The man inside the mirror looked tired. He was tall; he looked strong.
The man outside the mirror didn't recognize the thing staring back on him. He certainly didn't feel big and strong. He felt tired and weak. He looked drunk all the time, even when he wasn't. A permanent effect of his alcoholic days. He'd thought if he stopped drinking he would improve, but he didn't.
Now, he knew, there was a way to improve, a way to get better. A way to leave everything behind, his memories, his friends, his house, his enemies, his name, his entire identity.
All he had to do was say yes. Say he'd do it. Say he'd leave behind the body...
And join the war.
Thomas Rainwell turned from the mirror and made a decision. He would be a soldier.
---
Tord stared at the poster, written in Norwegian. He read it several times.
It seemed like the only option. His own army was in pieces. The accident had changed him, made him different. His whole self felt different, and it had nothing to do with the scars.
He needed a new opportunity. One where he could become who he wanted rather than who he had to be...
So Tord Lanesson joined the International Army of United Nations.
---
Deep underground, creatures stirred at their alpha's return. It had been a long time. Many dusks and dawns. They chattered at the alpha. They wanted out. They wanted their home back. They wanted to see the sun that had been hidden to them, only known through stories the elders told, and the alpha's expeditions.
"Soon." hissed the alpha. "Soon."