Harold Byne

**Harold Byne** is a Sevician general and statesman who served as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Sevician Army from 689 to 698 A.S and has served in numerous capacities as a general and leader for more than four decades, beginning with the Anaean Wars of the 660s. He is most famous for leading the forces of Sevicia to victory in the Second Duscadorian-Sevician War, where he served as commander of the combined Sevician army on land.

## Background

Byne was born in the year 638 in the city of Meirum, approximately 150 miles west of the capital of Morosea. Born under a meteorite shower that blazed the skies of Sevicia on the 9th of Tullena III, 638, his parents believed his birth to be a good omen. The only child of rich parents, both of whom were important political figures in Meirum, Byne had the privilege of attending a local private school, where he graduated at sixteen as a model student. A brief foray into politics alongside his father preceded Byne joining the army, which he did early in the year 658.

## Military career

A gifted leader and a decisive commander, Byne rose rapidly through the ranks of the Sevician army. By 660 he had achieved the rank of major, which in early 661 became general. When the Anaean Wars of the 660s broke out in full-scale rebellion across the empire, Byne was placed in command of a legion and made subordinate under Petr Engarden, who at the time was the Supreme Commander of Sevicia's land forces. In what would prove to be one of the costliest and most significant battles of the war at the Yellowgrass Flats, Byne crushed the rebel army of the Anaean League and helped turn the tide of the war.

A second major battle at Laean Valley in 667 put an end to the war proper when Byne's forces routed the Anaean League army and captured all three of their ringleaders. For his services to the empire, Byne was awarded the Grand Eagle with Cross, Sevicia's third-highest military honour, in 668. He continued to lead as a general for the next 21 years before he was made Supreme Commander of the Imperial Sevician forces in 689. Two years later, when war broke out with Duscador, Byne was placed in command of the combined Sevician army. Byne's careful, patient leadership helped Sevicia win a brutal and bloody war of attrition, including a critical victory at the Battle of Candar Glen in 696. After the war ended, Byne was awarded the Grand Eagle with Wreath and Cross, Sevicia's second-highest military honour, making him one of only 26 people to be honoured with the award in 50 years.

Byne continued to serve as Supreme Commander until late 698, where he voluntarily stepped down from the role and returned to a role as general and legion commander. He saw further action in the Third Duscadorian-Sevician War, where he helped defeat an enormous Duscadorian army at the Battle of Alasia. When the war ended in 708, Byne once again returned to his command in the army. At 75, he is the oldest active general in the Sevician army.

## Personal life

Byne married his childhood sweetheart, Tessa Eyton, in 668. Together they have two children, a son (b. 670) and a daughter (b. 674). His life and military career is briefly covered in the historical tome *The Sevician-Duscador Wars**,* by Duscadorian writer Zymon.

## See also

Duscadorian-Sevician Wars

The Empire of Sevicia

Army of Sevicia