- Part 2 -
…20 years later
"Sir. This order.. I can't believe it's come to this." A San d'Orian knight looked with dismay at the scroll that she had been handed. A commanding officer placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It can't be helped. This is proof of how close we are to losing this war. We must follow ord–" The knight shrugged off the hand almost violently. "But this is wrong! Do you have any idea how many will die because of this?!" The knight, wearing the garb of the Royal Guards, stared into the eyes of her captain. "I know. We all know. But our loyalty and lives belong to San d'Oria.. If we fall, countless lives.. possibly all of Altana's children may soon follow. This isn't a choice. We must do our duty." The female knight's tail slumped at the word 'duty'. She offered a halfhearted salute to her captain. "Yes sir.." The mithra walked away, clutching the written orders in her fist. 'Our duty'? Duty? Our duty isn't to sacrifice others for victory.. It'll be a massacre. I know it. She leaned weakly against a wall once she was out of sight of her captain and fellow soldiers. They'll all die. Everyone.. The woman gasped softly, her eyes widening as another implication struck her. Everyone… even.. The thought made her shudder. …Altana… my love.. I pray you two can ever forgive us. The mithra, famed Royal Guard Obtili Usenah, collapsed to the ground and began to sob quietly.
Obtili awoke with a start, tears still streaming heavily from her amber eyes. The disorientation she felt from her dream caused her to look around her mog house in confusion. She placed her hand on her forehead. "Again.." Golden sunlight streamed in through the window shutters while birds could be heard warbling happily. The mithra got out of bed and dressed before washing up. "Gods.. it never stops." Her gaze fell on a golden coffer that sat on the floor, a San d'Orian flag hanging above it. The coffer had a fine layer of dust and an elaborate lock. Obtili shook her head, trying to banish the lingering memories of her nightmare. "Perhaps it's penance.. To relive my sin for the rest of my life." She sighed. "Training will help me forget." She went to her armoire and removed her kyudogi and bow.
Another crow fell to the dirt with an arrow in it. "That makes thirty." Obtili sprinted through the high grass of Sarutabaruta, scanning the horizon for more flying prey. Instead her eyes found a goblin corpse in the distance, smoke wafting from its seemingly flash-burned armor. The ranger's eyes lit up, Another one! She stooped down to examine the body. Maybe those gobs were telling the truth after all.. Perhaps a trip to the ruins is in order. Her ears twitched at a distant sound. She turned to look at the source and her keen eyes spotted a small group of adventurers tramping along toward Odin's Gate. One seemed to have a more orderly gait than the others. Obtili's eyes grew stern. That's a paladin or I'm a blind ahriman. This warrants a welcome, I'd say. With that, she ran back towards town, eager to see what fate had in store for her today.
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Color Key
Indigo: Obtili (speaking)
Olive: Obtili (thinking)
Red: Guard captainObi
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