Final Fantasy XII - Even a Stray has Pride

Part II : Affliction - The young lord

Imperial City of Archades, 697 (o. V.)

I decided to undergo the judge examination.

It was both an obvious and a hard choice to make.

I took no pleasure in fully embracing the system that destroyed my homeland, and being told to murder in turn in the name of House Solidor.

But according to Mother, "the best way to avoid being a victim of an established order is to be part of it". And I had already set a firm foot in the Order of Judges anyway, by becoming a general in charge of the Greaves and Vambrace Battalions. I had reached the level of General Cinna, and we were henceforth doing our duties together. To my surprise, Lord Cinna did not express any form of contempt or jealousy at my new promotion, despite my foreign origins that he could not ignore. Instead, he patted my shoulder and said:

'Judge Drace must have a high opinion of you, Gabranth. I had hoped she would make a gesture to reward your commitment. You have become a valuable member of our division. Welcome to the generals' family. Keep up the good work!'

Additionally, I had become the equal of the Zodiac Sisters, Brünhild and Irmhild, that still served Judge Zargabaath with unfailing loyalty. But my rank was under Vitu's. My friend was absolutely delighted in his new role, accompanying his role model wherever he went. And he soon became acquainted to Lord Vayne, the now eldest son of the Emperor. The reason was simple: for some reason, Judge Zargabaath was sticking to Lord Vayne like his shadow. During the informal moments I shared with Vitu, my friend only had positive things to say about both his new responsibilities and House Solidor. His management of the division was a very lenient one, which the Zodiac Sisters quickly took advantage of, despite their appreciation and respect for their new dömavän. The Ninth seemed a very warm and solid group, and I couldn't help feeling jealous.

The Sixth Division was also a welcoming one, and similarly to Lord Cinna, its members globally were glad to witness my evolution, especially the four hundred men under my command. Well, men is not the right word; the Archadian army in general had quite a few women serving at various levels, and even Seeqs in addition to Humes. However, Seeqs were all stuck in rank-and-file positions, no matter their prowess in combat. I tried to treat everybody equally, which made my troops surprised, before they got used to it and their trust in each other increased.

As a general, I was still the quiet reserved one, but unlike Vitu in his early days in the army, I could gather my bravery and say the right words at the right time to make each soldier follow the orders.

No, I wasn't jealous of the Ninth for their genuine camaraderie spirit. I was jealous because they had a Judge Magister by their side.

Judge Zargabaath was extremely close to his men, to the extent of living with some of them on a lower floor of the Imperial Palace, the Eighth. Vitu's room was, of course, not far from his, so he could pander to his every whim. In addition to the financial bonus the Magister gave to all of them, he always held everyone in high regard, shared various moments with them and caught up on their news, encouraged new recruits personally, and regularly granted them leaves – vacation being officially a non-existent concept in Archadia.

I wasn't asking all of that from Judge Drace, but she had always been distant, since the day I entered her division. She didn't attend the "Disengage Snacks", informal gatherings with a banquet to encourage the division's members to interact and share information, although she created them herself. Moreover, she stopped coming to the generals' meetings from the moment I reached that rank.

'Isn't that troublesome for the division?' I once asked Cinna.

'It is certainly unusual, but we can manage without her; the judges will take care of directives.'