Operation story: BB-2

Operation

Story

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Characters
Lost Child/Sleepy Child (Odda) Ascalon Scareye Theresa Theresis Goodluck Brave Child Amiable Official Lateran Cleric Courier Nervous Envoy Angry Sarkaz Dejected Babel Member (Babel Doctor) Indifferent Woman Excited Woman Brooding Sarkaz
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Before operation

“

In 1068, a Leithanian Kurfürst locates the nomadic city of Kazdel. The Sarkaz rally under the Military Commission to defend their home against the impending crisis.

”

Twenty-six Years Ago... Autumn, 1068
Wasserland, Leithanien
<Background 1>
Amiable Official	How do you like this piece?
Lateran Cleric	Like an energetic child waking from slumber, rushing out the door to enjoy the fruits of life to the fullest.
Amiable Official	It was the Kurfürst who wrote it, inspired by His Holiness's visit to Wasserland when he was still a Messenger for Laterano. The young and enthusiastic future pontiff told the children about all that he has seen... the ocean that Iberia watches over, the city of Athenius, where Minoan myth and machination exist in equal measure. And... a passing mention of Kazdel, the city of sin, the whereabouts of which are unknown. The Kurfürst was there, and he was fascinated by His Holiness's descriptions. The first draft of this work was in fact written at that time, but the Kurfürst was not satisfied. Even after many years of revisions, a final draft has yet to be completed... Until recently, when our scouts located the elusive nomadic city of the devils and sent back photos. Gazing upon the enormous tracks left behind by the city, the Kurfürst found the missing element in the music—ferocity. With that, the work was complete.
Lateran Cleric	You found Kazdel?
Amiable Official	Yes. The Kurfürst was astonished to find that the destiny of the work was intertwined with the city's.
Lateran Cleric	I understand the reason the Kurfürst chose to present this piece on the eve of my return to Laterano. However, unlike his predecessors, His Holiness has no intention of initiating offensive action against the Sarkaz. He is not interested in putting the sinless on trial without cause. I'm afraid I must disappoint the Kurfürst.
Amiable Official	The city itself is of no concern to the Kurfürst. He is far more interested in His Holiness's opinion of the piece. Please send His Holiness the Kurfürst's warmest regards.
[Someone knocks on the door and enters the room.]
Courier	We have a response from Siracusa. Only a few of the famiglie have agreed to participate in the action. Their men will rendezvous with the fleet soon.
Amiable Official	I can't believe Laterano rejected us... Inform the Siracusans to move quickly. We must mop up the city before the other kreise can react. Take Kazdel before the other Kurfürsten can. Do not repeat the mistake we made at Gaul and miss another opportunity.
<Background 2>
Scar Market, Kazdel
Scareye	I like Leithanians. You always bring so much business. And it's smart that you disguised yourself as a prisoner in a smuggling crew, rather than flying the banner of a Messenger. Now tell me what you want, before I lose my patience. Trade, muscle for hire, intel... The Scar Market has everything you need.
Nervous Envoy	Cooperation, esteemed leader.
Scareye	We don't have a fixed price for "cooperation". Are you sure your Kurfürst can pay my price?
Nervous Envoy	Don’t you want to know what we're asking for first?
Scareye	There's nothing that money cannot buy here, Caprinae.
Nervous Envoy	What about Kazdel?
Scareye	...Go on.
Nervous Envoy	The Kurfürst wants you to sabotage the city's propulsion system, nothing else. The down-payment is in the safe that you took from the caravan. The Kurfürst will discuss the rest of the payment with you in Kazdel.
Scareye	I admire your boldness. Let me express my good faith with a little glimpse into the future for you.
<Background 3>
The nomadic city of Kazdel, Kazdel
Angry Sarkaz	Take your things and scram, Leithanian! Are you trying to poison me?
Dejected Babel Member	These are just suppressants. You'll need them on the battlefield...
Angry Sarkaz	The warships that surround us came from Leithanien! Outsiders like you must have led them here!
