Decorations

Having concluded your hygeine, you looked over your body, alone on your bunk within the barracks, viewing for any signs of bruises or more serious injuries. As expected from your heavy armor, there were no cuts or piercings to speak of. Moving your hands over various areas where you remember being struck by clubs and the like, you could feel a few sensitive spots. Nothing damaged, so far as you could tell, but there would be significant bruising, the discoloration along your left side was one of a few locations where that was already starting. Despite that and the pain, you considered yourself very fortunate to come away with so few injuries, given the circumstances. Had you not been so well protected, had you not received backup, you wouldn’t have been nearly so lucky.

As you sat, still undressed, your curiosity started to get the better of you. The blood on the leaves of that missive you found on the corpse had dried by now. You’d told no one you had it, causing a sense of anxiety to flutter in your stomach. Taking another look around, ensuring the space was vacant; all the other soldiers on their own patrols and operational duties, you pulled back the string, unfurling the protection to see the contents.

Before you’d begun to read it, you immediately noticed the quality of the paper, the strong, clear folds, the quality of the paper and ink, and the penmanship spoke of high quality, and likely of intent. This was meant to be found, giving you pause that possible those men in the alley fully anticipated their fate, and did so anyway. If so, it was a commendable bravery that you’re not even sure that some of your fellow soldiers would have been able to replicate. Taking a long, deep breath, you began to read.

To whoever reads this, I hope this message finds you in good health. It is almost certain that I am now dead, this being removed from my corpse. The one good deed in my life, finally standing up for what was right, after spending my life accepting what I was told without question.

If you are a fellow Intransican citizen, take up my message, stand for what you know in your heart to be true. We’ve been coddled under lies of safety and unity to accept a fate worse than what any of us had before. The Emperor isn’t strong, he’s weak, if he even still lives. The Empire of Man is spread too thin and we outnumber them. They count on you to stay quiet and fearful, because they can’t silence the voice of the people if they rise as one.

If you are a foreigner, take this message home with you, let your people hear what mine cannot. The Empire is committing atrocities against life itself to maintain power that was never theirs to hold. Stand up against their bullying threats. They cannot martial the strength they once did; the forces are too disparate and too focused on the vengeful lust of a madman, trying to exterminate the creations of a God.

To my fellow Intransican Soldier, I was once like you. Hearing the greatness of the Empire my entire life, I wanted to belong to the most powerful Army in the history of T’sara. You can take the first steps that I did. Look around, question everything. The structure is rotten from the inside, corruption and nepotism run rampant. We have too long tried to wage a genocidal war against a foe that had already surrendered centuries ago, the only crime any of them have committed being that of trying to live, that we’ve lost track of being able to defend ourselves against the real threat. I pray you will never see what I’ve seen, and that you trust me when I say that I embrace the punishment of Mastro’s fiery judgement, as I am a damned fool who deserves such a fate. Let go of your hate and pride, put down your weapons. You are not a soulless tool, you are a human who must answer for your choices in this life. It is better to a die a traitor to heathenous lunatic than die supporting one.

Whoever you are, I need your help, my time has been cut short. Take up the torch, and let the flame of justice guide you in dismantling this Empire of Lies.

The words were ominous and sobering. You knew that rebels, traitors, and the like were out there, any nation has them. Never before had you seen such impassioned words, someone so clear in their position. It was a complex web of emotions that stirred in you, not the least for the fact that, despite the pleading words, the unnamed owner of this document and his cohorts had still attacked you. If they were trying to lead the people to a revolt, doing it from shoddy alleyways out of sight was hardly the way to do it.

“Damned fools,” you let out into the quiet space as you tucked the paper under the blanket of your cot, still unsure what to do with it. You jumped with a start, hearing an unexpected, masculine, vaguely familiar voice behind you.

“Who?” Turning behind to see, it was Ahnul having invited himself into a barracks that was not his own, significantly dressed down from the heavy armor of his patril.

“Fuck Ahnul, you scared me to death,” You shifted your body slightly, uncomfortable in your state of dress “What are you doing?”

“You said you’d be willing to see me.”

“Ya, sure, but not like this” you carried a bit of anger in your surprised tone.

“It’s a co-ed barracks, isn’t it?” He asked “This doesn’t bother you normally, does it?”

“Enough,” you warned “You’re well on your way to cutting off any chance of speaking with me again.”

“Well, I’m not here just cause I want to see you, there’s business to attend to”

“Business that couldn’t wait a few minutes?” You asked rhetorically.

