A War’s End

The battle of Gustav Sallen was said to be the bloodiest in the history of this continent. Casualties on both sides had reached millions. The dead that piled on the mud. The butchery that happened. It was a sight that seemed to came from hell. Those who wouldn't vomit feel their stomachs turn were fortunate.

“I heard they are calling you the Soldier Hundred and Magic Shooter.”

A voice said to someone who was in a hospital ward far from that hell. He was sitting on hospital bed with white sheets.  It was unlike the hell that this man had seen for the last years. The man stopped chewing as  he stared at brother Danil with a rather confused expression. Dani bit on the fruit he was eating and chewed as well.

“Cuz there were observers who saw you fighting with that lewis gun. Saw you hold off the assault, which made the units from the Crowned Republic to retreat without fewer casualties. There was a Commander who saw you in action as well. Oh, Adolf Ernst also survived the battle. He reported everything.”

“Well, I guess I’m famous now in some allied soldiers' eyes?”

“You are. Better get used to it. Also, anyone who’d seen your stuff would probably understand why you survive.”

Karl chewed on the apple once more. He took a long look at the nurses caring for the other soldiers in their beds. Most of the nurses wore white uniforms and had smiles on their faces. It was rather cool in the ward. Karl looked around and then snarled at Danil.

“Danil, you should fuck off. I want a nurse not a bastard like you.”

Danil looked at the nurses caring for the soldiers. They were talking and laughing. Giving out smiles and making sure that they were well. To the young ladies here they were heroes who had gone beyond their fear. But with Danil visiting Karl after he’s done helping. There was no chance for Karl to interact with some of the nurses. Danil ignored his protest.

“So what are you going to do now?”

Danil asked straightly. Karl folded his arms and looked up. He truly didn’t know what he was going to do. He only had three marketable skills. That was fighting, writing, and tending to wounds.

“I might return to being my father's assistant. He is quite busy all the time.”

“So you plan to usurp the position?”

“Ah, you’re going to study under him? If I recall correctly, you were supposed to graduate and become a full pledged surgeon. Are you going to continue to take post-graduate studies?”

Danil took a bit of his fruit. He looked at the window with hesitation then returned his eyes to Karl.

“I need to do better. I wasn’t calm enough. If I was. I could have saved people.”

“Danil, enough about that. People die. I am not being heartless, but you saw how people die. I understand that there is a need to do better. But if you carry the damn weight in your heart. It’ll make you trip. Don’t do that.”

“I sometimes wonder if your heart is just stone, Karl. You say this so easily.”

“That’s not true. Oh, you don’t believe me, but I just think differently. I hate it. I don’t let it get to me. I just don’t want to carry the burden of it.”

His voice had a tenseness to it. Danil watched him curiously. What was inside the mind of this brother and surgeon who wanted to save lives?

“I wish I could be like that.”

“You should. I’m not asking you to be heartless either or turn yourself into a hard stone. But your hand must function well. Don’t carve a part of yourself and give it to your patients.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

Karl said sternly. He took a bit of his apple and crunched the core before throwing it on the bin. Danil threw his leftovers on the bin as well. The curtain was blown and Danil had to tie the curtain on the wood next to the windowstill.

“Danil. Did everything go as planned?”

“Course it didn’t go as planned. The plan was caught on by the spies of the Wiesen Empire. The allied forces had managed a good network, but the Wiesen Empire had pockets of money. It is because they were able to do something about our own information network that they manage to send over reinforcements. If it wasn’t for the Mosviks and the attack on the Eastern flank of the Empire. We wouldn’t have won. The south assault took most of the remaining Wiesen Empire, but there is also another reason why this war was won.”

Danil raised a finger.

“Archduchess Mildred Wendelia Von Hilma, first of her name.”

“She’s that archduchess who was against the war. I heard of her.”

“She was neutral to some point, only speaking up when there was a need for her to speak up. She seemed to have convinced the nobles of the Wiesen Empire to take the side of peace, hence why there was an ‘accident’ in the eagle throne.”

Karl leaned in with his brows meeting.

“Did they die?”

“Half of them were killed by the sword. The only one who survived was Imperial Princess Marlene.”

“So there is still some of the royal blood left?”

“Most of the legitimate ones are dead. Imperial Princess Marlene is just a child, so she wouldn’t be a threat and I doubt she would usurp the throne considering the rumors about her. Archduchess Mildred had adopted her publicly after the execution.”

Wiesen had been losing badly. Public dissatisfaction. Mass riots and demands from the educated citizens of the Empire had called out the royal family in their choices. Hell, one of the reasons that this war started was because the Imperial Family had closed the University of Paxia during the imperial exams. Wiesen wasn’t this awful diplomatically and its educational standards were quite high. But during the event in Paxia, eight years ago, the Imperial Family had decided to close off the imperial exams and left many of the students; who are from rich families, to be left dissatisfied. And the foreign students to feel like they were being discriminated. It became a riot that then became a skirmish against the Paxian Students.

