Liam Hornblower

*"It is the duty of any officer of the Empresse's royal army to obey orders and obey without any doubt in his heart. I can no longer perform these duties. The day I broke my word in the Scarlet Walls, so too did I break the spirit which made me carry on. Here is where my journey ends"*

-Note found on the bloodied corpse of Liam Hornblower, hero of the Scarlet Walls and Scourge of the Dyss-

## Liam Hornblower

Young Liam wearing his light infantry officer uniform

## Further info

### Role/Jobs

Officer in the HM Imperial Army, Avatar of the Hakidi

### Important actions

Great War of the North

**Liam Hornblower**(Unknown-2279) was a decorated officer of the Eternal Empire  and one of the most renowed soldiers to take part on the war against the Dyss. At the head of a small force of specialized light infantry (the famous "Long Rifles of the Empress") he rallied many of the alien tribes and petty kingdoms in the frontier worlds in a long and successfull guerrilla war against the armies of the Dyss. His efforts and those of the troops under his command slowed down the Dyss advance just enough for the Empire to properly answer the attacks and at least end the war in a close tie.

Previous to his rise to fame, Liam Hornblower had a record for insubordination, something which saw him being kicked out of the fleet and heavy divisions of the Empresse's royal forces. Despite being a more than competent commander and a crafty leader who knew how to use irregular combat to its fullest, his constant headbutting with superiors made him a constant headache for many a marshall of the empire.

While Imperial propaganda has managed to hide information about this, Liam did not seem to share the xenophobia associated to most Imperial soldiers. While he did share the Empire's hate for the Dyss, that same loathing did not spread to those alien forces he served alongside during The Scarlet Walls. As he befriended many chieftains and warriors of the Hakidi, Liam constantly tried to push for the inclusion of this race into the Empire and having their warriors join the ranks of the Royal army. Faced with an increasingly xenophobo Eternal Empire however, Liam's pleas fell on deaf ears, the Hakidi population lasting only a few decades after the end of the war after sterilization and "cleansing" campaigns performed by the Empire to take the land and settle it with loyal citizens of the empire.

It is thought that this, alongside a growing distrust for the Empire, made him take his own life, several years after the end of the war with the Dyss.

## History of a hero

### From orphan to soldier

Unwilling to allow his low birth and lack of credentials to ruin his chances, Liam Hornblower falsified his documents to join the HM Imperial Army at a young age (some even say he managed to do that at the age of 14). Already a tall and healthy young man, he eagerly took part in all manner of training regimes and specialized training. Some he managed to finish, others quickly lost his interest as he believed he had learnt all he needed. Aged 17, he finally earned the rank of private and joined the HM Imperial Army as a frontline infantryman.

While a decent marksman and competent soldier, where Liam truly shined was in leading squads of men both in training and battle. Reckless at first, after a number of skirmishes (and a no small number of injuries), he managed to grow into a promising combat leader. Only his trouble with authority and lack of proper manners when it came to dealing with the politics of command stopped him from rising to higher ranks faster.

### The Incident of the Half Dishes

One incident which nearly saw the end of Liam's career (and maybe his life as well), was the incident of the "Half-Dishes". During a campaign against a less-advanced alien race, supplies to Liam's regiment (the 22nd Dragoons), had begun to shrink to the point where most soldiers had to make due with half rations. Busy with carrying on battlefield operations, Captain Sean Connington of the 22nd tasked Liam with going to the rearguard and finding out the reason for the delay of supplies. Being a new arrival, Captain Sean knew nothing of Liam and so thought his Lieutenant would at least give him the information he needed.

Reaching the supply depot, Liam arrived to see transports lined up and waiting for boxes full of food, water and ammunition. Instead of going to the 22nd however, Liam discovered that they were instead being brough to the forces of the Northern front, the lion's share being for the artillery and heavy armor of the "127th Blackwatch". Their captain, Catherine Howburn, refused to share the supplies, stating again and again that her elite force needed them more than the 22nd dragoons. Quickly, the conversation heated up, as Liam's lack of tact and skill to find new insults to show Catherine ended up with her slapping him across the face. Around them, nobody dared to move, already knowing what that meant: A duel.

