The Origin of Ramirez's Hate
The white-haired boy stood at the door, looking out at the fighting battleships trying to hold off the pirates. The captives had escaped the Grand Fortress once again, that Blue Rogue Vyse was getting on his nerves, but the boy didn't want to play into that infidel's hands. Let him come for Fina, let him come and rescue her and Ramirez would be waiting. She stood not more than ten feet away from him now, cautious and afraid of him, but he didn't care. It was Vyse he wanted, that fool who had stolen back the green and red moon crystals. He would come and he would die, and the ships outside that fought so bravely against the canons of the Grand Fortress would be destroyed.
"Ramirez," Fina stepped forwards, "why are you doing this?"
The white-haired boy looked at her, this girl he had known all of his life. To think she didn't know what he knew. It didn't matter anymore, she would never understand. Standing in the doorway, his mind skipped back through the events that had led to this.
In the beginning, he had known what he had to do. It had been so simple, he had known why and how he was going to do it. The Elders had told him to find the Moon Crystals, to snatch them away from the greedy hands of the Valuans before the Gigas were revived and their destruction was unleashed upon the world. That was what they had told him. However, they had underestimated his resolve to seek knowledge surrounding the darkest secrets of the world, for he had always had a keen fascination when it came to knowledge. He liked to know things, about people, about places, about the world of Arcadia in all its glory. Indeed, he had studied those maps and the books countless times in his room, trying to picture how wonderful the world must be. To live down there, in the clouds beneath the Great Silver Shrine, to breath natural air, to see birds, fish, people. But even after delving through the countless chronicles handed down to him by the Elders, Ramirez had sought to know more.
His lust for knowledge was born perhaps out of his curiosity. He had never known another boy his age, only that sweet little girl he had grown up with. Fina, the innocent, the puppet of the Elders. Ramirez's desire to know people, to know them as the books knew them, was what kept him going through the years stuck in the Great Silver Shrine. He had trusted the Elders implicitly when they told him the great stories about the legendary Moon Crystals, when they showed him and Fina what monstrosities those six little gems could summon. Ah, yes, the Gigas. The constant reminder of what the Ancients sought to do to the world. How could they have felt such hate? Ramirez had never understood until now, and this was why.
Two years, perhaps less, before the Elders were to send Ramirez on his quest to find the Moon Crystals, Ramirez had managed to find what he had been looking for all this time. The Hall of Knowledge, that was what the Elders had called it. "Never, never seek to know what you are not ready to know," Elder Prime had told him, "for some things in our past are best left forgotten. Remember the lessons learned by the Ancients: Knowledge is power, but it cannot advance more than the people controlling it." Ramirez had been disappointed, but had granted the wishes of Elder Prime. He would never try to enter the Hall of Knowledge, where the Chronicles of Arcadia were kept. He had trusted Elder Prime. But Ramirez was about to break his word. He had managed to link his viewing window's systems to those within the Great Silver Shrine. He had used the book on Silvite technology to do this, a book given to him by the Elders. For a year he had studied that book, piecing together what made Silvite technology vulnerable, what kind of device he would need to enter the computer system of the Elders' chamber. And now he had done it! By re- routing the prime circuits using the ingenious little device he had made, Ramirez had managed to cut control of the Hall of Knowledge from the Elders without them realising it. He had smiled to himself, so clever, so subtle, and proceeded to track down all that knowledge he had yearned for and never been given.
He had stared at the viewing screen, his mind directly linked with the system as it flickered through images he had imagined up until now.
"The sky," he had whispered to himself, his heart racing with the joy and excitement, "the trees, the birds, the fish..."
But where were the people? He couldn't see them.
The vision twisted in his mind and a horrible sound filled his ears, forcing him to drop to his knees and scream out loud in shock and pain. The sky had become red! Not the pleasant blue that it was before, but red! No, by the silver moon, don't show me this! But he couldn't shut his eyes to block out these new images, these images of hate and despair, for they were in his mind, not before his eyes. A towering red monster with four legs and heads, what Ramirez recognised as Recumen, the Red Gigas, as it thundered its way slowly across the sand of the ancient desert. The heads spewed out the power of the red moon and Ramirez felt the pain from the flames, as if he was caught in one of those horrific power beams. He tried to find his way to the terminal, to shut down the program he had so foolishly initiated, but Ramirez fell to the floor and twisted around, his pure white hair clasped tightly between his fingers. Stop this, I command you! Not a chance. The visions kept coming, the pain kept coming, the destruction was felt all around him. Ramirez saw each of the monsters in turn; Grendel the Green Gigas, with his powerful arms shattering whole islands, Bluheim the Blue Gigas, creating winds that uprooted trees and cities, Plergoth the Purple Gigas, destroying the Ancients' ships with his icy breath, and even Yelligar the Yellow Gigas. Yelligar's power was more terrible to behold than the rest of the Gigas, his thunder and lightning sent stones into fragments and the black skies opened in their defence of this phenomenal force.
