a fucking Eternal. None of you little shits are." You say and run Felding through and pull up on the sword unleashing his blood and guts onto the ground. Felding makes a high pitched scream and slumps on top of his entrails after you remove the sword.
  
  "Shit! The cap just killed Felding!" another so called eternal shouts while he and his buddy have just come back from looting some farmer's home. The pair of them look like they want to run, but you make it easy on them.
  
  "Go ahead and run or stay. I don't care anymore. I'm leaving. I will tell you this though, if the Empire sends any of you unruly scum after me, know that I shall take great pleasure in not just killing you, but in drawing it out for as long as possible. Remember this."
  
  And with that last warning, you leave your service to the Empire.
  
  The question now is, where will you go? What will you do? This all feels so wrong when you think about it. You've killed so many for abandoning, opposing, or attempting to betray the Empire and here you are doing the same thing. Was it all for nothing? Was it worth it?
  
  You don't know. You always believed at the time you were right and that you were doing the right thing. Maybe you were, maybe you weren't. You just know that you can't serve something you don't believe in anymore. Especially when everyone else around you doesn't either.
  
  Speaking of not knowing, you don't know how to do anything except kill people. While you're certain that you'd be able to hire your skills out somewhere, the idea of being a mercenary is a little distasteful for you. You'd rather not push the svelk comparison that far.
  
  You could swear loyalty to another government you suppose. Perhaps the Felkan Kingdom? You're not sure they'd want you, what with all their high tech weapons and your own government once fighting against them.
  
  The only other alternative for you is to carve out your own territory and rule it as your own. While it's true you do have leadership qualities, you know nothing of actually running a government. You honestly wouldn't know where to begin.
  
  > serve another government
  You can't bring yourself to be some lawless mercenary like a svelk and you can't fathom even trying to run your own piece of territory. You're no ruler. You're a warrior that currently has no direction or mission. The only chance to find purpose is to pledge yourself to another nation. Again, the only one you know of any note is the Felkan Kingdom. You only know a little about them based on the propaganda the Empire has told you as well as the brief conversation you had with Gerald when you temporarily reunited with him.
  
  Technically the Empire is at peace with the Felkan Kingdom, but there are still skirmishes. Though nowdays it's due to rogue Empire soldiers (and peasants too) becoming outright bandits rather than any patriotic reason. The Felkan Kingdom has been trying to keep out Empire refugees as well, which means you'll probably just get turned around, if not outright fired upon. Still with shitty situation you're in, getting shot doesn't even seem like a bad option at this point
  
  You find a nearby horse and set off for the west. Along the way you see the landscape of the Empire, which at one time was orderly and even idyllic is now burning and in tatters. Despite the chaos you don't need to do any battle, not even when passing groups of angry peasants who are taking every opportunity to get revenge on their oppressive government and its agents in all forms. You can only assume your reputation is enough to scare them off or they don't even recognize you. If it's the latter then it only confirms your belief that you weren't making that much of a difference in the Empire anyway.
  
  When you get to the Arat province you find it in a bit better condition than other territory you've rode through, though when you ride through the town of Bucklesberg the peasants give you hateful glances or just outright run into their homes. You see in the middle of the town square several heads stuck on pikes with their eyes gouged out, some of them of children. In the very center of that is a pole with a sign attached.
  
  You read the sign twice you to make sure what you're reading is correct. You almost wish you could say you're surprised, and perhaps that small naive part of you still is, but you're disappointed more than anything else. You of course don't know the whole story, but quite frankly you don't even want to know. All this revelation does is make you want to get out of Empire lands as quick as possible because it seems like it really was ever good for is turning everybody into a wannabe sovereign.
  
  You hasten your pace to the Felkan border as you don't wish to have any potential conflict with this new "regime" that seems to be trying to form here. It's a shame, because you did think about trying to find Edgar before going to the border hoping that maybe he'd join you. Now? He'd probably try to convince you to join him. Seen that story play out too, you'd rather not have to go through it again. Edgar obviously has chosen his path to deal with the Empire's inevitable collapse and you must choose yours.
  
  Eventually you get to the Felkan border which is predictably well guarded by several men with their fancy musket weapons. From what you've heard they aren't very sporting, but can blow through even a heavily armored orc instantly. Could've used some of those yourself ten years ago.
  