Dejected Babel Member	I... I don't have an explanation. I know you're taking your son with you into battle. He could use the medicine—
[The Sarkaz shoves away the Babel member.]
Angry Sarkaz	Keep your hands off my son!
[Goodluck rushes to intervene...]
Goodluck	What's the commotion—are you out of your mind? She's a Babel doctor!
[...and pushes the Sarkaz aside.]
Goodluck	Are you okay?
Dejected Babel Member	I'm fine. He wasn't really trying to hurt me.
Angry Sarkaz	Hmph. Goodluck. You married a Babel woman, and now you've become a shill for the invaders? They'll be the death of you, I guarantee it.
Dejected Babel Member	Many of us are also pained by the impending war... We've requested to join you on the frontlines.
Angry Sarkaz	... Lunatics... who knows what schemes you have on the frontline... you'll get yours in the end...
[The Sarkaz storms off.]
Goodluck	Give me the medicine. I'll distribute it. They're ready to leave. Go meet up with them. I'll take care of things here.
Dejected Babel Member	Goodluck, your son...
Goodluck	I didn't let him leave. If the Leithanians want to force us into a Catastrophe, it's safer for him to be in the lower-level shelters in the city.
Dejected Babel Member	...
Goodluck	Relax, doctor. People have made it through Catastrophes in the past. Maybe we'll have, you know, good luck!
[The furnace's fire crackles loudly.]
The furnace has burned for more than a century. War, Catastrophe, migration, exile... all the suffering since the Teekaz era has not extinguished the hatred of the revenants. The Sarkaz have seen many Kazdels through the ages. The memory of yesterday may be unrecognizable by tomorrow... But the Soul Furnace has been a constant for this generation of Sarkaz. Home is where the Soul Furnace is. Kazdel.
<Background 4>
Theresa	The furnace has not burned like this for many years. I can hear the cries of the revenants even from here. Soon, this city will charge headlong into a Catastrophe... All we need to do is hold out until Nezzsalem's reinforcements arrive, until Kazdel once again passes through the Catastrophe—
Theresis	They thought we would cower. They tried to assume our thoughts with their conception of common sense. It was so a hundred and seventy years ago, and it is so now. Arrogant and laughable fools who never took the time to truly understand us.
Theresa	What fate do you think awaits this city, Theresis?
Theresis	To be honest, the chances that it survives are slim. Kazdel was immobilized the last time it braved a Catastrophe. It took us a decade just to get it moving at full speed again. And the forests of crystals in the mines and on the walls could never be removed, ruining years of our plans for the city. I don't know if the city can survive another ordeal like that, much less one that's even worse. Good luck rarely comes twice.
Theresa	I believe in this city, Theresis. Not because of luck, but because we built this city, and I won't give up on it.
???	The story of this city does not end here, Your Highness. I may not be able to see its future clearly, but there is one thing I can say for sure—the city continues to exist into the distant future. No one can say, however, if it will be a sanctuary of hope, or a ghost city of the dead.
Theresis	Scareye... have you not grown tired of the ambiguous words of your kind? And need I remind you that no amount of mercenaries can ensure your safety in this city.
Scareye	There is no deceiving Your Highnesses, of course.
Theresa	Kazdel's doors are open to every Sarkaz, but you'd better have a good reason to set foot in this city with your mercenaries at a time like this.
Scareye	I was made an offer most difficult to refuse, which obliged me to enter the city to seek an audience.
Theresis	What is that you're carrying?
Scareye	This? Something insignificant. Oh, I mean someone. The Leithanians wanted me to sabotage Kazdel. I have been away from my kin for many years, but as your Highness said, Kazdel is the root of all Sarkaz. So, I felt that I had to deliver this Leithanian with my own hands, in order to prove my innocence.
Theresa	What are you thinking?
Scareye	Exactly as I have said. What can I possibly hide before the King of Sarkaz? But if you're not interested in my gift of good faith, then I see no need to carry it with me anymore. It's heavy, after all.
He casually casts the bag into the furnace, where it is incinerated in an instant. Without a sound.
