Burzmale Julian
Burzmale Julian served as High General of the Dark Wrath during the Great War from 25 to 27 WR. He was thus the highest-ranking military officer in the armies of the Dark Gods, but they never trusted him enough to give him control over their whole war effort. Previously, he had been Celiose Cole's second in command, serving as Lt. General of the Grand Army.
Contents
Early Life
Burzmale Julian was born the son of Comte Julian, a Tasnican cavalryman, and Jarya Kareni, a Ticonderan slave girl Comte "liberated" while serving in Auria. Burzmale's mother had been a Grolim before being captured and sold into slavery; she was killed for her past crimes while Burzmale was very young.
Although Burzmale's father Comte (who also went by Rolf, his middle name) felt that Jarya was the great love of his life, he felt Burzmale needed a mother, especially since he was so often on campaign. Wounded while leading a raid behind enemy lines, he met a nurse, Lucilla, while recuperating. Plain, a "respectable woman from a respectable family", and also not a former priest to infernal powers, Lucilla was the total opposite of Jarya. She was mostly responsible for raising Burzmale. Burzmale spent most of his childhood in a small village a few hours away from Centwerp.
Cavalry Officer
There was almost no question what career Burzmale would choose. The Julians were a proud military family, and could trace their family tree back seven centuries to a Hochmeister of the Rittersbruder. Besides, the Web was at war. Like his entire generation, Burzmale Julian had only known the Great War.
Burzmale was too young to serve in the NAMAC Conflict, which made his father a General and one of the Republic's military heroes. He had mostly completed his training, and was slated to serve under his father as part of the REF expedition to Ticondera. However, he got into a drunken bar fight over a woman and was sentenced to be held in the Stockades for a month. His father simply smiled at him and wanted to know if she was worth it. This was the last time Burzmale saw his father alive; Comte Julian, along with almost the entire REF, perished in the disastrous battle of North Viper.
The wholesale destruction of Tasnica's army was a low ebb for their fortunes in the war. Burzmale was rapidly promoted as the Republic desperately tried to replenish the ranks of its soldiers. Many officers thrust rapidly forward would founder, but Burzmale thrived. Because large, land-based military actions were impossible for Tasnica, they provided detachments for other countries, and led small raids, and desperately tried to "do something". Burzmale enjoyed this period in his life; he was still a young man, an impressive figure in his flashy cavalry uniform, living a life of derring-do and adventure. Burzmale was known to have an eye for the ladies. Like many officers of this period, Burzmale kept a diary, which has proven to be a disappointment to historians. A typical entry reads: "March 12 19 WR. Getrude: 7 (great ass) Lindsay 4 (eh) Christine 10 (but a total bitch). Also some issue with tmw's operation."
| http://www.kupopolis.com/kupopowiki/images/meta.gif | Meta•Fact: Burzmale was originally introduced as a "talking head" to provide exposition. |
Second-in-command of the Grand Army
Burzmale was a Colonel by the time he met Celiose Cole, and his diary reported his thought on the future Generalissimo: "Bit of a stick in the mud, but what do you expect from an artilleryman?" Celiose was a military prodigy, and his meteoric rise irritated many career soldiers who felt that Prime Minister Rhodes Palmerston was gambling with a "child savant" general and "dangerous unproven magitek".
Celiose was just seventeen when he was promoted General of Artillery; Burzmale, still a Colonel, happened to catch Celiose at Ochre headquarters and congratulated him. Burzmale insisted that he take his new boss out to celebrate, especially when he learned that Celiose had never been drunk before. ("The men will NEVER trust you if you can't drink!") Although Celiose would, in time, have many capable subordinates, Burzmale was perhaps the only one who was his friend.
Ticondera seized the Ice Country in 20 WR, a prelude to large moves in the Mana Dimension. Tasnica could not allows this to stand, and tasked the REF with driving the Legions out. Celiose had overall command of the expedition, but Burzmale Julian, along with Torstensson Lenart, emerged as his key commanders. A boisterous figure with a touch for the common soldier, Burzmale was probably the most popular general. Perhaps his most important contribution to the campaign was getting the Tasnican officer corps to trust Celiose long enough for Celiose to start winning.
Celiose's victories naturally quieted all objections to him. In 23 WR, he destroyed several legions in a dramatic fashion at the Batttle of the Frozen Bay. Rhodes Palmerston, always one to understand and capitalize on good theater, promoted Celiose to the rest of the Web as "the man who can win the war," and formed a Grand Army with nations across the Web with Celiose as Generalissimo.
Burzmale was Celiose's pick for second-in-command. The House of Lords tried to pressure him to appoint someone else; they did not want Tasnicans in both of the top posts. Celiose, Generalissimo barely a week, told the House, "No. All command appointments, promotions, operations, and strategy are under my prerogative." Burzmale, when told this, said, "Dangit, Cel, you could've just said, "Fuck off."