  "Alright just stop right there. You come any closer and you'll have a brand new hole in your body." One of them says pointing his weapon at you.
  "Sheesh Harry, can't you come up with a better threat than that?"
  "Fuck you Wally, we're turning back refugees every damn day, they can't all be winners."
  "Uh guys, I don't think this one's a refugee, he's wearing military armor." Another one says which at this point all of them point their weapons at you.
  
  You take this in stride you figured they wouldn't exactly be welcoming.
  
  "Alright I don't know why the hell an Empire soldier is here, but I suggest you just turn right back around. We're supposed to be at peace now in case you didn't know it, which judging by some of you lot you don't." Harry says.
  "I no longer serve the Empire, I request to serve your kingdom instead." You say.
  "Ha ha ha, yeah right. Look even if we were inclined to believe you, we don't need your kind especially since you can't even keep your own shit together. We know you're having a civil war or whatever it is right now. You're lucky our king is such a pussy that he refuses to take advantage of the situation otherwise, we'd fucking own the Arat province right now." Harry replies.
  "Hell yeah Harry! We should've just marched in and took it when they were begging for peace!" Wally adds
  
  The one soldier's words are most interesting. Especially how he speaks about his ruler so freely and without fear. It is apparent that despite their dislike of their ruler, yet they are very dedicated to their nation. It is sort of a comforting thing to see after so many you've encountered over the years weren't. Perhaps you could find a place here, assuming you can get past this first obstacle.
  
  "Very well gentlemen the only thing I can tell you that might convince you, is that I am an Eternal, born and bred for combat. I say with no boast that I am the best of my kind and while I am not yet familiar with your weapons, I dare say my combat skill and knowledge would allow me to learn rather quickly. All I ask is that I be allowed to speak with someone with more authority so that I can be given a proper chance."
  "Eternal? You ain't no Eternal, you're way too old. I've seen those bastards running around on the other side of the border and they're either in their twenties or younger. Dunno why you'd claim to be one of them for anyway, they're not even human, they're fucking soulless monsters. Heard enough horror stories from all the refugees we have to turn away. Some of those stories...pretty heartbreaking stuff..." Harry says getting a little choked about one of the stories he seems to be thinking about. It's at that point one of his buddies pipes up.
  "Hey, uh maybe he's one of those OTHER Eternals."
  "Oh an original? I dunno, didn't they not make too many of them?" Wally asks as if any of his buddies know.
  "How the hell should I know Wally?"
  "Well you were the fucker that brought it up! All right there's an easy way to do this. Chuck, head back to Fort Soot, and see Captain Warrick, he'll..."
  "Hold on did you say Captain Warrick?" you ask.
  "Yeah? And?"
  "I know him seeing as we practically grew up together. He was believed to be dead, how is it that he's a captain in the Felkan military?"
  "Hmm, well perhaps you can ask him that yourself, if you really do know him. Okay change of plan, we'll take you to see Captain Warrick, but you better not try anything funny. We'll need you to get off that horse and hand over your weapons. Chuck and Wally, you're with me, the rest of you keep an eye on the border as usual, we'll be back soon."
  
  You comply with their demands and have them march you to Fort Soot. The thing you notice immediately are all the trenches built into the land. Left overs from the war you imagine. When you get to Fort Soot it isn't particularly large, though it does seem to be heavily defended with weapons you've heard about before. Cannons they're called, and they are very devastating. You remember Gerald telling you how they could destroy stone golems as if they were made of paper. Makes you wonder why for all it's power that the Empire didn't fund money and time into developing such wonders as it certainly would've helped a lot more than their Eternal project. You quietly chuckle at the irony of that thought briefly thinking what you would've been doing now if there hadn't been such a project. Probably not marching into a Felkan fort that's for sure.
  
  When you are brought into Warrick's office it's like a trip to the past. Warrick's changed quite a bit. He's wearing an eyepatch for one thing and he's lost most of his hair, but you'd still recognize him. He also recognizes you though he's still having trouble believing it.
  
