Chapter 1

“Lady Zahradnik? Lady Zahradnik!”

Dammit, I lost her again…

Joachim was short of stature compared to the average man in the Empire, so tiptoeing offered him little better of a view over the crowds in the busy fortress town of Aoten. He edged his way past the groups of Imperial Knights clustered in front of the inns and brothels in the lanes off of the settlement’s main street. His head turned to scan the streets as he went; as eye-catching as she was, he still couldn’t believe how easy Lady Zahradnik was to lose track of.

As much as the Noble from the Sorcerous Kingdom frowned over the nearby establishments and the services that they offered to the fortress and its attendant division, she seemed to care little about the fact that she was being seen in the same place. Unlike a regular imperial noblewoman who might become uncomfortable with the setting because of all the men and what they came for or the scandals that might follow in her wake, the Baroness had a whole other slew of reasons as to why she didn’t like the locale.

This dislike stemmed from the fact that she was a follower of the Six Great Gods with all of the strangeness that the Faith of the Six entailed. As an adherent of Surshana – a god of death, judgement and justice – the restrictive nature of her religion was magnified through her similarly strict character.

To her, the behaviour of the soldiers was abhorrent to her sensibilities because many of them were ‘too young’ – which meant under twenty. Followers of the Six considered chastity a virtue until the age of twenty, after which chastity was then discouraged in adults. Sex was natural and healthy and encouraged – especially if it resulted in children.

This had its own caveats, of course. Foremost was that they pursued their relationships with the objective of getting married and starting a family. Attraction between men and women had criteria: vocational success, lineage, and bloodlines determined through a mysterious system of its own. There was zero tolerance for inbreeding, though that part wasn’t a bad thing. They pursued family life religiously, according to tenets that Joachim could only see as esoteric and borderline tyrannical.

Chastity was considered a virtue in the Faith of the Four because it symbolised purity. In the Faith of the Six, chastity in youth was promoted as a virtue because it was a form of control that allowed the temples to keep track of the bloodlines that they fanatically maintained. Fidelity in monogamous relationships was ‘virtuous’ for the same underlying reason.

Every follower of The Six approached matches in a way akin to the imperial Nobility, except that wealth, influence and station had no bearing on how they weighed potential partners. Being a Noble was just a collection of responsibilities and tasks, considered much the same as a Blacksmith, Farmer or Merchant. Everything that followers of The Six did was about what they believed refined the collective strength of humanity and ensured its survival as a species.

Indeed, Lady Zahradnik didn’t have a problem with brothels themselves – she had a problem with how they promoted the ‘wrong’ criteria for attraction and sex, weakening humanity as a whole. Once Joachim finally managed to wrap his head around that piece of ludicrous superstition, he could only wonder what a brothel in the Slane Theocracy was like.

Did they even need brothels? A soldier could probably just go to the local temple and their Priests would readily produce some equally eager woman and they would go off on their crazy way. Followers of The Six were just that strange.

Joachim could only squirm uncomfortably with how natural Lady Zahradnik was about the entire thing. She was a product of a culture forged around the tenets of a mad faith and many things that he found wrong about it were right to her. There was no room for debate; they were simply irreconcilable.

Despite his efforts to keep his personal beliefs from potentially resulting in an altercation with a member of a religion notorious for its brutal zealotry, he feared that someone would start an argument at some point. The result would surely be a blood-filled crater where a company’s encampment used to be.

The Baroness was the sort who would impose her draconian values on her subjects, bear dozens of children on demand and happily rush off to commit atrocities in the name of her evil Undead god. He feared to imagine what sort of dismal place her demesne might be, though it would probably be fitting for the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Something tugged at his sleeve as he approached the end of the street. A cool, feminine voice sounded at his shoulder.

“I’m not sure what people will think if they see a member of your priesthood gaping at a brothel district like that.”

“M-my lady,” Joachim jumped. “I was actually looking for you. I-I mean–”

“I know what you meant,” the Baroness replied. “I’ve already spoken to Captain Randall. Let’s head back out.”

He could only dash after her, praying that she wouldn’t vanish again. The blistering pace at which she conducted her duties had Joachim constantly worrying that he would be left behind.

