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Brabus' History In the Year 1968 of the Third Age, the House of Ovilar in the city Tor-Raisa saw the last of three sons born to the nobleman Javilar and his wife Karwin: Brabus, the youngest brother to Chayvus and Davilar. Although Karwinís mother was pureblooded Ottigani, only Brabus was born with beautiful dark hair and lightly tanned skin; both Chayvus and Davilar were fair-haired and light-skinned. The three brothers quickly grew tall and strong, and their eyes gleamed with curiosity and exuberance. Although Javilar was a Raisan noble, he was very poor. In his youth his own father Trabus had foolish spent nearly all the wealth of the House of Ovilar while crusading with the doomed House of Hanray along the archipelagoes in the south seas. Consequently, the majority of Javilarís life had been spent trying to regain the riches of his youth, leaving him at times bitter and despondent. Yet despite their relative poverty, neither Chayvus, Davilar nor Brabus lacked the basic necessities of life. Much of his childhood was spent playing with and chasing his brothers in his familyís dark, sprawling ancestral home. His family occupied only one wing of the massive townhouse and the three brothers spent many an hour exploring the dusty, neglected wings. When Chayvus turned 7-years old, he was sent away to the Raisan court; Brabus did not understand why Davilar would enviously watch Chayvusí back as he trudged up the cobblestone street towards the large keep. The following year when Davilar began his own courtly education, Brabus began to associate the Raisan Keep with a sense of foreboding and menace. Karwin would come into a room where her rambunctious boys used to play and yell and she would find Brabus sitting alone by the open window, the wind buffeting his glossy black hair; and every evening when the brothers would return, they would talk of courtiers and ladies and kings and titles until Brabusí head would spin from the big words. Brabus finally turned 7-years old in the Year 1975. One day that Fall his father dressed him in his finest garb and took him to the Keep, the huge fortification that swallowed his brothers every morning and disgorged them every night, the place that Brabus associated with loss and anxiety. When his father introduced him to the Prince and petitioned he accept Brabus into his court as a page, Brabus burst into tears. Life at the court began rigid and lonely; his older brothers were already being trained as squires and consequently Brabus saw them for a short while only at night. At court, most of the other noblemenís children shunned his dark hair and complexion. Yet Brabus was an earnest and clever child and soon made friends who didnít mind his slightly exotic heritage. He quickly learned how to listen for the softly approaching footsteps of the stern Master Squire Aquiondil and always knew when the older pages were looking to thrash one of the younger ones. The realization that he was treated differently by the other children occurred at an early age -- the older pages resented his growing size and stature, some of the children were alienated by his mixed race and some of the more noblemenís children scorned him because his father worked hard daily instead of plotting and scheming at the Raisan palace like their fathers. After their schooling and especially during the summers, Chayvus, Davilar and Brabus assisted the Mason Philohar. Although they were supposed to "oversee" the laborers, in reality the three boys were put to work laying marble floors or putting up plaster walls! Despite the bruising to their pride, each summer laid the foundation for each of their impressive physical statures. Brabus reached the age of sixteen in the Spring of the Year 1984 and entered the Alikan military three years after Chayvus and two years after Davilar. As the sons of a poor nobleman, their only chance to distinguish themselves at court was through achievements at war. Chayvus and Davilar were both inducted into the famed and powerful 9th Alikan Silver Cavalry. However, his brothers had come back with such wondrous stories about their training, their magnificent steeds and the history of the 9th that Brabus had felt inadequate and sullen. He needed to try something that reflected his abilities and his newfound strength, for, when his brothers had left for the military, he was left working for the Mason Philohar all by himself. Consequently, "Little Brabus" blossomed into a tall, powerful young man. When Brabus finally applied for entry into service in the Alikan military, the royal recruiters argued amongst themselves as to which branch he should enter. Much to his fatherís chagrin (and his motherís dismay), Brabus was chosen by the 132nd Longteeth Company of Alikan pikemen, a historic and decorated military unit. Of course, both his brothers derided him for such a "lowly" military branch but he would have none of it; for once, Brabus was respected on his own, out from his brothersí shadows. As befitting a young nobleman, Brabus went from the basic pikemen training to the Royal Officerís Training Corps. Here, he was educated and drilled by the finest Alikan military minds until his skill in the tactics and deployment of his unit were as deadly as his use of the pike and short sword. Many of his veteran professors were impressed not only with his size and strength but also his shrewd and sometimes "creative" tactical decisions. However, it wasnít until the Second Rhakhaanian War that Brabus was able to fully use both his tactical and combat prowess. In the Spring of the Year 1985 of the Third Age, the Second Rhakhaanian-Alikan War began. The offensive by the Alikan High Command was fierce and bloody. Brabusí unit was first deployed under Rhakhaanian