  "By the gods, is it really you?"
  "Yes, it's me. By the gods? Not by the Emperor anymore I see."
  "Nope and never will be again, which brings me to my next question. Why have you come here? I certainly hope it isn't on some fool mission to bring me to justice for being a traitor..."
  "Ha ha. Maybe at one time, but not anymore either. I guess you could say, I'm also a traitor, though I don't think I am. The Empire betrayed itself a long time ago and I can't serve a place that has not even the slightest concept of honor or loyalty even if it was the one that taught me such ideals."
  "I must say, I am a little surprised that you of all people would come to that conclusion. You were the most dedicated of all of us. I know that you are telling the truth though, as you were never a liar. So you've left the Empire then and come here to...?"
  "Pledge myself to the Felkan Kingdom, though it seems I wasn't the only one who had that idea."
  "Hah, yeah a bit of a long story that. Before we continue I'll have to clear this with a lot of people first, and you're probably going to have to prove yourself several times, but if you're serious about this then you'll most likely be accepted. I've found things work with a little more leniency in the Felkan Kingdom."
  "All I want is a new chance."
  
  And so began your service to the Felkan Kingdom.
  
  > Continue
  Year 40
  
  "I don't understand why the hell we haven't just gone marching into the Arat province and taken it from the Eternal Dominion. We have superior weaponry, and they aren't even that organized. I don't care how skilled they are in combat, they can't stop a bullet." A soldier complains.
  "So, do you think we'll really be going to war again?" his buddy asks.
  "Is there any fucking doubt? The Empire might be dead, but that Eternal Dominion or whatever it's called took its place and from what I can gather the ones running that are complete monsters. No small feat considering how the Empire was run...uh no offense sarge."
  
  You shake your head as a sign that you could care less how they discuss the Empire, as you're busy keeping on the look out for potential enemies and you tell them to stop talking and do likewise. Felkan soldiers tend to be a little more chatty than you're used to, they also tend to be a little over confident in battle at times due to their reliance on firearms. Their melee skills aren't bad, but they aren't anywhere near those of a say an Empire soldier, let alone an Eternal. You learned how to handle a musket pretty quickly, but much like the same reason you avoided using bows and such, ranged combat just isn't quite your thing. Still, you appreciate their destructive power and having an advantage so you have no problems carrying around a couple of flintlock pistols on your person.
  
  Another thing that's different is a government that isn't actually interested in conquest despite its people often expressing such desires. You've never met the king or any of the royals, but from what you've heard the king is more of a scholar rather than a warrior ruler. Some consider this a weakness, but you aren't convinced that it is. The king apparently believes conquest would just drain the coffers of what is currently a healthy economy (despite a recent war) and it's better to put that money to other uses. The Felkans in general are always looking for new ways to advance the quality of life for all through scientific advancement. You don't remember that sort of thing in the Empire where the status quo was law. While magic was reserved for the elite and still not common in the Empire, it's practically non-existent in the Felkan Kingdom, which might explain their tendency towards scientific endeavors. Well that, and the fact that a good number of gnomes live among them who probably produce most of the great inventions in the kingdom.
  
  Still, you often hear a lot of criticism about the king; sometimes it makes you wonder if there shouldn't be cause for concern. If this were the Empire you would've been expected to harshly discipline all of those soldiers that insulted the Emperor. Here, there is a lot more freedom in what you can say.
  
  Yes, there are so many differences from the Empire and you often feel out of place. Hell you feel strange enough only being a sergeant again. Five years and they still haven't felt that you warrant a promotion to a higher rank, you don't know why they still don't trust you as much as they trust Warrick considering he actually fought against them directly. Of course he actually saved the lives of some important Felkan royals, so that's probably the reason.
  
  They don't keep you stationed on the frontlines of the Arat border like they do with Warrick either, for the past several years you've been stationed at a fort at the other end of the kingdom, though the fort is so small it's more like an outpost. Fort Green is located near a small village called Blossomdale and that's basically what you've been defending. It's a rather dull assignment and only broken up by the occasional skirmishes with gnolls, bandits or other denizens living in the untouched forests and the hills. You've tried to make the best of things. You keep your mind mostly focused on your job like you always do.
  
  One good thing is that the soldiers that serve under you don't seem to mind your Eternal origins, but you do get the impression they're a little afraid of you. Your superior officer Captain Eckers seems okay with you as well. He's the only one stationed here that's older than you and probably sees you as someone he has a little more in common with, not to mention you bring a little more discipline to the fort and encourage more drilling and combat training.
  
