Salix Lipponen

On March 1935, the Empire began it invasion along the Gallia’s eastern border, and within a week after the fall of the critical boarder fortification of Ghirlandaio, Imperial forces were upon the small town of Bruhl. When Imperial troops broke into the Gunther family estate, Martha Lipponen, a servant that has been working for the household since she was a child and was 8 months pregnant at the time, was sufficiently shocked after being held at gunpoint that it was enough to put her into labor.
As Welkin and Isara attempted to get her to safety after rescuing her from the Imperials, Martha gave birth to her fifth child inside the Edelweiss tank as it provided desperately needed fire support to the town watch under Alicia’s command. Thanks to the tenacious efforts of the Bruhl town watch and the unexpected armored support, most of the townspeople that haven’t already been evaluated earlier were able to escape.
It was clear from the child’s first few seconds of life that his future will be inseparable from the military: Being born on a battlefield, the first sounds in this world that he heard were the noise of the machine gun and main cannon being fired as the Edelweiss and what was left of the town watch fought their ways out of Bruhl, with the Imperials pursuing closely on their heels as the entire town and it’s surrounding areas were overran in merely 2 hours after the first shots were fired.
The refugees headed west for the city of Vasel, and there on to Randgriz, with the darkening skies lighted by the many fires around the countryside ignited by the artillery that landed in the area. Amongst the refugee columns heading towards the relative safety of the capital, was the newborn in Martha’s arms (Her husband had already been evacuated together with their four other children earlier). When asked to be the child's godfather during a brief rest while on the road, Welkin offered wishes that the newborn grew as tall and strong as a Gallian willow, naming the child after the genus Salix.
Once Martha and Salix made it to Randgriz and reunited with the rest of her family. She took up a job as a civilian cook working at Fort Amatriain, both as a way to keep providing some assistance to her young friends who have now been drafted into the militia, and to provide for her family as anyone directly employed by the military received priority in food rationing.
After the end of EW2, Martha continued to work for the new Gunther household (more as a family friend and personal confidant instead of just a housekeeper), now consisting of Welkin, his new wife Alicia, and their daughter, Isara, named in honor of her aunt who was killed during the war. Just as young couple showed that love can blossom even amid the chaos and merciless fires of war, Salix and Isara became a symbol for the two families that though devastating flames of war, risen from the ruins, the survivors from the conflict now have a new generation to provide for, hopefully free from the horrors of war, and with the strong encouragement from their respective parents, the two of them have been close friends since childhood.
From a young age, Salix was headstrong and energetic, having little in common with the rest of his reserved and modest family besides his strong sense of right and wrong. With him often sneaking out of the house to explore the open countryside around Bruhl. At the age of 7, he stumbled upon a destroyed tank abandoned in the woods while out exploring on his own. When he asks his parents about his discovery, they simply reply that it was a relic from a dark time in the recent past that they will rather not talk about. So, young Salix decided to trying asking uncle Welkin and aunt Alicia about it. Understandably, neither of them were entirely comfortable discussing their experience during the war, and decided to simply give Salix their autographed copy of "On the Gallian Front" (Sent to them by Irene when the first edition of her book was put into print).
Every since then, he had displayed a keen interest in anything military related, often either spending his time playing mock battle with other children, or reading books on the country’s military history in the town's library. On the playground, he often took it upon himself to punish bullies and getting himself into trouble as their parent come complaining to his mother Martha (while Isara try to vouch for him). By the time he reached primary 5, when military studies becomes a required subject for all Gallian school children, Salix was noted for his excellent performance in both drilling exercises and written exams on basic small unit tactics.
