"I think I will just stop talking now," Natalie said. "Not necessarily," Cyrus said as he took his cup, blowing on it. "You still haven't told me much about yourself." "I don't know what to say," she said, laughing. "Well, how about we talk about certain philosophies you buy into?" Cyrus said. "What values do you have that others either lack or don't have as much as you do?" "Let's see," Natalie said, looking up with her hands joined together. "I love reading, a lot. But one distinct feature I think I have is that I dislike war and conflict." Cyrus arched a brow. "Who doesn't?" he asked. “Recently it feels like I have a thing for attracting pacifists. What gives?” "Don't be silly! You don't have to be one to hate bloodshed, although I'll admit that my case takes things up a notch," Natalie replied while chuckling. "I get uncomfortable with the slightest confrontation or disagreement, despite how trivial it may be. It just makes me upset when people don't get along." "Then it m
"That's right," Kendrick said. "I became prefect because I believed I was saving the town from starvation and extinction, but the rebels don't care about that. They just want me dead. And it's a shame I'm only beginning to understand that now." "I have delivered my message," the mole said. "Farewell." "Wait!" Kendrick said quietly. "I just need to ask a question," the prefect said. "But if you want, you don't have to stay longer." The mole remained motionless, indicating he was ready to hear the question. So Kendrick proceeded. "While I do appreciate your help so far, I still want to ask: Why are you doing this? You just said that you don't care about my leadership, so why do you keep helping me like this?" the prefect asked. "As I said, I stand for law and order, not your leadership or the Emperor. I don't view the Empire's rulership over Fayhold as a good thing but rather an evil that must be tolerated for the greater good," replied the mole. "I'm only helping you because we b
"Richard put down his daggers, feeling somewhat frustrated. "There is no better way for him to learn," Richard said. "You didn't think I was going to kill him for real, did you?" "You tell us," Cyrus said. "I was only being that way because of necessity," Richard said. "What on earth makes such aggression necessary on any level?" asked Cyrus. "Are you serious, Cyrus?" asked Richard. "I thought of all people, you would understand. Felix has no battle experience, and yet he is with us on a mission of conquest against one of the most powerful women on earth. And you are asking me what justifies such aggression?" "If we don't train him that way, who will? The need for immediate mastery is so important because if he doesn't know how to defend himself, he will die sooner or later," Richard said. "On the contrary, I want him alive as long as possible. He is my friend." "You don't protect your friends by trying to kill them while only holding back by a thread," Cyrus said. "That's not h
“Young man, you don't know what you are talking about," one of the oldest elders said to Apollos. "Sit down!" "I told him to speak, Jameson!" Kendrick said to the elder sternly. "And I am not done with him." Then Apollos continued, "Given the circumstances, I would say that a short time of tyranny is only a small sacrifice to pay for a longer period of peace. I know we will make more enemies, but our reaction to that would be more swift and efficient." Apollos went on to explain, "If I've learned anything from the people of Fayhold, it's that most of them are apathetic to political issues. That is part of why the rebellion is only a sect of the population. The people's stance on the current political system differs greatly from that of the general populace, who just want a peaceful atmosphere where they can live serene and mundane lives with their families and loved ones until they die, with or without the Emperor ruling over them." "So, with that said, I don't think we would make
“We made the mistake of assuming that applying extra security to our homes instead of going out there and fighting against those terrorists was the best way to address the issue. But we have only lost the lives of several soldiers and innocent civilians as a result. So how about we don't make that same mistake again? How about we identify the rebels for what they are - terrorists and take proper action against this movement once and for all? Let's stop pretending like we don't know what to do about this. You all can act all practical and diplomatic in front of the civilians for all I care, but you can't fool me because I know all of you. Let's bring an end to this, and for once in our dishonest lives, stand up for what we believe is right instead of putting up a false front for the approval of men. How about a bit of integrity for once?” All the leaders remained silent, including Kendrick, who wanted what he had just said to sink in. Knowing all the elders, he knew that they all agr
When he did so, all of them looked at each other for a short time before returning their gaze to him. None of them showed any sign of surprise at what he had just said, which amazed him. “You all knew?” asked Harold. “We believed so,” Olivia said. “It's been quite obvious so far. Your plans for infiltrating the Prefect's home had a certain familiarity to them, which indicated that you had an intimate source from within—unless you lived and grew up in the Prefect's home.” “Interesting,” Harold remarked as he examined each of them. He also looked at Emil, the one he suspected of being the mole who leaked their information to the Emperor's prefect, but he showed no sign of surprise either. It was more like he had prepared for this as a possibility, given the circumstances. Harold wanted to use this as an opportunity to call him out, but he didn't want to do so without extraordinary evidence. “So, tell us what this person told you,” Conrad said. “It must be something useful, isn't it?”
“No, he is not,” Olivia said. “You just made us all suspicious over nothing. Admit it.” “I'll admit it only after I have slaughtered the Prefect,” Harold said. “The Prefect's life and death should be all we strive towards, not petty quarrels.” “Are you serious, Harold?” Olivia asked. “We need to remedy this now!” “No, we don't,” Harold said. “We have a great war ahead of us. That is all that matters. We can settle our disagreement with Emil after all is settled. That way things will be resolved at the right time - when we know we have a future outside the rebellion, and not when things might go either way.” “But Emil is our friend,” Olivia said. “Yes,” Conrad said. “But he needs time to cool off. He might not have to join us tomorrow. Distrust on the battlefield is always a disaster. If he fights with us, it will be as an independent collaboration, not as one team with us.” “I can't believe this!” Olivia said. “Do you want to bail out as well?” asked Harold, looking serious. Oli
A long time ago, it had been a very long day at the market. Harold's parents were attending a meeting of elders at the chief's home, so it was up to the young Harold to take care of their business. He saw to it that their shop remained open until sunset when it was time to close. His father was a part-time blacksmith, while his mother was a woodcutter in her spare time. They sold their products every day at the market, and whenever they were summoned for a meeting of elders, Harold was responsible for putting things in order while they were gone. When sunset came, Harold closed down the shop, putting things in order as quickly as he could, also making sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Normally, his parents would return around this time, as meetings didn't typically take this long. But Harold chose not to worry about it, knowing there was always a good reason for irregularities like this. He put every valuable item in his bag and left the less valuable things in the shop, shoving t