  Eventually your shift is over and as usual, nothing happened today. Your replacements take over your post and you make your way back to the fort. The rest of the soldiers head to Blossumdale presumably for a little R&R as they often do.
  
  When you get back to the fort, somebody tells you that Captain Eckers wants to see you, so you proceed to his office.
  
  "Have a seat sergeant. So was today any different than yesterday? Any hostiles to be dispatched or anything?"
  "No sir, things were quiet as usual." You answer.
  "I figured as much. It's been like this for the past eight months. You know it's always been slow around here, but lately...(sigh) I don't know. I suppose we should be glad this place isn't under attack constantly, but the boredom of nothing to do is frustrating."
  "I know the feeling sir."
  "Heh, I'll bet. Bred for war and all that...you once had a command at a fort at one time did you not?"
  "Yes sir I did, in Rask."
  "Yeah, I've heard about that area. I'll bet you never ran out of fighting up there."
  "Well sir, we sort of did since I did my best to try to exterminate the most dangerous threats. For a while things got slow then we had a series of uprisings became a problem and I had to be in involved in putting those down so I wasn't quite as bored anymore."
  "Uprisings. Now that would be an interesting event, though I don't think I'm quite that bored yet. Still, I wonder if one wouldn't do some good. Get those royals off their asses and actually do something for a change."
  "I'm sure they do what they can...the land is prosperous after all." You say unsure of how to react and still wondering why you were called in here.
  
  "Yeah, yeah, I know, but really what good is that going to do when the Eternal Dominion comes beating down our door? I served on the front lines of the war with the Empire from beginning to end, and I saw shit that even I wasn't prepared to see. Even with our technological advantage, sometimes I don't know how we managed to hold the Empire off...I guess you guys really had a lot of internal problems."
  "Yes, yes we did sir. A lot."
  "Right, and that's the only reason why we held out. If the Empire had been a united front like it used to be... well me and you probably wouldn't be having this conversation."
  "Captain, if I may interject for a moment. I have heard citizens and soldiers on more than one occasion suggest that the Felkan Kingdom should become more aggressive. I'm puzzled to as why if things are going well. after all the Empire engaged in continual conquest and I think we know how that turned out."
  "You have a point about the Empire, but you also should remember the Empire lasted several centuries before collapsing. I don't presume to know exactly all the problems you had, but I can tell you what the problems we have are and why the people are getting sick of it."
  "And what are those sir?"
  "Fucking gnomes."
  "Gnomes? Don't they provide all the wonderful inventions for this Kingdom?"
  "Yeah, and they also have been using us as protection for decades and the royals are in their fucking pockets. We aren't really ruled by the royals, the damned gnomish inventors and businessmen rule us. They don't want us expanding too much, because then we just might be harder to control. They also don't want us to become too strong militarily because we just might turn it against them. I mean hell, I think you've seen how our soldiers aren't exactly the best fighters and rely on firearms. I shudder to think if we ever had to actually fight without them. It didn't always used to be that way, at least not back in my day. That's why you're a damn breath of fresh air. You're actually a REAL warrior."
  
  You just sit and listen as the captain begins getting even angrier during his rant.
  
  "You know why I'm stationed here in the ass end of nowhere? Because I spoke my mind on what I thought about gnomes and suggested we needed to stop being pussies and actually start taking more land. I mean take this place for example. If we had just a couple more platoons, and the orders, we could march into those hills nearby and wipe out all those damned gnolls for good. But what do we do instead? Wait around for the fuckers to attack us then sit here with our thumbs up our asses until they rebuild and do it all over again. We're better than that! Or at least we used to be!" at this point Captain Eckers slams his fist on his desk. He's silent with his head looking down for a moment and then looks up to address you.
  
  "...forgive me sergeant, I get a little emotional about this stuff sometimes. I really shouldn't. Thank you for your report and listening. I just need someone to speak my mind to sometimes...anyway dismissed."
  
  You get up and leave, thinking about what has transpired.
  
  It basically sounds like the captain doesn't believe in his government anymore. You know what that's like, but you just aren't sure if it's as bad as he's claiming or he's just a bitter old man that's mad because times changed and he pissed off the wrong people in charge of his career. However as you're reminded he isn't the only person you've heard speaking out, he just happens to be the only one that's gone into more detail than you're used to.
  