As post-war Gallia is a highly militarized society in which the army has thoroughly permeated civilian life even during peacetime, military recruiters often scour schools for boys and girls with just the right balance of daring, aggression, leadership skills, and patriotism, grooming them starting straight from primary school for potential recruitment into the highly elite regular military. By the time he started secondary school at age 13, Salix was invited to join the highly prestigious Army Cadet Corps, a volunteer youth organization created by the government, intended to grooming the brightest youths of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens that can expect special consideration when pursuing a career in either the military or the government later on in life, with the cadets being given additional military training in areas such as leadership, physical fitness, the use of firearms with live ammunition, etc. While also receiving an exemption from public examination if they wish to do so with no negative consquences. (Isara was also given the opportunity to join the ACC at age 13, in spite of her average performance at best in her military studies due to a lack of interest. Partly as the result of the sheer propaganda value that she has as the daughter of two national heroes, but also due to her being flagged by the National Security Service as a ‘high-value person of interest’ since birth because of her known valkyrur heritage. However, she turned down the offer, much to the displeasure of the military. With her instead preferring to follow in her father’s footstep and focus on academic pursuits, in particular the nature sciences.)
Salix finished Secondary school holding the rank of cadet-sergeant in the ACC. Instead of going to university, he decided to pursuit a career in the regular military as a professional soldier. With him doing so despite the protest from the rest of his family, particularly his mother who told him in between tears of all the young faces that she remembered while working in the mess hall at Fort Amatriain, the pure confidence in their eyes as they chatted with and complimented her cooking... Only for fewer and fewer of them returning after each battle, while those that do have the confidence in their eyes replaced with a blank, vacant expression from the terrors that had endured, with her worrying each day if Welkin and Isara, whom she had taken care of and considered as her own younger siblings, will make it back alive. With the usually calm and positive Martha shouting over the dinner table that she will not allow one of her sons to be used as cannon fodder. Welkin and Alicia also spoke to Salix at the request of Martha, warning him that the so-called ‘glories of war’ were nothing but an illusion (Or as Welkin put it, 'As fake as the brightly colored claw on a fiddler crab'). That war can be fascinating to read about in books or watch in the movies, but up close and personal it will be a very different story: Your house blow to pieces, your friends and family dying in your arms bleeding out, and your survival having more to do with luck than skills. That was the reality that their generation had to face during the 7 months of fighting in the Gallian Front at EW2. Salix, however, refused to back down, and insisted that he is doing this not for glory or medals, but to defend the homeland and to make sure that no Gallian mother will have to endure what his mother did ever again. By the time he left home a week later, Salix came to an uneasy understanding with his family, with them respecting his personal decision as an adult, and him promising them that he will not do anything ‘too crazy’ while in the military.
Almost immediately upon the completion of his basic training, he enrolling in the Special Forces Qualification Course, one of the most challenging training courses in the Gallian military (With a 70% dropout rate), during which he was able to pass his war games with flying colors and demonstrated strong leadership potential, despite his headstrong tendency often willing to blindly rush into battle or put himself at risk in order to save a teammate without thinking things though first. Upon the graduation after the 95 weeks of training, he received an automatic promotion to the rank of Sergeant, and was chosen to serve in the Polaris Special Forces Regiment.
The post-war Gallian military doctrine of ‘Sword and Dagger’ requires that both the regular military and the militia to work together symbiotically in close coordination, each having a clearly defined role on battlefield. The Polaris Special Forces Regiment (named after the brightest star northern pole star used by navigators as fixed point from which to draw measurements) however, will be broken up into squads and be directly embedded to serve in militia platoons, with the aim of them serving as a force multiplier compensating for the militia’s relative lack of professional military training and combat experience. As per established protocol, the ranking officer of either force will always take command (A regular army sergeant or captain will subordinate to a militia lieutenant or colonel, and not attempt to usurp command). However, due to the regular army often having more practical experiences and training, militia officers and NCOs will be expected to look to their regular army counterparts (regardless of their rank), for advice and guidance on tactical situations. With members of the Polaris Special Forces chosen specifically for their ability to work with and gain the respect of units that may not have the same level of discipline or professionalism as the regular military.
More importantly, in the event that Operation: Night Witches is activated, and Gallia faces imminent defeat, Polaris Special Forces units are also given the mission of operating behind enemy lines, deep within occupied territories, to full authority to independently rally civilian partisan forces and the remnants of the militia to wage guerrilla warfare and organize resistance against the invaders, striking at that enemy's soft underbelly until the inevitable counter-attack from friendly forces relieve them.
Depending on the unit’s effectiveness, there are discussions within the high command that the Polaris Special Forces will be expanded into a full corps, with A squad of Polaris operators attached to every militia platoon.
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