Anchor – BBN:
"Good evening, citizens of the Blackwood Union. Tonight, in a rare and extraordinary appearance, we bring you the man at the very heart of the storm. He has commanded the Blackwood Armed Militia through countless wars. He is the iron wall behind the throne. He is the King's most loyal sword. For the first time, he speaks after His Majesty fined him publicly in what many call the greatest punishment in history.
Welcome, General Soren Vask."
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The Interview
BBN Reporter:
"General, first of all—thank you for agreeing to speak with us. Let's start directly. How did you feel, in that moment, when the King himself fined you?"
Soren Vask (calm, but voice heavy):
"How did I feel? Like a soldier stripped bare in front of his army. I have fought under His Majesty for decades, and never once wavered. To be fined… to be punished… not for failure on the battlefield, but for the mistakes of men under me—it cut deep. But I endured. Because my loyalty is not built on pride. It is built on service."
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BBN Reporter:
"Some say the punishment was unfair, that the King struck at you to prove no one is untouchable. Do you agree with that?"
Soren (eyes narrowing):
"Unfair? No. Nothing the King does can be called unfair, because His word is law. But was it… heavy? Yes. And perhaps deliberate. His Majesty wanted the Union to remember that even Soren Vask, the shield of Blackwood, bends before his command. I will not lie—it was a reminder that loyalty is not a crown. It is a chain."
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BBN Reporter:
"There are whispers, General, that soldiers now question if you still stand as firmly with the King after that public humiliation. What do you say to them?"
Soren (leaning forward):
"Let me make this clear to every soldier, every citizen, every whisperer hiding in corners: I, Soren Vask, will never turn my face from the King. If he calls me traitor, I will still guard his throne. If he breaks me, I will still shield him. My loyalty is not to my name, or my honor—it is to Chris Blackwood alone. Let no man test me on this."
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BBN Reporter:
"Yet General, even BAM officers admitted this punishment was shocking. Doesn't it weaken your authority within your own ranks? Won't men look at you differently?"
Soren (pausing, then speaking slowly):
"Yes. They look at me differently now. Some see me as a scarred general, others as a warning. But here is the truth—authority built only on fear or pride dies fast. Authority built on blood, on sacrifice, on shared pain—that lasts. I bled with my men, and now I bleed under His Majesty's judgment. They will follow me not because I am untouchable, but because I am unbreakable."
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BBN Reporter:
"There's another name tied to all this: Daniel. Many soldiers say the punishment crushed him. Others say it forged him. What do you think of him now?"
Soren (a faint smile):
"Daniel… the boy is fire. Too much fire, sometimes. He rose too fast, too high, and fire like that attracts storms. The punishment hurt him, yes. But it did not destroy him. I have watched his eyes after the blow. He is wounded, but not broken. And if the King has chosen to test him this way, then I believe Daniel's story is far from over. The battlefield will decide who he truly is."
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BBN Reporter:
"One last question, General. Do you ever—deep down—resent the King for this? Even a little?"
Soren (long silence, then his voice low, steady):
"Resent? No. I owe him my life, my place, my very breath. What I feel is… burden. The burden of being the sword that can be sheathed or broken at any time. But hear me: my loyalty is not shaken. If the King commands me to kneel, I kneel. If he commands me to burn, I burn. If he commands me to die, I die. That is the oath I swore, and that oath will not bend—not even under humiliation."
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BBN Reporter (closing):
"There you have it. General Soren Vask—fined by his King, scarred before his men, but still unbroken in his loyalty. Some will say this is strength. Others will call it blind devotion. But one thing is certain: in the Blackwood Union, discipline is heavier than pride.
This is BBN, and you just heard it from the Iron General himself."
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