"Please, let it stop now, please..." Ramirez couldn't see his face, but he could feel the tears falling from his cheeks, hear his teeth grinding in their effort to shut out this barrage of imagery. "Elders, I won't betray you again, I swear it, I won't!"
But it wasn't over. He saw a room, a room of glistening white and grey, with six figures standing in a circle. Ramirez shut out the horrid memory of the pain and watched quietly as he recognised who the figures were...Silvites! They were talking. Using what little strength he had left, Ramirez had commanded the images to let him hear what they were saying.
"You have seen for yourselves what has happened." A young Silvite man, black hair and grey eyes said. "Over two centuries these wars have endured against everything we have done. The Gigas are still scouring the lands, all of them free of obligation to their long-dead masters, destroying everything as they go. Soltis is safe as long as the Dome of Light remains intact, but the world outside is ravaged by war. A decision must be made."
Ramirez had been paying full attention now, for he had never read about this, nor been told about it by the Elders. What was this all about?
A woman, older than the young man who had just spoken, with long hair and a pointed face turned upon the circle, her features contorted with rage. "You cannot judge Arcadia like this, I refuse to believe we have the right! What you said before, it's an affront to everything we believe in and know to be true!"
"We believe in the cycle of life and death," said another man, older than the first, "that everything comes from nothing and vice-versa. What Elder Prime said was linked very much to this belief. Our power exceeds that of the other civilisations by far, as does our reasoning." He turned to the woman who was looking at him coldly. "Would you have us do nothing? To let the Gigas destroy the world and us along with it? Does that comply with what we believe in and know to be true?"
Silence. Ramirez had watched the scene, not really sure of what was happening or why.
"Speak now, all of you," the young man spoke again, "and we will decide what must be done. Must Arcadia be destroyed in order to save it?"
The circle fell silent once more, but one by one the voices said their verdict.
"Destroy it."
"The world has become too dependant on death. It must return to life. Destroy it."
"The Gigas must be stopped. The world must be destroyed."
"Destroy it."
"Destruction is the only thing that can be done at this point." The young man bowed his head solemnly. "So be it, let Arcadia be destroyed."
All the group's heads turned to the woman who had shouted her outburst a few minutes earlier. She was crying, but trying not to. Her eyes were reddened and she gazed up at her fellow leaders, fighting back the tears.
"I will follow the will of the Council," she said, "but out of loyalty, not agreement."
Ramirez had felt the force of revelation strike his heart like a poisoned spear. These men and women had decided the fate of the world just like that! Elder Prime had never said anything about this, what was happening?
Before he could make sense of the situation, he heard voices in his mind once again.
"Silver Gigas, Zelos, we command you to focus your powers on the moons! Let them weep for the world they helped create! Let their stones destroy those unworthy of your blessings!"
Ramirez's eyes saw the piercing arrow of light striking each of the moons in turn, one by one. The Rains of Destruction! The Elders had said it was unknown what had truly happened! The moonstones, some as big as the smaller islands, battered the landscape and the Gigas themselves. Though the ancient monsters remained unaffected, the lands around them crumbled and what was left of civilisation was destroyed.
"No, you can't have done this!" Ramirez found himself screaming above the explosions, the fire. "It's not right! How could you do that to all those people!"
The voices spoke. "Zelos will never be controlled again, his might is too powerful. He will die with our great continent, sent into Deep Sky to rest in eternal sleep. We will rise above the destruction in the Great Silver Shrine, never to be a part of the world again. Yet we will always watch it, ever vigilant against such war and sorrow. The six moon crystals are to be scattered and hidden, lest their combined powers are used to free Zelos and raise Soltis."
