Suikoden VI

Chapter One: Part Eight

Part Eight

The ride to Baltas surprisingly didn't take long. They followed Gunther on the trail and had minimal contact with monsters along the way. They didn't face any problems re-crossing the Bridge of Faith. It was a relief, but it also baffled Daunte how little the soldiers paid attention to bulletins. He was fairly certain that a bulletin had gone out for them, and even if they didn't know that he had switched clothes, Surya was still in his clothes from Falena. Yet none of the guards they passed gave them a second glance.

It's a wonder how the Liberation Army hasn't been able to conquer the government yet if this is the type of soldiers that serve in the Holy Army.

This didn't go unnoticed by Surya, either. "Should I be relieved or nervous that we haven't been stopped once for questioning?"

"These guys probably serve under Sheikh Umed," Gunther said. "Sheikh Umed has a more relaxed approach to command than the other Sheikh's do. As such, he's extremely popular amongst soldiers and even the civilians of his provinces."

"Sheikh Umed?" Surya echoed. "I heard that name yesterday. And you guys mentioned another Sheikh as well?" he glanced at Daunte.

"Sloan Faakhir," Felicity said softly.

Gunther shuddered. "Yeah, he's the antithesis of Sheikh Umed. Granted he's the perfect representation of how corrupt the Theocracy is, but the stories I've heard—" he shook his head.

"What have you heard?" Daunte asked.

But Gunther shook his head. "You don't want to know."

"We've met Sheikh Faakhir," Roen said. "What he did to Daunte was..."

Gunther quickly glanced at Daunte. "You survived an encounter with him?!"

"...Yes," Daunte said. However, the onetime beating he'd received from the Sheikh seemed to pale in comparison to the scope of the other man's crimes. I saw Tidur's memory of him beating her up, but I don't know how many other times that happened. But that one incident left a scar on her face—and who knows if he'd also hurt Esther and Ciana the same way?

"There's a lot of responsibility to being a Sheikh," Gunther said quietly. His tone had become grim. "But the stories surrounding Sheikh Faakhir are reprehensible, despite his responsibilities."

"Like how his family literally ran away from him to escape him?" Felicity asked.

"That, and...and the fact that he's killed his own soldiers who crossed him."

"W-What?!" Surya cried out, aghast. Daunte was also horrified, although he wondered why he was surprised.

"They're just rumors, but I've heard that close to twenty soldiers under his command have died by his hands—literally—for failures or insubordination or even if they give the Sheikh a dirty look. From what I've heard the men who serve under are living in fear of his wrath, but..." he shook his head again. "Some of the more violent soldiers are more welcoming of his demeanor because it means they can act out on their violent impulses on unsuspecting people. The Northwest Provinces aren't the happiest of places right now."

"Are all the Sheikhs like this?" Surya asked.

"No, of course not. In fact, Faakhir himself didn't used to be like this, at least from what I've heard. These rumors didn't start surfacing about his behavior until three years ago. It's like something switched off the inhibitor in his mind that told him that constantly hurting other people and killing your own soldiers was wrong."

Three years—that was around the time Tidur left him with their daughters. Daunte quickly looked at Roen and Felicity, and he saw from their expressions that they had made the same connection. So, had Sloan Faakhir just been channeling his inner rage at his family, and when they left he unleashed it on his subordinates?!