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Durellia. A game of Survival of the Fittest, where in this RPG you must fight for your character's very existance in a world where humans are a dying race, struggling against all odds against the rising power of the Vampires. It is your choice, do you wish to fight the evil for your homeland's pride? Or perhaps, you wish to be a Creature of the Night, aiding the Nemesis Clan in their quest for total dominance? Choose your destiny.
1. Shinji-Creed Nobutada
2. Lord Sukinahito
3. Mina Rose Nobutada
4. Sato Konji
5. Kyren Tomokashi
Best Fight:
Roku'Ziree
.vs.
Grimm Blackheart
Best Attack:
Mantis attacking the
Pirates in Overlook
Best Kill:
Quotes of the Month
Overall:
"You think you've got it so hard..."
"My mother was raped by a demon…she died after giving birth to me. Do I hate my father for raping her in the first place? Yes…I do. With all of my heart…because of my birth, my mother died. At least yours could still be alive you self centered bastard.."
- Tommy in
Shinji's 'Searching for Answers'
Emotional:
"You got what you wanted…the only thing that hurts me the most is the fact that what you wanted wasn’t…me…"
- Kyren in
'Pain and Suffering'
Angry:
"Hinata meant everything to me and now it’s like she’s dead to me. She would rather prefer to be with a blood-sucking parasite that lives off of the blood of humans instead of me! You can’t understand the RAGE I have consumed because of YOU!!!"
- Kyren in
Sato's 'I Love You'
Compassionate:
"So often do we worry about what may happen in the future, that we forget to worry about the present or our own happiness. I am overjoyed to see that, even after all you and your brother have been through, you’re not shutting yourself off from emotion as so many others around us have. You’re truly one of a kind, Mina Rose."
- Linca in
Mina's 'All This History'
Reflective:
"Back when we were on our own he would play the violin to help cheer me up when I was upset. It felt like when I cried, he cries the very music that he makes with the violin and it always cheered me up and lifted my spirit."
- Mina in
Shinji's 'Music of Nightfall'
The Quiet After « Thread Started on Apr 28, 2009, 4:38pm »
The Quiet After
The battle is won. Our opponent vanquished. As I walk from my employer’s command pavilion, I see his forces celebrating victory. They gather around fires, speaking of their deeds in battle. The deeds become greater as they drink the spirits issued by their quartermaster. The volume of their boasts rising as I walk through the encampment’s center and declining as I progress toward my company’s encampment.
Our employer is pleased with us, as well he should be. This victory was won with the blood of my forces. He has been generous in his payment of our services, with a bonus to those who were part of the feinting phalanx. Our overconfident opponent discovered too late the cost of employing inexperienced and undisciplined forces in the center of his advancing line. The battle was not as difficult as it might have been because of this strategic error. An error I took advantage of.
The voice of my sentry brings me back to the present. Giving the countersign I pass into my encampment. The fires between the orderly rows of tents are much smaller here. The moans of the wounded blend with quieter voices as they are tended. There is no shouting or boasting. Well acquainted with the business of war, my forces now work to account for equipment, repair gear and sharpen weapons for our return home.
Stopping at my quartermaster’s wagon, I leave instructions for the disposition of the payment and the bonuses and continue toward my command tent. But I am not ready to begin the tasks that wait for me there. Rather I turn toward the churned and stained earth of the battlefield.
Here it is quiet. No voices, no birds, not even the song of insects mar the quiet. There is no jingle of armor or clang of weapons, as anything that can be salvaged has already been taken from the field. The dead have been gathered and thick, black columns of smoke smudge the sky deepening into twilight. The only hint left of the sun is the red line on the horizon.
Red…how appropriate. If the light were better I would see the deep rusty stain of blood on the ground. The smell of old blood lingers in the air as I walk past the funeral pyres. Climbing a slight rise, I find a boulder suitable to sit on, and contemplate my role in this battle.
***
The campaign was not going well, and our adversary had the advantage of both size and geography working in his favor. He had played his cards well and used the standing strategy of my employer against him. My company was not being used to its best advantage, and if something weren’t done soon, my forces would be whittled away to nothing by virtue of the way they were being employed.
I was not going to let that happen, and just that morning, my scouts brought me the information I needed to suggest a strategy that would not only provide a means of ending the war, but also use my company to advantage. The strategy would not be accepted easily, given the intractable nature of my employer, and posed the highest risk to my own forces.
After a lengthy discussion with my experts to refine the strategy, I made my way to the pavilion of the Lord Martial, a place where it was made clear to me on a regular basis that I and mine were expendable resources and not altogether welcome. I was uncertain if he would even listen to my idea, but attrition drove me to boldness, and I addressed him directly, in front of his own cadre. [color=pink]“Lord Martial, our adversary has made a tactical error we may take advantage of.”
His eyes, the color of tempered steel turned toward me.
“Tell me.”
“His numbers may seem overwhelming, my Lord, but my scouts have discovered that he has deployed his more experienced forces to the flanks, leaving the center of his line relatively soft.
“As you say, his numbers are overwhelming. How does this work to my advantage?”
“The center of his line is undisciplined and inexperienced. If they were harassed, carefully teased, they will break and come to you.”
“How would this…harassment be accomplished?”
“By engaging and retreating in intervals.”
His commanders sputtered in outrage, ready to dismiss my suggestion as laughable. With a single gesture, he silenced them.
“My army does not retreat. We move forward, take ground and defend it.”
