Kincoln
Near the Vytachian-Suavian border
Suavia
Orda
Near the Vytachian-Suavian border
Suavia
Orda
ROGER
This border was always such an awful placement, and every faithful servant of the Highking knew it. The Suabian Principality was always something which possessed the ability to wreck careers and every officer was aware of it. Why? Only the most vicious sons of curs ever were deployed here and it was a nigh impossible mess to deal with. Every other week some poor son of a bitch lieutenant walked down the wrong alley and ended up with a broken leg and a bullet through his skull. Every month or so a colonel would be found poisoned or shot by some Suebian sniper. And occasionally one found the issue of civilians to be rioting or obstructive, which in turn led to mass incarceration and massacres.
He was Captain Alfred Roger, someone best described as a middle-aged gentleman from the Kingdom of Miercna, who had the great fortune to be selected for service in the Royal Legion of His Grand Majesty. Roger had little interest in military life beyond military history, preferring to read and write about the exploits of generals opt long dead. Instead, now he commanded one of units patrolling the Vytachian border, preventing pretty much anyone and everyone from coming in. He still was youth enough to recall when Suavia supported the monarchists against the abominable Social ‘Catholic’ bishops who decided that Caesar came after Christ. He also recalled the time in which Suavia under the current Highking’s predecessor the young and handsome Harold VIII tried to maintain good relations. Oh how do times change the young Sergeant Major thought as he observed the area before him.
As a dynasty, the Swartnaedars always had claimed the rebellious Principality of Suebia as their own but the revolution which created the Newrike and the general conditions near the end of the Patriarchicalist period enabled it to break away along with other minor authorities. Suebia was always home to heretics, heathen and infidels - ranging from the Neo-Manichaeans to the Cathars and Protestants, all were obeying falsehoods and refused to convert to the rightful path. And so they were treated as was appropriate in the arcane laws of God and Suavia.
Initially, this meant burnings, lots of them as a policy of quiet industrial genocide manifested but overtime and since that particular war which Drake ended with his policy of Normalisation. Now instead of correcting their heresy, it is seen as more or less enough to police their actions. This in practice seems to manifest in brutality to those who seem even remotely stand out. Roger detested it ultimately, another sign of the centuries of cruelty formulated by the Swartnaeders and the Folkbootists who schemed to actually control the state.
His thoughts were, however, disturbed when he saw a squad of men, no around a full company it seemed surrounding and lining up a huge mass of civilians against a wall. “Traitors! Schemers! HERETICS!” the officer sounded as he walked past them, beating them with an officer’s staff of solid steel. Roger stood observing, the sight was familiar albeit this one was an unusually large gathering. Men, women, children were all gathered as the Suavian soldiers began to form a line, their rifles at the ready. “You by virtue of conspiring against the realm with alien elements to remove his Grand Majesty the Highking from his throne in Suebia have committed high treason, upon the discovery of this the punishment for high treason is the summary execution of you and your families. You are fortunate that there are too many of you for the traditional punishment of being hung, drawn and quartered so that we have brought in an alternative.” The Suavian soldiers then began to make way as men equipped with rustic old flamethrowers were brought out. “Instead you can be given the cleansing honour of fire. We will give you ten minutes to say your last prayers.”
Roger, intrigued went over to the younger officer. He had a stern face, one cold harsh Probably a feeking Englaian Roger thought in his head he prepared to interrogate the officer: “What is going on Lieutenant, this is the largest execution I have seen since the nineties?”
The officer's voice swiftly changed to a deep mumbly manner after he saluted the captain: “we found them stockpiling supplies for the terrorist vermin who infect this land, some even had them in their homes. We were told to execute them, and use their bodies as examples for those contemplating such rowdy behaviour in the future.”
Of course that won’t blow up in your face Alfred wondered, now that he was a witness to a war crime in the making. The actions of fools like him are going to get us all killed one day…