By: Hoaseng Thao

NOTE: This story is a transcript from a fictional war documentary.

(Gunfire can be heard in the distance)

<< Searching for legends around these parts is very easy. Walk down one path, and you’d meet a man who saved hundreds from foreign mercenaries. (long pause) But “them”, you’re better off searching for in a fairy tale. >>

Long after the ceasefire that halted the Second Continentals War and thrusted the world into the Cold War, online forums, whose information flowed through the mass nexus of the internet like ocean currents, spoke of a mythical soldier, whose tales know no borders. The soldier, whose name is garbled by the mass exodus of the internet, garners both fear and admiration by those rife by war. And I am in search of this mythical soldier, whose name when sifted through forums can be traced down to one word, Xeo.

Xeo’s mythical status raised many concerns and questions like, what flag do they pledge allegiance to? Which superpower do you side with, Vaseria or Kavara? Do they consider Ashiran pizza as a crime against Earth? But my biggest concern was if they even existed. However, thanks to the endless connections of the internet, I was able to get into contact with several individuals willing to share their tales of them.

“The Coward”, a name used by locals around Tavpool to refer to one man, Skiven Nikulin. He was a former conscript of the Orbesjkan National Guard and a survivor of a deadly Kavaran CDP (Croatoke Defensive Pact) offensive. He is now a sheep herder in the town of Tavpool.

In 2042, the Orbesjkan Civil War was still plundering the nation after a decade of conflicts, but things turned for the worst following a surprise intervention by the CDP. Skiven Nikulin, a Lance Corporal at the time, was tasked to hold the city of Skirsk until reinforcements would arrive, but due to terrible weather conditions, and the overwhelming Kavaran army besieging the city, this would turn into the bloodiest battle the war had seen so far.

Skiven Nikulin

<< We were told that reinforcements would arrive in two days, then two weeks, two months, then… We were told to hold our rifles until there were only two rounds left in them. Only then should we take down one enemy before relieving ourselves of our (sighs) honorable duties. >>

I visited Skiven Nikulin at his farmstead in Tavpool. His son, who had heard the tales of his father’s supposed encounter with Xeo, saw my post on the online forum, “3Frum”, about the mythical soldier, before setting me up with an in person interview with him.

Skiven Nikulin

<< It was a rainy night, we had held out for four months by then, but they… The Kaviars (a derogatory term used for Kavarans) had already breached through the city walls. That night, I was cut off from friendly lines, and I… >>

(The man stood still for a while before coming back to his senses.)

<< I hid from the Kaviars amongst the dead. I wanted to live, I wanted to live just like those who I hid beneath. But I witnessed a Kaviar officer approach, ordering his men to fire amongst the bodies. I thought I had cheated death by hiding, only to pay the price of being a coward. That was until… >>

(Nikulin raised his right hand, formed it into a knife hand gesture before slashing it downward.)

<< The officer dropped to the ground. And he arrived. He stood proud above the body of the officer, only armed with a long blade. >>

(He repeats his slashing motion with his hand)

<< In an instant, the man sliced through the officer’s men like tofu. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I wasn’t aware of who he was at the time so I only thought about keeping quiet… But in an instant, the man disappeared. >>

(The man readjusted the ring on his middle finger as he let out a sigh of relief)

<< When morning came, I had returned to friendly lines, and I remembered telling my encounter with this man to my colleagues, who in turn joked around saying that I “had been saved by Xeo”. I was astonished that they already had a name made for him, but I thought of it as a joke. It wasn’t until my son informed me of this Xeo person, only then did I truly believe that it was him who saved me that night. >>

We will continue this investigation in our next episode, where we enter the Arcerium Rising Exclusion Zone, to meet a woman known by many as “The Runner”.