Chapter 1: The Old Veteran's tale

Randgriz War Cemetery:

A dark and cloudy sky… An old veteran, holding a cane, arrives. He greeted several tombstones and stared at them for a few minutes.

Just then, a woman walks behind him and says:

"Um… excuse me…"

"Huh?"

"Were you a member the Militia? Squad 9?"

"Huh? How did you know about that? Who are you?"

"It's me, Popuri"

"Popuri? Sorry… I don't remember you."

"Remember Fouzen? I was the little girl you guys were always playing with."

"Oh! You're her? Really? You've grown up! How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. It's been decades since I last saw everyone."

"Yeah…"

"Are you visiting your dead comrades?"

"Yep… And it's March after all."

"March? What's so special about March?"

"Call it an anniversary…"

"Oh really? You mean the month when the Empire started their invasion of Gallia?"

"No… More like the anniversary of my squad…"

"Oh… That's right the militia was formed on March right?"

"Yeah… I'm surprised you still remember us…"

"Of course I do! I won't forget you guys especially after all that time we spent together and after everything you did for me and my brother."

"I guess not... But how did you know that I was part of Squad 9?"

"Well… Call it 'women's intuition'…"

"Really now…"

Small drops of water began to fall from the sky

"It's starting to rain…."

"I guess so… The sky's been gloomy all morning after all. Let's take shelter at the grotto"

The two then quickly went to the grotto as the rain began to pour harder

"Can you tell me some stories about your squad's exploits during the 2nd Europan War? I want to know what happened to you guys…"

"You sure you have time to spend listening to the story of an old man like me?"

"Yes… I'm on leave from work and I came here today, hoping to find a member from your squad. I idolized all of you, you know. Besides, it's raining hard anyway. So… Can I hear your story?"

"Well… since you really want to hear my story that badly…"

Flashback:

The war is long over, But I still remember all those times we spent together. The battles, the conversations and even the funny moments; I can still remember them all as if they all happened yesterday. This is the story of a small squad in the Gallian Militia. Small yet if not for us, Gallia may have lost the war…

My name is Aster Claes. I'm one of the war orphans who lived in Riverwood's orphanage. Both my parents were killed during the first Europan war. I was only 19 years old when the fires of war reached my hometown.

It began on March 1935. The Imperial Alliance had set its sights on the Gallia's abundant ragnite supply and begun an all-out invasion. Despite being routed in the battle of Bruhl, they managed to take the border town just days later. With Bruhl gone, Riverwood was next. I was one of the few town watchmen who volunteered to stay in the town. Along with my other childhood friends, and fellow orphans, we were quite the team.

Croix Goosens: 21 years old. He was our team leader. Always calm even during the most intense situations. He would even crack jokes during a firefight. He kept our morale high during the war and he was also a brilliant strategist.

Paul Nicholas: 22 years old. Our one and only sniper. For someone who needed to wear glasses, he had deadly accuracy and like Croix, a brilliant strategist. You could say that he was our 2nd in command.

Cooper: 18 years old. Our darcsen shocktrooper. Despite the stereotype that Darcsens were mostly quiet and anti-social, he's the complete opposite of this. He was energetic and somewhat reckless. He would even taunt his enemies during a firefight. But nonetheless, he was a valuable and reliable ally in our squad.

Rupert "Flunky" Janssens: 19 years old. He was our engineer. Not the best marksman or even fighter at that, hence his nickname, Flunky. You could say that he was a klutz but don't be fooled. When he finds the drive to do something, he's a force to be reckoned with. That's why he was such a dependable engineer. Looking past his clumsiness, he always tried his best to be useful to the squad.

Morris: 20 years old. Our darcsen anti-tank specialist. He prefers to wield lances hence his role. Like Cooper, he's friendly but most of the time, he's pretty quiet. He was also a weapons enthusiast and had a hobby of collecting weapons. I remember there was a time when he picked up the weapons of fallen Imperial soldiers one by one just so he can add it to his "collection" and that was during a firefight. Man… I can still remember the scolding he got from Croix after that battle…

These 6 orphan boys were the best of friends, inseparable as they said. But the war would soon change their lives in more ways than one…

We expected the Imperials to come within a few days but we waited for over a week and they hadn't arrived. No Imperials for a week? It was so weird for them not to arrive that Croix even joked that the Empire might have already lost the war. To tell you the truth, part of me wished that Croix's joke was true.

