Summoning Earth [Hiatus]

Chapter 43: Aftermath

March 30, 2024 – Marseille Port, France

I steadied the camera on my shoulder, the weight familiar but heavier today under the Marseille sun. The port sprawled behind us like a war zone turned refugee haven container ships unloading crates of aid, EU soldiers in blue helmets directing lines of Parpaldians, their pointed ears and scaled skins standing out among the crowd. The air smelled of salt, diesel, and unwashed bodies, a reminder of the 46 million flooding Europe since the EU-Parpaldia deal a month ago. My reporter, Sophie, a blonde in her late twenties with a sharp French accent, adjusted her mic, her blue eyes scanning the script. "Ready, Jean?" she asked, her voice crisp. I nodded, framing her against the chaotic camp behind tents stretching into the distance, refugees queuing for food, subhumans with tails huddled in groups.

Sophie straightened, her professional smile in place as I gave the thumbs-up. "Rolling," I said, the red light blinking. She launched into her intro, her tone heavy with the politics that had defined this crisis. "This is Sophie Laurent reporting live from Marseille Port, where the great migration from Parpaldia continues unabated. A month after the EU-Parpaldia deal abolished slavery, granted independence to territories like Altaras, and initiated the evacuation of 46 million souls, Europe grapples with its largest humanitarian challenge since World War II. But as refugees arrive humans, subhumans, former slaves and elites alike tensions boil. Riots in Berlin and Paris highlight fears of ethnic imbalance, job loss, and cultural erosion. Critics call it a political time bomb, with far-right groups exploiting the influx to stoke racism, while woke activists demand more aid for 'oppressed subhumans.' The UN's calls for shared responsibility fall on deaf ears, as nations like the U.S. debate caps and Africa resists resettlement. Here at the port, we see the human and subhuman face of this crisis."

She turned to a group of refugees I'd scouted earlier a mix of ethnic Parpaldians: a family with elfin features, a former slave with scarred wrists, and a subhuman with clawed hands. Sophie switched to Parpaldian, her language skills honed from weeks in the camps it sounded like a melodic French dialect, with rolling Rs and soft vowels. "Excuse me, can I ask how this 21st-century nation looks in your eyes? Europe, with its machines and freedoms how does it compare to Parpaldia?"

The elf-like father, his pointed ears twitching, responded first, his Parpaldian accent thick but grateful. "It's a wonder your cars, your lights without mana. In Parpaldia, we toiled under whips, but here... freedom. But the riots scare us people calling us 'aliens,' fearing our magic. Is this welcome or a trap?" Sophie nodded sympathetically, the camera capturing his wary expression. Behind, the camp stirred aid workers distributing UAE-branded blankets, Saudi medics treating a child, but tension simmered, whispers of resentment from local French volunteers.

She turned to the former slave, a woman named Kalia, her wrists raw from chains abolished by the deal. "And you? How do Earth's nations appear after your empire's fall?"

Kalia's voice was soft, her eyes darting. "Like gods and demons. Your warships crushed ISIS, saved us from gas and fireballs. But politics... your Trump calls us criminals, says we steal jobs. In Parpaldia, we were property; here, we're burdens. Your freedoms speech, rights are dreams, but the hate... it's real." Her words hung heavy, the camera zooming in on her scars, a visual punch to the politics of migration.

Next, a subhuman with clawed hands, Ryn, spoke, his voice growling. "Your world is strange tall buildings, no wyverns. We're grateful for refuge, but your people fear us our tails, our strength. Riots call us 'subhuman threats.' Is this human rights, or just words?" Sophie asked follow-ups, probing their views on Europe's ethnic fears, the UN's inaction, the deal's impact on Parpaldia's slavery abolition. Ryn's response was blunt: "Your nations ended our chains, but your politics chain us anew racism, quotas. We see your power, but also your divisions."