While outlawed, duels were actually not that uncommon in the early days of the Eternal Empire's expansion. Taking each one a pistol, captain and lieutenant faced one-another after taking ten steps and turning. Faster to draw, Catherine shot first, her bullet missing Liam's heart by only a few inches. Two seconds later, and nearly about to faint, Liam answered his own shot, spilling brain matter everywhere as it flew into Catherine's skull.

One week later, Liam awoke from a long and difficult surgery...only to find out he would face a military trial and that he could not only be facing being kicked out of the army, but also death. Witnesses to the whole event, plus the tribunal finding out that Catherine's move to take the lion's share of the supply was illegal in every sense and nearly treason saved Liam from being executed, but not from being demoted and sent to the navy as a private. There he would remain for a few more years, only to leave this time willingly due to nearly coming to blows with his ship's captain.

### The Long Rifles

It took Liam much convincing and a good amount of money in bribes, yet finally he was allowed to return to the Empire's army, this time as an officer in one of the growing, light infantry divisions. Acting as both black-ops and ranger forces, the Long Rifles soon became the home Liam had been seeking for. Making sure to at least stay away from superior officers with temperaments as short as his, he reached the rank of captain at the age of 29, just in time to see the early stages of the infamous Great Northern War.

Taking part in the disastrous Bloody Push, he took part in many of the early victories of the operation against the Dyss. At the head of his unit, Liam was mostly allowed to fight as he chose, destroying those objectives the High Command wanted out of their battle maps. In Graivax, his long rifles managed to confuse and slow down a Dyss column trying to break the pocket trapping nearly 5,000 Berserkers and their armor, making it to late for them to stop the Empire's forces from crushing the pocket. Two weeks later, they blew up the fuel depots of a full Dyss armored division, leaving the tanks unable to advance and join other Dyss offensives.

The great push of The Eternal Empire could not last forever though. After months of victories, the empire's supply lines were far too stretched, the Dyss forces they had faced only a small part of the real force already ready to deliver the counter-attack. When it arrived, fleets and armies were far too tired and too dispersed. Soon, the casualties grew from tens of thousands, to hundreds and then millions, with forces of the Eternal Empire either trying to hold and die while slowing down the advance or fleeing to rally with other forces at the rear.

Liam and his men were troops from the former category.

### The Scarlet Walls

   Tasked with trying to slow down the Dyss, Liam prepared his troops and other forces he had managed to rescue from annihilation for a long, gruesome war of raids, assassination and sabotage. What ammo and weapons they lacked, they would steal. They would strike from the shadows, a needle slowly sinking deeper into the foot of the Dyss war machine. Even if the Eternal Empire forgot about their existance, they would make damn sure the Dyss would not.

In his campaign, Liam found himself an unlikely ally. The Hakidi were a race found in the world of Savad, their technology levels still not reaching those of the age of steam. Inhumanly tall and slender, they were light creatures of dark-blue skin covered in feathers of many colours, always running for forests and mountains whenever they saw Dyss or Imperials approach.

Lacking manpower and resources, Liam decided to use the Hakidi to fight the Dyss. Despite being reluctant at first, Liam only needed to show them what the Berserkers did to other tribes and "kingdoms" to show the Hakidi how they were facing a war for survival. As a sign of trust, the ruler of one of the largest tribes sent its son Kashidi to serve directly under Liam. Only much later did Liam realize how big this show of trust was, as Hakidi rulers seldom tended to have more than one son and were known to even go to war if they thought harm could befall them.

A creature of few words, Kashidi still turned out to be a valuable asset in Liam's campaign. Not only had he a nearly-photographic memory of the lands and hidden ways they could use to ambush the Dyss. Light and slender, Kashidi was a fantastic explorer and tracker, using the hides of beasts and mud to hide the bright color of his feathers. As Liam continued to fight side-by-side with the chieftain's son, Kashidi spoke at great lenght of the feats of the Long Rifles and how they could beat the previously thought invincible Dyss. Slowly at first, then faster as Liam's legend continued to grow, more and more of the Hakidi population in Savad joined Liam, until 20 out of every warrior under his command belonged to this race.