Over the past week or so, they went from garrison to garrison, visiting each division of the Fifth Legion to deliver ‘Cavalry Squads’ composed of monstrously powerful Undead. She spoke briefly with each Commander – who always seemed shocked over her abrupt appearance – snatched up the first company that was brave enough to work with the Undead and dragged them off for ‘familiarisation’ with their new supplementary security forces.

Outside of the town gate, Joachim sat down on a stump to catch his breath. Lady Zahradnik seemed no less weary than she was before. Rangers were well-known for their endurance, but she may as well have been tireless.

“Did Captain Randall give you any trouble, my lady?”

“His response was prompt once I delivered the Commander’s orders,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Were there some worries that you wished to share with me?”

“Ah, no, my lady. Just wondering.”

Lady Zahradnik turned a curious gaze in his direction and he did his best not to flinch away. Captain Randall’s reputation was known throughout the Wyvernmark, though whether it was good or bad depended on who one asked. The son of a local Baron, he was a man who loved to fight, loved to drink and loved women in mostly that order.

The people both adored and hated him for the same qualities. Because he was fair to look upon, however, the general public tended to go soft on him for his faults and praised him for everything else. Captain Randall was a ‘winner’ in the game of life, but Joachim feared that that life would be cut short. If he mistook Lady Zahradnik for one of many young women who lined up to fling themselves onto his bed he very well may have been flung out of his window instead.

She didn’t look angry, at least…but she never looked angry. One had to be especially wary around such individuals, as their wrath would often come suddenly or undetected until it was too late. The ‘liaison officer’ sent by the Sorcerous Kingdom was a gallantly beautiful young woman with an exotic, southern look and an exotic, southern accent. And worshipped a god of death. Given everything else about her, the last part would be conveniently ignored by many at their peril.

The temple bells tolled to mark midmorning and a company of Imperial Knights emerged from the nearby gate. Captain Randall trotted his horse straight towards them, resplendent in his polished full plate.

“Baroness Zahradnik,” he offered a crisp salute. “Captain Jered Rewin Dale Randall of the Second Division’s First Company, reporting as ordered.”

“Thank you for your swift response, Captain Randall,” Lady Zahradnik said as she eyed the men forming ranks behind him. “Are we ready to depart?”

“The entire company is accounted for, my lady.”

“Good. This way, Captain.”

If anything had happened between them in the brothel, neither gave any sign of it. After his gaze went back and forth between the two for several moments, Joachim decided that the Baroness had yet again succeeded in employing her usual tactics.

The Imperial Army was an institution steeped in martial tradition and her approach to interactions exploited a number of cultural elements that its veterans responded positively to. Lady Zahradnik was the perfect weapon to deploy against them: a personification of what they held the highest regard for. She was steel veiled in silk, carrying herself in such a way that everything else simply fell into place.

Baroness Zahradnik turned to lead them down the side of the road to a pasture below the walls of the fortress town. Despite having seen identical Undead for nearly two weeks now, Joachim was still unsettled by the ‘Cavalry squad’ neatly arranged over the fresh green growth emerging with the final weeks of winter.

“I never thought I’d see the like again,” Captain Randall said as they stopped at the edge of the field.

“Can your men handle them, Captain?”

“Fighting against them,” the Captain replied, “most assuredly not. But everyone here has seen them before…”

Captain Randall's voice trailed off as Lady Zahradnik looked past his shoulder. He frowned as he twisted in his saddle to find that the First Company had stopped halfway down the slope. The Captain cleared his throat.

“This won’t take a moment, my lady,” he wheeled his mount back around.

Several moments later, the first of the men came down to join them. More than a few gripped the holy symbols hanging from their necks and wrists. The company’s Clerics sent reproachful looks in Joachim’s direction as if questioning how an adherent of the Earth God could tolerate the presence of the Undead.

Like Joachim, they were raised and trained to perceive and treat the Undead as anathema: an enemy to all life that could be granted no quarter. Forced to remain silent on the matter, their frustration was plain. Any incidents that they caused would be used by the imperial administration as justification to levy punitive measures against the Temples of the Four. They could only watch as the Undead gained a foothold in the Empire.

Lady Zahradnik's Soul Eater came over and she smoothly mounted the Undead steed. Joachim had to run over to get his pale grey warhorse.

