Eternal
“Kill these fucking deserters and get me to the medic.” You say.
The screams of the belzak deserters begging for their lives and death squeals fall on deaf ears…or rather ear as the case may be now.
Eventually you manage to make it to the medic who immediately starts administering an antidote to you. You’re out of commission and very sick for a couple of days, but after which time you’re at least able to stand without feeling ill anymore. Your chewed off ear isn’t an excessive problem as you can still hear relatively well, still you do feel a sense of “loss.”
In any event the expansionist eastern campaign is over. All the tribes have been either wiped out or subdued to the point of submissiveness. Brenda will be relieved to hear it, as you know she was always concerned about having most of the veteran troops there instead of the northern borders. She’ll also be pleased that there weren’t many losses overall.
You’re satisfied with the results, though now you’re just wondering what you’re going to do with yourself again.
Year 50
“Our defenses are strong in the north. Have been for years. No need to be concerned about that.” You say.
“I know, but this is a big thing. I mean after all these years now Edgar wants to speak with us?” Brenda asks.
“My reports say he’s gotten a lot more organized and isn’t dealing with anarchy in his ranks anymore. He even re-conquered the old core lands of the Empire. It could be that he wants to see how strong we really are. His message said he’s coming alone without anyone else.”
“Well, maybe that’s a good sign. Maybe he just wants to talk.”
“Or maybe he wants to kill us both to a great show of strength so Nalin will capitulate with minimum fuss.” You point out.
“Yeah…there is that tactic. (sigh) Well I guess we all knew this day was coming. Guess I better practice my combat skills., which sadly have probably declined from lack of use. Would you spar with me?”
“Of course. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re not that out of practice.” You remark.
You and Brenda go to her personal training room where you and her prepare to spar. Brenda makes a few remarks about this being like the old days when Mistress made you fight each other. Brenda mentions the time when you broke Gerald’s arm and Kane’s nose when she pit them both against you.
“Yeah, I remember that. That was my first match. Mistress had it in for me after I begged for my life. I was always pretty aggressive after that, well at least until Gruz told me I should master my anger better, and I did…anyway let’s get on with this.” You say not really wanting to think about those days or any of the names mentioned.
Brenda isn’t quite as skilled as you remember her to be and she has indeed let her talents decline. Then again as you remember she always was more skilled with the bow. Something you never quite got the hang of yourself. You begin to get more in a “drill instructor mode” and shout commands at her to watch her techniques.
“Alright, alright, I told you I was out of practice.” She shouts back.
“Well you shouldn’t have let it get this bad in the first place.” You say.
After this remark, Brenda begins to get a little annoyed, which of course means she makes even more mistakes.
“Brenda, come on I know you’re better than this! Focus!”
“I am!”
“Well prove it!”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m not the fucking lord of war that you are!”
“You don’t need to be me, you just need to be an Eternal!”
“What the hell for? The Empire is fucking dead and we’ve just been upkeeping a parody of it for the past fifteen years! I don’t even know what I’m doing trying to run this fucking country anymore! I never wanted this! I…I just wanted…to spend the rest of my…(sob) life with Roldan…(sob)”
At this point Brenda sits down on the floor and completely breaks down in tears. You can honestly say you weren’t expecting this.
“Brenda…”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be the Eternal you are. I can’t even be the Eternal that Edgar is. I lost that edge when I fell in love. I wasn’t supposed to and neither was Roldan! If we hadn’t been so weak, he’d still be alive and…”
“Dammit Brenda, you can’t keep blaming yourself for his death! Your relationship and whatever feelings you had for each other had nothing to do with some insane asshole blowing him up. What’s bringing this all on? Edgar? I think you’re worrying about him more than you need to. I mean for all we know he just wants play catch up and even if he doesn’t we’re going to be ready for him and his army of half assed Eternals…”
Brenda shakes her head and tries to compose herself.
“No, it’s not Edgar. It’s you.”
“Me? What do you mean? Out with it.”
“I…I think I’ve developed the same kind of feelings for you that I did for Roldan.” Brenda says.
Another surprise for you today, not exactly the best timing with all that’s coming up soon.
“…Uh…I don’t know what to say…I guess…I mean…are you sure?” you ask.