  You also wonder if he told you all this stuff for a reason, is he hinting for you to do something? And what could you do? You're a lower rank than him and not exactly high on the hierarchy. You're also pretty much an outsider. Stirring up trouble isn't exactly something you should be doing, and you pledged yourself to serve the kingdom and its king, not overthrow it. If you were going to be doing that, you might as well have joined the Eternal Dominion.
  
  You aren't sure of what to make of all this gnome business though, if that is even true. You've never paid too much attention to them being in a lot of the positions of power. Part of you though does make you wonder about who you're really serving and if it is really the gnomes like the captain claims, then your whole oath to the kingdom is pretty much a joke. Then again if they really are controlling everything, does it really make a difference? Things seem to still be running well and you personally just don't have any real proof that there is some conspiracy even though it wouldn't surprise you too much if there was one going on.
  
  One thing you know though, if others are feeling like the captain does, this isn't going to go away. This is going to get worse; in fact it may already be too late to stop something from occurring. You could very well find yourself serving in another collapsing government again.
  
  > report to the captain
  You don't know if this is actually going to do any good, but if the captain ever decides to suddenly secede from the Felkan Kingdom, you want someone to know that you weren't part of it from the beginning. The problem there isn't a higher-ranking officer at the fort and you don't really know anybody that you could report this to. You suppose you write a letter to Major Samuels at Fort Smoke. He's in charge of the whole Ibim province, but then you think what if he feels the same way as the captain? If that's the case, then you'd probably become hated not just at your fort, but in other circles as well. You'd possibly even be demoted or worse. You've managed to make a life here with minimal friction, and you'd hate to just throw that all away, but you have to do something. For good or ill your duty is to the kingdom now and you need to defend against all potential threats, external and internal, and from your experience the internal ones are the worst.
  
  That's when you come up with the idea that you'll write to Warrick about this. He might not be able to do anything about it considering he's in another province, but he's about the only one you can trust and maybe he knows something and can at least give you advice.
  
  You write a letter to Warrick that night and hand it to a professional courier in Blossumdale the next day. Not having anything else to do, you return to your duties. Days pass into weeks and weeks pass into months. Just when you're starting to wonder if your letter got intercepted and someone having sinister plans for you, you get a letter back from Warrick.
  
  You're anxious to see his reply and you find a quiet place to open it up and read it private. You're expecting a long letter, but instead you get a short one that's to the point.
  
  Things are already in motion to remedy the situation soon and your duty to the kingdom has been noted.
  
  Warrick
  
  You can only guess that Captain Eckers will soon be gone with wording like that. You didn't expect anything to be done either, just advice. Warrick must have better connections than you thought.
  
  Another week passes since you received Warrick's reply and Fort Green is visited by a general with his personal assistants, a couple of royals and a well-dressed gnome. The visit is unexpected by everyone, especially Captain Eckers since he'd know first if anyone was scheduled to visit.
  
  Captain Eckers and several others are taken into rooms and questioned separately. The rest of you are ordered to go about your business and to not interfere. Later you are called in as well. You find yourself face to face with one of the generals. General Benson. He's probably about the same age as Eckers, though obviously more successful.
  
  "Sergeant, I'm going to make this quick. You are the one who wrote the letter to Captain Warrick are you not?" General Benson asks.
  "Yes, sir."
  "And why did you write to Captain Warrick about your concerns? Why not write to Major Samuels? He is the superior officer in charge of this province."
  "Well, I wasn't sure if I should sir. For all I knew he might've had sympathies with Captain Eckers and if that had been the case, my situation would not have been a good one."
  "Hold on sergeant, are you telling me Major Samuels is also part of this?"
  "No, I don't even know the Major sir, I was just being cautious on my part. I wrote to Warrick because...well he's the only person I felt I could absolutely trust."
  
  The general is silent for a moment while he looks you up and down.
  
  "Tell me, have you had any conflict while being here?"
  "Conflict with the other soldiers? No sir, can't say that I have, I tend to just do my job and keep to myself as far as social matters are concerned."
  "What about your relationship with Captain Eckers?"
  "It's a respectful one sir, I feel no malice towards him nor perceive any towards me."
  "Yet you felt the need to report him."
  "Well sir, I thought it was something that might be needed to be brought to the attention of those in a higher position than me. Dissension in the ranks is no good sir. These sorts of things need to be taken care of before they spread. I know from direct experience, sir."
  "Hmmm, yes I suppose you would..."
  