A week and 2 days after Bruhl fell, the town's alarm bells rang.

"They're here!" I thought

I readied my rifle and went with my team to defend our town. When we reached the frontlines, half the town was already taken. It was my first real firefight. Although we had rifle and tank drills during our elementary and high school years, the real thing was far different than shooting at targets in a firing range. It was nerve-racking. Despite that, I fiercely defended our position.

Just then, I saw 3 Imperial tanks arrive and they fired at our position. One shell managed to hit so close that the 2 town watchmen on my right were killed instantly and I was dazed from the explosion. As I staggered, one thing was on my mind: "Am I going to die here?"

I stared at the corpses of those 2 town watchmen. I didn't even know their names… I guess a part of me began to lose hope. I then felt someone grab me by the shoulders.

"Hey!" the person said

I looked behind me and I saw Croix

"Get a hold of yourself!" he said

"Croix…" I said "… are we going to die here?"

"Don't be stupid!" he replied "The second you give up, it's over!"

"But…" I said "… the Imperial forces are better equipped and better trained…"

Croix simply smiled at me and said "We're the best of the best in Riverwood's town watch! Remember! The word 'surrender' is not in our dictionary!"

"Croix…" I muttered

"Aster… do you remember the times when we used to sneak into our 'secret hideout'?"

"Secret hideout…" I said as I tried to remember where it was "you mean the one in the underground tunnels?"

"You got it!" he said

"But we never went too far into those tunnels!"

"You guys never went too far into those tunnels" he said "I've been exploring those tunnels for years. And I know where to flank these guys. So are you with me?"

Croix was an amazing soldier. Despite having little combat experience that time, he managed to think of a way to outsmart the well-equipped and well-trained Imperial forces. So I went through with his plan. We retreated from the frontlines and entered the tunnels from our orphanage. As we travelled the tunnels, we could feel the Earth shake as the battle raged on top of us. We followed Croix's lead and after about 10 minutes, we found ourselves in the market plaza, and right behind the Imperial forces. It was a perfect situation since we not only managed to flank the Imperials but we did so without being noticed. Croix quickly thought up a battle plan. He told Paul to position in the bell tower just northeast of our position. Cooper and Morris would move forward and take cover by the bakery. While me, Croix and Flunky would take cover in the restaurant. With Paul's first shot as our signal to attack, we waited for him and made sure not to be discovered by the Imperials. In less than 5 minutes, Paul shot an Imperial soldier in the head. That was the signal! And with that, we all opened fire on the Imperials. Morris managed to destroy 2 of the Imperial tanks but failed to destroy the 3rd as his lance rocket missed. The tank then turned around and began to fire on their position.

I took a peep and saw an Imperial soldier was standing next to the tank's radiator. Unfortunately, they spotted me and began shooting at me. I told Croix and Flunky to cover me, as I aimed my rifle, took a deep breath and fired my shot.

I managed to hit the Imperial Soldier's grenade belt which, consequently, caused it to detonate next to the tank's radiator, effectively destroying it. With the tanks destroyed, we were able to turn the tables of the battle against the Imperials and in less than 20 minutes, we managed to drive them out of town. It was a great victory.

We, the surviving town watchmen, gathered by the square to celebrate our victory. But it was short-lived. As we cheered, artillery shells began bombarding the town. It seems that the Imperials learned from their defeat at Bruhl. We were forced to retreat back into the town hall to escape the artillery bombardment. When we reached the town hall, our Chief told all of us to leave town as the Empire was bent on destroying it. At first, leaving town was the last thing we'll ever do but as the artillery bombardment grew fiercer, the harsh reality began to set in and we were forced to abandon our hometown.

It was the first major blow in my life. To think, I'm leaving the town where I grew up. As we reached the outskirts of the city, I saw the city was on fire. Our orphanage, the place where we grew up, was in flames. It was an unpleasant site. Croix then approached me and said

"One day… we'll return to this place and bring peace to Gallia"

"But how are we going to do that?" I asked

"I'll be joining the Gallian Militia. You should join too. Cooper, Morris and Paul have already decided. It's just you and Flunky"

Without a second thought, I told Croix that I would join the militia and fight for Gallia's peace. With one last look of Riverwood, I turned around and began to march to Rangdriz. I never looked back after that taking that last glimpse. As I marched, the only thing on my mind was "One day… I'll return to Riverwood…"