Faith, Influence, and Government (Season 2 of Previous Work)

Volume 9 Chapter 1

Once upon a time in the Continent of Ishgar, there were a multitude of countries that all shared a border with one another and the surrounding seas. Some were rich and very prosperous, while others were poor and had a terrible reputation for being run by corrupt government officials. The richest and the happiest country of all Ishgar was undoubtedly the Kingdom of Fiore. Under the reign of King Touma E. Fiore, his country had grown to become an economic superpower in Ishgar, quickly overtaking the Kingdom of Pergrande in GDP per capita and in its ranking on the Human Development Index. The people of Fiore enjoyed a high standard of living and were known for being friendly and welcoming to outsiders. The country was famous for its vibrant culture and its unique cuisine, which had become popular around the world. Therefore, an influx of immigrants poured into the country by ship from the port of Hargeon, as well as by land from the border with the Kingdom of Bosco. Touma naturally welcomed these immigrants with open arms and gave them access to free housing, medical insurance, and higher education for the youth. Because all the countries in Ishgar spoke Latin, except for the Sultanate of Desierto, they were able to integrate into Fiorean society relatively easily. While the working-class was pro-immigrant, the aristocracy wanted the immigrants deported, fearing that they would replace the Fiorean-born supply of labor. Ultimately, Touma's decision to welcome immigrants helped to create a more tolerant and accepting society in Fiore. But the aristocratic courtesans vehemently protested, demanding that Touma deport the immigrants back to Bosco. But the King responded by arguing it violated the Charter of Human Rights, challenging them to go against centuries of precedent that upheld human rights to all humans in Ishgar and around the world.

