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ToastyPigeon

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SpringDragon

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"I'm Captain Krozer, I've heard a lot about you and wanted to meet you personally. Welcome to hell."

Captain Krozer begins to give you a run down on the entire area. She mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn't the best, but she hopes that you and the other Eternals assigned here can rally some sort hope here again.

Captain Krozer also goes on to tell you that there's been a slight change of plans in your assignments. She says that you're still staying here, but that Kane and Edgar are going to Fort Defiance, which is further north. Probably for the best considering what transpired between you and Edgar.

Kane nods a dignified goodbye to you, and gets back on the caravan; Edgar of course isn't as pleasant and gives you a hostile glare before leaving.

With the caravan leaving, you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age.

"So, you're one those Eternals huh?" one the older soldiers says almost dismissively. You're in no mood to warn anyone this time, so you go straight to the point and throw him to the floor with his arm painfully twisted behind his back.

"Correct, and you'll address me as sir or lieutenant if you want to keep this arm, because it'll be very hard to continue doing your duty for the Emperor with just a stump. Understand?"

"Argh. Y..yes sir!"

And so begins your assignment in the Rask frontier.

>

Chapter 2A: For The Empire!

Year 20

"Watch it the last ones are coming from the left side!" you shout, pointing at the barbarian wolfmen breaking through the barricade.

Two of your number go down before the might of the wolfmen. As always you find yourself having to do things yourself. Not that you're adverse to placing yourself in the thick of battle, but sometimes you get a little tired of having to micromanage.

One of the wolfmen goes down by your blade with ease, the other three however are shot full of bolts, though you were very nearly in the crossfire.

"DAMMIT, watch where you're shooting!" You shout at the dark elven mercenaries.

"Oh stop being so dramatic, we've been shooting with these crossbows longer than you've even been alive I'd wager." One of them replies, followed by a few snickers.

You shake your head at the fact that you have to routinely work with them, let alone having to put up with their kind. Then again you've had to put up with a lot around here for the past four years.

"Are we done fighting these dogs now? When are we going to get back to killing more sveld? That's a lot more fun." One of the mercenaries says.

"You aren't getting paid to have fun svelk! You're getting paid to do your job. If you really want to go murder your tree loving cousins so bad, we're not stopping you." You say.

"Whatever monkey, our job here is done, we're heading back. Let us know when you need our help again." The mercenary says and they leave.

You survey the damage to the logging camp and it's going to be awhile before this place is up and running to it's full capabilities again. Still, today is a victory and despite everything, you've managed to eliminate more enemies even if it does seem like they are everywhere in this harsh cold land.

Unfortunately nowadays the Rask frontier isn't the only place where the Empire has been having problems. Open war broke out with the Felkan Kingdom a couple years ago. Sometimes you wonder how things are going with Warrick and Gerald, but you've never heard anything about them, or from them.

In fact you rarely hear news from anywhere unless it directly concerns you defending mining towns, logging town, or outposts from barbarians or the forest elves. It's never pretty here, but you can only imagine what they deal with up at Fort Defiance where they routinely face ogres and sometimes even giants. You have heard that Edgar has made quite a name for himself with some of his actions. In a way you're glad, because he's living up to the title of an Eternal and doing honor by serving with distinction…still, knowing him he's doing it all to try to "beat" you.

As for you, you've made quite a name for yourself as well. You have improved the mortality rate of the soldiers here a little (most notably the ones serving under you), but you've also managed to successfully defend several towns with low citizen casualties too.

The greatest accomplishments of yours are the complete destruction of several hostile barbarian tribes. The Black Wolves, the Enclave of the Bear, the Blood Boars, and other minor shape changing tribes have all been exterminated thanks to your relentless nature. Indeed, you've become so infamous that the barbarian tribes in this land have come to call you the "The Bane of Rask."

This recent battle was a last desperate regroup attack by one of the tribes, the "Silver Fangs" after you wiped out all their women and children in an attack on their camp. Grim business to be sure, but it wasn't first time and it certainly won't be the last. These tribes must learn that they cannot stand against the might of the Empire or the Emperor. If they can only learn that with their extinction then so be it.

You report your victory to Captain Krozer.

"Excellent as always lieutenant. I know time after time I can count on you. Which leads me to the next major task. From what I can tell we've managed to eliminate the major threats in this particular area of the Rask frontier, but we have two left. The forest elves and the Wendigo tribe are the two in question and I'm wondering which one we should focus our attention on first."

"Well I can tell you that the Wendigo tribe will be a challenge. They're the biggest, toughest and meanest of all the barbarian shape shifters. So far we haven't had a large battle with them yet, but with our extermination of the other tribes, the time is getting closer. As for the elves, it will be more tedious than anything as they use a lot of guerilla tactics and such. We've still never found any sort of home, base or camp of theirs, but I suppose those dark elven mercs will be more than willing to help us with eliminating them. I'm sure their leader, Edolith will most likely demand a high price as usual though." You say.

"(Sigh) Yeah, I'm sure she will. Things are never easy here. Fuck it; we're pushing forward on both groups right now and putting an end to it once and for all. The question is, would you prefer to lead a company against the Wendigo tribe or go on a seek and destroy mission on the forest elves."