  General Benson continues to study you as if he's trying to read your mind, after a minute of this, he backs off and starts to pack up some papers on a nearby desk.
  
  "I think we have everything we need to know. We weren't exactly sure about you for a long time, and quite frankly some of us still aren't. Your lack of trust among your fellow soldiers is concerning, but considering what we've found here, possibly understandable. As of now, I'm promoting you to captain and putting you in charge of Fort Green until further notice. You'll be receiving some new soldiers soon to replace the men that will be leaving here. And hopefully this reward for your dedication to the Kingdom alleviates some of your trust issues."
  "It will sir. It will. Thanks you sir."
  "Very good, you're dismissed."
  
  You step out of the room feeling a sense of accomplishment. This is truly the first time since you pledged loyalty to the Felkan Kingdom that you feel appreciated. With this new command you actually feel like you're back to where you're supposed to be again, which is something you haven't felt since you were taken off of your command in Rask. Granted Fort Green is no Fort Destiny, but it's better than where you were.
  
  As for Captain Eckers, he and several other soldiers are escorted out of the fort as the rest of you stand by and watch. On his way out Eckers glares at you, he doesn't say anything, but you can feel as if his stare is burning a hole in you. He knows someone said something, and he knows that someone was you. It's too bad it had to be this way, but what's done is done and it's time to move on.
  
  Over the next few months you begin running the fort a lot more efficiently, the soldiers aren't particularly thrilled about it since they've gotten used to not doing as much under Captain Eckers, which is another good reason why he needed to leave. Instead of whining, he should've been thinking up stuff to keep everyone's mind's occupied.
  
  After a few more months of extra training, you pick the soldier who has shown the most promise and pull them aside in your office for a talk.
  
  "Let's see... Sergeant Dawn Young...easy name to remember. You're one of the newer transfers here. Says that before you came here, you served on the Kilania Plains. Not exactly familiar with that area, but I hear it's infested with centaurs. Half man half horse or something like that?"
  "Yes sir, they are little more than wild beast. They get drunk, breed, start fights and from what I can tell that's about it."
  "Hmm, bet they were a joy to fight. Well from your record it says you successfully lead several attacks on them. I'm guessing they are no longer a problem anymore?"
  "Well they are less of a problem than they were. I was told to hold back, by my commanding officer at the time. I know if we had pressed against them though we could've wiped them out completely though." She remark with a slightly annoyed tone.
  
  Sounds like typical Felkan policy. You have to admit, Eckers did have a point about certain things. While you're not going to support possible rebellion like he did, you are going to change some things.
  
  "Okay you sound like the kind of soldier I need. Consider yourself promoted to lieutenant and you're my new second."
  "...wow...thank you sir!"
  "Don't go thanking me just yet, you still have live to enjoy it. I want you to take two platoons of soldiers, march over to those hills a few miles away and I want you to wipe out ALL of the gnolls that you see."
  "All of them sir?"
  "All of them. Their warriors, their citizens, their women, their children. If there are little baby gnolls sucking on marrowbones in their cribs, I want you to kill them too."
  
  Your orders are a little shocking to Dawn. She's probably never heard anyone commanding the murder of infants before let alone the total war doctrine you're following, even if it is against a bunch of barbaric monsters.
  
  "Lieutenant, am I going to have to find someone else to do this?" you ask.
  "...Um no sir. I just...well...the other soldiers sir. I'm not sure if they'll follow such orders."
  "Oh yes they will. Because it's going to be YOUR job to make sure they follow them. Besides I've noticed guns tend to take away a lot of the emotional impact of killing. Not even like you have to look someone in the eye and take away their life. You can sit back comfortably from a few feet away and pull the trigger. They'll be able to kill baby gnolls a lot easier than you think, and after this first time, it's only going to get easier. I'm sure you'll do fine, I have faith that you're up to this task. I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't. You're dismissed."
  
  Looking a little overwhelmed, Dawn nods and leaves your office.
  
  Now all you have to concern yourself about is whether your changes get you thrown out of the fort like Captain Eckers.
  