And in a heartbeat, it was gone. His eyes had opened and he had seen the familiar shapes of the desk and chair, the maps that lay scattered on his floor. He had wiped the tears from his eyes and removed his device from the viewing screen, letting the Elders have direct control of the Hall of Knowledge once again. He had checked to see if they knew what he had done, but they didn't. No-one knew.
When he had been sent on the mission to find and recover the six moon crystals, Ramirez had known the truth behind it all. He had known the Elders, up there in their precious Great Silver Shrine, had once again deemed the world unworthy. Those arrogant fools were never any more worthy of it than the people they condemned! But he had hope. The Valuan Empire, yes, he had said he would stop them, but their citizens would be better than the Silvites, better than the Elders. He would steal the crystals when the armada found them and then he would return to the shrine, but he would try to know as many people as he could before then.
So Ramirez had gone, he had joined the army and waited patiently for the crystals to be found. To his dismay, the people of Arcadia were far worse than those of the Great Silver Shrine. He couldn't understand how they could be so selfish, so uncaring for one-another. Didn't they know how lucky they were, to have each other for company? Apparently not. Ramirez had lost all hope, all sense of being. Nothing was the way it should have been; the people were cowards, bigots and materialistic fools. Let the Elders destroy this pathetic world, let them reduce it to dust, it made no difference to him.
And then, something had happened...
Through his promotion to Vice Captain, Ramirez sought to get closer to the Supreme Commander of the Valuan Armada, Lord Galcian. It was Lord Galcian who knew where the Armada was going, he who was leading the search for the moon crystals. Ramirez would steal them the moment Galcian thought they were his! It was so simple. But something unexpected had occurred. One night, Galcian was working on his orders for the Admirals and he had summoned Ramirez to the meeting room aboard his flagship, the Serpent.
"Vice Captain, I know you are a Silvite. I found your ship where you left it, along with this." He tossed Ramirez a picture he had taken on his journey. A picture of himself and Fina, together and happy. "Don't look so worried, Ramirez. I'm here to help you. Listen to what I have to say..."
And Ramirez had listened, he had listened to Lord Galcian as he expressed the same hatred of the world and its people for what they were. Ramirez found himself overjoyed that there was another who felt the same way as he did! The Elders would never have understood, fools that they were.
"A single leader is needed," Galcian said calmly, "a leader to bring back the importance of life and the meaninglessness of gold and jewels. The people of this world are greedy by their very nature, Ramirez, surely you can see that?"
"Lord Galcian," Ramirez had said, "you have no idea what it means to me...to have found someone like you, who knows why things are so cruel and harsh."
"Help me and the people of this world find their lost souls again, Ramirez," Galcian continued, "you know it's the only way Arcadia can be redeemed. Even your leaders have become corrupt with power, otherwise you would not have listened to me so readily. But remember: The path I walk is of death and destruction. The people must be made to suffer in order to appreciate their wretched existence and I am the man who will make them understand. You can make the other Silvites understand as well."
Ramirez had smiled at that thought. To think, their proudly chosen pawn would be their undoing. They deserved it. He had sworn loyalty to Lord Galcian right then, to pledge his very life down before this great man. He had been given his sword by Lord Galcian the next day, a sword like no other. Its appearance was somewhat otherworldly, but it was sharper than anything Ramirez had seen before. What could he accomplish with a blade like this?
"It is made of black moonstone," Galcian said, when questioned by Ramirez about the weapon, "a material few can wield with efficiency. Even I could never harness the potential from a sword like that. Channel your powers through the blade and learn how to fold time itself, all enemies will cower before you."
Ramirez had never heard about the black moon, but the weapon was truly a beautiful one to behold. As he had continued to serve Galcian, Ramirez lost the last feelings of compassion he had held for the people around him. He hated them, even Fina, all of them for their ignorance. And in time, he would take his revenge on behalf of all the people who died in the Rains of Destruction at the hands of the Elders.
He looked at Fina again as she came closer. He felt his hatred, his anger for her swelling, but he resisted the urge to cleave her in twain with his sword. Somewhere, amongst his dark feelings of resentment, hate, anger and despair, Ramirez still felt loyal to Fina. He owed her at least part of the truth.
"What about our orders?" She implored him. "What about the Elders?"
Damn the Elders and damn their orders. Ramiz thought, but he forced himself to reply.
"I fight for Lord Galcian," he said, "that is all you need to know."
