JACKAL AMONG SNAKES

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.