The summary execution of the foreign students was news that spread like wildfire. The condemnation of the empire. The petition of the theocracies who followed Sol and Jove. It was a crime that many countries had deemed the Empire as ‘monstrous’.

Of course there were double-reasons for this condemnation. The imperial loan sharks and the bankers were drying lesser countries dire. What better way to get rid of the their debt to the Empire than formally breaking off ties? Conveniently ridding them of their debt. The Empire retaliated by declaring war while shoving what they did in Paxia under the rug. If the Empire won then they would have made a beggar of the losing countries. But the lesser countries who won are now probably sighing a breath of relief, knowing that their debts are called off. It was less expensive to send their young men to war than pay off their debt. His foster father who had such connections had discussed this lengthily to Karl before he left without a word. Where was he? That foster father of his that seems to be like a gust of wind.

All of this trouble. All of this bloodshed was all because they decided not to give the right of education to those who were willing to learn. It was awful how all of this came to be because they didn’t want to let others achieve their right to take the examination.

“So the Archduchess must be acting as Chancellor.”

“That she is. She’s quite something, the Archduchess. Great beauty, wit, and even great martial skills. She’s a fast shooter, and was quite fond of fencing… if the magazines are to be believed.”

“If Marybeth hears you, she’d be jealous.”

Danil gaped. Then he tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. He had the look of a man who just forgot the existence of a person. He looked down.

“Oh I haven’t sent her a letter.”

“For real? How long?”

“Two years.”

Karl looked at me with pity. He thumped Danil’s shoulders and shook his head.

“Danil, if she had chosen to dump you. Take it like a man. You know that there is nothing wrong with Marybeth’s choice.”

“She hasn’t dumped me.”

“Says the man who has not sent her a call or a letter. Have...you even called her?”

“Nope?”

“Danil. You know I support you brother, with all of my heart when it comes to your aspirations and enlightenment. But when it comes to Marybeth. You are on your own. Hey nurse.”

Karl waved at the nurse who was close enough to hear what Karl said. The nurse thumped Danil’s shoulder and sauntered away. His voice was loud enough for the other nurses to take a glance at him. Even the soldiers shook their heads at what Danil was doing. He glared at Karl who gave a grin at him.

“I think one should take care of the heart first before talking about others. Also, how long do I have to stay here? I’m not particularly injured. I do have some scars, but they should have healed up by now. It’s been weeks.”

“They needed to test you. Brother, you do know that you spent weeks like you were in a daze? I think this was the first time they saw a person who looked like he had lost control of himself. Nothing awful happened, but there is reason to be concerned. Your mental stability has made people who saw you. Brother, there are others who call you great names, but no one would forget the Sachertal’s Bucher. At least to the soldiers who didn’t see you fight in Buche and Sachertal.”

Karl leaned on the headboard. He didn’t like labels. It just felt like he was making an awful name for himself. There was something about this that made him feel eerily familiar. It crept into his bones and he wanted to avoid it.

“That reminds me. Where are we?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I know it ain't the field… but there is this smell of grass and decaying leaves in the wind. What’s up with that?”

“Ah, did you really not know?”

“Know what?”

“We are currently in Witzen County, specifically, the Island Town of Witthengs. Two miles west of the Sache docks.”

“No wonder the nurses look tanned. Ah, shit, are we in the theocracy?”

“They’d cupped your ears, you know?”

“Sorry, I see, I never really smelled so much decaying leaves. Odd, really. So uh, we’re in some monastery?”

“Fairywood, the heart of the Jarnlandian Hospitaller Knights.”

“Oh fuck, the armored knights. So you saw their ceramic armor?”

“I did. Quite something, those armor. Their helmets have the same look as a two-filter gas mask. Honestly, I’m surprised they can move so well with them or stand the heat.”

“I’d rather stand the heat if it means I can be protected by a bullet. Not that I’d do anything in the wastelands. It'd be hard to dodge a shelling, but I’d take it if it's in urban areas.”

“I heard that they only hand it to their physically fit members. Not to mention that they really look awful since they have habits of using themselves as shields. Then again, that’s what the armor is for.”

“That it is,” Karl looked at the ceiling then back to Danil. “When will I be discharged again?”

“I was going to ask you to stay a bit more, but it looks like that wouldn’t be my choice.”

Danil’s eyes pointed to the door where he saw servicemen in their military dress and cape coming to Karl’s bed. The two of the servicemen gave him a crisp salute and then stood straight while an officer handed a certificate and a letter of recognition.