Scareye	The furnace is always an impressive sight, no matter how many times one sees it.
Theresa	...
Scareye	Your Highness need not pity him. He should have foreseen the risks when he approached the Scar Market.
Theresis	I trust Leithanien was not miserly with its terms.
Scareye	It's simple, Your Highness. I prefer immediate payment over empty promises. But more importantly, I don't work with the losing side.
Theresis	Are you predicting our victory?
Scareye	It wasn't I who saw it. It was the Cyclops who left the prophecy a thousand years ago. I'm simply betting that Your Highnesses are the protagonists of the prophecy. Regardless, the safest business for the Scar Market is with Your Highnesses. It would keep business flowing for at least the next fifty years or so. Is that not so, Your Highnesses?
Theresis	You're clever. Prophecy doesn't bring victory, but we can. Bring your mercenaries. We're moving out.
The crowd stirs. The Sarkaz procession leaving the city is quiet, except for the occasional clang of weapons and equipment. Their silence is rooted in the knowledge of the fate that awaited them beyond the city’s gates. They wrap banners, torn from the walls, around their waists, or clutch Originium spikes, chopped from the streets, as makeshift weapons... Each has their own ritual to remember the city that they may never return to.
<Background 3>
Lost Child	Mom... Dad, where are you? Dad! Mom!
[The Sarkaz child accidentally runs into an adult woman and falls down.]
Indifferent Woman	Hmph... people really need to watch their kids. They can’t be allowed to run wild.
[The woman ignores him and continues walking.]
Lost Child	Ouch...
Brave Child	Careful.
[A yellow-haired Sarkaz child helps the other get up.]
Lost Child	Th-Thank you.
Brave Child	Where did you come from? Why are you also leaving the city? You'll fall if you’re not careful.
Lost Child	I'm looking for my mom and dad. Are you going out, too?
Brave Child	Yes... I'm going to the battlefield.
Lost Child	Are you looking for your mom and dad there, too? Can I come with you?
Brave Child	No... I'm by myself.
Lost Child	Why are you going out, then?
Brave Child	Because I don't want to hide in the city. I want to fight the people who are doing bad things to us. That's what my parents told me before they... they left.
Lost Child	I... I want to fight, too, but Mom and Dad won't let me go. I tried to sneak out and got a beating when they found out. But I don't want to be away from Mom and Dad.
Brave Child	... We'll go together then, and find your mom and dad. But there'll be a lot of bad people out there. Are you scared?
Lost Child	You're not scared. Mom and Dad aren't scared. I'm not scared either!
The disheveled child pumps his fists to show courage, but his trembling betrays him. The older child knows that the young boy does not fully understand what is happening outside the city. But the young boy knows something simple but true. Bad guys should be chased away. Families should stay together. So he takes the boy's hand, and joins the procession.
Brave Child	How do we find your parents when we're out there?
Lost Child	They work for Babel. They have a picture of a tower on their clothes.
Brave Child	Babel. I know that place.
Lost Child	Are you from Babel too?
Brave Child	No, I grew up in a Military Commission institution. I guess I'm from the Military Commission.
Lost Child	Military Commission? What's that?
[The two kids start walking together.]
Brave Child	A place that protects people, just like Babel. What's your dad's name? Let's squeeze our way to the front. Maybe they're up ahead.
Lost Child	Goodluck!
Brave Child	Good luck?
Lost Child	Yes, he's Goodluck... why are you laughing?
Brave Child	Nothing... let's shout his name. Maybe he'll hear you!
Two children squeeze forward in the procession, holding each other's hand, calling out "Goodluck" with their tiny voices. A few heads turn, and sigh when they see the young and naive faces. Good luck. It is what they all need.
<Background fades out>
On an evening in the autumn of 1068, the music playing in the Kurfürst of Wasserland's study was interrupted by the sound of frantic knocking on the door. The fleet that was pursuing the nomadic city of Kazdel had broken off its pursuit. "Those crazy devils charged straight into a Catastrophe. It's only by sheer good luck that they got away." Years later, the Kurfürst of Wasserland still recounted the reason for his failure with palpable disdain.