The more resources and victories he achieved, the more Liam attacked and harrassed the Dyss army. Using captured communication systems he managed to reach and link with other survivor Imperial regiments across the planet. Soon, even with reinforcements coming every day, coming out of their fortresses became a nightmare for the Dyss in Savad. Liam became the "Green Devil", a creature born from the forests themselves who was one with the shadows and never slept or starved.

As Liam's legend spread, other planets captured by the Dyss but still having some Empire resistance groups saw increased attacks and troubles. Daring surprise attacks even allowed Liam to obtain or infiltrate Dyss transports. While some were captured or blown up by the vengeful foe, many others made landing in other nearby worlds, thus spreading the will to resist and fight back the Berserkers no matter where they were. No longer able to lead his troops, Liam stayed in different HQs spread across the planet, giving orders, council and promises of supply and reinforcements to Empire troops across the ring of planets now known as the "Scarlet Walls". At the highest point of his power, Liam's power matched that of a Marshall, having hundreds of thousands, if not nearly 2 million soldiers of all races under his command...even if he still only had the rank of captain. For the Hakidi however, he was the "Avatar", the living manifestation of their gods and their eternal champion. Moved by their sacrifice and impressed by their fighting spirit, Liam began to make plans about how these aliens would later become part of the Eternal Empire. After all, they fought as hard, if not harder than most imperial troops and had helped the Empire in slowing the invaders down to a halt. More than anybody, they deserved this chance.

### The Empire Strikes Back

With too many forces bleeding in the Scarlet Walls, the Dyss knew the time for their offensives was over. Taking what resources and materials they could carry, they left the frontline worlds, the Imperial fleet shadowing their moves as the Eternal Empire began to gain previously lost ground. After nearly a year, they even began to link up with forces who had survived in Dyss occupied space, the strongest of them being those under Liam's command.

The arrival to Savad was one of the most dramatic moments of the campaign and also thought to be by the Eternal Empire as the end of the war. Trying to regain their wounded pride, fleeing Dyss forces had rallied on the planet and tried to finally find and execute Liam once and for all. They had nearly managed that, yet still saw thousands of their troops ambushed and killed, with even a Dyss warlord losing his life in the conflict. The 27 men who had survived that battle praised Liam as their saviour, while the aliens under his command thought of him as their god. Unwilling to lose such a fantastic chance to make propaganda, the Empire quickly spread the story across the stars to lift hopes and fuel the imagination of younger generations so they would join the depleted ranks of the army.

### The Great Betrayal and Death

Victory did not treat the Hakidi with kindness. While they had fought and died under Liam, the Empire's High Command had already had enough of the Dyss to realize aliens could not be trusted, let alone allowed to join their currently-weak realm. Besides, while willing to follow Liam to the gates of hell, High Command had no assurances that these aliens would do the same for the Empress. Savad was too important a world to be trusted to them.

Liam protested time and time again, yet even his new rank as hero of the Empire could stop the ruling of the Empire, not when it was made by the Voice of the Empress as well. Fearing what he might do or say, the Empire's High Command quickly took Liam out of the planet and began the process of sterilization and "cleansing" of the already-weakened Hakidi population. No matter who he asked, Liam never knew of the fate of the aliens he had considered his brothers in arms.

Feeling like a betrayer and a breaker of his word, Liam only made a few public appearances across the heart of the Empire before closing the gates of his home to everyone, generals and people from the street both. Without family and his friends either dead or slowly dying at the hands of the Empire he had fought for, Liam spent years of reclusion before finally deciding to take his own life. Sill devoted to the Empire, he could not speak against the Empress or the men and women she had placed as rulers of the realm. So, after making his last note, he took his own life with the blade gifted to him by his Hakidi oath-brother, Kashidi.

Only days later was his body found and a story prepared about his "sudden death" and the notes he had written about how he "wished for the empire to spread across the stars". The funeral was witnessed by millions.