Soul Interaction: Chain! (ENG)

12 • Link to the Past

Date: 45/5/331

Hausara's house was on a hill. Although this was one of the most economically rich areas of Triosa, it was quite small, so you could get an almost complete view of the city from here. In summary: The three main moments would have been when we attacked the prison, the chancellery and the monarch's castle. Eimin was already at Lord Bryce's house. I put on my armor and helmet with Lunim and Hausara, then we went down to the square. To put it in a personal way: I was really proud of this nation. All those people looked like a real army, and by the number of them, there must have been at least 30,000. Although it should have been much more, it was already a good result.
Triosa's army was 50,000 warriors, but let's make a quick calculation. Triosa could not afford to lose all its warriors for a revolt, moreover, underestimating the enemy's capabilities, the army would be cut in half already. Also assuming that many warriors refused to participate, and that some like Hausara decided to take sides against the monarch himself, there would be no more than 20,000 warriors defending Triosa. We would probably have been in numerical advantage, and then, me, Lunim and Hausara, together, could have kept at least 300 warriors at bay. We were in good hands. Soon we reached the citizens.
The revolt began. We headed, as planned, to the prisons. Surprisingly, there was no one waiting for us... It seemed strange. That the king had surrendered before the battle? Impossible, he must have had a plan. We pushed our way into the prison and freed the few prisoners inside. At that moment, the situation degenerated. Giant stones, probably from catapults, hit the citizens, causing at least five hundred deaths and a great number of injuries, but it was not enough to stop us.
We continued to advance after burning the prison building. The revolting crowd, in its totality, divided into three large groups, all headed to the chancery. Lunim and Hausara, just like me, went with different groups. The roads were few, so almost all occupied. During our advance, each army was slowed down by about two thousand Triosians each. I went ahead, leading my crowd of about 10,000 people, we fought the enemy side. I didn't like the idea of having to kill again, but it was inevitable. I took my sword and...
Blood, deaths, cries, hope. There was nothing else. The catapult's stones kept coming, hitting rebels and defenders. Dodging enemy blows, I shot many with my big piece of metal. My companions were not experienced, and their only weapons were pitchforks and picks. The opponent had bows and spears, useful to keep us at a distance. Fortunately, my metal defenses worked properly. Our losses were greater, but not unnecessary. Defeated the three armies of 2,000 warriors each, the crowds gathered. We were much fewer, I could not make an estimate, because I did not have a vision from above, we were too many people. The next stop would be the chancellery. The rest of the Triosan army arrived. This time they were a large group, perhaps as many as us. I didn't see Lunim and Hausara at that moment, I wasn't sure they were still in strength or alive, but I didn't stop.
Again, I took the situation into my own hands. In the front row, I launched myself against the enemy. Their strength was not enough to penetrate my defenses, mine, however, was enough to penetrate theirs. The land was no longer earth and sand, but men. Men who had a family, a house, a homeland, a soul. Men whose life was denied. Free, equal, brothers.
During the fight I kept asking myself: "There was no way to avoid all this?"...

♦️

The reason was unknown to me, but my father's words resounded in my mind at that moment.
«Father, why is it war that decides man's fate?» I asked that day.
At the time I was fourteen. But my life experience and knowledge were not enviable by one of seven.
«Goldora, my son. Why this question?»
«Why? Why solve problems with violence? Why solve a problem by creating others? Why? Why can't we help each other? Why can't we use the dialogue and clarify everything?» I asked calmly.
He leaned down, speaking to me as a wise person would to a student that want to learn:
«Goldora, in the mind of those who make war, chaos dominates. When you decide to fight, ideas, that once populated your thoughts, disappear. The disorder clouds your reason. Your brain shuts down. Your body moves without logic. At that moment, you do not choose war, but war chooses you. Selfishness, greed, avarice, these parasitic entities take over without you being able to control them. An ancient philosopher was convinced that the only way to counter one's own emotions and inclinations is to know them. Apparently, the warriors have no idea what they are.» He replied.
«So people should know these evil realities to counter?» I asked.
«Exactly. Interpret it as a chess game:
Everyone starts from a situation of equality. When the first distinction is made, that between black and white, chaos begins. Two inexperienced players, who barely know the rules, will create a hellish disorder, which has the purpose of killing the opponent's pieces. You do not know well the rules, nor your own intentions and neither those of the opponent, the whole thing is a chaos, to which no remedy is sought. When the two players are experienced, know their tactics and rules of the game, the battle becomes a harmony of actions, where the goal is not to kill the opponent's pieces, but win over the enemy. Here, let's get back to reality:
Those who fight inexpertly, who kill and get killed to achieve their goals, are the warriors. Those who fight in an expert manner, who to achieve their goals want to understand themselves, the world and the opponent, are people who will never participate in a war. Goldora, do you think you will ever participate in a war?»

♦️

Bastard, what do you think of those who make people warriors? If I was there at that moment to kill and be killed, it's all your fault. If I've grown such a love for my sister, it's all your fault. I was the only one left to her, we had lost our house, our job, our nation, and just then you told me about justice and war? What is right or wrong? You had no idea what hell I was going through because of you, father... If we could really call you that...
Was it really the right choice to kill thousands and thousands of innocent people just for my sister's sake? Could I have stopped? Would Eimin be happy? We could have fled to another continent, away from war, and live happily ever after. Why? Why did I decide to do all this? And if I had now given up, what would have happened? Would I have been forgiven? Surely there would be no way to avoid my sins. In that moment I was cursed...
But I would have cursed every person in the world if it had made my sister happy.
Breaking, I continued to kill, kill and kill. My conscience knew only one word: blood. How many lives were thrown away for the madness of a madman. Where is the justice you talked about? The truth is that justice never existed. It's just what humans have created to make themselves feel equal, and what does that mean? Which always fails. Few care about justice, therefore we all become different. It must be respected by all, just need one that goes against this idea to get rid of it completely. I didn't want to be the one who spreads it...
Estimating the number of warriors in the defence army of Triosa, as I said before, there should have been a maximum of 20,000. When we had just split into three groups, we killed 6,000. We rebels were, perhaps, at least 20,000. At that time there was a great battle between the two armies. Although we were totally inferior in strength, we had at least 5,000 warriors remaining. Even without me, we probably could have won. I couldn't always listen to my reason, I would have to act on impulse. By making some complicated movements, between boxes and corpses, I managed to climb over the roof of a house, starting to run towards the monarch's castle. On the way I faced some enemy faces but, individually, they were not capable enough to defeat me, they weren't a problem. So I completely abandoned the popular crowd, approaching my goal: the king.