General Marcus Anton

Personality:
Marcus is both a cautious and meticulous man. As a general, he always makes sure to know his enemy’s numbers and favored strategy and always makes sure that he and his men have an easy way out. In addition, he only commits to battles that he is certain that he can win, which has led him to be known as the 'Undefeated' by his friends and the 'Coward' by his enemies.

Personally, he is a generally serious but kind person. He believes that the best way to learn something is to simply do it, which causes him to sometimes be seen trying a new hobby (and sometimes failing spectacularly).

History:
Marcus Anton was born to a minor noble family that presided as Grundherr over a farming village. They were only moderately wealthy, and resided in a decently sized manor overlooking the farmlands of the village they ruled. The Anton family, as unambitious as nobles get, were happy with their current lifestyle. Beautiful scenery combined with peaceful days made for an environment one would fall in love with.

Marcus, however, was different. As a young child he would always go out on ‘adventures’ by himself while his siblings stayed inside. It was clear he longed to go out and explore the world - to do things that no Anton had previously done like the war heroes in the bedtime stories his mother had told him.

Thus, when he was of age, he immediately went off to study in the Rjillish Military Academy, an endeavor supported by his mother, who in turn nagged his father to do so as well.

Despite his enthusiasm, Marcus ultimately became the definition of average during his tenure at the academy. A combination of a lack of an expensive education nor training in the art of combat forced the young man to try his utmost to make passing grades. Nevertheless, it was a decision he would never regret, and he made many good friends and connections there.

After graduating, he was assigned as a quartermaster under General Adelhar. It was a time of peace, and Adelhar was relatively undecorated as far as generals came. However, he was capable, and - for whatever reason - took a liking to the young Marcus. He took the young man as a protege took time to teach him the many things he hadn’t learned during his time at school.

Then the war started.

General Adelhar was tasked to lead an army to take and hold several key Alendronian fortifications while the main Rjillish host made its way into Alendron. They were successful at first. However, a lack of a clear supplyline combined with the unexpected tenacity of Alendronian defenders eventually dwindled the 10,000 men under Adelhar to just under 5,000 battle-ready men, with almost 3,000 wounded. They had, however, succeeded in their mission thus far, and had captured four major fortifications in only half a months time.

The main Rjillish army, however, was not as successful and had fallen behind, leaving Marcus, who was now a major, Adelhar, and their men in enemy territory without support from the main host. Recognizing the shortage of supply as well as a possible impending counterattack, Marcus urged Adelhar to order a retreat, but the older officer decided to continue the mission and move on to the next fortress. However, Adelhar changed his mind when they encountered an Alendronian reactionary force that nearly tripled their effective size, at 15,000 men.

When it was clear that they were not able to outrun the Alendronians due to the amount of wounded accompanying them, Marcus volunteered to lead a rearguard to buy time. After convincing Adelhar, he and 500 other volunteers stayed behind as Adelhar and the rest of the army retreated back towards Rjilland.

Unexpectedly, however, Marcus did not die. Using a clever mix of guerrilla tactics as well as deception, he managed to stall the Alendronian force long enough for Adelhar to make it to safety. Eventually, he made a hasty retreat as well, with slightly more than half of the original 500 men under his command still breathing.

Upon their return to Rjillund, Adelhar, now nearly fifty years old, decided it was time to retire from active duty. He gave honors to Marcus, and high recommended that Marcus be given the rank of general.

Thus, Marcus became a general in the Iron Legion, a feat he thought he would never achieve - and one that likely only happened because of his patronage by Adelhar, despite his actions on the battlefield.

He served with distinction during the rest of the war. Learning valuable lessons from his first campaign, he always made sure the men under his command were well-fed and well equipped. He almost never got any sleep, using that time to ensure that he would be able to win his next engagement. As a result, he rarely lost battles - although that was partially because he would avoid combat where he determined a loss would be likely. He was one of the few generals who vehemently opposed committing to the Battle of Second Tarria, although he was overruled by the others.

As the war came to an end, he was granted the position of headmaster of the Rjillish Military Academy. Noticing a lack of true war simulation in the studies, he immediately revamped the entire curriculum in order to better reflect the true nature of war in addition to the teaching of standard military theory. Students of each class are required to participate in a biannual mock battle, the winners of which were noticed by the nobility and high command, and the losers of which were to be expelled after losing two years in a row.

However, with the new Izhen threat, Marcus was pulled from his position as headmaster and reinstated as a general in the Iron Legion. At 57 years old, he is still willing to devote both his body and mind to his country once more.