FATE :: YGGDRA

RUHIR F: We Alone Are Justice

The source of their dread had been scouring the vicinity of their island since this region changed hands years ago. Ever since then, their new overlords had been on a relentless quest to hammer any nail that sticks out. Even though the island's inhabitants had not ventured down the same zealous path as their more 'motivated' neighboring regions, they found themselves living on the edge all the same. They should have seen this coming, and seen this coming they did. But the feeling of regret was still there anyway.

While the day was still very young, a scene unfolded from the barely-lit horizon. Multiple dark metallic lumps emerged, belching forth internal black smoke from towering smokestacks that loomed like a row of tombstones amidst the boundless sea. Marching across that day's calm waters in a single file, these were gun-toting man-made constructs functioning as harbingers of destruction—warships, albeit ones smaller in scale compared to the iron-clad terrors that prowled the oceans. They eventually came to a halt in a position parallel to the shoreline.

And then, hellfire.

Following the leading light cruiser, its four single guns blazing, the quartet of smaller destroyers following her aimed their three single guns at the quiet seaside town. With a deafening roar, they unleashed a barrage of 84 and 45 trim (38 and 20 kg) high-explosive shells, one after another, across a distance of five selg (8 km). The target was not a specific military threat, nor did there seem to be any discernible strategic objective. It was chaos unleashed, a wanton bombardment that turned any structure in its line of sight into towering pillars of fire and debris. These fiery eruptions, in turn, wreaked havoc on the surrounding landscape, tearing through not only buildings but also the vegetation, animals, and the unfortunate humans who had been too tardy in their flight to the safety of the woods on the town's outskirts, all at the mercy of their new overlords' display of brute force.

When the town was fully turned into a sea of fire, the bombardment proceeded to creep toward the surrounding forested areas, ripping and tearing at everything until it was done. There was no mercy.

"...Cease fire!"

"Aye, sir! Ceasing fire!"

From the bridge of the flagship, an old Bufo-class light cruiser, a gaunt and almost pallid-looking acting CO was giving the order. Within moments, all that remained was the briny sea breeze, thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder smoke, and the ominous distant glow of utter devastation.

"We really knocked the wind out of those hapless Kainians' sails!" a lookout exclaimed.

The CO laughed with a shrill voice, "The Enslaved cannot simply win one counterattack without having to lose twice as many people as our Free brethren they killed. If the Kainians refuse to embrace True Freedom and continue to live as slaves to the Sibling Gods, then we shall liberate them to the afterlife instead."

For this man, his allegiance lay firmly with his birthplace, the Gra Valkas Empire, and its relentless battle against the Kain Divine Kingdom. This struggle was that of liberation: to free humanity from the shackles of their archaic, almost slavish reverence for the old gods of Yggdra. Yet, the Enslaved and its massive population were stubborn. They called them Gra Valkans 'Serpent-Deceived brethren of theirs that have lost their way because of a false idol' that their drive in resisting True Freedom was to 'bring them back into the Gods' embrace.'

Henceforth, the conflict between Gra Valkas and Kain unfolded in the War of Fate, each side steadfast in their conviction of justice, each seeing their own path as the salvation for their 'erring' brethren, and each bearing their own vision of an ideal world.

While both sides have their own breeds of moderates and extremists, in the end, if one were to simplify the rallying cry of both sides behind this world-splitting grudge match, it would be: "We alone are justice."