Meet the Character – Captain Caudex

Meet the Character – Captain Caudex is part of the Meet the Character series on official site. This entry was published on 08/06/2015.

Contents
(Recovered from the corpse of Lieutenant Gavo Haderus)

I take up the quill with a heavy heart. My friend and comrade, Captain Midara, is dead. He had managed to evade capture for more than a month, but it seems the Clannfear finally sniffed him out. Even the oppressive stink of the sewers can't throw them off.

This is, of course, just another in a long line of tragedies. The city lies in ruins, its people are enslaved or sacrificed, and the Legion is shattered beyond repair. By last count, only two officers remain: myself and Captain Anatolius Caudex.

I remain baffled by Caudex's success in the Nobles District. While we scurry through drainpipes and sleep in puddles of our own filth, he holds the forum. The forum! Right there in plain view of Divine and Daedra alike. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. In my heart, I've always known he'd be the last soldier standing. Sergeant Shatabi calls him the “Zhazza-Ra." That's ta'agra for “The Crazy General." I suppose he does suffer from a kind of madness. His love for the Empire is just … relentless. It's the kind of zeal that would burst the heart of lesser men. He would bleed on the Diamond to keep it red.

I'm reminded of our time in Fort Warden—before the provincials took it from us. The Covenant made a practice of shooting any officer that strayed into view. Most of us took to wearing standard infantry uniforms to avoid attention. But not Caudex. Every morning he'd polish his breastplate, comb the crest of his helm, and patrol the walls in utter defiance. He was shot three times, but never failed to make his rounds. We pleaded with him to stop. He just shook his head.

“These rebels must learn that the Empire is invincible," he said. “So we must be invincible."

Not long afterward, we were ordered to abandon the keep. Caudex was the last to leave.

It's funny. Even though I write this from inside the city walls, it feels like Fort Warden all over again. Enemies on all sides, officers in hiding, and Caudex defiant. I know that the city is lost. I know that the Legion is sundered. But in my heart I can't help but believe—so long as Caudex lives, the Empire is invincible.