“I think I’d know. It’s been building up slowly over time. At first I was just happy to have you around, another Eternal to talk to. Sure you weren’t Roldan, and you’re certainly less fun loving than he could be, but there was that familiar bond. Then when you were so instrumental in helping to keep order in this place, I remembered why we all admired and respected you as a leader so much back in the day. It also began to remind me of how Roldan and I complimented each other in keeping order here during the days of the Empire. You were bringing the memories of those good old days back and making them reality again.”
“You probably just still miss him and are transferring those feelings.”
“I thought so too, which is why I didn’t do anything before. In fact I was feeling guilty about it, I thought I was dishonoring Roldan’s memory. Wasn’t until I heard about your close call with death during your campaign in the east that I knew it was more than mere transference. I was so happy that you were still alive, I nearly told you how I felt when you came back. I just didn’t think you suffered from such weaknesses and I wanted to remain strong because your respect was more important than my silly attractions.”
You don’t have much experience with any of this, but you need to say or do something make Brenda feel better.
“Brenda, you’ll always have my respect. As for anything between us, I never thought about it because I figured you’d always be carrying a torch for Roldan. I’m not opposed to the idea however. I mean we do have much in common and contrary to popular belief, I’m not quite the unfeeling golem that most consider me to be. I do have feelings, even if I don’t show them a lot and I would’ve thought you knew that.”
“I know you do, but you’re in control of them or you at least direct them better. I worry that if by some chance something would to occur between us, that you would lose your edge. I don’t want you to become weaker or distracted because of me. You’re needed as you are now.”
You’re about to reply, and then there’s a knock on the door.
“Sorry to disturb your training, but I’ve been told that the leader of the Eternal Dominion has been spotted at the northern border. He’s on a horse by himself, and several soldiers are already escorting him to Fort Glory. Did you want to meet him there or did you want us to escort him all the way to the capital?” a voice asks from behind the door.
The pair of you didn’t expect him this soon, let alone be in the middle of the discussion you’re having now. You’d probably both like to wrap this up before having to focus on Edgar, though the question is if you’d have enough time to do it anyway.
The screams of the belzak deserters begging for their lives and death squeals fall on deaf ears…or rather ear as the case may be now.
Eventually you manage to make it to the medic who immediately starts administering an antidote to you. You’re out of commission and very sick for a couple of days, but after which time you’re at least able to stand without feeling ill anymore. Your chewed off ear isn’t an excessive problem as you can still hear relatively well, still you do feel a sense of “loss.”
In any event the expansionist eastern campaign is over. All the tribes have been either wiped out or subdued to the point of submissiveness. Brenda will be relieved to hear it, as you know she was always concerned about having most of the veteran troops there instead of the northern borders. She’ll also be pleased that there weren’t many losses overall.
You’re satisfied with the results, though now you’re just wondering what you’re going to do with yourself again.
Year 50
“Our defenses are strong in the north. Have been for years. No need to be concerned about that.” You say.
“I know, but this is a big thing. I mean after all these years now Edgar wants to speak with us?” Brenda asks.
“My reports say he’s gotten a lot more organized and isn’t dealing with anarchy in his ranks anymore. He even re-conquered the old core lands of the Empire. It could be that he wants to see how strong we really are. His message said he’s coming alone without anyone else.”
“Well, maybe that’s a good sign. Maybe he just wants to talk.”
“Or maybe he wants to kill us both to a great show of strength so Nalin will capitulate with minimum fuss.” You point out.
“Yeah…there is that tactic. (sigh) Well I guess we all knew this day was coming. Guess I better practice my combat skills., which sadly have probably declined from lack of use. Would you spar with me?”
“Of course. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re not that out of practice.” You remark.
You and Brenda go to her personal training room where you and her prepare to spar. Brenda makes a few remarks about this being like the old days when Mistress made you fight each other. Brenda mentions the time when you broke Gerald’s arm and Kane’s nose when she pit them both against you.
“Yeah, I remember that. That was my first match. Mistress had it in for me after I begged for my life. I was always pretty aggressive after that, well at least until Gruz told me I should master my anger better, and I did…anyway let’s get on with this.” You say not really wanting to think about those days or any of the names mentioned.
