Snippet #1444310

The Jurial Plains

Laeral wasn't bad as far as nameless little towns went. Twenty or so houses of folks who have known eachother by name since the dead gods knew when, ten family-owned shops and a town hall housing a steriotypical spineless whelp of a mayor all next to wide fields of fresh crops. Probably the only reason the dreary plot of a settlement didn't die from lack of revenue was the near constant stream of travellers and legionnaires arriving for a few nights of rest and piss-poor ale before going on their way to travel seventy-something odd miles to the nearest thing that one would consider another town. In the fading light of a particularly long day Wrath sighed and leaned against the fence on which he had been perched for the last half-hour.

On a large patch of dirt road inbetween Laeral and it's fields the sharply featured man stared at the ground as if it would yield what he was waiting for. Dressed in a colorful poncho and expensive tailored pants and boots, it was hard to think that the handsome young man was the kind of person who would tear someone's head off when made to wait too long. As he was now. A call from somewhere down the road sent Wrath looking to the east, his steely eyes locking onto a diminutive figure leading a motley assortment of...he couldn't find any words to describe them yet. As the halfling leading the procession drew within earshot she flashed Wrath a bright smile.

"Miss me?" Before he could answer she waved a hand dismissively and nodded those following her over. "Line up scrubs! Time ta' meet the man who'll be bossing you around for the next three-hundred and sixty-five days of your life. For those of you who missed it the first time, I'm Sid." She said with a smirk before leaning against the fence near Wrath. She had led the latest twenty recruits for the Legion of Ashes miles from the meeting place to arrive here, and her short legs were aching. Being apart of a conscripted army made you better at marching...but halflings just weren't built for it. So the raven haired little woman crossed her arms behind her head and watched the scene before her play out as she had two times before. Almost as an afterthought Sid tossed a folded scrap of parchment at her superior officer. Wrath caught in and shot her a venomous glance before moving to stand in front of those men and women arrayed before him.

"Good evening. I am Captain Liu-Wen, and that," he said while pointing as Sid, "Is first-sargeant Grimsmirk. We lead the fourtieth legion within the Legion of Ashes. We shall be addressed as such until given permission to do otherwise. You will speak only when addressed directly. From this day forward, your lives are no longer your own. They belong to Norr. To the Paragon." Wrath smoothed out the paper he had been given and began at the front of the line. "As I announce your squad assignment, you may proceed to enter the town of Laeral. You are required to report to the Boulon Brother's Inn by midnight."

The captain glanced from the paper to the first new legionnaire. His face twinged pink as he noticed the size of the lamian woman's chest. She was half-encased in steel plate armor and flicked her viridian tail in anticipation. "Iriana Kellas. Fighter. You are in my squad." As he moved to the next, an elf, Iriana sqealed in delight and slithered off in to town. He caught Sid muttering something about big jugs. Why would she be speaking about grandiose pottery at a time like this? "Hokkun Ga'Taro. Marksman...you will be in Grimsmirk's squad. Ten more went by, four more to Sid Grimsmirk's squad and seven to Wrath's squad. Nearing the end half of the line now, he stepped up to a pair of dark elven women. "Talae Shanir..." Wrath had to keep himself from curling his lip in distaste, and could not quite keep the tone of superiority--even more than usual--from his tone. "Assassin. You're with Grimsmirk."

Stepping over to the lighter of the pair he was surprised to see that the dossier listed her as a dark elf despite her relatively fair complexion. Even more surprising was her relation to the first darkling. "Faera Shanir. Mage...what?" The captain raised an eyebrow in silent question and tentatively waved his gloved hand in front of the darkling girl's face. Her eyes did not track it's movement. The file was correct; Faera was blind. Sid smiled at her superior's puzzlement at how such a woman could have passed even the most basic tests to enter the Legion...much less make it into a combat unit. He quickly recovered from the awkward silence and continued. "Excuse me." Medical mages were assigned to Sid's light-armor squad as combat mages came into Wrath's heavy-armor squad. He suspected that the siblings would not take well to being separated and decided to bend the rules a bit. Soemthing that was not lost on Sid. "Grimsmirk's team. Next..."

Another dark elf, this one male. By the Burning Dark, another assassin?! "Krealthanos Veldrin. Assassin. Grimsmirk. Go on." Trying to hide his growing annoyance with the proclivity for dark elves to fancy themselves assassins, Wrath came face to face with a man he had not wished to see in his lifetime. Sid smirked and mouthed the words 'play nice'. "Caine Abel. Berserker...frontliner, my squad. Good to see you again private Abel." Although the words rang hollow even to his own ears, Wrath was not about to let the past affect his ettiquete. Moving on was another human. Rare...there were never more than singular humans joining each legion nowadays. "Duran Cidovan. Druid...hm. We have three medics now, so you're with me." Three more. What he thought was another human came up next, but the dossier attested to the fact that he was a child of the caves. "Kisikoni Ayalen. Mixed fighter...go with Grimsmirk. She's lacking in melee capable warriors." A second deep human, this one girded with an absurdly thick looking shield. "Gileas Arkha. Guardian. My squad." Quickly he moved on to the last recruit in line. "Lailanae Korra. Special marksman. Grimsmirk's group. Now leave."

Finally finished, the captain moved to slump on to the ground next to Sid. With a profound sigh he crumpled up the dossier and tossed in at the halfling's head. She merelt smiled and nudged her human companion in the ribs. "Nice haul this time around eh?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, quite. Three generic orc meat-shields, some cookie-cutter elvish archers and--oh joy!" Sid laughed out the word 'assassin' before Wrath could finish his sentence. Still, he continued. "Oh, not to mention the angry hulk of a man that nearly wiped out our last legion in a fit of rage-"

"Hey, we won that battle 'cause of Muscles!"

"-a blind woman launching magic missles and an ex-Deep Guard. Nearly all of which are conscripted, looking for quick gold or blackmailed into service! Joy of joys." Wrath pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, speaing to Sid without looking at her. "Why do we never get assigned a normal group of trained soldiers...?"

After wincing at the bit about blackmail, the halfling patted Wrath's shoulder. "The Fourtieth is the Mixed-Unit legion. Special tactics is a nicer way of saying 'people we have no idea what to do with but can't really spare because we're losing a desperate war'. We're the leftover giblets of the cusiine that is an army."

Wrath sighed and nodded. The very reason he was promoted at such a young age was hardly due to his skill. It was because he was someone that the Legion saw potential in, but not nearly enough to train properly. No. He was to manage the rejects of the Legion. The well-dressed captain sat up and dusted himself off, making his way towards the tavern in which his legennaires were to lodge. "Make sure the wagons are ready for tommorow, and that their new gear is up to snuff. We're going to reinforce Yan'vega's legion ten miles north of here."

"Near the mountains? Shit..." Her protests died when she caught the edge of Wrath's glare. "Yeah, yeah, i'll manage. At least there's some good sniping positions."

Wrath continued on to the inn with a slight scowl. The sun had finally set and travellers still flooded the streets of Laeral. "Welcome to the Legion."