After operation

“

Kazdel charges into a Catastrophe to escape pursuit. Theresis takes in a girl from the wastes and names her Ascalon. A boy named Manfred approaches Theresa and Theresis.

”

<Background 5>
[Theresa and Theresis stand at a windy valley.]
Theresis	How tiny we seem when we stand beside the tracks of this ship.
Theresa	Yes, it's a most impressive war machine. With their bodies as barriers, the Nachzehrer halted its advance at a tremendous cost. The Banshee's shrieks, powerful enough to shatter consciousness, only managed to force the Leithanians to retreat below deck...
Theresis	If not for the Catastrophe and the rough terrain in this valley—
Theresa	We're so far behind, and time is running out.
Theresis	Kazdel must have equally powerful weapons, if not more so. All our previous attempts have failed...
Theresa	A century ago, few believed we could build a nomadic city out of Kazdel, yet we did. If we are to catch up to them now, we cannot afford to take the conventional path. We have word from the Damazti. The battleships on the horizon are slowing down.
Theresis	Have they given up?
Theresa	No, the Kurfürst's orders were to continue the pursuit, but the commander of the fleet ordered them to slow down. They're concerned about the Catastrophes and the terrain. They've seen what happened to this ship.
Theresis	At the current rate, we can expect to engage them at dusk.
Theresa	We have bought enough time for Kazdel to retreat.
Theresa looks back at the two storms entwining on the wastes, trying to catch a glimpse of the city. She sees nothing. Where is Kazdel now? Is it still moving through the storm? Are the people in the shelters safe?
Theresa	The storms are converging. Our retreat has been cut off. A battle is inevitable... Theresis?
Theresis	...
Theresa	I never thought I'd see you lose focus on the battlefield.
Theresis	What's that?
Theresa	...? That's...
The storms rage, the young taunting the old. The newborn storm slams into the dying storm to the war drums of thunder. Roiling air currents clash and combine between the two storms... Violence begets peace, and a passage appears where the storms converge. Lightning flashes and thunder cracks.
Theresis	A path through the storm.
Theresa	The storm...
Theresis	Let's go, Theresa. The storm has given us a path. Those who survive through it will have another chance.
Theresa	We'll do it together.
The Damazti Cluster passes their command to every Sarkaz present. The warriors see their leaders walk into the storm side by side and follow with no hesitation. The procession advances into the tempest, the strong supporting the weak, the brave encouraging the fearful.
Theresa	Do you see that, Theresis?
Within the roar of the tempest, they seem to hear the voice from the snowstorm in that childhood dream. They see—
Theresa	...The prophecy.
The thin, cloaked figure turns at the sound of her voice and sees the storm-bound procession. Theresis sees a child. Mist, gilded by the setting sun, shrouds her shoulders, rising and blending with the shrieking winds above. He takes off his gauntlet and stretches his bare hand into the mist. The mist dissipates, and in his bloodied hand is the stone blade that the child is holding.
???	(Slurring) Yew... argh! Gra... grab!
Theresis	What are you doing here?
???	(Slurring) Hom. Yew... hom! Hom! (Slurring) Yew! Came in! Home!
The child wrestles the blade from Theresis's hand and points it again at Theresis and the procession behind him. There is no difference between man and beast to the child who grew up in the wastes.
Theresis	You want to kill me?
???	(Slurring) Keel... kill you!
Theresa	Nobody taught her how to speak. She simply emulates the sounds made by those who pass by. ...Theresis?
Theresis looks down silently at the thin figure.
Theresis	Let me show you how to hold a knife.
???	... (Slurring) You!
The child hesitates for a moment, before putting her knife in Theresis's outstretched hand.
???	(Slurring) ...Me. You! Bring, me... bring, me!
Theresis gazes into Theresa's eyes. Prophecy. "A sword to slay the regent king, a spear to pierce the royal ring." But they have never cared much for prophecy.
