Eternal
You left the Empire behind because you no longer believed in it. Nalin has become a kind of substitute for it though and ever since Brenda died, you’ve tried to make it even more like the Empire. This may be the closest you’re going to get back to the “good old days” and with age ever creeping up on you, you need to make the best of things and not wallow in indecision or hesitation. You’re the last of the real Eternals and you’re going to act as such.
Nalin WILL become the new Empire.
After a few months of putting out some of the backlash of how you handled the plague, you make your plans for expansion. You also fully intend overseeing it personally.
The first round of conquests go well. The disorganized Eternals and their slaves don’t give you too much trouble; indeed some of the population welcomes your intervention. Most of the new generations of Eternals have been so excessively cruel that their subjects are willing to accept any other tyrant as an improvement, even if it’s another Eternal.
Eventually you do hit a brick wall of sorts, the remaining Eternals realize they need to unite against you. The Eternal Dominion is more advanced technology wise (having stolen ideas and equipment from the Felkan Kingdom), though through your initial conquests, you’ve made steps to try to close the gap in the availability of gunpower-based weapons for your own soldiers.
Still, even with the current stand off with the Eternal Dominion, you victories restore some of the appreciation of your citizens in Nalin who are probably just glad your violence is focused on others for a change.
The balance of power has been shifted enough for the Felkan Kingdom to take greater notice of you too, especially since now your territory borders some of their own. They send one of their own to speak to you, while you’re currently at a conquered ED Fort making plans for your next attack. To your surprise one of their own, is also one of your own too, or as least was at one time.
“Warrick?” you ask. He’s obviously older, has a missing eye and no hair, but you still recognize him despite your near disbelief.
“Yes, it’s me…see you’re missing a few body parts as well.” He says causing you to touch where your ear used to be. Sometimes you even forget that it’s missing.
“Well you know how it is…but I thought you were dead! I mean I’d heard…how is it that you’re working for the Felkan Kingdom now?”
“That’s a long story, but let’s just say I found my own path, like I see you found yours. Which is sort of why I’m here.”
Warrick mentions to you that the Felkan Kingdom has been expecting an attack from the Eternal Dominion for more than a decade, even after the disappearance of their leader Edgar. However, now that the ED seems to be no longer a potential threat they’re worried about Nalin invading, perhaps even more so since you seem to be a more organized potential threat.
“Well, you can tell your king or whoever, that I’m not interested in the Felkan Kingdom. The Nalin Empire isn’t in a position to attack such a powerful nation at this time.”
“At this time…that implies that you might later.”
“Heh, well you might be right, just as I might believe that you’re planning on attack us.”
“True, and while you probably will rightfully remain suspicious, the Felkan Kingdom has no interest in conquest. Especially not right now. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re still dealing with a massive gnoll invasion that hit our land years ago. Fighting another war isn’t something we want right now.”
“Hmm, you’re right, you shouldn’t be giving vital intelligence away like that. This new information gives me an advantage. Knowing that you aren’t as powerful as I once thought, I may very well attack you now.”
“Well I suppose you’ll do what you have to then, but if you’re still the leader I know you to be, you won’t. You don’t want to fight a war on two fronts either.” Warrick says in an unconcerned tone.
“Ha ha! And you would be correct! But enough about power struggles, let’s talk for a moment just as Eternals.”
Warrick’s tale of how he came to be in the service of the Felkan Kingdom is a little sketchy. He mentions that during the last days of the Empire he was still under orders to perform his usual sabotaging missions. He says that he managed to integrate himself in their favor by rescuing some of the royal family who were apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. Children actually. He says he doesn’t remember all of it exactly though except there was a big explosion and the next thing he knew when he woke up is that he was missing an eye and was given a job. Already knowing how the Empire was beginning to crumble he accepted.
You proceed to tell Warrick about your time since the Empire fell. He listens intently as you go on about the various thoughts you’ve gone through since that time. You mention Edgar to him, which interests him greatly. He says the Felkan government assumed that he was killed by one of his own men in a power struggle. He asks if you ever found his body or any evidence of his death. You tell him you never did, for all you know he still got killed by one of his own men, assuming he had managed to get back to the Eternal Dominion.
You also mention Brenda. Warrick displays a bit of sadness when he hears the whole story, and you sort of relive some of that sadness as well. It hasn’t been that long since she died after all.
“So, we’re really the last two left then?” Warrick says.
“Looks that way, though to be honest I thought you’d been dead for years. Glad to see you’re still around.”
“Even if we may be enemies one day?”
“We’re Eternals. The originals. We’ll always have a bond that nobody else will and if we should end up on opposite ends of the battlefield it still doesn’t change that. Assuming that day ever comes and we’re both still in fighting condition, seek me out as I shall seek you out and we’ll settle things in the only way they can be.”
