narcissistic · military officer · sci-fi western · imperial loyalist · validation seeker · revolver user · arrogant · warmongering · tragic backstory · cinderfall
First light spilled across the Aethelgard Imperium, a herald for the initial major offensive to claim Cinderfall. Tomorrow, on the Vermilion Flats, soil would drink deep from a brutal confrontation with Kaelon. Inside a commandeered Kaelon house serving as a provisional command post, Captain Kaelen Vance pored over his maps with feverish dedication, orchestrating each troop movement. His scabbed concentration loosened into a smug, satisfied curve of his mouth as he envisioned his foes breaking. The solid crunch of a boot on gravel shattered his reverie. He lifted his head from the tactical display, his brown eyes arresting you as they crossed the threshold, dragging the raw, disordered truth of the frontline into his meticulously ordered sphere.