The Unwanted

In the midst of the horror and carnage, when humans fought for their survival across Humär, thousands of parents departed this life without their children.
Children unattended. Unprotected.
Many slaughtered, even more were enslaved--and the unfortunates found themselves scooped up and...consumed by the enemy.
The forces of King Robert III met the enemy at every turn, sacrificing their lives to protect the citizens of their beloved country.
...but there is only so much the military can do.
That is when the children rose up to defend their own.
...on their own.

An Impossible Sacrifice

It breaks my heart when I think about it--but the greatest story of bravery and courage this old gnome has ever heard witnessed, is that of the 'Unwanted'.
As the hordes of our enemy attacked the outer villages of Tilliman Highlands, communities were decimated. Homes and lands burned to the ground, many times in the thick of winter--we never knew how the Vallen, Täuku, and the organized militia of Thule got past the most basic of human defenses.
They appeared from seemingly nowhere, ripped through the landscapem and as quick as they had appeared, the evil vanished from sight.
What they left behind was devistation, horror, and terror-stricken children, who had nowhere to turn.
Some fled north, in hopes of finding shelter and some form of refuge from war--while others...lingered.
Young boys, sometimes no older than twelve years of age, would stay behind, willing to use what basic knowledge or skills they had, in the defense of others--giving them time to flee.
Children, mind you--and I would stress this point again--CHILDREN--willing to die, so others could live, knowing that what they did was ONLY to buy time.
Yet many survived.
TGII be praised, these heroic children lived and made their way to King Robert's forces--where they willingly volunteered to join the ranks.
...and they were rejected.

The Reality of Heart

Now as a father myself, I understand why these biy swere turned away. They were encouraged, I was told, to go further north, to find food, shelter, and to begin a new life--though what kind a life a tramatized orphan can find, I couldn't tell you.
So most of them stayed. Independent of the military, these boys found ways to serve, scouting and bringing back knowledge and constant risk to their own lives, presentiong what they saw to the military.
And that is when the Wendell discovered them, and took them under his own wing.
With the help of Dax and Chuck, he organized and trained these youth into the most imnpressive fighters of this generation.

You cannot tell a person not to care. Not to feel. To turn your back on the sufferings of others.
That's all these boys wanted. Someone to teach them how to take their willing sacrifice and make it count.
They were going to die in service...all I did was give them a better chance of surving it.

— Wendell

A Name of Honor

What came next no one could have predicted. Except Chuck.
This growing group of boys had a few things in common: survival skills.
Most were sons of hunters, skinners, butchers, or blacksmiths. Boys with a hard life, a harder resolve--and the commitment to doing what they did with pride and focus. That's when Wendell paired them up.
Using the fighting tactics of the Nethinim, the boys were taught how to fight in three's. A bow, knives, and shield.
When the miltary forces were in danger of losing the line outside Til-Thorin for the second time, these boys appeared from the woods like hungry wolves--led by the Gnolaum and the Nethinim.
One by one, the Vallen fell to these fearless children. First pierced with a bow from a distance, slowing the giant-though arrows rarely take such a monster down. But the beast was met with a defending shield--held with thre strength of an apprentice blacksmith, while th hunter/butcher lascerated tendons and punctured organs with deadly percision, more often than not, dropping the enemy to his knees.
...only to be met by a balcksmiths hammer.
The military was saved that fateful day...by the ones they called 'unwanted'.