Exit Fate: Meiko's Interviews

Bast

Meiko: Today I'm interviewing Bast Gunwood, former major in the State Army and chief strategist of the Elysium Army. Bast, you have a very high reputation within both Kirgard and Zelmony. Is it true that you've never lost a battle?

Bast: Nope, it's not true, and I'm not going to lie about it. Anyone who claims he's never lost a battle is either talking out of his ass or damn lucky. No one's born a military genius. The best strategists are the ones who can learn from their mistakes.

Meiko: You retired from the State Army ten years ago. What led you to resign?

Bast: If you know anything about the recent state of Zelmony you'd know already, but fine. A decade ago we were involved in a border war in Highland. The Fairwind Republic tried to encroach on Cayeskan territory, the Highland army stepped in to help them, and were in turn attacked by the Fairwind army. It was a very messy war. The Matrech Guard was sent in, and I was senior advisor to the general in charge. Well, opinions in Matrech were split. The chancellor was wary of agitating a large neighbour like the republic and wanted to settle the dispute quickly. Others saw it at a chance to spread their influence and advocated anything from annexing Cayeska to actually invading Fairwind territory. By the way, one of the champions for the latter cause was none other than Governor Vosch. Anyway, I came up a plan to sweep the invading army from Cayeska from the north and take one of their key ports as a bargaining tool for a settlement. It all went wrong when politicians in Matrech started meddling with our plans. Different factions would send their people over to review our plans and try to change our minds. Officers were removed from the front and replaced with more 'agreeable' ones. As a result of all this, army unity was lost as it dissolved into cliques of like-minded people more concerned about furthering their own goals than following our overall strategy. Sure, we won the war, and in Matrech it was spun as a grand victory, but in truth, it was a disaster. My plans anticipated a two to three month campaign. In the end, it took almost two years, and ravaged the area. Highland managed okay, but it seriously strained our relations with Cayeska, a former part of the Zelmony Kingdom.

Meiko: And that's when you decided to leave.

Bast: Yep, that's right. Coming back to the capital and seeing all those people who were responsible for the chaos celebrate our victory as if it were their own doing, I couldn't take it any longer. I said goodbye and moved away from everything.

Meiko: Until Daniel Vinyard came to see you.