“I just thought you’d be excited and would want to know. I’d talked to my superior about what happened today, about your bravery and what you did. He talked with his, and in light of that and everything else that happened today with the other demonstrations, you’re to be awarded.”

You were surprised, and elated at first. “I don’t know that I really deserve that. I got myself into more trouble than I could handle. If you and your squad didn’t find me, there’s a good chance I’d be dead.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit Brigid. You’d have taken them, though maybe a bit more gruesome on your end. With your strength and training as a soldier in the Army? Like you said, they were fools for standing against you. Had you not gone after them, who knows where they would have scattered to; we’d probably have never caught them. Well, until they struck again. And now, none of them will get that chance, thanks to you.”

“Anything else?” You asked.

“Colonel Nausilius wants to see you, apparently. Recommended that you appear in your best attire.”

“I’m a simple provincial girl, Ahnul. I don’t have anything worthy of meeting a Colonel.”

“That was anticipated,” He nodded “The conveyed direction was if that was the case, arrive in your armor.”

“Well, that I can do” You stretched your legs out slightly. You were hoping for at least a small period of time without being back in that heavy suit of armor, but were ready to get back out there “Did you do something wrong to get to being a messenger boy? Shouldn’t one of your men be here instead of you, or one of the Colonel’s.”

“Normally yes. I volunteered,” you looked up at him more intently, seeing a shade of unease about him that there hadn’t been. It was endearing, and humorous, you thought, that talking to you made him more nervous than fighting and killing “I, wanted to be the one to give you the good news,” There was a slight pause in his words, betraying his nervousness.

“That’s sweet, thank you” Your spirit calmed down “Was there something else you wanted, since you’re still here.”

“I’d like to talk. Get to spend some time with you alone.”

“Well, we’re alone now Ahnul” You implored “How do you want to spend the time?”

“What are you offering?” He asked as he took a step closer to you, “I feel like I might be dreaming”

“Well, I’m not offering to marry you, so I’m not having your kid” You quipped, “But, you did save my life, and you are pretty cute, so I think I can offer you a little favor, if you can make it quick”. Moving close so you wouldn’t have to leave your seated position on the cot, Ahnul was quick to tug his leggings down. His hard cock sprang out with a leap of youthful energy. It was nice looking, as far as that piece of anatomy was concerned. In ways you couldn’t describe, it was better than the others that you’ve seen, not that you’d tell Ahnul anything about that.

You took his cock in his mouth, your lips wrapped tightly around his warm firmness, dragged up and down his length as you looked up at him. His eyes were closed shut as he relished the feeling. From his moans, he had a very sensitive member, or he was just so new to sex that even this felt amazing, when you could have gone in with much greater dedication to the craft.

You’ve had a few men before, more than most areas of Intransican culture would consider ‘decent’ for a woman your age, or a woman at all really. You’d developed some skill in sucking dick, but you wanted to play that back, keeping the allusion of innocence for this man, fearing what he may think, or spread around if he knew what you’d really been up to.

He may not think anything all about you, you began to suspect. Grabbing you by your braided hair, he pushed your skull further down, and moving you faster. Holding still, you adjusted your body, allowing easier movement as the head his cock repeated pushed down your throat. He hadn’t seemed so big at first, but his fucking your mouth like a pussy was pushing the edge of what you could do and what you could withstand.

His stamina was shorter than yours, which you were thankful for. Before you ran out of breath or felt the need to gag, he pulled himself out of your mouth, stroking himself furiously, a load of his seed erupted, plastering your face. It wasn’t a welcome surprise; you’d preferred it be swallowed to prevent needing to wash again. It was a common fantasy among men, so you were told, so you left the issue be, let him enjoy his fulfillment. If you were to suck him off or fuck again, you’d have to tell him up front not to do that again, you decided.

“Holy…” Ahnul exclaimed, his breathing heavy. “That was incredible. Thank’s Brigid.”

“You’re welcome. Now, I need you to leave, before we both get in trouble.”

Having cleaned your face and returned to your uniform, you marched yourself to the headquarters of Colonel Nausilius, Commander of the 525th Battalion, located in the southwest corner of the Imperial City. The 525th was principally responsible for the defense of the City. A coveted and prestigious command, only diminished by it’s local proximity to the Loyal Guard, protecting the Emperor himself and those within the Imperial Palace. It was a large, functional building, a repurposed manor of a noble some centuries ago. With some guidance from one of his staff, you were brought into the Colonel’s Office. With a large window behind him, he was surrounded by bookshelves on all other sides of the room. While there was an impressive library here, your eye also caught a number of mementos, keepsakes, and other paraphernalia that served a solely decorative purpose, showing he was not so solely and humbly committed to his work. He was about the age of your father, though a life of an Officer seems to have been an easier on the body than that of a tenant farmer.

