Halder Skalice

Halder Deyos Skalice
Biological
Born: July 18, 10 WB, Tuntar
Sex: Male
Fur: Grey
Eyes: Black
Height: 6’
Weight: 200 lbs

Personal:
Religion: Atheist
Nicknames and Titles: SLCM Chief of Staff; “the Vampire Wolf”; Hal
Hobbies: Hunting with a bow and arrow
Favorite Color: Green
Inspirations: Celiose Cole
Motto: “Nothing’s going to change my world.”

Halder Deyos Skalice is a Forest Clanner, a race of anthromorphic wolves. He is currently tasked with defending one of the Web’s most oft-invaded and abused dimensions. He’s also one of the reasons the League continues to exist. He grew up in a land always being torn apart, constantly at war with someone. He joined a resistance cell during the Great War of a movement consisting primarily of forest clanners, known as Rabies. He had a brief romance with Enrika Epyon. With Celpo support and Skalice’s brilliant tactical mind, Rabies became one of the largest Dark Wrath resistance movements. When the Scandian League was formed, Halder was chosen to head up the new Scandian League Combined Military. The months of the Presidium’s rule were very frustrating for Halder. He knew all to well the necessity of defending the League, but the Presidium refused to give the necessary resources for defense. Skalice had already adopted the “us vs. everyone else” mentality common in the League. It is perhaps for this reason that Skalice refused to obey the Presidium’s order to suppress the communists, a decision which almost certainly lead to the rise of Travin Rumanksi. His romance with Enrika ended shortly afterwards. Travin, however, spent ample resources on the military, and Halder a modern mechanized war machine imbued with speed and stealth, the traditional virtues of the hunter. He was initially opposed to creating Dracoforms, but their performance in the Leviathan War helped win him over. Skalice lived under a constant nerve-wracking strain, knowing that if he failed to perform at any time Rumanski might well have him executed. This sword of Damocles was felt particularly keenly in the Leviathan War.

Almost every nation claimed that their military commander was a genius. Some, like Confederation commander Mathern, are now all but forgotten. Others, like RMC Commandant Revlan Kursdroff, would prove capable but far short of brilliant. Still others would surpass all expectations. Of this final category was Halder Skalice.

At the onset of the Leviathan War, people considered the Communist Protectorate one of the weakest of the Great Powers. Skalice’s invasion of Nikeah, one of history’s great tactical masterpieces, transformed that perception overnight. In a short span of time Skalice had succeeded in capturing the capital of one of the Web’s most powerful countries. Skalice now has a well-deserved reputation as one of the Web’s brightest tacticians. Armchair generals have lauded him for the perfect marriage of the Tasnican tradition of maneuver with the Dragon Dimension tradition of deception. Skalice’s plans were often complicated, relying on several feints, and he had a fondness for night operations, giving him the nickname “the Vampire Wolf.” He would not meet his match until TO Halberg took the field against him at Second Hosluftgrad. As a commander, Skalice certainly has some flaws. He’s relatively uncharismatic, and only as a result of his victories is he inspiring to his men. The jury is still out on his grasp of grand strategy. In his favor he recognized that the Leviathan War would be decided in Esper, and that a diversion to Crystal would be a useless sideshow. Against him, however, is his dubious formulation: “He who controls Hosluftgrad controls the Solthai continent. He who controls the Solthai continent controls the Albrook Portal Set. He who controls the Albrook Portal Set controls the Core. He who controls the Core controls the Web.” When Scande and Esper sat down to negotiate the Pauper’s Peace, Scande still technically controlled the city of Hosluftgrad, but clearly fell far short of controlling Solthai, let alone the Web. Still, rather than execute him, Rumanksi chose instead to declare victory in the Leviathan War. Skalice became one of the League’s great heroes, a “man of the nation”. Halder helped rebuild the SLCM, introducing the practice of rotating combat veterans into tours as instructors at the Crucible. Most of the post-war changes in the SLCM were evolutionary, quite unlike the revolutionary leap of the EUS. Later, Skalice would actually set aside his differences with Halberg to fight the New Wraith’s army. Working together, these unlikely alliance managed to push back the forces of the so-called Freedom Alliance. The two men swore to each other they would do whatever they could to prevent another war from happening. Skalice, like many Scandians, is not an ideological communist, but he is concerned with being fed and protected and acknowledges that communism has done a better job of both of these than any previous regime in Scande. As head of the military, he is often considered second in power only to Travin himself. In Scande, the military almost always gets whatever it needs. Halder, because of his position and fame, is extremely closely watched; Skalice lives his life in fear because of the knowledge that he will surely be executed should he ever fail to please Rumanski.