Warrick nods at your proposal and is silent for a moment as if deep in thought. He then eventually gets up and tells you he has to leave. He mentions that he’ll tell his superiors that the Nalin Empire has no hostile intentions towards the Felkan Kingdom at this time.
The pair of you shake hands and part company, possibly knowing if you ever do see each other again, it won’t be on friendly terms. Still, there is a small bit of you that was happy to see an old comrade again.
You return to the business of waging war on the pathetic remains of the Eternal Dominion.
Year 65
“Sir, you are incredibly lucky that the sword didn’t hit any vital organs and just pierced the top layer of muscle.” Lieutenant Davis says as he applies a mixture of some salve to the wound.
“Agh! Yeah, lucky me. Just patch me up, I want to finish off these wannabes once and for all.” You say wincing at the burning sensation of the ointment working to seal the wound.
“General, victory is assured, is it really necessary for you personally be involved in the combat? Your military expertise is better served as the mind. Colonel Gemma says she’s got a handle on things.”
“Yeah, well if she’s got such a handle on things, why did I have to save her ass at the Battle of Julk Pass? And what’s this shit about my military expertise is better served with my mind? You’re lucky I don’t have you executed for saying shit like that! I was killing werebeasts, orcs and other shit you ain’t even heard about before you were even a twinkle in your parent’s eyes! I’m still every bit of a warrior as I… ah shit! My fucking head!” you suddenly shout and lie back down on the table.
A couple of other medical types apply something cold to your head saying that you need to rest. The plate they put in your head from the bullet wound needs to be “adjusted.” You grudgingly comply and close your eyes.
You hate this weakness. Old age, the only enemy you can’t outmaneuver, regardless of how hard you try. Death isn’t something you’ve ever been afraid of, indeed part of you never expected to even live this long. But death by old age? Natural causes? That’s something you never even seriously considered before, even if it was in the back of your mind.
If you continue your insistence on believing you’re still in your twenties, you’re going to die on the battlefield. You know that, and you’re okay with that idea, but part of you wonders if it’s just foolish to throw your life away over being stubborn when you could still live and do more with you life. The Nalin Empire is thriving and you’ve almost conquered the Eternal Dominion which means you effectively restored most of the old Empire. A feat Edgar was probably trying to accomplish no doubt, but much like him, if you died suddenly, who knows how long it would last before it crumbled.
If you want to leave any sort of real legacy, you would most likely have to step back now and begin to make preparations for a line of succession and you’d need a lot of time to do that to sort out all the details. This would mean you’d no longer be able to take such a personal approach to war again. Your days as a warrior would effectively be over and you’d be back to the drudgery of bureaucratic rulership again.
You have to take a long look at yourself and decide now, if that’s what your fate is going to be.
Nalin WILL become the new Empire.
After a few months of putting out some of the backlash of how you handled the plague, you make your plans for expansion. You also fully intend overseeing it personally.
The first round of conquests go well. The disorganized Eternals and their slaves don’t give you too much trouble; indeed some of the population welcomes your intervention. Most of the new generations of Eternals have been so excessively cruel that their subjects are willing to accept any other tyrant as an improvement, even if it’s another Eternal.
Eventually you do hit a brick wall of sorts, the remaining Eternals realize they need to unite against you. The Eternal Dominion is more advanced technology wise (having stolen ideas and equipment from the Felkan Kingdom), though through your initial conquests, you’ve made steps to try to close the gap in the availability of gunpower-based weapons for your own soldiers.
Still, even with the current stand off with the Eternal Dominion, you victories restore some of the appreciation of your citizens in Nalin who are probably just glad your violence is focused on others for a change.
The balance of power has been shifted enough for the Felkan Kingdom to take greater notice of you too, especially since now your territory borders some of their own. They send one of their own to speak to you, while you’re currently at a conquered ED Fort making plans for your next attack. To your surprise one of their own, is also one of your own too, or as least was at one time.
“Warrick?” you ask. He’s obviously older, has a missing eye and no hair, but you still recognize him despite your near disbelief.
“Yes, it’s me…see you’re missing a few body parts as well.” He says causing you to touch where your ear used to be. Sometimes you even forget that it’s missing.
“Well you know how it is…but I thought you were dead! I mean I’d heard…how is it that you’re working for the Felkan Kingdom now?”
“That’s a long story, but let’s just say I found my own path, like I see you found yours. Which is sort of why I’m here.”
Warrick mentions to you that the Felkan Kingdom has been expecting an attack from the Eternal Dominion for more than a decade, even after the disappearance of their leader Edgar. However, now that the ED seems to be no longer a potential threat they’re worried about Nalin invading, perhaps even more so since you seem to be a more organized potential threat.
“Well, you can tell your king or whoever, that I’m not interested in the Felkan Kingdom. The Nalin Empire isn’t in a position to attack such a powerful nation at this time.”
“At this time…that implies that you might later.”
“Heh, well you might be right, just as I might believe that you’re planning on attack us.”