“Ahh, Brigid Bevalda, I presume,” He said as he stoop from his large, comfortable chair. “Thank you for making the time to come on such short notice.”

“The honor is mine, Colonel” You bowed towards him.

“Quite the story, today, isn’t it?” He asked as he sat back down.

“Yes Sir. Not what I’d expected to happen at all.”

“That, unfortunately, is a problem we share. I’ve talked with any officer I have who is supposed to know anything about this city. We were all caught with our pants down, as it were. That’s an embarrassment on any day, but on Victory Day, is frankly intolerable.”

“Yes Sir.” You acknowledged, maintaining your stiff bearing.

“Relax, Private. This isn’t a disciplinary hearing. Far from it, in fact,” He reached to a tall cup on the side of his desk, taking fast and hard drink “A word of professional advice, as you seem to have some promise in your career as a soldier. There is no greater danger than disrespecting or underestimating your opponent. These rebels may be fanatics and traitors, but they were smart enough to hide themselves from us until they could strike. This also means that they’re poised to do so again. Where and when, who knows?”

You felt a flash of warmth and anxiety in your face, like the Colonel could see right through you and knew what you had.

“With that Sir, I feel there is something I must report.” You took a deep breath, bracing for the worst.

“Yes, Private?” He asked, intrigued, leaning forward onto his desk.

“I found a message on the body of one the men slain at the scene. It doesn’t give a name of themselves or their organization, but it would back up what you’re saying. These people are trying to bring down the Empire itself. I think they knew what they were doing would get them killed. At least the one who carried the message was a former Soldier himself. It didn’t speak to specifics, but he seemed to have had severe regret for what he did against the Orcs.”

Colonel mulled over the words. He was contemplative and studious, before he asked the question “You’re not from the eastern front, are you, Brigid?”

“No Sir,” You refuted shortly “I’m from the Lipsis Province”

“Than don’t heed any of the words you read. It’s a propagandist message and should be taken as such. This enemy is trying to weaken our will to fight without drawing a weapon. It rarely works, and in some cases, like the Drow Roses, it backfires entirely.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, unfamiliar with the story.

“In the Triumvirate War, the Drow tried to sabotage us. They would use their occult magic to cast whispers into the camps of our soldiers. Tell them that not only were we doomed, but that we were all inadequate. That Orc men had already broken lines and were doing for our wives what we couldn’t.”

Your eyes went wide in shock, silently comprehending the story as Colonel Nausilius continued.

“When battle next broke, we met the enemy with even greater ferocity than we had the day before. Their lines collapsed, and we pursued the Orc cowards to victory.”

“And the Drow?” You asked “what of them?”

“They were found, trying to break apart to save themselves. They were given mercy and allowed to live” There a marked shift in his eyes “They still live, prisoners of war, serving out a punishment, ironically appropriate to their actions against us.” There was a cruel and smug tone in his words. The implication of the punishment, being made into sex slaves, raped countless times for longer than a human's entire lifetime, made you sick in your stomach, trying your best to keep your bearing. As if sensing your discomfort, the Colonel continued, shifting his focus back.

“The propagandists make it seem like we’re some monsters slaughtering anyone in our way. The truth is more simple than that. The Intransican Army will continue to do what our enemy necessitates us to do to defend our land against their constant raids and invasions. They have made peace impossible for centuries. The outcome if we were to withdraw, would be unimaginable. We are the damn that holds back the flood. Remember that soldier.”

“Yes Sir” You replied automatically, and cautiously.

“Enough of that sordid business though. I appreciate what you told me. We’ll see if we find any other intelligence or actionable insight. If we do, I want to see you involved. The rest of the men would learn well from your bravery and your strength.”

“Thank you, Sir. It would be an honor.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing Brigid, and you’ll be leading troops before too long.” There was a knock on the door, some other officer waiting at the door.

“Now, if you excuse me Private, I’m afraid I’ve used up all the time that I have.”

You gave another solemn and sturdy bow before you departed. Returning back to your normal duties, you found yourself even more conflicted than you were before. The Colonel had inadvertently admitted that the Intransican Army had been doing some harsh things, defending that they were necessary actions. If they were more like the ‘punishment’ you imagined the Drow may be under, you couldn’t be sure. And yet, your imaginative mind moved forward, recognizing that the goals of these men would lead to violence and chaos the likes of which no human alive had ever seen.