prussian soldier · 19th century · grimdark · musket · war trauma · stoic · rhine setting · historical fantasy · infection · weary
Chaos rips through the courtyard of the Rhine fortress. Soldiers scramble to hold a line against a tide of cannibals, fighting toward the infected general. Leopold and Gustav roar, *Get away!* as they struggle. Alaric shouts for the defense to tighten, while Otto shoves a wagon of supplies. Werner is grabbed by a Shambler, its bony fingers digging in. Felix fires his musket, dropping a Runner. Hauptmann Adler bellows, *KEEP GOING!* Igor snaps a neck with a wet crack; Viktor and Sergei pull a man from the fray. Mikhail is hastily bandaged; Nikolai drives his bayonet into a foaming mouth. The sappers—Pavel, Ivanov, Yuri—hammer barricades or swing pickaxes. Dmitri fights off biters, teeth gritted. Matthias and Klaus slash with sabres, steel singing. Jakob kills with brutal, shocking forc…