fire into the Huac Basin in the middle of the night. Elements of the 9th Silver Cavalry, 12th Ground-Pounders and 14th Stonefist Heavy Infantry supported three full companies of the 62nd, 66th and 68th Regular infantry; over 3,000 men were committed to the fray. Supported by the 50th Archer division split into three units, three full units of the 130th, 132nd and 136th Pikemen companies lead the charge against the vaunted QuiríAnic or War Dog units of the Rhakhaan Emirate. The Alikan forces, though superior in number, were slowed in their run across the Basin. At daylight, reinforced by reserves from the 9th Cav (Chayvusí command) and 12th Heavy, the Alikan forces established their command bunker and began fortifying their positions. After the Alikan offensive, both sides dug in for what ended up being a long, six-year war of attrition. Men fought and died repeatedly for the same stretch of land over the next few months and the earth became sodden with blood. Brabusí immediate CO was Captain Easten, a stern and pragmatic man. He was instrumental in developing Brabusí tactical skill, teaching him how to read opponents from across the battlefield and how to best deploy their company based on terrain. Yet for all their tactical skill and strength of arms, time and time again the 132nd was called upon to lead a charge with a phalanx of shimmering spear-tips and time and time again it was only the incredible courage of the QuiríAnic fighters that repelled them. Slowly, much too slowly, the Alikan forces gained Rhakhaan ground. In the second year of the war, commands came from in from the Alikan High Command in Tor-Alik about a new offensive that would be mounted in the first week of Spring. Itís goal would be the fortress of Baiíhir, a fortified bastion perched on the northernmost tip of the Callicta range. For his shrewd thinking and minor heroics in battle over the last several months, Brabus was honored by the company to be the bear their standard for this crucial charge. As Spring awoke around them, Alikan forces quietly arrayed themselves for the charge across fifteen miles of rugged terrain, creating a corridor to Baiíhir and cutting the northern QuiríAnic forces in half. On the second week of Spring in the Year 1986, the Alikan forces charged through the QuiríAnic battle lines and the Rhakhaan forces fell back under their desperate, frenzied fighting. The battle lasted three days. Incredibly, the War Dog armies blunted and repulsed some of the initial attack; the 130th and 136th Pikemen were scattered early and took six hours alone to reassign and regroup. During that first bloody morning, the 132nd spearheaded the entire Alikan infantry, grouping for charge after charge into the QuiríAnic. When Captain Easten was injured and escorted away, Brabus communicated with Alikan command via running messengers as well as leading each charge: he became exhausted, staggering but never dropping the companyís honor. Sunrise on the third day, the QuiríAnic struck back. Quietly shifted during the previous two nights, forced to lay low during the day and not assist in their comradesí valiant battle as they hid from the keen eyes of Alikan forward observers, two units of War Dog spear-men struck at the neck of the Alikan armies, severing their supply lines and surrounding them whole. To support the attack, Rhakhaan generals fed the spear-men thrust with two fresh companies of their own infantry, painfully held in reserve during the final frenzied Alikan charge. The counterattack was devastating; the Alikan infantry units broke down and ran into the jaws of the waiting War Dog reserves. The rout turned into a slaughter. Were it not for the heroics of the exhausted 12th and 14th Heavy Infantry, painfully exhausted yet boldly and stoically turning to face the two companies of fresh QuiríAnic warriors, the entire Alikan Southern army would have been shattered. However, when the infantrymen turned tail, the 132nd Alikan Longteeth pikemen were decimated. On the smoking front of the battle, Brabusí forces turned at the great shout of despair lifted by the Alikan infantry behind them to find that their backside had been penetrated; into the vacuum swept the reinvigorated QuiríAnic warriors. Armed with only short swords and no Regular infantry support for the close-quarters combat, the 132nd simply collapsed. Brabus was able to rally those closest to him for a retreat; all told, only 13 men returned from a unit once 120 strong. The 9th Alikan Silver Cavalry led the final charge that broke through the Rhakhaanian War Dogsí battle lines, paving the way for a semi-ordered retreat. As the Alikan army limped its way back to the Huac Basin, it was harried mercilessly by the QuiríAnic. Fortunately for the Alikan generals, the Rhakhaanian army was unable to invade with only two somewhat fresh companies and both armies limped back to their stalemate to lick their wounds. After the Longteeth were broken at the Battle of Bai'hir, at the age of 18 Brabus was assigned to his first true command, the 37th Alikan Sappers Corps of Engineers. Although obscure and close-knit, Captain Easten had recommended his brawny young officer to this special forces outfit and the Sappersí ex-CO agreed. Brabus and his new unit were shipped away to northern Alik to train for three months while the war sat at a stalemate. There, he learned to tactically affect an entry into a variety of stone, wood, natural or man-made strongholds from above, below or along the ground or even water. His fighting skills were likewise improved as he rapidly learned all of the Sappersí close-quarters and hand-to-hand techniques. Yet for all the specialized training he received, it would not be enough to prepare him for the brutal blindfighting in the tunnels under Rhakhaanian strongholdsÖ