Theresis	Very well. Come with me. The home of the Sarkaz is not on the barrens.
<Background fades out>
"Do you have a name?"
"Name? Me."
"From now on, you have a new name." "Ascalon."
<Background 6>
Ten days later... The nomadic city of Kazdel, Kazdel
[The Soul Furnace starts crackling again...]
Excited Sarkaz	Look, doctor! The furnace has been relit!
[...as the ground begins to shake.]
Excited Sarkaz	Is it moving? The city's finally moving? Ouch...
Babel Doctor	Careful! Your wounds might open again...
Excited Sarkaz	I've got to go to the furnace. The furnace burns again, and Kazdel still sails... The Leithanians didn't manage to kill us!
Babel Doctor	...
Excited Sarkaz	Oh, er, I didn't mean you, doctor. Come with me to see it. You deserve the same honor as the warriors who survived.
Babel Doctor	But... I'm not Sarkaz.
Excited Sarkaz	You people are heroes, too. Come watch Their Highnesses command the Goliath to support the leaning furnace! Watch the sparks fly when iron hammers beat upon the broken core! Hear the elegy of the Banshee, and witness the final journey of fallen heroes when they enter the furnace to fuel it! This used to be an occasion that only the Sarkaz could see.
Babel Doctor	I would love to go, but there are still a lot of wounded to treat.
Excited Sarkaz	Alright, tell you what, I'll bring back a couple bottles of booze and some fresh fruit, and we'll...
Babel Doctor	You're not allowed to drink! And who the heck drinks in a medic tent?
Excited Sarkaz	Come on, it's just a little flesh wound.
Babel Doctor	No means no! It's your Oripathy that's the problem! Not to mention you're a terrible drinker.
Excited Sarkaz	When did you ever see me drink? Oh, that time when I was drunk and came to you with a bunch of Oripathy bombs. Look, that was the only time in all these years. You know I can't afford booze.
Babel Doctor	*sigh* I can't stop you... why don't you go yourself?
Excited Sarkaz	Won't be the same without you.
Babel Doctor	But... I'm a Leithanian...
Excited Sarkaz	And? Do you support those nobles who profit off war?
Babel Doctor	I ran away from home because I couldn't stand them!
Excited Sarkaz	There you have it. Hm? Wait a second. You say you ran away from home? Were you noble—
Babel Doctor	No!
Excited Sarkaz	I was kind of thinking, your equipment doesn't look like it's from Babel— —Well, I won't speculate. It does nobody any good.
Babel Doctor	So, you can go on your own. I doubt the soldiers on the front lines would get along with a Leithanian...
Excited Sarkaz	When I saw the Leithanians string my father up by a sewer entrance to humiliate him, I never imagined I could befriend a Caprinae doctor either. Back then, the only people who showed us any kindness were poor, Infected, or both.
Babel Doctor	...
Excited Sarkaz	Right, enough of the sad stuff. Be back in a jiffy.
[The Sarkaz leaves.]
Babel Doctor	Seriously, since when did the Sarkaz become so glib-tongued with me? I wonder if this count as progress, Theresa... In any case, Kazdel is moving again. Things will get better.
[Footseps approach the doctor...]
Babel Doctor	Back already? Well, it's about time you laid down—
[...but it was not the same Sarkaz.]
Babel Doctor	Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else.
Brooding Sarkaz	—
Babel Doctor	Wait, your wounds are really bad... nobody treated your Arts burns?
Brooding Sarkaz	The Leithanians did it. My son's dead. They burned him alive before my very eyes. I was the only one who lived.
Babel Doctor	...At least let me see your wounds.
Brooding Sarkaz	They burned him alive. He was screaming. They used Arts to hang him in the air, for everyone to see. My brothers are dead. My captain is dead. The Leithanians stood on the high ground, their raised staffs looked just like...
With bloodshot eyes, the nearly deranged Sarkaz fixates on the doctor's staff abandoned in the corner. The emblem of the home she had left behind hangs from the staff.
Brooding Sarkaz	Like a real...
