Clouds rolled in over Fort Magna, as a storm brewed. General Asher Alpinus was in his quarters, reading a letter written to him by his mentor years back. Legionnaire Alpinus, it began. I hope this letter finds you well. I’ve given you every skill I have accumulated in my thirty years in the Bronze Legion. You will be stationed at Fort Castrum, headed by General Valerii. He was given a special request by Argos and I to personally train you. Although you solely use your weapons, I believe his skills as a mage may help you view your techniques differently. What a fool he was, trusting two geezers’ judgement for training. Their skills were old—expired—as were their brains. He continued his reading. The general will treat you well, I’m even considering sending my own children to be trained by him should they be magically inclined. He’s the best mage in the Legion now, after what happened at Cassia Town. He still couldn’t believe that the old man would bring up that tragedy so casually. His father had died in that battle, by Avery Walker’s hands, and this man had the gall to bring it up? Bastard. Regardless, I’m sure that he can teach you a thing or two about Aura, you’d be at the level of a centurion in no time if you could utilize it.
Yours truly, Ulricus.
Asher sneered at the letter. The handwriting was far from formal enough to address a student of his caliber. The mention of Cassia Town made him want to vomit, it brought up memories of the day he learned his father would not be coming back home from his station, memories which would make Asher cry were he not a powerful general. In his mind, were he to shed a tear, he was nothing more than a child. Crying was not an option, crying would never be an option. Through all hardship, he would stand strong for Ravenna, to be an inspiration for the new generation of Bronze Legion soldiers being raised in Rubica and Rasna. To shed a tear was to set a poor precedent for the children.
After ruminating over the past, Asher came to a conclusion. He would lead a fleet of Ravennan soldiers into battle in the Chimera Sea, hopefully teaming up with the Ryujin Dynasty to exterminate every last citizen of the Thorne Empire. To him, they were but pests, and the Ryujin Dynasty a tool to wipe them out. He looked up at the rope leading to the bell in the tower, the tower he requested his quarters be built inside of so that he may call soldiers to the courtyard at a moment’s notice, and pulled it with all his strength. The bell clanged with vigor, alerting the fort, though there were no scheduled speeches or meetings for months. Then again, the general never really scheduled anything. He did everything in the spur of the moment, but due to Legion code, the soldiers were all to assume it was urgent should the bell be rang. It never was all that urgent, though. Stampedes of footsteps were heard from across the fort, as every soldier funneled into the courtyard. Alpinus stepped out of his quarters, and stood atop a pedestal.
“My fellow Ravennans,” he started. “I will be selecting an elite group of you all to invade the Thorne Empire.” He looked around, awaiting applause or some other reaction of joy. Crickets. He cleared his throat, and continued. “It will be the greatest invasion in the history of the War Seas, and we will bring Ravenna back to glory. I believe that if you all train well and hard, you can help me get revenge for the murder of hundreds at Cassia Town. Together, we will exterminate those rats, and send them back to the depths of Tartarus where they belong.” He waited once more, and this time, the soldiers understood what the general wanted them to do. Some clapped, others cheered, all insincere, but enough to make Alpinus feel something inside. “That is all, as you were.” He stepped back, and descended a few flights of stairs to the courtyard, being swarmed by centurions.
“This is reckless, General. You know that. You’re calculated, you focus every material you can on the security of Ravenna. Why would you suddenly switch plans and focus on attacking?” One said.
“It’s a suicide mission! You’re better off fighting His Majesty one-on-one. The Ryujin Dynasty’s been going at the Thorne Empire for years and they haven’t made a lick of progress! Their navy’s simply too strong.” Whined another. These roaches were against his plan, and strongly enough to disrespect their superior.
“If you don’t like it, then why don’t you come up with a better idea?” Alpinus muttered. His fragile ego was showing, and it was clear that he had not thought through his attack. Well, fuck them all, and everything they stood for. He didn’t need any help to take down the empire. He could do it himself. And so, he waited in his barracks. When the clock struck midnight, he got up out of his bed, suited up, grabbed his weapons and boarded his frigate, The Bronze Maelstrom. Asher was far from a navigator, but he knew well how to captain a ship. Using the cover of night and the sounds of rain and thunder to mask his departure, he opened the sails and began a journey southeast, towards the Nimbus Sea.
i spent like 7 minutes watching homelander clips during this to figure out how to make asher seem more unnerving and fragile, not quite sure if it worked but im hoping it did
criticism pretty please, or else i’ll send general asher lucius alpinus after you bucko!!!
also holy shit this one is wayyy shorter than i thought it was