Some grumbled but rescinded their demands and made a public apology to the immigrant communities in Fiore, promising they would abide by the Charter of Human Rights. Others, however, were more persistent and even went so far as to threaten to support a half-cousin of the King who was waiting for the right moment to steal the throne, right after they overthrew him. Touma vehemently stood firm against their threats and so, the aristocracy who were persistent then secretly sent 50 million dollars to Touma's half-cousin. Touma found out about this and confronted them. They denied any involvement, but Touma was not convinced. He was determined to uncover the truth and expose their scheme. The tense stand-off between the young King and the persistent faction of the aristocracy then boiled over into civil war when the latter was accused of blowing up a train that contained the King as he was on his visit around the kingdom. His half-cousin pounced, seeing his chance and Touma was quickly defeated then forced to abdicate the throne to him. While watching his half-cousin being reluctantly crowned by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Touma knew his people did not like his half-cousin. But with the support of the far-right faction of the aristocracy, his half-cousin was virtually untouchable and unapproachable. Any petition to fix the crumbling infrastructure systems of Fiore were largely ignored, with the aristocracy making false promises that they'd look into repairing the roads, railways, bridges, and canals. But they never did, and the roads and railways largely fell into disrepair, while the bridges collapsed, and the canals flooded during severe thunderstorms in summer. This caused a great strain on the citizens, who were forced to rely on horse-drawn carriages and rafts for transport. The aristocracy was indifferent to the suffering of the people and did little to help. The working-class were growing desperate enough to go into rebellion against the new king, demanding Touma's restoration to the throne. But the rebellions were quickly snuffed out as quickly as they popped up all over the country. All the people who participated in these peaceful demonstrations were accused of being traitors and sentenced to life imprisonment, while the ringleaders of the demonstrations were executed by firing squad. Then all of a sudden, the new king turned his ire to the Roman Catholic Church, accusing them of harboring enemies of the state. Pope Augustulus Romulus, tried to negotiate to clear the name of the Church, but the young king was adamant of its guilt. An angry mob of 50 thousand noble-class courtesans and government officials stormed the Basilica of Saint Peter in Hargeon, setting fire to smaller cathedrals in the vicinity. They even stole 4 million dollars' worth of gold from the treasury of the Church. Therefore, the Pope had the young king excommunicated, but the aristocracy retaliated by capturing him then throwing him in jail for life. While sitting in prison, the Pope was abused by the warden and the guards responsible for guarding his cell in Alcatraz Island, a national penitentiary system of jail cells that now contained political prisoners who dared disobey the young King's will. After being in prison for decades, the Pope was finally released. He was frail and weak, and his health had been damaged by the mistreatment he had received. He eventually died of natural causes while in his early 60s, leaving behind a legacy of injustice and oppression. Fiore's working-class finally had enough of waiting for the King to come around. The kingdom had officially fallen into civil war between King Touma II's supporters and their enemies. For 50 years, the civil war had ravaged the Kingdom demographically, forcing all the country's college students to join the two armies and fight for a specific cause. They were forced to give up on getting a good job after college and they took their anger out on their own countrymen, raiding villages to the ground and raping village women their age or younger. This caused a deep rift between the different factions of the Kingdom, and the conflict was eventually resolved after Touma II's death. The Kingdom was able to slowly rebuild itself, but the damage had been done. The Kingdom would never be the same again. King Touma was restored to the throne, but millions of people never forgave him for giving up when things got tough. The same immigrants who came to settle down in Fiore and build a new life, had fled to the Country of Minstrel, vowing to never return to Fiore no matter how hard King Touma begged for them to come back and help him rebuild the kingdom. A few weeks after the Civil War, Touma was summoned to the Hague in the Netherlands for a trial to answer for his crimes against humanity. No matter how hard his lawyer petitioned for a lighter sentence, the judge and the jury would not have it. Touma was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes he did not commit against his own people, forcing him into a serious dilemma. His half-cousin's usurpation of the throne had scarred him, to the point that he did not trust his own family to govern the kingdom should anything happen to him. Before the guards came to his palace to drag him off to jail, King Touma made a serious decision: he disbanded the aristocracy as a social class and forced Parliament as well as the Royal Supreme Court to close temporarily. The Members of Parliament who supported his half-cousin's usurpation were forced to retire, or he would order their assassinations. Some chose to flee the country and settle down in the Kingdom of Pergrande, vowing revenge, while others tried to talk him out of it but the king was stern. "You betrayed me and the People of Fiore that you were supposed to represent with impartiality! Repent for your sins when you return to civilian life on the streets," Touma snarled. With that, Parliament was officially dissolved by royal decree and would never reconvene for decades, even after his death while serving his life sentence. Meanwhile, the working-class would never forgive him during his entire prison term. The college students who were forced to put their educational endeavors on hold were never prosecuted for taking their anger out on their own countrymen. They were thus ostracized by society, and no one attended their graduation ceremonies. But the college students did not care, all that mattered to them was getting a good job and starting a family one day. To them, it did not matter what society thought of them. So, while they prospered happily after getting married and having children, they became so wealthy that their peers virtually ostracized them from youth society forever. Cynics stated that Fiore as a kingdom would never recover from the 50-year Civil War. Therefore, a kingdom far away called the Kingdom of Dragnof sensed an opportunity to expand its influence. Queen Irene installed her niece on the throne of Fiore, then the new Queen took a husband from among the wealthy middle-class. She married a teacher and they fell deeply in love with one another. The teacher's name was Ronald Regan and as King Consort of Fiore, he ruled alongside his wife Queen Jochebed I, niece of Queen Irene I of Dragnof. The new royals were horrified when their people came to them with stories about the horrors of the Civil War. They vowed to make changes in society, so that no social class will dominate over the other, including them. Just by forcing the middle-class to sign a pledge that promised they would abide by the Charter of Human Rights, under the threat of prosecution for human rights abuses, the people's perception of monarchism improved significantly. The number of people that wanted the monarchy to be replaced by a democracy decreased and turned into pro-monarchists. Of course, King Ronald Regan volunteered to sign the pledge, followed by his wife. Inspired by their courage, the middle-class followed suit one by one, until the pledge had over 500 signatures. Together, the two royals and their countrymen rebuilt Fiore into a stronger kingdom. Immigrants poured into Fiore by sea and land again, much to the two royals' joy. Enthusiastically, everyone welcomed the immigrants with a festival that celebrated diversity. They were granted rent-free apartments until they found an adequate job and made enough disposable income to pay the rent themselves, or buy their flats then rent them out to family and close friends. Therefore, Fiore would recover from the Civil War in time, proving the most cynical of individuals wrong. In return, Fiore opened diplomatic talks with Dragnof that lasts to this very day. People and goods were allowed to be exchanged among the two countries and Fiore as an economy recovered its title as Ishgar's richest country in history.

A/N: The End.