The doctor does not sense the hostility. She lifts his top to inspect the wound, but feels a chill run up her spine.
Babel Doctor	You're armed...
Brooding Sarkaz	...
Babel Doctor	Why didn't the guards check you...?
Brooding Sarkaz	...
<Background fades to white>
The light of the Soul Furnace lights up the night sky above Kazdel like the midday sun. The fire's crackles echo like a mournful growl, a somber tribute to the fallen who have become its fuel. All the Sarkaz set their eyes on the sky that night.
<Background fades to black>
No one notices the light from one of the field hospital's windows go out.
<Background 7>
Brooding Sarkaz	Your Highness? Why was I brought here...? Oh, yes, I have good news to report...
Theresa	What news?
Brooding Sarkaz	We won. We defeated the Leithanians, Your Highness. Me, my son, and the Blue Blood Squad. We won, we won...
Theresa	...
Brooding Sarkaz	Are you not glad, Your Highness? Were we too slow...? Blake! My son, bring me the battle plan! Son! Son? Sorry, Your Highness, I don't know where my son went...
Theresa	You killed a doctor, one who has served Kazdel for years, treating Oripathy patients.
Brooding Sarkaz	Kazdel? Doctor? No, you misunderstand, your Highness. I only fight Leithanians.
Theresa	...
Theresis	Have you read his emotions, Theresa?
Theresa	Pain, confusion, madness. He has driven himself mad to escape the painful memories. He doesn't even know what crime he committed.
Theresis	The others do. The guards discovered him brawling with another Sarkaz amid shattered casks of liquor, which ignited and spread fire throughout the field hospital. All await the King's response. But you cannot be the one to do it. Leave it to me.
Brooding Sarkaz	Your Highness! General! I gave my all to defeat the Leithanians! Was I wrong to do so? Your Highness!
Theresis	Take him away.
Theresa	...
[The deranged Sarkaz man is taken away.]
<Background fades out and in>
Theresa	...His name is Logan, given to him by his mother, who was one of the first Babel engineers. He hardly uses any Arts, but the guards were hypnotized by Arts. Someone is behind this.
Theresis	The Military Commission will not investigate the Sarkaz for the sake of an outsider, not after they've just been through another ordeal. Neither should Babel.
Theresa	...
Theresis	We have no choice. The war has just ended. Babel should withdraw from military and political affairs, at least for the time being.
Theresa	You know that's not what Babel is about in the first place.
Theresis	I do, but many don't.
Theresa	... I will define the parameters for Babel's activities. Bable[sic] members will continue to serve Kazdel's medical, educational, and technological needs from this area.
Theresis	The Military Commission will continue to protect them. But we must make every effort to avoid conflict. There will come a day when the repressed hatred boils over, and even we will be powerless when that day comes.
Theresa	Kazdel is in urgent need of a change. We have to solve the Originium problem... soon.
Theresis	But even that won't solve all our problems.
Theresa	I know. I've always known.
<Background 8>
Ascalon	...
Theresis	There you are, Ascalon. What have you seen in this city?
Ascalon	Deth... People cry... People die. Cry? Cry... tears?
Theresis stretches out his hand. A delicate stone knife lies in its palm.
Ascalon	Knife! My...
Theresis	Keep it safe. A warrior should treasure her weapon. I will teach you how to sharpen your blade. But it's up to you to decide whom it cuts.
Ascalon	...
Theresa	You're too impatient, Theresis. She's not ready to understand these things yet.
Theresis	She has to understand, sooner or later.
Theresa	Maybe. But for now, what we should do is give the frightened child a little bit of peace. Do you like this city, Ascalon?
Compared to the armored general, Ascalon does not like this Sarkaz woman crouched before her. She seems to see through all of her thoughts, leaving no secrets—a most dangerous thing in the wastes. But she cannot bring herself to be hostile to this gentle Sarkaz.
Ascalon	I...
Theresa	No need to be afraid. You know I don't mean you any harm. Come, touch my horn. We're the same.
Ascalon	...Warm, here. Warm, me.