Burzmale's tenure in the GA is almost inevitably overshadowed by his later betrayal. However, he still had a way with the common soldier, and probably deserves at least some of the credit for getting the multinational force to 'gel'. During this year, he rarely commanded units himself, though he occasionally acted as Generalissimo when Celiose was unavailable (like when he was gallivanting around with Gods and stuff.) Burzmale was best man at Celiose's wedding.
Betrayal
In 25 WR Burzmale stole one of the (then-new) Tacfortress bombers, flew it to occupied Baron, and offered his services to the Dark Gods. The Web, and Celiose, were stunned.
Even to his contemporaries, and the people who knew him well, the decision was a shock. Unlike many other would-be servants of evil, Burzmale did not demand immortality or power. Placing the blame at the feet of his Grolim parentage seems flimsy, even if it was the best Praxer Riose could do. Some have speculated that perhaps the fact his parents did not love each other contributed somehow, although by all accounts, they both loved him. This is also highly speculative ("I just now realized my parents didn't have sex very often. I am so upset by this I will betray my friends, country, and career to to serve beings who are evil incarnate.") Some have speculated that there was some kind of Dark God corruption or mind control, but is also highly speculative: why Burzmale and not other leading figures?
This was not long after the Light Gods had departed the Web. Celiose felt that the post-war Web would have no place for any gods; perhaps Burzmale preferred a world ruled by Dark Gods to a world ruled by none.
The Grand Army was already struggling to 'fill out' to the scale of the task of winning the war, and Burzmale knew exactly where to hit to hurt the GA most: Ticondera. In an amazing short campaign, Burzmale exploited GA/Ticonderan friction to evict the GA from the continent and hand them the worst defeat of the war. This was enough to convince the Dark Gods that they could trust Burzmale, and the gave him enough leeway to implement some reforms in the Dark Wrath. Many of his reforms were organizational; however, many of them also improved the quality of life for Dark Wrath soldiers. The vast majority of Dark Wrath soldiers were, after all, conscripts, and Burzmale was one of the few Dark Wrath commanders who did not need to threaten execution to get them to fight. Burzmale also organized supply routes, most famously the "Carrion Express", to supply Dark Wrath forces throughout the Web. Nonetheless, the Dark Gods never let him run "everything"; Burzmale was consistently frustrated that there was always some "evil artifact or ritual or nonsense" that absorbed resources and the Gods' attention. Like Celiose, he believed that, in the final analysis, the war would be settled by blood and iron.
Leading the Dark Wrath
Burzmale had a strategy to win the war after Ticondera. He thought destroying Hyrule, one of GACA's newest and most important member nations, after the defeat at Ticondera would cause a "collapse of confidence" in the GA's ability to protect its member states. He also thought Trianable was so strategically important as to be potentially war-winning on its own. Trianable was situated near a key portal set and was an important logistical hub for the GA. It was also launching-pad for GA heavy bombers attacking Dragon and Crystal.
Burzmale's invasion of Hyrule opened a key theater of war, and Celiose knew it. Celiose put his best field commander, Torstensson Lenart, in charge of Army Group Hyrule; Torstensson had, after all, served with Burzmale in the Ice Country campaign. King Alexander Sylinas, aka Link, was determined to make a stand. For eight months the city of Trianable was under siege.
Burzmale did his best to break the city. More then many other Dark Wrath commanders, he worked to broaden and standardize new technology rather then use it as a "one-off" wonder weapon. He employed Spider Walkers, rocket batteries, and an Infantry Carrier of his own design in an attempt to bust or outflank the GA/Hyrulean position. At the same time, Burzmale was uncomfortable with some of the more exotic forces under his command such as Banelings.
He contemplated a drive on the capital, New Kasuto, but was worried that he would leave his own supply lines exposed.
Trianable was grim for all concerned, but during this time Burzmale became increasingly morose. This was the time when he started to accumulate his very large and diverse stable of whores. Some believe his sexual perversion illuminates some reason for his betrayal, but it is more likely it helped salve the pain of his choice. As another man might do with alcohol, Burzmale did with sex.
In the seventh month of the siege, Burzmale's army was cut off from reinforcements and re-supply. Torak had decided to attack Albrook. Burzmale flew into a rage; there was no way such an operation could succeed, and the pointless expenditure of resources would almost certainly doom the Dark Wrath's Hyrulean campaign. He was right. The Dark Wrath lost a huge army at Albrook, and a few weeks later Torstensson broke out of Trianable.
Burzmale understood that the war was lost, but obviously the Dark Gods were not going to surrender. Burzmale continued to fight the war. His defense of the Transbaron was necessarily a long delaying action. Burzmale prepared a succession of fortified positions; the the Transbaron campaign history is filled with references to this or that defensive line. He used his mobile forces (of which he never had enough) to deliver counterattacks whenever the opportunity presented itself, most famously at Arderine. Although he inflicted heavy losses on the GA and their allies, the campaign utterly wiped out the Dark Wrath.
Trial and Execution
Burzmale was captured in Baron, and was the biggest name on trial at the War Crimes Tribunal in Scande. His guilt, and sentence, were virtually a foregone conclusion. No one was interested in hearing his explanation for himself, and he showed little interest in giving one. Burzmale was totally resigned to his fate.
