The Neverending War
Author: Jon Del Arroz Type: Short story Length: about 1,900 words
The Neverending War is told in the first person by an unnamed infantryman of the Grand Rislandian Army during a Rislandian offensive against the Wyranth Empire in southern Rislandia. It shows the war from the point of view of an ordinary soldier, and it brings back the were-rats, monsters believed extinct.
Synopsis
Back to the line
The narrator was wounded in trench warfare "on the way to liberate Greenhorne", some of the worst in Rislandian history. He is recovering in a medical tent when gruff Lieutenant Avery apologizes and orders him back into service. Loveridge is the next advance, and the army will converge with the 18th and 47th battalions to push the Wyranth back over their border. The narrator puts on his grays with brass buttons and is jumped from behind by his friend Private du Skillet. Du Skillet is a skittish, burn-scarred young soldier who saved the narrator's life in the trenches. Steamcars carry officers and artillerymen down the road while the infantry march with packs and rifles. The narrator grieves for Sergeant Forest, killed in the last assault.
The march
Avery's platoon is the first to march. It will act as scouts and send a runner back from each checkpoint on the road to Loveridge. After four or five miles the men start singing the army marching song (see Rislandian Customs & Traditions):
Fight, fight for Rislandia! We will thy name uphold. Oe'r the hills of Rislandia. We march for our crimson and gold.
The narrator never learned the whole song. The road between Greenhorne and Loveridge runs through a forest, though not one as thick as The Old Forest to the north. As dusk falls, du Skillet panics at a rustling in the bushes and breaks the column. Avery is dressing him down when giant beasts burst from the trees.
The were-rats
The creatures are larger than men, both tall and wide, with tails, ears and giant buck teeth. They overrun the first two lines and tear men apart. Du Skillet freezes. As one creature bears down on the prone Avery, the narrator shoots it through the head. The rear ranks fire and kill more, and the rest flee into the forest. Avery admits, "Right near pissed myself." He identifies the creatures as were-rats, which "in theory, they'd been eradicated since Malaky XIV's reign". With everyone focused on the Wyranth, they have likely returned. He sends the narrator running back to warn the next platoon, while du Skillet carries his pack.
Characters
- The narrator: unnamed Rislandian infantryman. See Minor Characters of the Short Stories.
- Lieutenant Avery: platoon commander.
- Private du Skillet: the narrator's friend.
- Sergeant Forest: killed before the story begins. See Minor Characters of the Short Stories.
- Were-rats
Settings
- The army encampment and medical tent near Greenhorne
- The forest road from Greenhorne to Loveridge
- The Old Forest: mentioned, to the north
Military details
- Units: Avery's platoon, and the 18th and 47th battalions. See Grand Rislandian Army.
- Equipment: rifles, packs, grays with brass buttons, steamcars for officers.
- The enemy: Wyranth "shells and balefire".
Chronology
The story names no year. The Rislandian army is advancing from Greenhorne toward a Wyranth-held Loveridge. This matches the southward advance described in The Steam Knight ("our forces had advanced into Greenhorne recently") and The Iron Wedding (an infantry line between Greenhorne and Loveridge, with Loveridge lost to the Wyranth). It is not placed in the printed timelines, so the dating is flagged for the author.