Greatness, Unplanned

The life of William P. Thornton

by Nicholas Dowbiggin

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Chapter I

Origins

Panel 01 · Hometown William had begun his life as the only child of a rather poor family, in one of the many small towns on the fringes of New Lancaster.

Panel 02 · His Mother His mother was a librarian at the local school.

Panel 03 · His Father His father a foreman for one of the town’s mid-sized construction companies.

Panel 04 · Junior Cadet His rise started at the lowly rank of Junior Cadet, his first assignment straight to the battlefield front.

Chapter II

The Patrol

Panel 05 · On Patrol It was only a week into that first assignment that William was out on an ordinary patrol, with the exception that Prime Mathers had decided he would tag along.

Panel 06 · A twist of fate As fate would have it, he would immediately have a chance to distinguish himself.

Panel 07 · The Ambush The patrol was ambushed by a force more than twice its size, tipped off somehow to the presence of Mather.

Panel 08 · No Foothold William and the others fought back valiantly but had poor cover and no ability to find a foothold from which to mount an effective defense.

Chapter III

Decimation

Panel 09 · Picked Off One by one they were picked off, a bullet to the chest of the man on your left followed by two more to the man on your right.

Panel 10 · Sobbing into the Ground Men sobbing into the ground and praying to the Holy that they could have one more chance to speak to their families.

Panel 11 · One Gun And each of the survivors had one memory above all others. That there was one gun that never stopped returning fire, even when everyone else had given up hope completely.

Panel 12 · Drawn to the Sound Prime Mathers found himself drawn to the sound, calming in its consistency in some small way, and it managed to draw him out of the daze that combat had placed him under.

Chapter IV

Resolve

Panel 13 · Total Shit Sir. Looks like things have gone to total shit, sir. Don’t see any way out of this one.

Panel 14 · A Pleasure to Serve It was a pleasure to serve with you, sir. I reckon we have another minute or two before the entire force comes down on us.

Panel 15 · The Grenades Mathers watched as William grabbed a bag full of grenades from a small nearby munitions pile.

Panel 16 · Sprang Up And then sprang up from his place of cover and ran at full speed towards the forest’s edge nearby.

Chapter V

Sacrifice

Panel 17 · Into the Fire The same forest from which the enemy fire was coming in frequent bursts.

Panel 18 · Sheer Audacity The sheer audacity of charging directly at the enemy position apparently catching them off guard.

Panel 19 · Disappeared into the Brush The entire force seemed to focus their fire on where William had disappeared into the brush.

Panel 20 · Lowering His Head Mathers remembered lowering his head in despair, as even with all the death that surrounded him he still found himself impacted by the death of the young man whose only interaction with him was to bid him farewell.

Chapter VI

The Rally

Panel 21 · The Grenades Detonate Over and above the sound of the enemy’s continued gunfire there was suddenly the unmistakable sound of exploding grenades, first one, than a second and then so many in quick succession that no one was able to keep track.

Panel 22 · A Smoldering Ruin The tree line from which the enemy forces had been firing was now a smoldering ruin with downed trees and rent earth throughout.

Panel 23 · Rally and Counterattack The remaining force seized upon the moment not to retreat, but to rally and counterattack.

Panel 24 · No Longer Content Men with bullet wounds and broken and missing limbs gathered themselves all around him, no longer content to let death claim them.

Chapter VII

The Chant

Panel 25 · Send Them into Retreat They were able to overtake the enemy position and send the remaining forces into retreat, though not without the loss of half the remaining troops.

Panel 26 · Found Alive Prime Mathers personally led the search to recover his body, intent on giving the man a hero’s funeral. Alas, it was not to be. William was found still alive.

Panel 27 · The Chant Over and over he chanted ‘Fight one, fight all. Face one, face all. The Legion, should you face it, shall never fall.’

Panel 28 · Bound a Nation The battle chant of the Elite from that day forth, grew from a soldiers’ song that only those who had stared down death together understood, to a song that would later bind together a Nation.

"Face one, face all"

Where it all began

An Enduring Spark

The life of William P. Thornton is actually a bit of a short story (albeit this version is heavily abridged) directly from The Roar of Winchester, a one hundred and fifty thousand word character-driven sci-fi novel. For those of you who make it to Chapter Nineteen, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Come meet Arthur and Dariah (and all the others) in their full glory. Book One available soon.

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