The Legend of Immigration

Chapter 100A-22B

Greetings. Welcome to my world. In honor of a man honored by Christians (particularly the Roman Catholics and related divisions of Catholicism) on March 17th since he was canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, I shall incorporate his life's work into this tale. Have fun. If you did, please click the sign of his predecessor, St. Valentine: the heart. The tale is gloomy, but what isn't?

In the previous chapter, we discussed the competition of two continents in terms of tradition, society, politics, and philosophy. Can you recall how it ended? You get a star if you picked Alvarez of Alakitasia victorious over all of Ishgar. Brent Myers, a single man, made it all feasible. Using Machiavellian strategies, he promised mercy from the terrors of the invasion, as well as autonomy when it was all over, if they vowed allegiance to the Emperor of Alvarez and his royal family--the House of Alvarez. Some leaders of state quickly complied with his requests, while others stood firm. As a result, in comparison to their allies and compatriots, some nations' invasions were bloodless. The Army of Alvarez, for example, did not sack, kill, or rape Pergrande. Caelum, on the other hand, was unfortunate. It would suffer long after the conflict was over, whereas Pergrande would thrive demographically and economically. Alakitasia eventually controlled Ishgar on all levels: socially, politically, aesthetically, and ethically. But, because it was made up of several countries that shared boundaries, the Emperor and his subjects did not treat them all equally, even when Brent died. A kingdom developed on a peninsula on the continent's western edge. The kingdom's nobles and middle-class families wielded more political power over the Magic Council and the Monarchical regime compared to the commoners, and they flaunted it with lavish mansions and apparel. Unfortunately, because aristocratic and elite families competed for more money, the affluent world was cruel. Meanwhile, everyone else went about their daily lives, using magic as a survival tool or as an occupational area of investigation, but they had little influence on the Magic Council.

Overall, it was a prosperous kingdom with increased economic possibilities and a vibrant community with people from every walk of life interacting with one another. The same cannot be said of its continental competitor. Another kingdom developed to the east. It shared the same economic and political framework as the western kingdom, but its social system was vastly different. The King or Queen's authority was law, and no complaints were tolerated or allowed. The middle class urban bourgois and high class noblility had some impact on the royal system in government and financial markets, but they had to honor the King or Queen's will as if they were from the Gods.

The same is true for everyone else in the kingdom with limited assets. Life was pleasant as long as they didn't speak out against the Royal Family's will. This was not always the case because some ordinary people had previously spoken out against the concept of a monarchy of absolute power. They paid with their lives for what they said, resulting in the establishment of an oppressive government. Fiore and Pergrande were the names of the two rival countries. For generations, the two kingdoms, like Ishgar and Alakitasia, have vied for supremacy in political thought, culture, society, and ideology. Nobody knew when it started because it happened so many years ago that records explaining the reason had decayed over time. Legends that deified one nation and completely demonized the other were all that people had to explain why both kingdoms were rivals. The competition was at a standstill until one man changed everything with his conduct for his nation. Patrick O'Connor was known as Saint Patrick in his homeland of Pergrande because of his altruistic service to the nation. As a young boy of seven years old, he was abandoned in a secluded monestary devoted to Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, and was instructed to constantly serve those around him without expecting any money or renown in return.

Patrick was taught how to fight and war tactics widely used by armies all over the world when he turned thirteen and became a teenager. The abbot of his childhood house enlisted him into the Royal army five years later. Patrick spent his adolescent years in boot camp before being advanced to a lieutenant his first military rank. In his late twenties, he ascended through the military ranks to become a Major General. He attracted the notice of King Otto I, also known as Otto the Great, as a high-ranking soldier. The young king met Patrick and formed an alliance that would last centuries. As a result, he was exposed to the ongoing rivalry with the Kingdom of Fiore, which was headed by King Stephen I, that was envious of Patrick's growing popularity and Otto's prestige. To humiliate his adversary, Stephen dispatched a detachment of his soldiers to Pergrande's borderlands. Their orders were to spread rumours that would incite the people there to rebel. When it happened and word reached Otto, he dispatched Patrick to put an end to the revolt. He put down the rebellion with the help of 5,000 men from the infantry and cavalry battalions before returning to the castle in Pergrande's capital, Rome. Sadly for Patrick, tragedy would hit in the hinterlands, inciting his wrath in due course. While he was celebrating his triumph with King Otto, some borderlanders stormed his childhood monastery and set it on fire. During the battle, the abbot was killed and his head was delivered to Patrick's home. Of course, the worst was yet to come. Following the murder of the abbot, the monestary was looted of its artifacts and riches. Nothing remained but wreckage and dead bodies rotting in the sun. The robbers vanished as swiftly as they arrived. The devastation and sacking of the monastery became widely known. Patrick immediately headed east to start a punitive expedition in the frontierlands. Their efforts was the catalyst for his demonized moniker, Satan. Village after village was brutally depopulated, with the residents all being slaughtered, sold into the slave trade, or fed to man-eating demons. The abandoned villages were then burned down one by one by his troops. They used a unique type of flame that no mortal, according to legend, could extinguish with water. It was as black as the night's skies, with hints of burgundy and fiery red, but it was powerful enough to char trees, grass, and earth. Dubbed Lucifer's Flame, the frontierlands ignited in an inferno that rendered them forever inhospitable. Among the ashes King Otto ordered a massive prison complex to be built, designed to house the most dangerous criminals in history. When it was finished, he gave it the name: Alcatraz Island.