  > Continue
  Year 45
  
  "They'll probably attack at night sir." Dawn says to you.
  "Yeah, gnolls are predictable that way. Is Blossumdale under control?
  "Yes sir, we executed most of the rabble rousers, the rest have shut up complaining about food rationing and troops permanently stationed in the town now sir."
  "Good. Ooooooh I'm gonna hear it for that one." You groan.
  "I don't see why sir, you were merely keeping order and doing what needed to be done to help protect the kingdom."
  "Perhaps, but the top brass won't see it that way. There won't be any way to keep this one quiet. News is going to travel eventually, despite the fact that I'm already keeping a lot of stuff out of the reports as it is. Hell, I've been getting blamed for stirring up a so called hornet's nest with the gnolls since this war began."
  "That's not true sir, if you hadn't sent me into those hills all those years ago, we wouldn't have found out that they'd been planning a mass invasion for quite some time."
  "That may be the case, but it doesn't change the fact that they need to blame me for whatever reason."
  "Sir if they're so displeased with you, why have they not just replaced you?"
  "Good question. I imagine it's because the gnolls are a very real threat and that I am actually doing a good job at holding back the gnolls with what little resources I do have. Everyone is still so worried about the Eternal Dominion possibly invading that they're shoving all the troops along that border. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful they finally sent us some new cannons, though it took three years to get them. Okay lieutenant, that will be all, I suggest you prepare everyone because I get the feeling the gnolls' attack tonight is going to be a big one."
  
  Dawn nods and leaves your office. She's a good second; you couldn't have picked a better choice. You're actually proud of how all your soldiers have stepped up over the past few years. All they needed was a little more discipline and something to keep them focused like a relentless army of hyena men eager to rip them apart and feast on their bodies.
  
  Despite the fact that the top brass nearly hates you and you're on the eve of what is probably going to be a vicious battle. You feel good, like the best you've felt in years. You have a command, you have soldiers that are utterly dedicated and you have a ruthless enemy to fight. The excitement of battle is near and you can't wait to bask in the violence of it. This is what you were BORN for.
  
  As darkness falls, you stand on top of the battlements and see the gnolls arrive right on time. They might be fierce warriors, but their ongoing crap strategy of throwing as many troops at you as possible isn't working for them. You think orcs might've even been smarter than that, well at least Gruz would've been. There are an awful lot of them though this time, it appears that you were right, tonight's battle is going to be a big one.
  
  As the horde gets closer, you also see several flying creatures in the distance. Wyverns. The bastards actually managed to tame wyverns. Looks like they're a little brighter than you initially gave them credit for. You tell the cannon crews to fire upon the wyverns as soon as they get in range, all musket men on top of the fort as well.
  
  You stare down at the temporary wall you've built around the fort where some of your other troops are guarding and hope it'll hold up well. They'll eventually break it down, but hopefully not before heavy losses. You also hope the fortifications at Blossumdale will hold out. You couldn't spare as many troops there, but you're confident that Dawn will be able to handle the situation if the gnolls split up their attack.
  
  The battle starts off with the gnolls attempting a rain of arrows technique, fortunately you prepared for that by having everyone equipped with shields nearby. The Felkans as a general rule don't use them too much anymore due to their reliance on firearms, but your re-emphasis on close combat training made your request for a shipment of shields quite logical.
  
  The wyverns then dive in from above while the horde concentrates on below. A couple of your new cannons prove their worth by landing a nice cannon ball into the side of one their heads, even better when it crashes into the gnoll horde. Another cannon ball tears a hole in the wing of another causing it and it's rider to attempt a crash landing in the distance.
  
  Out of the remaining three wyverns, one veers away and heads to Blossumdale, while the other two focus on the fort. You order all your men to fire upon one of them which riddles it with gunshot wounds. Not enough to kill it however as lands on the fort and manages crush and bite some of the cannon crews. It's rider fires a bow taking out a musket man next to you, and that's when you make a running leap forward to stab the wyvern right in the neck. Blood gushes out and the beast flails about, causing the rider to fall off and over the fort walls to the ground below.
  
  You dodge the beast's attempt at biting you in two and make a long slash cut through one of it's wing so it can't fly away. It tries to smash you with it's tail, but you roll out of the way and finally land a killing blow by jumping on its back and running your sword through the top of it's head.
  
