| “ | Wars are hard enough work without people fighting in the middle of them. | ” |
— Tunny to Yolk
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Corporal Tunny is the standard-bearer of the First Regiment of cavalry in the Union army, and one of the longest serving non-commissioned officers.
Personality[]
Corporal Tunny has the attitude of a old-time veteran soldier. He’s cynical about the army and war in general; all Tunny wants to do is live through (or avoid as much as possible) the next battle. Although he comes across as a lazy rogue and shirker seeking to avoid fighting, he is capable of great bravery and charisma.
Tunny spends much of his energy profiteering, gambling with new recruits, and stealing from the army and the enemy. He can get anything for you ... at a price. Even though he verbally mistreats the men under his command and actively profits from them, He cares about them and treats them fairly, though he is at pains to avoid this being known (he has a reputation to uphold).
History[]
Tunny has been in the army for twenty-six years, and a veteran of the Starikland uprising, the First Gurkish War, the First Northern War, the Battle of Adua, and the Second Northern War. He has four times been Sergeant Tunny, once even Colour Sergeant Tunny, but each time he’s gets demoted back to Corporal, though he has always avoided being actually court-martialled. He has served under eight Lord Marshals; Frengen, Altmoyer, Krepsky, the other Frengen, Varuz, Burr, then West, and now Kroy.
The Heroes[]
Corporal Tunny is serving under Sergeant Forest, in Colonel Vallimir's division. He is assigned four new recruits, and told to scout a path through the bogs to the far west. He soon loses his first recruit in the bogs, Klige, but they succeed in finding a place where they can flank the Northmen.
He sends Lederlingen back to telling the higher command what they’d found; after Yolk bribes him not to be sent. When Lederlingen is sent back with their orders to attack, he gets killed by Northmen scouts. Without orders, Tunny and the regiment sit-out that day of the battle.
On the third day of the battle, when they eventually decide to charge, with Tunny up front leading the charge, they find the Clail’s Wall abandoned by the Northmen. Soon they receive orders from Lord Marshal Kroy for all hostilities to cease at once, though Worth is killed by friendly-fire even after the fighting ends. Out of the four new recruits placed under Tunny, only trooper Yolk survives the battle and becomes something of a protege of Tunny.
In the end, Tunny writes letters to the families of the family of Troopers Lederlingen and Worth. He again receives four more new recruits, and they prepare to ships out with Lord Marshal Mitterick to Styria to help the Sipanese fight against Grand Duchess Monza of Talins.
Sharp Ends[]
In "A Beautiful Bastard", Tunny is the new assistant to Colonel Glokta and is among the more enthusiastic of the soldiers. He is prepared to charge down to the bridge alongside Glokta to repel the incoming Gurkhish soldiers, but is spared from his commanding officer's fate when Glokta rebuffs him.
In "Three's a Crowd", Tunny is present alongside Lieutenant Forest and Lance Corporal Yolk. The three are drinking and playing cards with Javre. When Javre mistakenly introduces him to Shevedieh as "Sergeant Tunny", she is quickly reminded by Forest that he managed to have himself demoted yet again to the rank of corporal. He makes an off-color remark about Shevedieh and is quickly intimidated into leaving when Javre springs to defend her honor.
A Little Hatred[]
Crown Prince Orso enjoys surrounding himself with curiosities, among them Tunny, Yolk, and Hildi. Yolk is still the butt of Tunny's jokes, as they carouse, gamble, and generally slack off.
The Trouble With Peace[]
Now High King of the Union, Orso is sent into deep self-pity at the news that his former lover Savine dan Glokta is marrying Leo dan Brock. He leaves the wedding early to play cards with Tunny and Yolk in a brothel. Orso's feeling sorry for himself eventually gets too much for Tunny, who gives him a few home truths,
| “ | Who cares a shit what they think? Long as they bloody obey! You’re king, boy! Not me, not Yolk and not Leo dan bloody Brock! You! Now, I daresay being king has its downsides but I can tell you there are worse jobs. All this bloody self-pity. It was fun when you were a crown prince, but fuck, it doesn’t suit a king. Get back to the palace and get on with it. We’ll miss you, but these lovely ladies need to make some money and you’re scaring away the guests. | ” |
— Tunny
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Orso is shocked, but, glancing about the room, sees that everyone has the same expression; I can’t believe he said it, but it definitely needed saying. He thanks Tunny before heading back to the palace with a new sense of purpose.
At the Battle of Stoffenbeck, Corporal Tunny is at the kings side as standard-bearer of the Steadfast Standard; the very flag under which King Casamir the Steadfast had conquered Angland. Before the battle, Tunny is sent to invite Lord Brock to a parley, in order to buy time for royalist reinforcements to arrive. During the fighting, Orso notices that Tunny is actually quite brave, shielding the Steadfast Standard with his body from enemy cannon fire. Then he's rather dismayed when the king orders him to leave the standard in the clock tower, in order to draw Leo into an ambush.
