ROLEPLAY HQ - war-the-gateway-to-manhood

A few days have passed since Karl's eighteenth birthday, a momentous occasion for the lad meaning that now he could leave the tavern in Prinzhof and go join the military to fight in the wars of expansion in the east. Especially against the Polonian-Liburian Commonwealth who the Kingdom of the Sachsen Realm was determined to conquer. He'd went to recruitment, successfully joined and underwent training as a foot soldier before finally being ready to be deployed with so many young men who underwent the same training he did. He and quarter of a million of the Realm's enlisted young men had been sent to fight in the battle of Las Czarnego Lasu (Schwarzwald) where he was wounded in battle before being taken off to a medical tent to be healed and recover. Clearly it was something he had not wanted to happen and felt like he had already failed in his desire to obtain manhood through war like how he was told.

(Triggers: war, death and everything related to it.)

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/bd/34/c8/bd34c83c2c116c3e97b48f02c64f8206.jpg War was tough and the battle was even tougher. It was the only thing that Anthony knew but it was not without injury. He didn't even know what is was like not to be injured with everything. He laid in a bed of his own, a gash to his leg. It was nothing serious, at least he didn't think it was. He was just laying there before they dbought in one of the new recuits. Slowly Anthony pushed himself to sit up on the bed, of course getting yelled at by one of the nurse for moving to much. But he didn't care to much as he was use it. Anthony just shooed the nurse away to lok at the new recuit a bit more. @ffdpneko

Karl’s armour had been removed, he had taken a cut to his chest with a sword and it was a miracle he had come out alive but wounded. He noticed someone else enter the tent and he spoke. “Another one? They really did get the jump on us out there….” He looked grim as he had seen others die in battle. In fact it was the first he had seen anyone die in his life. “Lukas, Hans, Otto, where are they?” These were people he had got to know during training and even made friends with before being deployed.

Thee was a raised brow just staring at the others wound before Anthony, pushed himself to stand up. Slowly he moved to the boy's cot and sat in a chair that was next to him "You are lucky yourself. A wound like that would have killed anyone, well anyone that didn't have a will to live really." Anthony said thinking about his own chest wound. "As for your friends, II am sorry to say that they are not here nor will they ever be." He said thinking of a soft was to say that they are dead to the boy. He sat in the chair a bit more before he looked around getting the glare of one of the nurses "Move along Betty I am just find, just talking to a fellow solider" He said knowing that he shouldn't be moving, but it was nothing dangerous to him, just a pain really. @ffdpneko

“Have I failed? Did I not become a man through war?” Karl asked and looked disappointed too. “I was surrounded by them, they were everywhere and they charged at all of us.” He still remembered what the battle in the forest was like. “It’s like they were waiting for us…” The loss of his friends was something he was going to take poorly as well. “I haven’t reached manhood yet and my friends are dead….”

Anthony shook his head at the boy and sighed. Slowly he reached a hand grabbed the boy's hand "You are a solider and you are a tough one, I am sorry to say that your friends are dead because they were not strong." He said looking to the boy's face and then around "Just rest and heal. You are tough and will survive." He said before groaning as he got up and moved back to his cot, as he really didn't want to get another look from Betty to get back in bed, she scared him more then the war itself. @ffdpneko

“I can’t go home though, they say war is a gateway to manhood and I can’t go home now.” Karl still believed what they had told him all these years and he added. “I would be less than a boy if I returned home now…I would be a coward.” He did not want to be called a coward for returning home. “What about the others in the forest, where are they?” He wanted to know about what happened to the rest of his battalion that had been ambushed.

Anthony made it to his cot and laid down before listening to the boy "You will still be battling, they will not let you go until you are dead. Where as the others are still out there battling them or are dead as will. Just close yur eyes and sleep. You will be fine" He said as Anthony laid down himself to close his eyes to rest himself as he just wanted to get back out there and fight.

It was all Karl could do at the moment and he soon rested as much as he could. "The bastards jumped us." He hoped recovery didn't take too long and he added. "I heard stories that some have ended up dying because their wounds were infected or have had to have limps amputated.." Which sent a chill up his spine as that was something he didn't want to happen to him. "And why are you here, have you been wounded too?" He wondered if Anthony was wounded in battle as well. "Surely, you must be wounded too for you to be in here with the wounded."

When it came to the questions that the boy had, Anthony opened one eye and looked at him again "Gash to the leg but it is nothing like anything else I had done to me." He said before closing his eyes again "Now no more talking and rest. You need it if you are going to get any better to get back out in the field." He said again before rolling over trying to fall asleep himself. @ffdpneko

Karl soon asked. "Can you let go of my hand now?" He was trying to rest and he added. "I can't believe this has happened to me..." He soon tried to get some rest. But the war would be on his mind the entire time.

((he is not holding his hand))

(I see but I thought he was earlier.)

((Yes then he let go to go lay on his own cot))

(Okay then.)