The white-haired boy stood at the door, looking out at the fighting battleships trying to hold off the pirates. The captives had escaped the Grand Fortress once again, that Blue Rogue Vyse was getting on his nerves, but the boy didn't want to play into that infidel's hands. Let him come for Fina, let him come and rescue her and Ramirez would be waiting. She stood not more than ten feet away from him now, cautious and afraid of him, but he didn't care. It was Vyse he wanted, that fool who had stolen back the green and red moon crystals. He would come and he would die, and the ships outside that fought so bravely against the canons of the Grand Fortress would be destroyed.
"Ramirez," Fina stepped forwards, "why are you doing this?"
The white-haired boy looked at her, this girl he had known all of his life. To think she didn't know what he knew. It didn't matter anymore, she would never understand. Standing in the doorway, his mind skipped back through the events that had led to this.
In the beginning, he had known what he had to do. It had been so simple, he had known why and how he was going to do it. The Elders had told him to find the Moon Crystals, to snatch them away from the greedy hands of the Valuans before the Gigas were revived and their destruction was unleashed upon the world. That was what they had told him. However, they had underestimated his resolve to seek knowledge surrounding the darkest secrets of the world, for he had always had a keen fascination when it came to knowledge. He liked to know things, about people, about places, about the world of Arcadia in all its glory. Indeed, he had studied those maps and the books countless times in his room, trying to picture how wonderful the world must be. To live down there, in the clouds beneath the Great Silver Shrine, to breath natural air, to see birds, fish, people. But even after delving through the countless chronicles handed down to him by the Elders, Ramirez had sought to know more.
His lust for knowledge was born perhaps out of his curiosity. He had never known another boy his age, only that sweet little girl he had grown up with. Fina, the innocent, the puppet of the Elders. Ramirez's desire to know people, to know them as the books knew them, was what kept him going through the years stuck in the Great Silver Shrine. He had trusted the Elders implicitly when they told him the great stories about the legendary Moon Crystals, when they showed him and Fina what monstrosities those six little gems could summon. Ah, yes, the Gigas. The constant reminder of what the Ancients sought to do to the world. How could they have felt such hate? Ramirez had never understood until now, and this was why.
Two years, perhaps less, before the Elders were to send Ramirez on his quest to find the Moon Crystals, Ramirez had managed to find what he had been looking for all this time. The Hall of Knowledge, that was what the Elders had called it. "Never, never seek to know what you are not ready to know," Elder Prime had told him, "for some things in our past are best left forgotten. Remember the lessons learned by the Ancients: Knowledge is power, but it cannot advance more than the people controlling it." Ramirez had been disappointed, but had granted the wishes of Elder Prime. He would never try to enter the Hall of Knowledge, where the Chronicles of Arcadia were kept. He had trusted Elder Prime. But Ramirez was about to break his word. He had managed to link his viewing window's systems to those within the Great Silver Shrine. He had used the book on Silvite technology to do this, a book given to him by the Elders. For a year he had studied that book, piecing together what made Silvite technology vulnerable, what kind of device he would need to enter the computer system of the Elders' chamber. And now he had done it! By re- routing the prime circuits using the ingenious little device he had made, Ramirez had managed to cut control of the Hall of Knowledge from the Elders without them realising it. He had smiled to himself, so clever, so subtle, and proceeded to track down all that knowledge he had yearned for and never been given.
He had stared at the viewing screen, his mind directly linked with the system as it flickered through images he had imagined up until now.
"The sky," he had whispered to himself, his heart racing with the joy and excitement, "the trees, the birds, the fish..."
But where were the people? He couldn't see them.
The vision twisted in his mind and a horrible sound filled his ears, forcing him to drop to his knees and scream out loud in shock and pain. The sky had become red! Not the pleasant blue that it was before, but red! No, by the silver moon, don't show me this! But he couldn't shut his eyes to block out these new images, these images of hate and despair, for they were in his mind, not before his eyes. A towering red monster with four legs and heads, what Ramirez recognised as Recumen, the Red Gigas, as it thundered its way slowly across the sand of the ancient desert. The heads spewed out the power of the red moon and Ramirez felt the pain from the flames, as if he was caught in one of those horrific power beams. He tried to find his way to the terminal, to shut down the program he had so foolishly initiated, but Ramirez fell to the floor and twisted around, his pure white hair clasped tightly between his fingers. Stop this, I command you! Not a chance. The visions kept coming, the pain kept coming, the destruction was felt all around him. Ramirez saw each of the monsters in turn; Grendel the Green Gigas, with his powerful arms shattering whole islands, Bluheim the Blue Gigas, creating winds that uprooted trees and cities, Plergoth the Purple Gigas, destroying the Ancients' ships with his icy breath, and even Yelligar the Yellow Gigas. Yelligar's power was more terrible to behold than the rest of the Gigas, his thunder and lightning sent stones into fragments and the black skies opened in their defence of this phenomenal force.