His fist clenched to emphasize his point.
“I understand that, my Lord. May I speak candidly with you?”
He nodded his consent and dismissed his captains.
“My Lord, our opponent understands your army’s modus opperandi very well. In fact, his entire offense is counting on your army behaving as it always does and in that way he expects to defeat you. My forces are not constrained by national pride, or by conventional tactics. My companies morale would not suffer in the giving of ground.”
“Do you mock me?”
His voice grew dangerously quiet and his gaze hardened.
“Not at all, my Lord. Heavy cavalry and pike lines are not suited for this sort of assault. Rather, you need light cavalry and archers to sting them to anger. My company is, unfortunately, ideal for this maneuver. If we can get them to break and chase us, then the flanks would have to pull behind them in a frontal assault, and you, in turn would be able to flank them.”
I could see his mind working through what I’d said. His army was geared to take and hold territory. The thought of strategically retreating would never even cross his mind. They would rather die to a soldier than to lose even an inch of taken ground, such was their pride. Likewise, our opponent would desire the national humiliation a retreat would cause.
“Your strategy is unconventional, and you are correct, my forces would not be well suited to prosecute this sort of assault. Their numbers are staggering, are you prepared for the kind of losses your company would sustain?”
“My company has employed this sort of strategy before. They know when to break and run in apparent disarray. Our opponent would like nothing better than to humiliate you in addition to defeating you. Likewise, my company is composed of light skirmishers, and specialists, and while they would account well for themselves in a stand up fight, that does not in any way take advantage of our flexibility or special skills. Given the strategies you’ve already heard, their numbers, as well as their inexperience and lack of discipline, I believe my casualty rate would actually be somewhat reduced by this course of action, and your casualty rate would be significantly reduced by luring them to a location of your choosing rather than you marching your way to them.”
“I had heard that you were unconventional in your approach and a brilliant strategist, which is why I persuaded my King to hire you. I was not aware that you would be willing to sacrifice your company in such a manner.”
“With all due respect, my Lord, I don’t see much difference. If we continue to fight this war as we have been fighting it, my company would be expended long before any hope of ending this conflict might arise. This way, my company can execute a strategy that not only uses their skills and expertise, but also affords them a better chance at surviving the war as a whole. Given that sort of option, wouldn’t you opt for the course of action that afforded your army the best chance of success and survival?”
“Let me consider your proposal. I’ll send for you when I’ve decided.”
I left the pavilion, and walked past a few of the dismissed advisors. I could feel the scorn of their gaze on my back. One of them muttered,
“I’m sure you scum will be dealt with quickly and with finality.”
Rather than giving him the satisfaction of a sting, I simply tossed my reply as I strode by.
“Let us hope your master isn’t similarly short sighted.”
I knew I’d hit my mark both from the huffing and puffing and from the condescending laughter behind me.
It only took an hour before a runner summoned me back to the Lord Martial’s presence.
“I would be a fool if I didn’t employ a strategy that in itself poses so little risk to my own forces and offers the potential of shift the balance into my favor.”
“I don’t believe you will be disappointed, my Lord. I do need a few things from you to make the strategy work.”
“What do you need?”
He looked suspicious.
“Our adversary isn’t going to pursue a mercenary company the way he would a group of your soldiers. To fool him, I’ll need uniforms and tabards.”
“I don’t like the idea of your company masquerading as my regulars, but I agree the target would be much less appealing without the proper trappings. I’ll give leave to my quartermaster to issue you what you need.”
He crossed the tent to his map table.
“I’ve been studying the topography of the immediate area and I would like you to lead them here.”
He pointed to a small, sparsely wooded valley situated between the two armies.
"They would have to chase you uphill most of the way, and affords some concealment to my forces.”
“I’ll do my best to lure them there. Give me two hours to outfit my company, and we’ll deploy. Thank you for listening to me my Lord, with any luck, the next time I see you, you’ll be toasting success with your army and paying our fee.”
“If you can pull this off, I’ll even pay you a bonus.”
“I’d rather you split that bonus among my company.”
“Done.”
“Here’s the list of uniform items I’ll need from your quartermaster.”
“I’ll see you get them within the hour. Good luck, Kiyakia.”
***
From my perch on the rock I watched as full dark fell over the battlefield. The strategy had worked surpassingly well. We led them just where the Lord Martial desired and the battle was decisive...or perhaps I should call it what it really was, a slaughter. Our opponent had only enough resources left to retreat.
Now, I had those duties I would allow no other to do. On my desk in my tent waited the list. The list I hated to see…the list of those members of my company who would not be making the trip home with us.
First I would look at their gear and determine where it could be used to the best advantage. Then I would look at how I could rebalance the skills of my remaining resources in the event I needed to employ them on our way home, and finally I would write letters to the families of each. Then, when we got home, I’d need to look at each of the ranks of my mercenaries and fill the gaps.
For the thousandth time I wondered why I did this. Why I lead them. Why I should continue to lead them. Why I should train them in the song of steel. Why should I not step down and simply become one with the dance. For some, the lure of the steel was enough to fill their lives. Living by the sword often meant dying by the sword, and we all know this. For me, it was not just the dance with steel that completed me, but also knowing that none could lead them as well as I could. I ached and for every name I read on the lists over the years, the ache grew. Still, I knew, in the quiet after, none but I would value their individual and unique skills, train them to use them to their fullest, and feel the void they left behind.
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