Theresa	Yes, warm. Hatred and killing are not the only way to solve a problem.
Ascalon	(Slurring) Way? Probem?
Theresa says no more. It is difficult for a girl who has known nothing but the wastes to understand certain words, even with the help of the King of Sarkaz. She takes Ascalon's hand.
Theresa	It's like the wound on your palm. Weapons can't heal it. Only time and medicine can.
Ascalon	Aw!
Theresa	It's okay. I've cleaned your wound. You'll need to take care of it.
Ascalon	...
Theresa	Be patient. One day, you'll wake up and find that it doesn't hurt anymore.
Ascalon	...Yeah!
<Background 9>
Babel Classroom, Kazdel
Theresa	...
Ascalon	...No one. Here.
Theresa	We'll wait a little longer. It's not lesson time yet. They'll come—
[Someone enters the room.]
Theresa	Look, it's Theresis.
Theresis	Casualty report from the Military Commission. There are many children, most of them students.
Theresa	The ones that lived...
Theresis	Their parents are no longer willing to let the outsiders of Babel teach them. Plus, if memory serves, many of Babel's teachers have already left out of fear.
Theresa	...
Theresis	You're troubling yourself too much with trivial matters, Theresa. You need to rest. We still have to—
Theresa	I want to wait a little longer, Theresis.
Theresis	...Very well.
He does not leave. The classroom is eerily quiet. Theresa closes her eyes and recalls the students who used to fill the classroom.
"They said we can get potatoes for coming to school!" "I didn't understand that one, Your Highness. Do you have any simple stories?" "You said you went to the outside with mercenaries when you were our age?" "There's a sea between Sargon and Iberia? What's a boat? Why can't we go up on deck? Why would we throw up?" "Leithanian spires? Are they like our furnace?" "People who are nice to us? But Dad says there's no foreigners like that." "But the teachers here are nice to us!"
Students come and go. But she always managed to get them to return. But this time, no one came.
Ascalon	...!
Theresa	Oh...?
Brave Boy	General Theresis! Your Highness! I—
Ascalon	You!
The hilt of a stone knife hits the boy in the chest. Although unable to break free, the boy strains to look up at the tall, gaunt girl who has him pinned.
Brave Boy	I saw General Theresis come this way. I just wanted to— Theresa, Your Highness! You're here, too! This classroom... are you teaching?
Theresis	Put down the knife, Ascalon.
Ascalon	...
Brave Boy	...Your Highness!
Theresis	You were looking for me?
Brave Boy	Yes. I came to seek an answer for the children who lost their parents. I know the Military Commission will take care of them, as it took care of me... But will this change anything? What if another war comes? I want to change things, but I don't know what I can change, or what I should change.
The two rulers gaze upon the fearless child, each arriving at their own answer inside.
Theresa	What's your name?
Brave Boy	Manfred.
<Background 6>
Sleepy Child	Dad, we've been standing at the door forever. Why can't we go in?
Goodluck	... Mommy's hurt very badly. She needs some quiet to rest. We shouldn't bother her.
Sleepy Child	But I miss Mom...
Goodluck	Daddy misses her too, but not now... we'll go home together once I come back.
Sleepy Child	Where are you going, Dad?
Goodluck	I have to leave the city for a bit, to make the people who hurt Mommy pay. Stay here with Mommy and wait for Daddy.
Sleepy Child	Can you stay, Daddy? We'll figure out a way to make Mommy better, I promise...
Goodluck	Do you like Mommy's name?
Sleepy Child	Odda... yes, it sounds very nice.
Goodluck	It's your name now.
Sleepy Child	But...
Goodluck	I'll teach you to fight the bad guys with Mommy's weapon once I get back.
Odda	Okay! I'll beat up the bad guys who hurt Mommy! But will beating up the bad guys make her feel better?
Goodluck	You'll understand someday... Odda. ...I'll be back. Wait for me.
Goodluck turns around, toward the crystal-infested city wall. The only thing left that ties him to this city is Odda. Odda... and Odda.