I Am The Truth II

Chapter X: Future Responsibilities

20 Years Ago

Allister Evanstein II of Devalony was on his way back to Crown Peak in an armored escort. He had overseen Conchord annexing its newest district, South Sendaria and the Badlands. The Ardoni Confederacy was waning now, and with it, bits and pieces of its former legacy began to crumble away, only to be taken by its old enemies.

However, it soon became clear that one city was not to fall. Ataraxia had always worn the flag of the old Ardoni Confederacy, from the time it was connected to the mainland till today. It was the last trace that the Ardoni empires had stretched this far south.

And so Allister II had set to work. Though expansions certainly did take place, Ataraxia had always been his goal. His motivations, his determination, all revolved around the desire to see that one city fall to human hands. And consequently, his own son absorbed it all.

"Dad," Allister III began silently, sitting in the seat right next to his father. "Why do we hate the Ardoni so much?"

His father didn't answer for a few moments, looking upon his son. What would he tell a fourteen-year-old?

"I'll tell you," He began finally. "Long ago, only a few centuries prior, the world was very different. The country we are in now ... you know Conchord, right?"

"Yeah."

"Conchord is a very new country," Allister II continued. "Before that, humans had never lived on this soil before. Our people all lived on the east coast, in the place where Hydraphel is now."

"I know a little bit about Hydraphel," His son began. "It used to be a bunch of city-states, right?"

"That's right," Allister II said with a nod. "All these different duchies and kingdoms, but we all shared a common heritage and culture. And so, the Hyperians and the Devalonians merged together. With time, the others began to join us too. Thenses, Traltions, Derniites, Belestids... they all joined us to form the new kingdom of Hydraphel."

"So... why did the Ardoni hate us?"

"When Hydraphel transformed into a republic, the Ardoni Confederacy saw it as a threat to their structure of power. After all, the Ardoni were, and still are, notorious for some of the oldest systems that still have segregative practices. Discrimination based on sex is a good example. The idea of equal rights for everyone was a new concept back then, and we were the first nation that successively implemented it."

"So the Ardoni were oppressive," Allister III said.

"Compared to us, yes," Allister II answered. "And when our ideals began to leak across their borders, they saw it as something poisonous."

Allister II paused a few moments, wondering if his curious son had grasped it all. The boy however, continued to listen.

"And then a certain industrial awakening took place across the world," Allister II continued. "For the first time, the balance of power shifted towards the favor of the coastal nations and away from the supermassive, multi-ethnic conglomerations like the Ardoni and Magnorite empires. Technology became key, more so than mere numbers, and that was an advantage we did have. All in all, fate was steering us right into a head-on collision with our western enemies."

"We fought the Ardoni?"

"We fought the nomadic tribes that kept harassing our western flank, yes" Allister II said, a hint of pride in his voice. "The Conchordis, Baers, Paxons... they all fled as we kept advancing. The real Ardoni forces finally arrived to face us, and we fought some of the most bitter battles ever seen in history."

"And we won?" His son asked, amazed.

Allister II had to give a small laugh.

"Yeah, we won alright," He said. "We got ourselves so much land from the resulting peace treaty that half of Hydraphel's population migrated westward. Three decades later, and that entire region seceded from Hydraphel to become the Republic that Conchord is today."