“For your meritorious achievement while deployed to the Bilertalian region, from the 12th of Janus 1913 to Augus 28 1920, in support of the campaign and the taking of Gustav Sallen. Your selfless service, dedication to duty, and professionalism were instrumental in the successful taking of the enemy lines. Corporal Karl Alden, shall be raised to the rank of Second Lieutenant and will be awarded the order of the tower and sword and added accolades.”

The soldiers who were on bed whistled. Some were clearly eager to get Karl to buy beer for them. Karl took the accolades with a dispassionate gaze, and returned the salute.

His face was crumpled  for a while before it became apathetic.

 

***

 

By the time he was discharged. Karl had gone out of the monastery’s hospital. He took a long path paved with a wooden plank path leading to a well-cared garden. He saw the gathered hill of decayed leaves and the bare trees. The serene atmosphere was clearly well for the soldiers. From the looks of it there were allied forces mingling together in the patches of grass, smoking their hearts out after escaping hell. The joyous atmosphere from the people he saw while coming out was not hard to notice. Even from this secluded garden there were sounds coming from the streets. The island itself was in a celebratory mood after the Great War. It has not truly ended, but it was the job of the politicians and diplomats to sort out the aftermath.

Millions dead, and that’s that. Time to celebrate, honor the dead, Karl thought. A leaf was falling to the ground. It was dirtied and was then swept to the side by the wind coming from the ocean.

What am I to do now? Is that it? Done and done. Fighting for what? Fighting for who again? Ah, yes, that was it, right? Karl looked at his hands. The small hands had become sturdier. Big enough to hold or crush someone’s head. With the war over. I can return to being an apprentice or return to being a journalist. Make awful reports? Or return to being a medicine man? No, perhaps a physician?

When this was started he was a combat medic. By the time the war ended he had long abandoned that role and let Danil take over. He would at times tend to the wounds of his fellow soldiers, but the knowledge of surgery that he had built up was starting to dwindle. He had more time to shoot than mend.

Over there I just shoot people. Lost control and somehow they are honoring me for it. Karl examined the medal that he carried. Unless one is well-versed in the old script. They would notice that the bars on the medal represented the battles that one had participated in. There were twenty small bars on the top and twenty on the bottom of the medal. It was an intricate medal and was quite something to look at design-wise. Of course, he could wear the individual battle bars, but he rather not wear something that showed much of a blood-hungry soldier he was. If anything, he was thankful that a medal like this even existed. Not that he’d be wearing it. At best he’d had it stored somewhere and left alone to gather dust. The pistol is nice though, Karl looked at the set given to him. It was a six-shooter with six cylinder spares. The heavily engraved revolver was clearly a masterwork handed to recipients of the award. The tower crossed with a sword on the grip was quite noticeable, not to mention that there was a distinct ebony color with silver lined edges of its plating.

He had given his old revolver to Danil for protection. He chose to keep this one since it was pretty to look at. Since it was a civilian life from now on. He didn’t have to be heavily armed and was always on a lookout. Though Karl carries a switchblade on the sleeves of his service dress since he couldn’t exactly carry his trench knife. Not that he still had it after losing it in the attack.

Karl leaned back on the bench he was sitting at. His service dress’s cape flutters about. His intense green eyes and his neatly combed brown hair made him look cleaner than he was back in the trench. He doubts that he’d be recognized by those folks unless they know him. The wind came again and this time Karl decided to leave the garden.

Truthfully he sought to be alone after staying in the hospital ward for days. He familiarized himself with Fairywood first. Examining the streets and memorizing the streets he needed to turn right or left. Because of his service dress he was welcomed among the streets. He got thumps on the shoulder and was even handed white flowers from the passing women. The surrounding community around fairywood was clearly where most of the well-off citizens were.

The second district he visited was fogsong. It was a block that was focused on the needs of the community of the town. Most of the buildings here were stone compared to the brick and mortar buildings in fairywood. He found a butcher shop selling skewers. Then it was a taverna and street stalls situated in the middle of the street. He found that fogsong had warehouses separated and there are units that are filled with grains of wheat. He was rather curious so he went to the south quarter where he saw the golden wheat farm that was being harvested. From the looks of it the soldiers camping on clay gate were helping the farmers harvest the wheat and barley. Karl thought that they were rather fond of the barley and their eyes showed meaningful looks to the farmers who were grinning as well.

Other than that there was also the castle district where the mayor of the town was held up. The district was populated with the richer folks of the town. Most of them were merchants or former aristocrats who settled down in this free city protected by the Jarnlandian Knights. Karl had business with the government officer so he had visited their main building. It was a two-story brick and mortar building. The left wing of the building was still timbered but from what Karl noticed. They were still traces of the old structures that have been left intact. Were they trying to round the structures for better defenses? That could deflect a cannonball, but he didn’t know how that would help from a mortar eighty meters away.

