Prologue:
Thousands of years ago, in the world of Legarth, the Empire of Acray ruled supreme. Having been the first nation that formed when scattered tribes banded together, Acray quickly started to flourish, colonizing new territory, subduing other tribes into submission, and expanding their influence. However, as the years passed, the emperors became more and more ruthless in trying to maintain absolute power over the empire. As more draconian laws were established, the frontier of the empire became more and more discontent, with murmurs of rebellion slowly being spread. However, after the emperor personally ordered the massacre of protestors against one of these laws, the largest frontier town, Pinestall, declared their independence from Acray.
Like dominos, towns large and small followed suit, quickly banding together and forming a new nation named Ugria. Acray immediately declared war, sending the bulk of their military to crush the upstart nation. To their surprise, Ugria provided stiff resistance. After a year of fighting, and tens of thousands of deaths to their military, Acray’s citizens began to riot, demanding an end to the war. The emperor was forced to agree to a peace treaty, accepting Ugria’s independence.
In the years that followed, several smaller nations declared their independence from Acray, chipping away at their territory. However, Acray was forced to allow this, lest they were to go to war against Ugria again, who immediately guaranteed the independence of any nation breaking away from Acray.
Centuries later, these two superpowers continued their long cold war until the ruler of Ugria was assassinated in a diplomatic visit to Acray. War was immediately declared, with Ugria vowing to completely destroy Acray. The war was long and bloody, with millions of casualties for both nations. As the economies of both nations began to crack under the relentless burden of funding a war and dwindling civilian workers, history repeated itself in the southern reaches of both nations. Mythmire, a small town who had been squeezed of every possible resource to fund the war, declared their independence and urged neighboring cities to follow suit. Within days, the nation of Eshal was founded.
Unable to fight a war on two fronts, Acray and Ugria agreed to a ceasefire and formed a united front against Eshal, desperate to keep their respective territories. However, as they invaded Eshal, a young man, who had graduated from Ugria’s top military academy, took command of the small army of men they were able to scrape together. Through masterful tactics, the armies of Acray and Eshal were repelled during every invasion attempt. Finally on the brink of collapse, the two nations finally agreed to a lasting peace and acknowledged Eshal’s independence.
Three hundred years later, the situation has remained the same. Acray and its emperor are frustrated, believing they’re the rightful ruler of the world and that both nations should be destroyed should the situation present itself. Ugria and Eshal, despite the initial hostility to each other, have smoothed over relations and have signed multiple trade agreements with each other. While not exactly allies, they realize that should Acray attack, they’re stronger together. It’s during this period of relative peace that gears of war slowly begin to turn again.
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Chapter 1:
A young man was taking a stroll through a large garden, a daily ritual for the man as he prepared for the stress the day would inevitably throw at him. The smell of the flowers, the warm glow of the sun as it slowly rose over the horizon, and the sound of a small creek that meandered through the garden had a very calming effect. As he looked at the flowers, he heard some footsteps behind him. Looking back, he noticed another man walking up to him: his top advisor.
“Pardon the interruption, your Excellency.”
The man smiled and shook his head. “No need to apologize. Though considering you’re here this early in the morning must mean it isn’t anything good.”
“You…are correct, Jordan. Last night, the representative of the Delerin region received a letter from General Killian, demanding that war be declared against Acray. He said that he refuses to stand idly by as Acray continues to disregard our territorial integrity.”
Jordan sighed and shook his head. “Killian has shown time and time again that he’s a tactical genius and has the best interests of Eshal at heart. However, he’s a military supremacist, preferring military action over diplomatic intervention. I told him just last week that a war between us would inevitably draw in Ugria and create a third major war that could dwarf the previous two. The Acrayan diplomat has assured me that the small squad made a genuine mistake, and he’s been nothing but truthful from what I can tell after he was assigned here. Send him a letter reiterating my intent to solve this diplomatically, but to remain at the ready should he be needed. Hopefully that’ll keep him satisfied for the time being.”
The man nodded and walked away. As soon as the man was out of earshot, Jordan sighed once again and looked up at the quickly brightening sky. “Can’t even get through my walk without Killian barking. He’s a good man…but…” Jordan shook his head. “I’ll just have to trust that Killian will see sense and drop the issue.”