“Shall we get going, Captain Randall?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“…were there no special instructions, my lady?”

“Nothing that can’t be discussed while we ride,” the Baroness said. “Your men and animals need to grow accustomed to the Death-series servitors before they can begin working with them. I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions that they have when the time comes.”

Captain Randall sent his horse into a walk and the Baroness brought her mount alongside his. Joachim fell in beside her, watching the locals hurriedly make way as their column proceeded down the road.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, Lady Zahradnik,” the Captain said, “you appear to be in a hurry.”

“That’s because the Fifth Legion was a month behind schedule when I arrived,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “I expected to be consulting with your officers over the nuances of the Death-series servitors and how they could best assist with the realm’s security. Instead…well, I’m sure you’re more than aware of what’s going on. What the Sixth Legion is doing demands haste from the Fifth Legion.”

“Does that mean you approve or disapprove of their activities?”

“Whether or not I approve has no bearing on the Fifth Legion’s responsibilities, Captain. The Court Council of the Baharuth Empire has received instructions to supplement the Imperial Army with Death-series servitors.”

“If only it were so simple.”

“I won’t pretend that it is,” Lady Zahradnik agreed, “but our priorities remain unchanged. Not incorporating the Undead into your security arrangements would be failing in your duty to the Emperor and as sworn defenders of the Empire. The fact of the matter is that a risk is present and that risk must be accounted for. In its stubborn attempts to dissuade the Sixth Legion from acting as it has, the Fifth Legion is using imperial citizens as shields. This is unacceptable.”

The Captain’s question had been asked by every officer who interacted with Baroness Zahradnik. Her answer always caused an uneasy feeling to fall over Joachim. She was correct about their duties, but, at the same time, she didn’t seem to care that incorporating the Undead meant General Ray would be one step closer to vindicating his reckless strategy.

With the Undead slipping into their roles in the Fifth Legion, the leadership of the Sixth Legion started to see promise in General Ray’s approach. In an unprecedented reversal of the status quo, the Imperial Army had become the raiders and the Demihuman tribes were the defenders. While Lady Zahradnik was personally displeased with the result, as far as Joachim knew she was here to assist the Sixth Legion with their task. She was as firm as she seemed to everyone that saw her, conducting herself as duty demanded.

Hours passed as they followed the distinct line of unmanaged wilderness that marked the southern border of the Empire. Beyond it, a low highland plateau rose like a grim fortress hundreds of kilometres wide. Around noon, Baroness Zahradnik launched into a thorough rundown of the capabilities and roles of Death Cavaliers, explaining the basic ways in which they could be employed in conjunction with imperial patrols.

After each squad was sent with one of the Undead to participate in a wide, eastward sweep that covered both sides of the border, Lady Zahradnik, the Captain and Joachim joined the last squad in the formation.

“You seem well-accustomed to this,” Captain Randall noted.

“The Second Division is the last to receive their Death-series servitors,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Next will be to start consulting with the Sixth Legion on their ‘expeditionary activities’.”

“At this juncture,” the Captain said, “I’m fairly certain that you disapprove of their actions.”

“I believe Captain Ward summed things up nicely as they are relevant to the Imperial Army,” Lady Zahradnik told him. “The Sixth Legion should be fighting their own battles.”

Joachim stared idly towards the treeline at the mention of his grandfather’s name. The Baron and the Baroness had taken quite a liking to one another, enough that one could say that she had been adopted as a sort of granddaughter. Be it in their austere outlook as Frontier Nobles or their stoic sensibilities, the two felt like kindred spirits.

“Captain Ward is the best of us,” Captain Randall nodded. “He might not be the strongest, but his existence encapsulates what it means to be a Captain of the Imperial Army.”

“The Sixth Legion doesn’t appear to share that sentiment.”

A disparaging expression came over the young Captain’s face. The tone of his voice was equally so.

“With how it’s been ‘reorganised’,” he said, “I can hardly call it a Legion. I understand the mandate of this ‘expeditionary army group’, but it has lost too much of what it means to be part of the Imperial Army. We may as well paint them green.”

“That might be an insult to Goblins, Captain Randall.”

Captain Randall snorted.

“Indeed, my lady. You may be right about that.”