> You attack the Wendigo tribe

"While I have every desire to see both of these blights erased from the Empire's lands, I believe my abilities would be best served in leading the attack against the Wendigo tribe, captain." You say.

"I had a feeling you'd be more drawn to that idea, and you are probably the best person for it, seeing how many victories you have against the barbarians tribes here. Very well, I shall send another officer to lead the mission against the elves and I hope those mercenaries lower their price in exchange for a chance to kill their tree loving kin. In fact I may go along on that mission." Captain Krozer replies.

"You are captain?"

"Yes, someone needs to keep an eye on those shifty bastards. Besides I find that I've been getting stuck behind the desk too much lately. It'll be good to be back out in the field. Don't want to become like one of those fat self-important generals that do nothing except point to maps and make equally fat musings on tactics. A true leader should lead from the front, I'm sure you agree."

"It is preferable yes…but I do understand the need to keep those with keen military minds safe from major war zones. Such people have their place as all do in their service of the Emperor."

"Why lieutenant, are you complimenting me on my intelligence? It's not like you to flirt." Captain Krozer asks in a tone slightly friendlier than usual, it catches you a little off guard.

"I…no! I mean yes, you are very intelligent, but…"

"Relax lieutenant, just having a little fun, didn't mean to put you on the spot. Anyway, we'll pick this up later, you better get prepared for your mission, and good luck."

You do exactly that, get prepared. You know this will not be an easy battle. You fought a member of the wendigos by yourself before and it was one of your greatest fights. Fighting an entire tribe of them even with an entire company behind you will not make it easier. Most of the men while capable soldiers, they are still just recruits in some ways when facing the shear might and savagery of these barbarians, let alone a tribe like the wendigos. At this point you wish you had a few battle wizards or even orcs in your ranks, but most of those have been assigned either at Fort Defiance or on the frontlines of the Felkan War.

You march through the ice and snow towards wendingo territory, along the way you come across a small village completely decimated. Looks like it was a fairly new one made up of some determined settlers. Still, no amount of determination could have possibly made it a good idea to start building a new settlement that was so close to wendigo territory without Empire protection.

Houses have been burned, and the gory bodies of the dead are everywhere and in pieces. Some of the bodies have even been partially eaten. Not surprising, considering the wendigo tribe will cannibalize their own people if necessary. A couple of the newer recruits throw up at the grisly sight.

The march eventually leads you a wooded hill area where they make their home. It's there where you have your first major encounter with the wendigos. Their aren't a lot of them, but they're completely vicious and without fear. They think nothing of attacking you despite being outnumbered and bellow their terrible howl. A howl so dreadful it can affect the mind and causes a few of your men to lose their courage completely.

"It's all in your head! The Emperor's Will protects us! Find your nerve or die!" you shout and clash with the nearest wendigo.

It's just the first of many such battles. The only good thing is the wendigos are pretty easy to find and make no attempts to hide from you, meaning you don't really need to make a big effort at hunting them down. The bad thing of course is little by little your company is worn down by their attacks along with the land already being harsh and food being scarce.

It's not just that though, this land of theirs, it's making you feel weird, to say nothing of your men. The howls of the wendingos seem to be on the very winds here. It's constantly there sapping your mind and making yourself feel strange thoughts.

"Lieutenant, I'm starting to feel really hungry. A lot of the men are." Your second says to you.

"We just stopped to eat."

"I know, but I dunno I'm still hungry."

"Well we're not stopping again. We need to keep moving the quicker we do this, the quicker we can go back home and have a proper meal."

"Yes, a proper meal with meat. Lots of meat. Heh heh." Your second says and walks away.

By the fifth day, you finally come across a large wendigo encampment and it is there where you see some sort of leader. You knew they had to have one, these types always do. He's predictably the largest of his kind and covered in pure white fur. When your company arrives, the wendigos make their howl, but more disturbingly some of your men make a rival howl of their own and charge into battle even before you give the command.

The battle is a slaughter on both sides. You struggle against the wendigo leader striking several blows that would kill a normal man, but of course then you're not fighting a man. He swipes you across the chest destroying your breast plate and lands another blow to your head which probably would've killed you had you not been wearing a helmet. It is enough to knock you down however.

"Your combat skill is impressive, Bane of Rask. It will be an honor to add it my own when I devour your heart." You suddenly hear in your head as you struggle to get up. You've heard this sort of talk before. Namely when you were fighting against the usksha shaman.

You shake off the wendingo leader's mental attempts to throw you off guard and narrowly avoid his foot stomping on your head. You grab your sword nearby and with all your might, you swing it at the very foot that just tried to crush your head and chop it clean off.

The wendigo leader howls again, but this is one of pain as he tumbles to the ground. You waste no time and shove the blade down the beast's gullet. While this would be enough to kill most, the leader manages punch you aside with all his thrashing and then tries to stand up on one foot with a sword still stuck through his mouth and coming out the other side of his head.

It would be a darkly comical sight under different circumstances watching this beast hop around trying to pull a sword out of his head, but you're in no mood to laugh. You charge into him as hard as you can to knock him down and grab the sword yanking it back and forth until you succeed in sawing off the top part of his head.

To their credit, the remaining wendigos continue to fight and die with their leader. The battle is won and even you take a moment to rest.