Imperial Blues: The Tale of Griffith

My name is Griffith, and I used to work for the Scarlet Moon Empire. I was a commander in their army, and I was in charge of a lot of good soldiers. I was stationed at the Northern Checkpoint, somewhere between Scarletecia Castle and Moravia Castle. My position was overthrown one day and I surrendered myself into the Liberation Army. Obviously, I never thought something like that would happen when I signed up.

Like half of the world at the time, I swore an oath of loyalty to Barbarossa after the Succession War. I had been born in Kaku, which benefited me greatly since I lived so close to the capitol. When I was old enough, I desired to make good on the oath I had made and joined the imperial army as quickly as possible.

People say that the Empire was corrupted, but it wasn't always like that. The Golden Empire was exactly that for the first few years of its existence. There was much prosperity and wealth in the country, and the empire was generous and kind, with many competent leaders at its helm (ahem, I was one of them).

The imperial army was tough, and very unforgiving. I should know, I was a part of it. When I first arrived in my barracks, I had a mixture of emotions about the situation: the sheer realization of where I was and what I was into, the size of the camp, the number of cadets, how stern our superiors were, and your basic all-around youthful anxiety. I fit in well, though, and I made some pretty good friends along the way.

I was just average when it came to fighting (or anything else for that matter), and I wasn't exactly the world's smartest man. I knew how to follow orders okay, and I definitely had a knack for leading men into battle. Ironic as it seems, my loyalty was my strong point. As I rose in rank, the men under my command began to like me more and more, which in turn benefited myself.

The army life was tough, and I went through a lot just to survive. I made few friends there, and little else can be said of my experience other than the food wasn't really great. My skills were being exercised greatly, and I got a promotion every eight months (or so it seemed), and I was receiving a small pension for my involvement. Eventually, I graduated from the training, and was offered a permanent position in the military. I would be positioned in a good part of the world, and I would have plenty of men under my supervision. Since I was just an average soldier, I wouldn't be given any more responsibilities than I could handle. Needless to say, I leaped at the chance.

For the first month in my new position, I made sure that all my subordinates knew who I was and what I expected of them. I became their commander in time, and soon the entire immediate area was under my watch. I insisted that the soldiers be drilled in case of emergencies, but with Milich Oppenheimer to the south and Kasim Hazil to the north, I had little to worry about.

I didn't care much for the Liberation Army. Even though they were supposed to be my enemies, I let them slide on by with a "live and let live" policy--they don't bother me, I don't bother them. This was a mistake--because of my lack of involvement, my men grew lazy and restless, and the army increased in size. I had been placed in a good position where I could lend some serious aid to the empire, but even a mountain is conquerable. To elaborate, here's what I mean…

Slowly but surely, the Empire began festering. I didn't really notice this change, since I was crammed in between two great generals, but I certainly got wind of it. Fires began starting and blood began boiling, and soon an all-out rebellion was taking place. I heard some former imperial noblewoman was the leader; how ironic. Captain Mintz was also rumored to be a part of it; heaven help us all if that were the case!

Despite having a top-secret spy amongst their ranks, I couldn't help but grow nervous as the steamroller known as Liberation came plowing my way. First Kwanda Rosman's area fell, then Milich's. I knew that if Milich had fallen, I would soon crumble afterwards. I literally fell down on my knees after I heard of Teo McDohl's defeat, and the Lorimar takeover sent chills up my spine. I didn't like the man they had sent into that region, but I heard that he was quite terrorizing.

My assumptions proved correct. The Liberation Army eventually passed by my area, feigning a mock battle. This little trick cost me the checkpoint, but I knew I was screwed once Teo and Milich were defeated. Shrugging with defeat, I handed my area over to the army without too much hassle, and loaned what remained of my soldiers in the fight. My heart sank as I scoured the newspapers the next day. There was no indication that the Northern Checkpoint had been taken over.

I was forced to betray my precious empire soon afterwards. I halfway enjoyed it, actually; imagine the look on my face as I entered Moravia castle with Mathiu Silverberg in tow! And you can only imagine the look on Kasim's face as he leaned that he had been tricked into surrendering. Without spilling a single drop of blood, Moravia fell into the Liberation Army's hands, and only Shaharazade and the capitol were next.

I didn't put myself to terribly good use while in this new army (the food was much better). Once in awhile, I would be called in to fight something, and I even lent a hand in taking over the capitol. Imagine the pain in my heart as I presented myself to my emperor, and imagine that same pain escalated as I realized that he didn't even know who I was. Up until a week ago, I had served the empire for almost fifteen years.

After Gregmister came into possession of the Toran Republic, I relinquished my title and started my own business. Feel free to come on by sometime, and I'll show you what kind of pursuits I truly desired to chase after (I figured I wasn't meant for the army). As of now, I have collected a small fortune from my chain of grocery stores. It's too bad, though… I never got my moment in the sun. Ah, well. Not everyone can be famous.

The End