"Please, let it stop now, please..." Ramirez couldn't see his face, but he could feel the tears falling from his cheeks, hear his teeth grinding in their effort to shut out this barrage of imagery. "Elders, I won't betray you again, I swear it, I won't!"
But it wasn't over. He saw a room, a room of glistening white and grey, with six figures standing in a circle. Ramirez shut out the horrid memory of the pain and watched quietly as he recognised who the figures were...Silvites! They were talking. Using what little strength he had left, Ramirez had commanded the images to let him hear what they were saying.
"You have seen for yourselves what has happened." A young Silvite man, black hair and grey eyes said. "Over two centuries these wars have endured against everything we have done. The Gigas are still scouring the lands, all of them free of obligation to their long-dead masters, destroying everything as they go. Soltis is safe as long as the Dome of Light remains intact, but the world outside is ravaged by war. A decision must be made."
Ramirez had been paying full attention now, for he had never read about this, nor been told about it by the Elders. What was this all about?
A woman, older than the young man who had just spoken, with long hair and a pointed face turned upon the circle, her features contorted with rage. "You cannot judge Arcadia like this, I refuse to believe we have the right! What you said before, it's an affront to everything we believe in and know to be true!"
"We believe in the cycle of life and death," said another man, older than the first, "that everything comes from nothing and vice-versa. What Elder Prime said was linked very much to this belief. Our power exceeds that of the other civilisations by far, as does our reasoning." He turned to the woman who was looking at him coldly. "Would you have us do nothing? To let the Gigas destroy the world and us along with it? Does that comply with what we believe in and know to be true?"
Silence. Ramirez had watched the scene, not really sure of what was happening or why.
"Speak now, all of you," the young man spoke again, "and we will decide what must be done. Must Arcadia be destroyed in order to save it?"
The circle fell silent once more, but one by one the voices said their verdict.
"Destroy it."
"The world has become too dependant on death. It must return to life. Destroy it."
"The Gigas must be stopped. The world must be destroyed."
"Destroy it."
"Destruction is the only thing that can be done at this point." The young man bowed his head solemnly. "So be it, let Arcadia be destroyed."
All the group's heads turned to the woman who had shouted her outburst a few minutes earlier. She was crying, but trying not to. Her eyes were reddened and she gazed up at her fellow leaders, fighting back the tears.
"I will follow the will of the Council," she said, "but out of loyalty, not agreement."
Ramirez had felt the force of revelation strike his heart like a poisoned spear. These men and women had decided the fate of the world just like that! Elder Prime had never said anything about this, what was happening?
Before he could make sense of the situation, he heard voices in his mind once again.
"Silver Gigas, Zelos, we command you to focus your powers on the moons! Let them weep for the world they helped create! Let their stones destroy those unworthy of your blessings!"
Ramirez's eyes saw the piercing arrow of light striking each of the moons in turn, one by one. The Rains of Destruction! The Elders had said it was unknown what had truly happened! The moonstones, some as big as the smaller islands, battered the landscape and the Gigas themselves. Though the ancient monsters remained unaffected, the lands around them crumbled and what was left of civilisation was destroyed.
"No, you can't have done this!" Ramirez found himself screaming above the explosions, the fire. "It's not right! How could you do that to all those people!"
The voices spoke. "Zelos will never be controlled again, his might is too powerful. He will die with our great continent, sent into Deep Sky to rest in eternal sleep. We will rise above the destruction in the Great Silver Shrine, never to be a part of the world again. Yet we will always watch it, ever vigilant against such war and sorrow. The six moon crystals are to be scattered and hidden, lest their combined powers are used to free Zelos and raise Soltis."
