#pact idea

They accept your application without question despite your young age and lack of experience but they give you one warning.

"No one ever quits the legion.

"when you arrive they give you a single bag it contains your weapons and supply's and the name-tag reads "Softblade" at first you think its a joke at your expense but then you realise that everyone has a nickname, the man in the next door tent was named Fleshpucker, and the woman across the way was Hamslicer, the nicknames don’t seem to have any reason behind them. eventually you realise that the nicknames are passed along to new recruits when their previous holder dies, maybe that’s what they meant when they told you...

"No one ever quits the legion."

Life with the legion was hell, every other soldier seemed to know exactly what to do and when to do it by some form of telepathy that you weren't privy to, the entire unit moved as if it was one living organism and you are constantly struggling to keep up, your feet bleed from the miles upon miles of marching, your fingers became stiff and useless from months of putting up and taking down your tent and you body is broken by day after day of weapon drills. You try to run away one night but for some reason you can't bring yourself to stray too far away from the camp. Maybe it's some kind of strange magic but the further away you get the louder the chant gets in your head, those six words over and over again.

"No one ever quits the legion."

Once you get past the first few months life with the legion isn't so bad, you get to know your duties so your not being yelled at for being behind any more, your body begins to get used to the constant punishment, it still hurts but you don’t feel like you about to fall apart any more, you're able to get more involved in the work, you start to get a feel for the strange rhythm that runs through the legion, you know your duties now, you know to preform them before they become an issue, you feel connected to the heart of the legion and that no matter what happens to you a little piece of you will always belong to the unit maybe that’s what people mean when they say...

"No one ever quits the legion."

For the next few years you stop just getting by in the legion and begin to excel. You get to know your fellow soldiers and even the ones you don’t personally know you feel a wordless connection with. you begin to pay more attention to the people around you. After a night on watch with Bagman you learn the 3 ways to identify fine wine, a week in a scouting party with Handholder and you learn the three points in your feet that you can poke with a needle to relieve back pain. and 3 months of sharing a tent with Nightbrand teaches you the delicate tongue of the Elven people. you try to trade with some of your own knowledge you could never repay what you’ve been given but you feel some pride some of your knowledge will be passed on long after you've passed.

"No one ever quits the legion."

The battle was just like any other, dozens of forces had broken against your legions charge and you were confident that this time would be the same as before. You were wrong. the battle was horrific, the barbarians had ripped through your defensive lines, only you had escaped  through sheer luck, you ran through the forest, the screams of your friends and allies echoing in your mind. reach a pool of clear water and your knees give out, you collapse on the waters edge. for the first time in almost 20 years you are completely alone. you reach down into the pool with shaking hands to clean the blood from your face but before you reach the water you catch the sight of your reflection. your reflection is kneeling by the pool, covered in blood and shaking but your eyes.... they’re glowing a strange ghostly blue, then behind you a figure steps out of the shadows, you turn around but theirs no-one there, you look back to the pool to see Nightbrand standing behind you with a hand on your shoulder, then another figure appears from the trees, its Bagman, he walks up behind you and puts a hand on your shoulder, then another figure appears, then another, and more and more people approach you their eyes shining with ghostly light. they keep coming eventually you stop recognising them, there are simply to many to process, there are more people around you now than you’ve ever met in your entire life. you should be scared but you’re not because you finally understand the phrase.