Brenda isn’t quite as skilled as you remember her to be and she has indeed let her talents decline. Then again as you remember she always was more skilled with the bow. Something you never quite got the hang of yourself. You begin to get more in a “drill instructor mode” and shout commands at her to watch her techniques.
“Alright, alright, I told you I was out of practice.” She shouts back.
“Well you shouldn’t have let it get this bad in the first place.” You say.
After this remark, Brenda begins to get a little annoyed, which of course means she makes even more mistakes.
“Brenda, come on I know you’re better than this! Focus!”
“I am!”
“Well prove it!”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m not the fucking lord of war that you are!”
“You don’t need to be me, you just need to be an Eternal!”
“What the hell for? The Empire is fucking dead and we’ve just been upkeeping a parody of it for the past fifteen years! I don’t even know what I’m doing trying to run this fucking country anymore! I never wanted this! I…I just wanted…to spend the rest of my…(sob) life with Roldan…(sob)”
At this point Brenda sits down on the floor and completely breaks down in tears. You can honestly say you weren’t expecting this.
“Brenda…”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be the Eternal you are. I can’t even be the Eternal that Edgar is. I lost that edge when I fell in love. I wasn’t supposed to and neither was Roldan! If we hadn’t been so weak, he’d still be alive and…”
“Dammit Brenda, you can’t keep blaming yourself for his death! Your relationship and whatever feelings you had for each other had nothing to do with some insane asshole blowing him up. What’s bringing this all on? Edgar? I think you’re worrying about him more than you need to. I mean for all we know he just wants play catch up and even if he doesn’t we’re going to be ready for him and his army of half assed Eternals…”
Brenda shakes her head and tries to compose herself.
“No, it’s not Edgar. It’s you.”
“Me? What do you mean? Out with it.”
“I…I think I’ve developed the same kind of feelings for you that I did for Roldan.” Brenda says.
Another surprise for you today, not exactly the best timing with all that’s coming up soon.
“…Uh…I don’t know what to say…I guess…I mean…are you sure?” you ask.
“I think I’d know. It’s been building up slowly over time. At first I was just happy to have you around, another Eternal to talk to. Sure you weren’t Roldan, and you’re certainly less fun loving than he could be, but there was that familiar bond. Then when you were so instrumental in helping to keep order in this place, I remembered why we all admired and respected you as a leader so much back in the day. It also began to remind me of how Roldan and I complimented each other in keeping order here during the days of the Empire. You were bringing the memories of those good old days back and making them reality again.”
“You probably just still miss him and are transferring those feelings.”
“I thought so too, which is why I didn’t do anything before. In fact I was feeling guilty about it, I thought I was dishonoring Roldan’s memory. Wasn’t until I heard about your close call with death during your campaign in the east that I knew it was more than mere transference. I was so happy that you were still alive, I nearly told you how I felt when you came back. I just didn’t think you suffered from such weaknesses and I wanted to remain strong because your respect was more important than my silly attractions.”
You don’t have much experience with any of this, but you need to say or do something make Brenda feel better.
“Brenda, you’ll always have my respect. As for anything between us, I never thought about it because I figured you’d always be carrying a torch for Roldan. I’m not opposed to the idea however. I mean we do have much in common and contrary to popular belief, I’m not quite the unfeeling golem that most consider me to be. I do have feelings, even if I don’t show them a lot and I would’ve thought you knew that.”
“I know you do, but you’re in control of them or you at least direct them better. I worry that if by some chance something would to occur between us, that you would lose your edge. I don’t want you to become weaker or distracted because of me. You’re needed as you are now.”
You’re about to reply, and then there’s a knock on the door.
“Sorry to disturb your training, but I’ve been told that the leader of the Eternal Dominion has been spotted at the northern border. He’s on a horse by himself, and several soldiers are already escorting him to Fort Glory. Did you want to meet him there or did you want us to escort him all the way to the capital?” a voice asks from behind the door.
The pair of you didn’t expect him this soon, let alone be in the middle of the discussion you’re having now. You’d probably both like to wrap this up before having to focus on Edgar, though the question is if you’d have enough time to do it anyway.