He entered the building. He noticed the marble flooring. On the right was a counter manned by a brunette with short hair. She was writing on her document. She raised her left hand. Showing that silver wedding ring on her left hand finger.

“Afternoon, I was told that a letter was here for me?”

“Ah, hold on for a moment,” she took a logbook that was incredibly thick. “Let’s see, what is your name, Sir?”

“Karl Von Alden, Second Lieutenant of the Bilertalian Army.”

“Hold on for a moment.”

She started by name order. She wasn’t going to look up his service number with the amount of pages she had to go through. The book was labelled by letters so she found the page that started with the initial of his last name.

“It says here that you are a Corporal?”

“I was,” Karl took out the letter of promotion from his service dress’s pocket. He handed the letter to which the madam sorted immediately.  She then reached out for the cabinets where there were labels for the letters that came. It was impressive to Karl how they got so organized, then, it was the Jarnlandians who were in control here. Discipline in their work was one of their fortes.

Karl took the letter and occupied one of the seats in the reception. It was a large hall but there were only a few here who were reading or staying. He plucked the letter from the envelope and unfolded it.

“My son, Carl,” the letter started with an error already. “I have heard from my sources that you have done well. Your time in the army has been wonderful and I am delighted to hear that you and Danil are alive. However, due to circumstances, and the troublesome appearances of interlopers who cannot find their mind from the gutters. I am in the heart of the Wiesen Empire.”

Written boldly on the end of the letter was the location of an ancient city. Nobra. Karl obviously knew the area. It was the heart of medicine and was one of the many places in the Empire that have retained their medical fervor. It was a fairly old district, but Karl had seen pictures of it.

“Fuck are you doing in Nobra?”

Karl took the next letter.

 “Please read the other letter, first, my boy. But if you have read it, then let me tell you that I have been involved with fools. But at the same time it is because this old man is a fool that he must foolishly help a poor woman and a young child. This old man is not asking his son to rescue his father, but if you can, would you stop by? Of course, if it is free to travel once more then please do come by.”

The letter was signed by his signature. Karl was sure that his foster father had been taken to the heart of the Empire. Then again, he had a home in the Empire and in Zaberg. So it was not surprising that the old man would have even found the time to do this.

Of course he’s in some kind of mess. No, did Isidor invite him again? I heard that they had recent breakthroughs four years ago, so it must be it. But he also mentioned a woman and her child. Shit, of course the chauvinist would be attracted to such trouble.

Karl pocketed the letter. He crossed his legs. Interlocked his fingers and stared at the ceiling. The crossbeams of the hall were full of cobwebs. He saw a small lizard running across being chased by some blade-limbed insect with huge oval eyes.

But thinking about it, I can’t enter the borders of the Empire. Not when the great war just ended. And not to mention that the Empire will have to focus on the reforms for the next few weeks.

Karl was unsure so he left the building. Traveled back to fairywood and looked for Danil. He found Danil on one of the telephones chatting to someone. It was one of the telephone offices, and from the looks of it there were many who were eager to get a call from their loved ones. Karl heard that even though the Great War was won. There were concerns regarding whether the invasion of the Empire would continue.

The Empire is unable to produce weapons, but is that really true? There were doubts on whether it could happen. After all, most of the Empire was split after the act of the Archduchess who is its Chancellor now.

It was a messy situation that Karl didn’t want to dip his toes in. Not that he’d have any affairs when it comes to the Empire. He looked at the booths and saw Danil leaving. He was quick to notice Karl and approached him. Karl handed the letters to Danil which made Danil’s eyebrows tense up.

Upon reading the letter he was thumbing his forehead. He fished out a smoking pipe and tapped the contents out. Dani inserted some fresh tobacco from his holder and lit up the pipe. He looked at the sky and breathed out.

“Should we look for him?”

“Nah, I don’t think it's safe enough.”

“I have to go back to Stuhach. I need to get my diploma.”

“What?”

“They are going to acknowledge me as a surgeon. My treatment during the battles have been well-received and right now they want me back in Stuhach to continue my education. The old man should be able to take care of himself, right?”

“You saw him wield that double-barrel.”

“True. So what’s next for you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Avaios? This place is pretty nice as well so I might take time here. Honestly, they want me back since I have been technically the only one left in my battalion. And I have to formally get my resignation or at least stay in the reserved officers unit.”

“Well, that sucks. After that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I'll try to become a physician.”

“I see. Well, see you around then?”

“You're leaving already?”

“They have a seaplane heading to the Stuhach. I managed to convince the pilot to carry me back.”

“Lucky.”

“Ain’t it?”

“Danil. Glad that you survived. I really am.”

“Thank you, brother.”

Danil nodded. Karl thumped his back with a palm and started to the direction of the taverna that Danil found. Danil wanted to avoid drinking, but Karl had a feeling that it would be long before he could see his brother again.