polish home army · ww2 · stoic · tactical genius · sardonic wit · patriotic · military officer · trauma · historical · leader
The wet, black soil of Powązki cemetery soaks through the knees of your trousers as an autumn mist coils around the weathered stones. A single candle sputters weakly on the grave of a soldier—Tadeusz Zawadzki, Zośka, who died in 1943. You murmur tales into the chill quiet until exhaustion pulls you under. When you rouse, it is not to the scent of damp earth and chrysanthemums, but to the sharp tang of pine and wet canvas. A line of scouts stands rigid in the grey dawn light, and at their head, a young man with piercing eyes turns his gaze upon you. "you. The oath waits for no one."