CHAPTER FIVE
THE PEACE WARS
It was between these conversations with Odin, that she learned more of what has been going on Earth while she'd been living on the Moon. Apparently, although peace had reigned for hundreds of years, about ten years ago, a great battle called the Peace Wars took place that claimed the lives of many soldiers and families.
Odin explained that the Triode Kingdom for a long time sought a peaceful means to guide the world and for a long time, they successfully had. However, a few less wealthy states and countries became dissatisfied with the ways of the Triodes. They claimed the Triodes frequently ignored their cries for help when they needed it, especially when they saw with their own eyes how their own people's needs was never met. Furthermore, the citizens felt oppressed at times by the knights of the Triodes during their many "inspections", but always felt it better to do nothing and let them be to avoid further conflict.
But the villagers and small town citizens finally had enough one day and decided they wanted to rule themselves and not be governed by a higher power any longer. The Triodes, however, pleaded that they weren't there to rule, but to guide them and that only together through unity can all live in peace. But the small country claimed independence regardless of the Kings diplomatic efforts to avoid bloodshed. Not to long afterwards, a few neighboring ones did as well, and thus, for the next several years the Peace Wars would require men to once again to loose their life in order to maintain the peace that had reigned for so long.
Winter looked away for a moment at Wing as he tugged at a piece of hay. She felt it hard to breathe all of a sudden and something heavy tugged at her heart. I had no idea these things went on down here. I wonder if the Queen knew. She looked up at the vaulted roof where a skylight had been opened for the night. She looked at the bright moon through it thoughtfully. Did you know about this, Queen Serenity? What happened? Why did this happen on Earth? If the moon citizens work together with the Queen to protect the earth from darkness, how could this have happened? But Odin sensed her confusion and sudden frustration and sat up on his elbow. She looked down at him trying to read her. "I'm alright, please continue."
"Hn.." is all he said as he leaned back down on the haystack his hands behind his head.
After the battles had ceased and blood had been shed, all the kingdoms began the painful process of dealing with the aftermath war left behind. That is when she learned of the other knights and warriors of other nations let go after the Peace Wars.
Odin explained that many of these former knights and warriors of other nations found a new way of life through other means and was more than glad to throw down their weapons for it. Some found it through agriculture, some became travelling merchants, and others settled down and became farmers. Still, a few of the elder ones, who retired, became advisors to the royal courts of kingdoms around the world. They often taught their young ones about the lessons their early years of bloodshed had taught them.
However, with their kingdoms destroyed, a few of these lost warriors who were abandoned were young men with no families, no homes, and no pasts to return to. They were lone travelers who sought other means of living that contradicted the Triode Kingdom's beliefs of peace. They were a notorious threat and often would steal and kill to maintain their secrecy. The lower class citizens were their frequent targets but occasionally they'd treat themselves to a higher-class dish, mostly as a means of competition between each other.
Some would take several houses in one night and work in teams. Several of them went as far as taking down a whole carriage and the horsemen carrying a couple of daughters of an overlord, raping and mutilating them, then stole their valuables and feasted afterwards. Kidnapping-ransoms were not uncommon either except most of the time after the ransom had been claimed, the victim was often found killed, again, to maintain the secrecy of the identity of the perpetrators. The outcast warriors would do anything to maintain their survival and lifestyle.
They are the ones who posed the most serious threat to total peace by continuing to lead their violent ways to sustain their livelihood simply because they just didn't know any other way to or chose not to.
But they were few in numbers who led an inconspicuous life, easily undetected. Because many were still in their teens, they blended in easily and unnoticed with the lower class street rats. But citizens quickly shunned those that were revealed and many were often sought out and stoned or beaten to death. The King and Prince saw no real threat from these warriors since their numbers were small and spread throughout the world and the citizens seemed to prefer dealing with those rebels themselves. Isolated fires is all the Triodes saw them as. Taking any militaristic action would contradict their beliefs of pacifism.