  The other wyvern has been faring better against the remaining men on the fort roof, though it's rider lies dead with a gunshot wound to his face. Since the beast is intent on hovering above rather than actually landing you have to make another running jump to grab on to one of its feet. The creature attempts to shake you off, but you manage to hang on long enough to stab upward several times into it's soft underbelly. The creature twists and roars in pain, this time managing to cause you to fall to the fort roof, you are then covered in gouts of wyvern blood and chunks of entrails. You order your remaining men to fire upon it as it desperately tries to fly away. The musket balls do their job and the beast falls to the war zone bellow, unfortunately crashing into one of the temporary walls you put up. Granted the dead beast's bulk is now acting a small block now, but the gnoll horde has a slightly easier access than it did before.
  
  You tell your men to start firing upon the horde, which is starting to surround the entire fort, while you rush down to the ground floor to help out the rest of your troops. You also notice that some of the horde is indeed breaking off into a separate group and moving past the fort towards Blossumdale.
  
  Ladders go up to scale the walls, and axes attempt to bring them down completely. Some of the gnolls have already gotten in. Won't be long before they completely overrun this first layer of defense. After hacking down several of them, you tell all your men to fall back to the front gates and inside the fort. You have everyone barricade the doors as best you can while telling several soldiers on top to start dropping firebombs on the gnolls from the roof.
  
  Several explosions deafen the ears of all involved in this battle, smokes completely envelopes the fort and gnoll body parts are covering the battlefield. After briefly falling back, the gnolls continue their attack and try to scale the fort walls with ladders and break down the front gates with a battering ram.
  
  "We're out of firebombs and we're running low on gunpowder sir!" one of your men says.
  "We've greatly decreased their numbers now, we can take the rest of them hand to hand, hell just start dropping the rest of the cannon balls on their heads when they try to come up!"
  
  The gnolls fail at scaling the walls, but their size and strength makes their attempts at breaking down the front gate a lot more successful. Dozens of them come pouring in and you're the first one to charge into battle. You aren't even paying much attention to the rest of your troops at this point, you're goal is to just kill as many as these gnolls as possible. You were covered in blood already, now you've just replaced one coat of blood for another.
  
  Eventually after lopping off the heads of several of these hyenas you see one their number arrive standing much larger than the rest. It's the leader. The biggest one is ALWAYS the leader with these types.
  
  After making that annoying laughing growl sound that they love to make the gnoll leader sees you and swings his huge morning star into the floor near your feet. When he lifts it up to strike again you attempt to close the gap and you duck just in time for it to miss your head. You bring the gnoll leader down with a chop to his shins. Like a great tree he falls to his knees and you chop his head off like you've done with so many of his other kin.
  
  One of the gnolls seeing their leader dead, and already taken considerable losses, the gnoll shouts something in his strange language and they begin to retreat.
  
  "We've won!" a soldier shouts.
  "No, not yet, we've still got gnolls at Blossumdale, not to mention not all of these fuckers are running away yet."
  
  While you are pretty certain the battle here is indeed finishing up, you aren't sure what the situation is at Blossumdale. Besides Blossumdale, part of you is specifically concerned about Dawn, you know you really shouldn't be as she's a very capable soldier, but the concern is still there.
  
  There is still mopping up to do around the fort, but you really should send reinforcements to Blossumdale, the question is whether or not you should lead them personally.
  
  > lead the reinforcements personally
  The situation at Blossumdale needs to be looked after directly, the fort will be fine now. Besides saving the town, your concern for Dawn is great and you want to make sure she's okay. After dispatching the remaining gnolls in the fort, you order a platoon to accompany you to Blossumdale while the rest of the soldiers reinforce the fort. You rush as quickly as you can to Blossumdale.
  
  Call it bad luck, rash behavior, or the fate of the battle, but unfortunately you never make it. On your way to Blossumdale, gnolls that retreated from the fort are still very much lurking about on the fringes of the area. A group of them notices you, but you're in such a hurry you don't notice them in time.
  
  Several arrows fly out from their hiding spot and bring down several of your men. You try to look for somewhere to hide and take cover, but you're completely out in the open. A couple more arrows fly and they hit their mark, and one that flies into your neck is the last one you feel.
  
  As you lay dying, you can only hope that Dawn is alive and well, because you aren't due to your lapse in judgment.