"So, let's start this immediately so we can end at once... Who would like to volunteer their troops for the vanguard?" An thin elderly man in his 60s spoke in a concise and authoritative manner.
With grey hair, a prideful demeanor, and eyes that were both weary yet still sharp, Alexei Alastor Blauschild, also known for being the current Emperor's Grand Uncle, had quite the peculiar reputation about him.
Although he had what could only be described as a very low standing within the Nobles of the upper class, for some reason, no matter how disliked he was by everybody up there, his words still held great weight to them.
Everybody in the room was attentive to what the elderly man was saying. No matter how they looked at him.
Some looked at him with great respect, some with indifference, and even a select few scowled at him with contempt.
You see, the reason for this old man's weird love-hate relationship with the other Nobles was none other than his low origin of birth.
Even though Alexei had the Emperor's Last name, Alastor, and even had the Bizmach Ducal Family's last name at one point in his life, why he was still considered a person of lowly birth, you might ask.
Well you see old man Alexei here was the bastard son of the Alastor and Bizmach houses.
Meaning he was the outcome of an unauthorized affair between the two great families.
And even worse yet was the fact that both his mother and father were also both bastards!
Two unmarried bastards shaming their families by escaping into the night to bear another bastard child. Such was the shame of the two great families as they became the laughing stocks for allowing such a comedic event to take place. Everybody found it so funny that they even gave the child (Alexei) the title of The Great Bastard.
But while it was all fun and games to the people uninvolved, such happiness was sadly not spared for those who were involved.
As a young child, Alexei grew up in a rural area with both the love and affection of his mother and father.
Sadly one fateful day they were discovered and were forced to separate by the two uncaring great families that only cared for their so-called prestige, prioritizing that over the happiness of a loving family.
At a young age, Alexei was torn away from his mother, and he would later find out she committed suicide not long after. The official statement of the Bizmach family said that it was out of shame for her past actions, but Alexei and his father knew she was forced into an early death by their cruel hands.
His father was a little bit more lucky since he was spared suicide. Alexei's father grit his way through the shame and humiliation vowing revenge on the Bizmachs, even getting into a high position within the ranks of the prestigious Varangian Guard. Sadly his old man died during a mission, leaving Alexei an orphan, and still a bastard.
The Great Bastard, Alexei, under the tutelage of his father's friends within the Varangian Guards trained and was soon quickly drafted into their ranks, his talents in swordsmanship so frightening and impactful throughout the many battlefields that he had fought in, that he was even granted the title of 'Sword Emperor', a title held only by the Empire's Guardian Protector, the person considered to be most powerful in Brune.
In fact, Duke's grandfather Gwaine and Alexei were great rivals for this title at the time, with Alexei's swordsmanship vs. Gwaine's seemingly endless Aura.
This rivalry alone spoke volumes of Alexei's skill, to even be considered on the level of an international hero such as Gwaine, whose name was known throughout the farthest reaches of the territories of man...
Whilst he and Gwaine had a great rivalry over the title, Alexei was actually very close friends with Gwaine at the time, considering his rivalry with the national hero an honor...
The title of Guardian Protector however was nevertheless granted to Alexei in the end due to his immediate blood relations with the Imperial Family.
After receiving the title, countless Nobles that mocked and belittled Alexei suddenly changed their tones. Overnight he was suddenly well-liked within Noble society again, even getting his bastard status revoked, adding Alastor and Bizmach to his last names...
But if you'd think Alexei was happy to receive these titles, you'd be sadly mistaken.
Not once had Alexei forgotten what these nobles had done to his peaceful family.
And Alexei was not one bit happy with the new names he had received, quickly tearing out his name from the Bizmach Ledger.
Even saying right in front of the Emperor and every Noble there that the only reason he didn't tear out his name from the Alastor Imperial Ledger, was because it was illegal to do so.
Using his sudden influx in political influence, Alexei opted to take his mother's maiden name, Blauschild, instead, hence his name Alexei Alastor Blauschild.
The last name of an unknown lowly commoner's family right next to the illustrious last name of Emperors. Such was the deviously well-crafted disrespect for Nobility and titles that Alexei had mischievously done. Truly the devious troll he was.
And of course, Alexei could do these incredibly disrespectful and almost treasonous acts, due to the immense strength he had that no one could rival, except of course by Gwaine, but Gwaine didn't really care to do anything about his rival. In fact, Gwaine was quite sympathetic towards Alexei's actions, thinking them "quite funny".
Of course, because of his antagonistic actions, Alexei was sent to suicide missions A LOT.
Every time there was a dangerous mission or a war on two fronts that Gwaine couldn't handle alone, Alexei was always voted by everyone to be put on the most dangerous front lines with the least amount of men.
Gwaine, after winning the war on his front, would immediately rush towards his rival as reinforcement. But by the time Gwaine got there, Alexei was always most likely already on his final knees.
Over the years, Alexei's battle prowess grew weaker and weaker for some reason. Some say he was being poisoned, while others say it was karma for his blatant disrespect of Nobility. His title as Guardian Protector was passed to Gwaine at some point. Then back to the new Emperor, his nephew, which was later on inherited by the current Emperor, who when taking the Imperial Throne, inherited its divine power passed from past Emperors, hence automatically making him the strongest warrior in Brune.
In truth, the title of Brune's Guardian Protector normally goes to the Emperor due to the sheer strength they inherit from the Throne. It was quite rare for another person who was not Emperor, such as Gwaine and Alexei, to hold the prestigious title, since that would mean the person holding said title must've been monsters if they could overpower the Inherited Powers given to the Emperor.
But, such were the strength of the two monsters known as Gwaine The Great Dragon and Alexei The Sword Emperor.
As Alexei grew weaker and weaker over the course of time, younger generations of heroes began surpassing him. And over time his name slowly became forgotten, and he was dubbed as the Fallen (Sword) Emperor.
As the missions thrown at him grew harder and harder and as he grew weaker and weaker, winning a victory on the battlefield became harder and harder for him...
But although his reputation wasn't as great as it used to be, Alexei, fallen or not, never lost a battle.
Though his individual strength had gotten smaller, his abilities as a commander flourished as he was thrown from one impossible task to another. Despite the numerous sacrifices needed to be made, no matter how suicidal the situation was, he would somehow make it. Giving him the title of The Last Wall Standing. A fitting title for a person from the Bizmach Family. known for their specialty in defense/siege warfare.
And he was indeed the last one standing, the one who had the last laugh, as it was through Alexei, that William Bizmach and Varhys Alastor became the family head/Emperor despite the total lack of support and total opposition from all sides.
It was Alexei who backed the young Varhys and William during the times they were considered weak and outcasts from their own families.
And, much like his title, it was Alexei, not the old Alastors nor Bizmachs that did him wrong, no, it was Alexei who was the last one standing. As he retired back into the background as one of the new Emperor, Varhys' advisers.
... Or so Duke thought, up until he saw the man who was supposed to be their Commander for this so-called 'simple expedition' to reinforce Konigsberg.
To Duke, Commander Alexei was a legend not far from his grandfather Gwaine, and to see him in person was truly an honor for Duke, but at the same time it made him wonder: [Why would commander Alexei need to get out of retirement and lead these reinforcements himself???] Duke questioned.
It was at that point that Duke then realized the war against the barbarians up north wasn't as simple as it looked.