But to these lone warriors, they called it "False peace" because they believed they were a living example of it. They knew their way of life was unorthodox. Nonetheless, they felt compelled to live that life because they were being cast aside and forced not only to live in a world that didn't want them but being forced to live a life they didn't know how to live. It was their way of protesting this "false peace" and letting know the higher powers they were still alive.
"You mean how to live a life outside the battlefield?"
She asked one night when they were having a discussion.
"How to define their life without it." He completed her thought.
"This is very interesting. Tell me more Odin." She begged. She was really getting into these stories Odin would tell her. She almost began forgetting about her feelings for the prince himself if it wasn't for her duty to deliver those letters to him.
"As you wish." He replied indifferently.
Odin made the astonishing connection that it wasn't a mere coincidence that after the Peace Wars, the couple small countries that originally fought against the Triodes were still left standing afterwards and it was those same ones who destroyed the homes of these lone warriors early on. Orphaned since they were toddlers, many of these tyrant killers were collected and stolen away and trained into service for the war. After the Peace Wars however, these very same countries and states would later abandon them.
The Triode Kingdom, had successfully won and still maintained its supremacy as the leaders of their world. They made a peace decree to the couple small countries to throw down their weapons and join the rest of the world in a move towards peace. The two small countries left, mournfully obliged after seeing with their own eyes how for one moment in time, their hands tarnished the world's once unblemished history. All the other representatives and diplomats of the other nations who had stayed out of the bloodshed, equally obliged with the Triodes and a world council was quickly established so each nation could address their issues equally.
"Odin? If this war took place ten years ago, and if these warriors were stolen and trained for service as children, then they would still have to have been kids after the wars ended, right?" Winter looked at him with confusion.
"Children are rarely suspected and easily dismissed. These kingdoms sought out the most agile and well-developed boys and they went through training day and night. Most were used to steal supplies or sabotage the offensive sides. But some of these children were trained to infiltrate kingdoms as servants and assassinate the opposing leaders. " Odin explained as he played with a piece of hay in his mouth.
"Odin, can I ask you a question?" Winter had looked off to the side away from his eyes hoping he wouldn't read too much into her question.
"No, you may not." He replied coldly.
"Of course." She couldn't explain it, but the more she spent time with Odin, the more she felt like a little girl fumbling over herself. She hated herself for feeling so weak, especially around men. Men like Odin.
Odin explained that many of these lone warriors resented the Triode kingdom's move later because everyone else followed their example. To cover the mistakes of the past, the homelands ended up betraying the very same warriors they had forced onto the battlefield in the first place. Someone had to be blamed and punished, therefore, the kingdoms years later, sought out these young killers for the village massacres instead and executed them or shunned them from all of society justifying it as their way of cleaning up the pollutants.
Through their travels, some of these warriors also witnessed the harshness and force some of these smaller kingdoms, which were claiming to be pacifist, continued to rid their nations of troublemakers. Some went as far as forcing mandatory searches of certain homes on a regular basis, suspecting citizens of aiding them and questioning them about it with force, or some of these knights simply used their position get whatever they wanted.
These lone warriors didn't believe that this Kingdom was powerful enough to control the actions of every man on earth such as some of those other kingdoms. They were seeing history being repeated all over again in their very eyes upon other helpless towns and cities.
Although she wouldn't ask him, Winter pondered whether Odin, in fact, was one of these lone warriors, or whether he was just a mere knight passing on stories passed on to him from the other knights.
But Odin confessed he didn't like the fact either that the King's knights were not unified in their mind and hearts with their own King. Odin said to Winter once, that that was their weakness and if the other knights did not unify their thoughts with the King, the entire Kingdom will be doomed to fall at the mercy of its own men. That is why his kingdom ended up getting sacrificed, Odin confessed. Because the people of his kingdom did not all support the cause they were fighting for.
"I'm sorry, Odin. That is so sad. Oh, forgive me, please continue." She looked away from his eyes and focused upon a small lantern hanging far up a wooden column. The flame flickered wildly against a sudden draft, and then, it extinguished.
