Christmas Day, 2025
Ithaca
The city was frosted over with snow and ice from the previous night, the city lights still blared through it all.
"Happy holidays (Happy holidays)
Happy holidays (Happy holidays)
And the merry bells, keep ringing
May your every wish come true
Happy holidays (Happy holidays)
Happy holidays (Happy holidays)
May the calendar, keep bringing
Happy holidays to you…"
The music played in a low ambient tone in the café downtown. The coffee shop that was originally built in Ithaca as a small soup stand for hungry refugees when Ithaca was still small, exploded into a busy store that was always full of patrons.
It had the newest marvel of the modern world, Wifi. AT&T built a headquarters in Ithaca, and now internet was available throughout select places in the Special Region. The store was booming with customers as people came to connect, sit down and read, or just talk.
Filo had become one of those patrons, she sat in the store talking to a new acquaintance, a Grizzly bear demi-human. He went by the name of Perceval. She knew he used to be a noble in Iscariot, and she got to understood how and why he came to migrate to Ithaca. Permanently.
"So…let me get this straight," Perceval raised an eyebrow as Filo asked him to clarify what he had said, "You used to be-"
"Yes I used to work with the humans. When they built Fort Ithaca one of their task forces met my patrol and told us about themselves. I never really liked the king or the queen, I hated how they used to treat the Humans, the reptilians, insectoids and all that. In fact I actually found myself supporting the ILP back when it used to be a minor political party."
"And when did you become a rebel?" Filo asked taking a sip of the coffee in her mug.
"When Nora became queen. She is…" Perceval raised a big brown paw to his chin as he thought for a word, "How should I say it?"
"Crazy? Bloodthirsty? Absolutely insane?!" Filo demanded.
"Well…yes. The word I'm looking for is all of that in one, but a bit milder perhaps? I just knew she wasn't prepared to handle the NATO threat. I knew straight off the bat that we weren't going to defeat NATO, and now the entire kingdom is losing the war on all sides and is a puppet to Russia."
"She isn't a bad leader or queen, I suppose. She has made some smart moves before. She just isn't ready to fight NATO."
"Yeah, exactly. I introduced what they call the CIA to Cathy and the ILP, and the dominos just started falling. That's why I never spoke too much, ever really."
"You are a mysterious person. I heard stories about your military campaigns when you were an Iscariot General. What about that?"
Perceval sank back into his chair a little.
"You helped lead an army to raid this delta before NATO came, right?"
Perceval slowly nodded his head, "I used to command the armies under Fredrick to raid the villages and cities here, and conquer them. I regret it, I must've killed so many people…I didn't know what I was doing, or who I was really fighting for then. All I understood, was just to follow orders…" Perceval closed his eyes and let his head fall back.
"…I remember once…It was a brutal siege…"
-Flashback-
Perceval disembarked from his horse. He was fully clad in iron armor, an Iscariot cross on his breastplate. His sword in one hand. Ahead was the city. The city of Riig-Alegiac.
"You were the man who burned down Riig-Algeiac?" Filo asked.
"Mmhmm. The city used to be located where the NATO fortress is now. And I leveled the entire thing, thousands lived there…"
The city had already surrendered. Fredrick wanted no evidence that there was ever a city in the first place, as a symbol of how futile it was to resist the Iscariot rule.
They had gathered the locals together in the city square. All of them, by the thousands. In Perceval's hands he carried a letter. It was from the King himself, an order.
An order to exterminate.
One of his soldiers had turned to ask him what they were supposed to do. The soldier's face scrunched up when he said, to exterminate them all.
The crowd was mostly women and children. Most of the men were killed off during the siege. The men that remained were either too old, or fearful of the Iscariots. Many of the soldiers asked Perceval if he had gotten the right order. Many confronted him directly about the issue of killing off an entire population. His response was simple.
I'm just following orders…
The soldiers did as told, albeit begrudgingly. They killed all of them, brutally. And they then burned the entire city down. Anyone who was still alive escaped, but most died in the fires of the city. They even removed the debris.
-End of Flashback -
"It was a blood fest. I've never seen so much killing in my life, and I've served in five wars." Perceval said.
Filo's feathers had sunken, "I see…"
Silence betwixt the two.
"…I remembered you burned down my home." Filo muttered. Perceval still said nothing.
"Almost a quarter of the population died. Everyone else was left without a home, some were injured or scarred for life."
"…Filo…I'm sorry-"
"You killed my family."
Filo just looked down at the table, "The only family I have is my father. You killed them all," She said melancholically.
Perceval still said nothing, Filo stood up, "If you are really a rebel now. I expect you to kill each and every last Iscariot, none of us can forgive you if you don't."
Perceval returned back to his normal silent state.