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Two hours later, at the Eshal Military Academy: West Branch, a young man stood at attention with the rest of his class as an elderly man walked up to a small stage. The elder looked over the rows of cadets, smiling. “Well look at that, five years later and you’re all finally graduating. Considering you were among the worst classes ever at the beginning of your time here, seeing you all make the great strides that you have certainly shows how resilient and determined you all are, when you put your minds to it.”
The man continued to look over the crowd and nodded. “I have no doubt that the military would be thrilled to have your talents among the top brass, coordinating with the various branches and militias to protect us against all threats, both external and internal. Now, I’m not one to draw out speeches, so without further ado, I hereby declare the two hundred fifty third class graduated! Congratulations!”
There was a loud whoop through the several rows of graduates before they started to slowly scatter, going to their families to celebrate their recent graduation with them. The young man, however, slowly looked around and soaked in the atmosphere. At last, I’ve graduated! I can finally return home with my head held high! …well at least that’s what I would be doing if it weren’t for this…”
The man took a quick look at a small piece of paper he was handed at first light, telling him that immediately after graduation he would be assigned command of the small militia forces in the Lashrial Woods, in the far north of Eshal. Looking back at his surroundings, he did one last check for his family, but as he expected, there was no one there.
As he was about to make his way back to his bunk to gather the few belongings he had, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw one of the few friendly faces at the academy, and who he would consider to be his best and only friend. “Thinking about leaving without saying goodbye, are you Axton?”
Axton smiled and shrugged. “You know me, I’m usually the first one to leave these sorts of gatherings. What about you, Gage? Shouldn’t you be celebrating with your family?”
“They can wait for a few minutes. There’s no guarantee we’ll see each other again for a long time so I had to at least say ‘congratulations’ to you.”
Axton nodded. “Thanks, and congratulations to you too. We both had it rough with basic. Not sure if I would have made it through that hell if it weren’t for you.”
Gage chuckled and nodded. “That was rather grueling, wasn’t it? I never want to eat a gourmet dinner of worms, cicadas, and rain water ever again.”
Axton looked disgusted at the thought of that. “Yeah…never again. Anyways, I’ve heard you’re being assigned to second regiment.”
“Yeah, but I’m not looking forward to it. All we’ll be doing is essentially police work in the capital. Not exactly the definition of excitement.”
“Don’t go complaining about having little to do. I’d rather do that than rough it in the frontier. Nothing there except a few small villages and a small fort. Hasn’t seen any use ever since it’s been built.”
“At least you’ll get to enjoy the relaxing sounds of nature.” Gage patted Axton’s shoulder again. “But I know you’re wanting to get going. I’ll be sure to write to you whenever I can.”
“And I’ll write to you as well. Thanks for being there for me when no one else was. Once we retire, I’ll be expecting a nice, long drinking session with you.”
“It’s a deal. See you later then.”
Gage and Axton hugged before Gage returned to his family. Axton took one last look at his friend before walking towards the barrack. After walking to his small bunk, he gathered the three bags of belongings he had and made his way out of the academy. Making a short trek to just outside the academy, he walked to an open carriage. “Can you take me to Fort Pearlstone?”
The driver nodded. “You got it. We should be able to get there by early tomorrow morning if we ride through the night, but that’ll cost extra.”
Axton gave the driver a slightly worried look as he began to open a small pouch. The driver laughed. “I’m just jokin with ya. The academy has already paid me for any trip a graduate like you would need, express automatically included. I’ll get ya there in a jiffy. Now just relax and let me do the rest of the work. You definitely need your rest after all the hardships you had to go through in order to pass.”
Axton sat down in the carriage and looked at the driver. “I take it this isn’t your first time taking graduates to their destinations?”
“Not at all. I’ve been a carriage driver for ten years, and every year I’ve come here to take recruits. The farthest we’ve gone is to the far eastern part of Eshal, near the Ushuk Desert.”
“Isn’t that about a five days journey?”
“Six actually. Needless to say, both that recruit and I were relieved when the trip ended.”
The driver urged the horse onwards. Soon, the carriage was making its way down a well-traveled road. Axton made himself comfortable, stretching his legs and looking at the small glade in front of them. As the carriage made its way down the road, the rhythmic bumps and sounds of the horse slowly made him lose focus, and slowly drift him off to sleep.
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