Regent's Swordsmen Brigade

[RegentMan]

Hydrino awoke in the makeshift barracks. The brigade that he's in, Regent's Swordsmen Brigade, has been fortified in the town of New London for quite awhile. Yet the mayor has merely now begun construction on a real barracks. "Figures," thought Hydrino to himself.

There must have been more Fanatannians armed with swords than civilians in the sleepy town. The soldiers knew that they wouldn't be there forever, but it was hard to pass the time. Hydrino prepared himself for another day of waiting. There would be drills and runs, but this isn't what he wanted. What he wanted was to return home. The morning haze made him uncomfortable; it was always sunny in donsignia.

"Up boys!" called the brigade's leader. Hydrino knew this day would go slowly, but he hoped the company of his fellow swordsmen would speed it up. After all, he was defending his country. "For donsignia," he thought. "May I return home soon."

 

[MOTH]

At least Hydrino has some new Silk underwear to help keep warm and to give to the ladies when he returns home. Have the locals (Indians mostly) been behaving well or has the garrison been kept busy with insurgency?

 

[RegentMan]

As Hydrino walked to the training grounds, which was nothing more than an open field, he noticed a disturbance. In the local market, an Indian native was causing an uproar. "This is an Indian city!" he was shouting to the Fanatannia market man. "And as an Indian, I demand this bread for free!" "Sir. I need one gold and three auras for this loaf of bread. Do not make me get the authorities," replied the market man. The Indian grabbed the loaf and ran. Hydrino saw this and took after the man. Catching up to him in less than a minute, he smacked the bread out of his hand and tackled him. "Yet another 'Grey' in jail," thought Hydrino. But he knew it had to be done. "For donsignia," he thought. "May I return home soon."

 

[RegentMan]

"Wake up men!" yelled the general. The men in Hydrino's group awoke slowly; they chased down seven more Indian men the previous night. "Another day of training," thought Hydrino. But that would not be the case. "We have orders to march today. We will be joining other Fanatannian Sword Divisions in this march." Hydrino instantly shrugged off all tiredness he had. They were finally leaving! No more resistance hunting and no more training for the time being!

But where were they marching to? Tens of thousands of armed men were trudging through the silk forests north of New London. Surely this wasn't just another routine thing. But Hydrino put two and two together as he realized that Regent's Swordsmen Brigade, and the rest of the Fanatannian army, was approaching Dutch borders...

 

[RegentMan]

The desert heat was killing them. Sweat dripped from their foreheads. More and more swordsmen were passing out cold, or in this case, hot. The brigade slowed down as each step went fewer and fewer feet ahead. By this time, the general had revealed to his men that they were going to invade the Netherlands. However, had the Dutch attacked them at that moment, Hydrino was certain that each and every man would die. "Regent's Swordsmen Brigade: Halt!" shouted the general. Hydrino sat down and began drinking his ration of water. At this point, water was the best thing ever. "I hope that this march is worth it," Hydrino muttered to himself.

 

[RegentMan]

Richard sat silently, watching for any Dutch movement inside the city of Rotterdam. As the head scout for Regent's Swordsmen Brigade, he knew that he needed to keep a keen eye. A major offensive was planned for the next week, and the army needed to know of any defensive movements the Dutch might take. The wind blew through the trees in this extremely odd desert day. "So grey," thought Richard to himself. "I surely remember the march here not being so peaceful." He then looked at the city gates. They opened. Divisions upon divisions of Dutch swordsmen came marching out. "A counterattack!" Richard thought. He got up to run. As he sprinted through the oasis, a Dutch arrow found its new home in Richard's head. Fanatannia now had no warning of the coming assault.

 

[RegentMan]

Hydrino looked at his reflection in the river. “Bah! Missed a spot!” he muttered. He picked up his razor and made a few more strokes. The major battle against the Dutch city of Rotterdam was planned to begin next week. He needed to look his best for the people that he would slaughter. Grabbing his sword and a rock, Hydrino sharpened his killing device and thought of home. The places. The grasslands. The memories. In the midst of such happy flashbacks, an eerie scream interrupted them. Hydrino turned his head and saw a horrible sight:

“Men, into formations! Men, into formations! Let’s move, move, move!” yelled the general. Hydrino sprang into action. He grabbed his sword and ran to the line. “Men! Countercharge!” The entire brigade advanced. The Dutch had sent a weak scouting force ahead, a fact made clear by the divisions of swordsmen advancing behind them. “Mere practice,” Hydrino thought. He drew his sword back and cut into the Dutch. Sooner than the assault began, the Dutch surprise was destroyed. However, a horde of swords remained.

The fighting raged until dusk. At this time, the Dutch army had been completely surrounded and destroyed by Regent’s Swordsmen Brigade. Hydrino finally took a break and sat down next to a fallen Dutchman. It appeared that their months and months of training had paid off. Thousands of Dutch had died, leaving the brigade unscathed. In fact, because of their surprising and decisive victory, the brigade was awarded with more troops – and a fancy metal. This metal signified their rank as elites over the rest of the Fanatannian army. “From now on every enemy of my home will fear our name,” thought Hydrino. He looked at his reflection in his sword. “Damn… I look good.”