“True, and while you probably will rightfully remain suspicious, the Felkan Kingdom has no interest in conquest. Especially not right now. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re still dealing with a massive gnoll invasion that hit our land years ago. Fighting another war isn’t something we want right now.”
“Hmm, you’re right, you shouldn’t be giving vital intelligence away like that. This new information gives me an advantage. Knowing that you aren’t as powerful as I once thought, I may very well attack you now.”
“Well I suppose you’ll do what you have to then, but if you’re still the leader I know you to be, you won’t. You don’t want to fight a war on two fronts either.” Warrick says in an unconcerned tone.
“Ha ha! And you would be correct! But enough about power struggles, let’s talk for a moment just as Eternals.”
Warrick’s tale of how he came to be in the service of the Felkan Kingdom is a little sketchy. He mentions that during the last days of the Empire he was still under orders to perform his usual sabotaging missions. He says that he managed to integrate himself in their favor by rescuing some of the royal family who were apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. Children actually. He says he doesn’t remember all of it exactly though except there was a big explosion and the next thing he knew when he woke up is that he was missing an eye and was given a job. Already knowing how the Empire was beginning to crumble he accepted.
You proceed to tell Warrick about your time since the Empire fell. He listens intently as you go on about the various thoughts you’ve gone through since that time. You mention Edgar to him, which interests him greatly. He says the Felkan government assumed that he was killed by one of his own men in a power struggle. He asks if you ever found his body or any evidence of his death. You tell him you never did, for all you know he still got killed by one of his own men, assuming he had managed to get back to the Eternal Dominion.
You also mention Brenda. Warrick displays a bit of sadness when he hears the whole story, and you sort of relive some of that sadness as well. It hasn’t been that long since she died after all.
“So, we’re really the last two left then?” Warrick says.
“Looks that way, though to be honest I thought you’d been dead for years. Glad to see you’re still around.”
“Even if we may be enemies one day?”
“We’re Eternals. The originals. We’ll always have a bond that nobody else will and if we should end up on opposite ends of the battlefield it still doesn’t change that. Assuming that day ever comes and we’re both still in fighting condition, seek me out as I shall seek you out and we’ll settle things in the only way they can be.”
Warrick nods at your proposal and is silent for a moment as if deep in thought. He then eventually gets up and tells you he has to leave. He mentions that he’ll tell his superiors that the Nalin Empire has no hostile intentions towards the Felkan Kingdom at this time.
The pair of you shake hands and part company, possibly knowing if you ever do see each other again, it won’t be on friendly terms. Still, there is a small bit of you that was happy to see an old comrade again.
You return to the business of waging war on the pathetic remains of the Eternal Dominion.
Year 65
“Sir, you are incredibly lucky that the sword didn’t hit any vital organs and just pierced the top layer of muscle.” Lieutenant Davis says as he applies a mixture of some salve to the wound.
“Agh! Yeah, lucky me. Just patch me up, I want to finish off these wannabes once and for all.” You say wincing at the burning sensation of the ointment working to seal the wound.
“General, victory is assured, is it really necessary for you personally be involved in the combat? Your military expertise is better served as the mind. Colonel Gemma says she’s got a handle on things.”
“Yeah, well if she’s got such a handle on things, why did I have to save her ass at the Battle of Julk Pass? And what’s this shit about my military expertise is better served with my mind? You’re lucky I don’t have you executed for saying shit like that! I was killing werebeasts, orcs and other shit you ain’t even heard about before you were even a twinkle in your parent’s eyes! I’m still every bit of a warrior as I… ah shit! My fucking head!” you suddenly shout and lie back down on the table.
A couple of other medical types apply something cold to your head saying that you need to rest. The plate they put in your head from the bullet wound needs to be “adjusted.” You grudgingly comply and close your eyes.
You hate this weakness. Old age, the only enemy you can’t outmaneuver, regardless of how hard you try. Death isn’t something you’ve ever been afraid of, indeed part of you never expected to even live this long. But death by old age? Natural causes? That’s something you never even seriously considered before, even if it was in the back of your mind.
If you continue your insistence on believing you’re still in your twenties, you’re going to die on the battlefield. You know that, and you’re okay with that idea, but part of you wonders if it’s just foolish to throw your life away over being stubborn when you could still live and do more with you life. The Nalin Empire is thriving and you’ve almost conquered the Eternal Dominion which means you effectively restored most of the old Empire. A feat Edgar was probably trying to accomplish no doubt, but much like him, if you died suddenly, who knows how long it would last before it crumbled.
If you want to leave any sort of real legacy, you would most likely have to step back now and begin to make preparations for a line of succession and you’d need a lot of time to do that to sort out all the details. This would mean you’d no longer be able to take such a personal approach to war again. Your days as a warrior would effectively be over and you’d be back to the drudgery of bureaucratic rulership again.
You have to take a long look at yourself and decide now, if that’s what your fate is going to be.