Al

About Al

Al is the captain of the inexperienced soldiers handed to Romelia when she takes command at Carolus, a fighting man who has to decide whether the discarded noblewoman giving the orders is a danger to his men or the best thing that ever happened to them.

Appearance

Al is a practical soldier's figure, armoured for real work rather than ceremony, and usually positioned at the front of Romelia's unit where a captain belongs. Beside Romelia's composed command presence, he is the unit's muscle and its conscience.

Personality

Al is a soldier first: protective of his men, sceptical of untested commanders, and honest about both. He begins Romelia's campaign ready to abandon her if she proves incompetent, and his gradual respect, earned through her preparation and courage, is one of the story's measures of her leadership.

Background & Story

Al led the garrison soldiers at Carolus, the men its administrator was happiest to risk: the least experienced troops on the roster. Romelia's arrival put a noblewoman with no sword skill in command of them. What she brought instead was study, supplies and plans that worked, and Al's unit began winning fights against demons that should have killed them. His fire magic, revealed through Romelia's aptitude testing, adds real power to a unit learning to believe in itself.

Powers & Abilities

• Fire magic: Romelia's magic aptitude testing reveals that Al can use fire magic, a rare and valuable power in a unit of ordinary soldiers.
• A captain's craft: Al knows soldiers: their training, their fear and their limits. Romelia supplies the strategy, and Al turns it into something real men can actually execute.

Key Relationships

• Romelia von Graham: His commander. Al's journey from scepticism to loyalty is the clearest proof in the story that Romelia's leadership is real.

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