And in a heartbeat, it was gone. His eyes had opened and he had seen the familiar shapes of the desk and chair, the maps that lay scattered on his floor. He had wiped the tears from his eyes and removed his device from the viewing screen, letting the Elders have direct control of the Hall of Knowledge once again. He had checked to see if they knew what he had done, but they didn't. No-one knew.
When he had been sent on the mission to find and recover the six moon crystals, Ramirez had known the truth behind it all. He had known the Elders, up there in their precious Great Silver Shrine, had once again deemed the world unworthy. Those arrogant fools were never any more worthy of it than the people they condemned! But he had hope. The Valuan Empire, yes, he had said he would stop them, but their citizens would be better than the Silvites, better than the Elders. He would steal the crystals when the armada found them and then he would return to the shrine, but he would try to know as many people as he could before then.
So Ramirez had gone, he had joined the army and waited patiently for the crystals to be found. To his dismay, the people of Arcadia were far worse than those of the Great Silver Shrine. He couldn't understand how they could be so selfish, so uncaring for one-another. Didn't they know how lucky they were, to have each other for company? Apparently not. Ramirez had lost all hope, all sense of being. Nothing was the way it should have been; the people were cowards, bigots and materialistic fools. Let the Elders destroy this pathetic world, let them reduce it to dust, it made no difference to him.
And then, something had happened...
Through his promotion to Vice Captain, Ramirez sought to get closer to the Supreme Commander of the Valuan Armada, Lord Galcian. It was Lord Galcian who knew where the Armada was going, he who was leading the search for the moon crystals. Ramirez would steal them the moment Galcian thought they were his! It was so simple. But something unexpected had occurred. One night, Galcian was working on his orders for the Admirals and he had summoned Ramirez to the meeting room aboard his flagship, the Serpent.
"Vice Captain, I know you are a Silvite. I found your ship where you left it, along with this." He tossed Ramirez a picture he had taken on his journey. A picture of himself and Fina, together and happy. "Don't look so worried, Ramirez. I'm here to help you. Listen to what I have to say..."
And Ramirez had listened, he had listened to Lord Galcian as he expressed the same hatred of the world and its people for what they were. Ramirez found himself overjoyed that there was another who felt the same way as he did! The Elders would never have understood, fools that they were.
"A single leader is needed," Galcian said calmly, "a leader to bring back the importance of life and the meaninglessness of gold and jewels. The people of this world are greedy by their very nature, Ramirez, surely you can see that?"
"Lord Galcian," Ramirez had said, "you have no idea what it means to me...to have found someone like you, who knows why things are so cruel and harsh."
"Help me and the people of this world find their lost souls again, Ramirez," Galcian continued, "you know it's the only way Arcadia can be redeemed. Even your leaders have become corrupt with power, otherwise you would not have listened to me so readily. But remember: The path I walk is of death and destruction. The people must be made to suffer in order to appreciate their wretched existence and I am the man who will make them understand. You can make the other Silvites understand as well."
Ramirez had smiled at that thought. To think, their proudly chosen pawn would be their undoing. They deserved it. He had sworn loyalty to Lord Galcian right then, to pledge his very life down before this great man. He had been given his sword by Lord Galcian the next day, a sword like no other. Its appearance was somewhat otherworldly, but it was sharper than anything Ramirez had seen before. What could he accomplish with a blade like this?
"It is made of black moonstone," Galcian said, when questioned by Ramirez about the weapon, "a material few can wield with efficiency. Even I could never harness the potential from a sword like that. Channel your powers through the blade and learn how to fold time itself, all enemies will cower before you."
Ramirez had never heard about the black moon, but the weapon was truly a beautiful one to behold. As he had continued to serve Galcian, Ramirez lost the last feelings of compassion he had held for the people around him. He hated them, even Fina, all of them for their ignorance. And in time, he would take his revenge on behalf of all the people who died in the Rains of Destruction at the hands of the Elders.
He looked at Fina again as she came closer. He felt his hatred, his anger for her swelling, but he resisted the urge to cleave her in twain with his sword. Somewhere, amongst his dark feelings of resentment, hate, anger and despair, Ramirez still felt loyal to Fina. He owed her at least part of the truth.
"What about our orders?" She implored him. "What about the Elders?"
Damn the Elders and damn their orders. Ramiz thought, but he forced himself to reply.
"I fight for Lord Galcian," he said, "that is all you need to know."