Eternal

Year 101

“Mortos? Where the hell is that?” you ask Brenda from your bed.
“Apparently very far away. A nation of necromancers from what I’ve heard.” Brenda says.
“Well that’s certainly one way of keeping the population in line. Make them all undead slaves. Wonder why the Empire never thought of that. So wait apparently Eternal Vigilance is popular there?”
“Sounds like it. And when I say popular, I mean very well liked, as opposed to causing heated debates in the Naleen classrooms about whether or not you’re a strong leader who does what is necessary or a complete ruthless bastard who needs to be overthrown.”
“I can’t be both?” you say jokingly.
“They say the same thing about me as well, still we’ve got to be doing something right. The Eternal Dominion collapsed into warring fiefdoms, the Felkan Kingdom suffered a revolution and executed their royals, I even heard the few beacons of civilization in Rask have been slowly getting snuffed out.”
“Yeah, the only place that seems to be doing okay now is old Nalin and that’s run by fucking kobolds now. Oh well at least they’re friendly with us.”
“Afraid of us probably. Their predecessors have told their children so many stories about the big bad Eternals for decades that they didn’t even need to read a book about us, assuming they even can.”
“Well there is that.” You say and then have a coughing fit. Brenda asks if you need anything, but in-between coughs you say you’d fine. Eventually you stop and feel like another part of your strength has left you forever.

“Ugh, shit. If the critics still want to overthrow me then they better hurry up, because nature is going to beat them to the punch.”

Brenda gets a bit quiet at that last statement, you don’t mean to upset her, but you’ve got to be realistic at this stage.

“Brenda, I love you.” You say.
“And I love you.” She says back and squeezes your hand.

For a moment the two of you are just silent for a while. You’re were getting tired anyway, but the both of you don’t really need to speak to communicate. You know each other better than any two people could. You’ve been through a lot together and this is will be your final journey with her.

As you begin to get sleepy, you surprise Brenda by making a small chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” she asks.
“Captain Gruz…he said I would outlive everyone. I’m glad to have proved him wrong.” You say and give Brenda a smile. She manages to smile back through the tears.

Life is slipping away now. This your final battle against an opponent who has stalked you for over a century.

“For the Empire…” you whisper as your last battle cry and finally succumb to eternal sleep.

Your funeral is a big deal. All of Naleen comes out for it, and there is a lot military marching, saluting, and all of that. Various officials give several speeches in your honor about your deeds and accomplishments. Brenda says a few words, but your death has been an emotional drain on her and she saves her strength to get through the day.

You’re ultimately placed in a fancy tomb with nice statues of you and Brenda in your “warrior prime” just inside the doorway of it.

A couple months later Brenda joins you in death and she is placed in the same tomb by your side where upon it is sealed, shutting the pair of you in darkness forever.

Your place in history is remembered best in the nation of Naleen. Not always fondly, but as always you’re consistently still held in high regard by military types if only due to your combat skills and tactics. In a way you do indeed outlive the “new eternals.” Long after the last of them have nearly killed each other or died in petty wars, you, Brenda and even the others of the first generation Eternals are still talked about the most and remembered through your book.

The nation of Naleen goes through various changes of government systems as decades pass by. When it’s more autocratic, you and Brenda are usually looked up as an example of how to run things. When the government is less autocratic you and Brenda are used as examples of the “bad old days.”

Ultimately when it too ceases to be (Conquered by the great kobold/usksha alliance three hundred years later) you still have a presence on history as your writings have long found their way into far off lands where scholars and academics still debate over them. The kobolds and usksha on the other hand stay far away from the graveyard ruins of your tomb, fearing it to be cursed and believing that disturbance will cause the vengeful spirits of the Eternals to rise up.

Whatever history decides to paint your character at any given point in time is constantly in flux, but one thing is certain, you were and always shall be ETERNAL.