Jackal Among Snakes

Epilogue 1.4: Sword and Shield

I worked as a mercenary long before I had even heard of Argrave. I fought in a few of King Felipe III’s wars of conquest, but decided to veer away from that path when I came to the conclusion that he had no regard for the lives of his men. Most other armies that I’d served in had that perspective. Levies and mercenaries were not knights—for lords and kings, they were a resource to be used and expended until consumed by the ravages of war. I was given special disregard whenever they discovered I had some elven ancestry.

I saw a hint of something different even before the end of the calamity. I simply had no idea what it might grow into. There were two that did, however.

Galamon the Great, Imperial General of the Twelve Armies, Sword of the Empire

After the war, the army established by the Kingdom of Vasquer essentially ceased to exist.

Posthumously-named Shriekers—servants of Gerechtigkeit that used sound against their enemies—ravaged their ranks. Essentially any battalion without magic support was entirely eradicated. I had the good fortune to serve under an elf named Grimalt (a Veidimen and former royal guard who is now in contention for the role of imperial general, whenever Galamon elects to relinquish the role). His magics were the only thing that preserved my life during that battle.

Before the calamity, I would place our numbers at between fifteen to twenty thousand. After? Elenore reported that only 978 soldiers reported back to duty. That figure includes both those who chose to stop fighting, and those who tragically weren’t given the luxury of choice. Suffice it to say that this fighting force was roughly equivalent to a baron in the former kingdom of Vasquer.

Galamon grew that to a standing army of 120,000 soldiers, with a far, far larger number of men able to be deployed in wartime. Not a one of these men were drafted, conscripted, or otherwise levied.

I spoke to Galamon many times but fought under his command much more. While he lacked the effortless charisma of Orion, he nevertheless inspired an undying loyalty and respect from his men by virtue of his actions. He never gave an order that any of us thought that he wouldn’t do himself. Often a soldier would find themselves aided in a task by a stoic Veidimen, only to later realize that man was their general, not another soldier.

Galamon brought with him from Veiden ideas that disseminated throughout the army—that of discipline, of camaraderie, of a strict hierarchy from which all-encompassing strategies could play out. He brought the notion that a soldier was not merely something to be thrown against other soldiers, but one of many people encompassing the army. It was virtually a brotherhood.

Though he taught the basics of combat, far more important was the idea that soldiers and commanders working in tandem were infinitely more effective than a well-skilled combatant. That same principle could be applied to magic, even—and apply it he did. Each of the twelve imperial armies has a robust battalion of magic users, whose collaborative endeavors often astounded even the emperor and empress.

every road, from the southernmost tip of the Burnt Desert to the frigid north, was laid by a soldier. We were overseen by engineers and architects right alongside our own

come

years, Galamon endeavored to make the army seem a life path just as valid as tilling the land. As with its predecessor, volunteers to the army were paid. Service guaranteed validation for future applications for land settlement, alongside high subsidies. Access to healers was guaranteed, both for

unpleasant aspects mitigated. The punishment for desertion was no longer death, with the exception of desertion in consort with treason. Death during service provided immense compensation for the families of

was very seldom that any of us felt we were taking orders from someone unfit and unqualified. Each and all of us watched the best among us rise up and take command, and earn honors commensurate with their efforts on and off

the empress, and our general bestow a Sword of Esteemed Valor upon a man I called friend—a man I knew was deserving of such an honor. The respect with which we were treated slowly permeated the society that we had our hand in building. None fought harder for

from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to

in an

unique tactics. Wyverns, for instance, became a standard battalion under his eye. His mastery of logistics is too astounding to be quickly summarized. His use of magic in battle is so potent I struggle to imagine a foe capable of defeating them. So

as an exemplar of the

Grandmaster of the Knights of the Sun, Shield of the

brother to the emperor would continue his role as protector of the imperial family. That was true, in

often declared his children ‘a gift for my faith,’ and

aim expanded far beyond

grew, that became an evident weakness. We were trained to fight enemies, follow orders, and complete the objectives the imperial court desired

of the Sun in 2AC after receiving permission from the court. He petitioned in 1AC, but his eccentric request to for those in his order—including himself—to be designated ‘Slaves of the People,’ and to be legally enslaved, caused some

system entirely. Militias and city guards were notoriously corrupt, acting more so by the whim of some city guard

the Empty, was virtually his right-hand. Ruleo and Georgina, both of whom fought for Felipe III, repaired their tattered reputation in service to the people. Veladrien of Jast, or ‘Stain,’ joined with the express intent of becoming a corrupt guard, only to reform beneath the enormity of Orion’s good nature. One of them wore a boar’s mask, and became an idol