[@Breo]
[h2][center][b]Emmerich Lisztmayer-Anschütz von Sabern, 
[i]Master of Rider[/i]
Somewhere on the Eastern Fields of Fuyuki
The 27th of August, 1939[/b][/center][/h2]

[hr]

The officer could not help but cock a brow and glance a lopsided grin at the servant's remark of misery. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]Is that what you equate me to, Rider? Misery? ... I must have made a terrible first impression.[/i][/b]"[/color] With a shake of his head, he quickly dismissed the topic and instead choose to return to his mage-ly duties of setting up a bounded field - Which, for some reason, involved no flashy spells yet. Irredeemably, the lanky officer just stuck to the trunk of his car and kept rummaging. A tug here, a pull there, he was awfully absorbed in sorting out the equipment for his task and only looked up from the sturdy vehicle's compartments when his ears caught the servant's wistful mumbling. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]Love-struck?[/i][/b]"[/color], he noted in disbelief. After a moment's pause, the man rose from his work and a tinge painful sincerity rolled off his tongue.

[color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]My Rittl, there are no miracles in this world. A thousand times I wished something could be because I simply wished for it, but you'll find that wishes do not come true by themselves.[/i][/b]"[/color] The officer's striking-blue eyes grew distant, as if sifting away in a sea of memories. An uneasy silence settled onto the discussion, graced by nothing but a longing stare into nothingness. Emmerich's stalwart posture gained a statuesque quality, yet the canny Rider could clearly notice what was the quivering hands of a broken man. Only a second was spared by the tall officer to let his mind wander - At the first sign of a twitch, he grew rigid and his figure strained itself into a peaceful state again. The uneasy episode was over as soon as it started. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]Apologies. I got lost in ... Thought.[/i][/b]"[/color], he admitted.[color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]Do not wish for what you desire - That only makes its absence ache more. Choose to act for it instead.[/i][/b]"[/color]

Emmerich took the first chance to change the topic. The awkwardness of the situation began to sting his side and so he gracefully leaned back onto the trunk to explain Rider's summoning in an off-handed manner. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]If you want to hear the most honest reason why I choose you over seventeen other servants more suitable for my lacking arcane expertise, it's because We believed that you in particular would be the most beneficial to have in this conflict and prove to be efficient in carrying out your duties as Our ... [u]Sturmabteilung[/u], for a lack of better terms.[/i][/b]"[/color] Then the officer clicked his tongue and glanced up half-ways from the trunk, his eye on Rider with a sly glint. The corner of his lips hid a coy, sublime smile. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]However, if ... We ... Didn't know better, I might be pressed to say that your master may be very fascinated with tales of your old, bygone era of heroics.[/i][/b]"[/color] The oddly-worded confession resonated with a sense of rediscovered honesty and kindness, as if the pain from moments ago dissipated in the wake of a budding enthusiasm.

The idle chatter was cut short as Emmerich's glance triggered Rider's eager request of action. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]No.[/i][/b]"[/color], he noted in a tight-lipped manner before snatching his binocular and hopping away from the trunk. Immediately, he was fixated on church-wards. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]I just had a bad feeling, but I'm sure of it now: They're being teased by the enemy - But I anticipated this happening.[/i][/b]"[/color] With a stalwart finger, the officer gestured toward the horizon while still keeping the device to his eyes. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]You see, Rider, a frontline is a precious thing. You can't clearly see it nor can you define it on a map with one-hundred percent certainty - It's an abstract concept of sorts. This is why any commander worth their salt will spend time testing the boundaries of their enemy's.[/i][/b]"[/color] In a broad sweep of his hand from the coastline, over the city and to the church, Emmerich gestured on. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]This is our frontline, Rider - And the Japanese are now trying to find out where it would be the easiest to poke holes into it. It is a test of a man's courage: If you attack the right flank of an army and their general sends reinforcements, it means that's where he is afraid - His right flank, my Rittl. I pray that our allies do not fail us by rushing too quickly to help Bauer. We do not want to let them know where we're the weakest, for a fortification is only as strong as its weakest bastion.[/i][/b]"[/color] There was urgency to the lanky officer's speech, his usual coolness and melancholy giving way to a professional haste. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]It is for this purpose that I ordered one of the Edelfelt twins to stay in the eastern city - But if more than one master leaves their post, our frontline presence is broken and that would mean that... We must recalculate our angle of attack.[/i][/b]"[/color] A sigh escaped Emmerich's thin lips as he finally gave up on his attempts to spy any happenings from the other side of Shinto. [color=#8c8c8c]"[b][i]For now, we remain here. Our opportunity to strike will arise shortly - Lest our lines shatter and we end up separated from the rest of our folks.[/i][/b]"[/color]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wiD2ByQ.png[/img][/center]