CHAPTER 1: Even A Cornered Bear Regrets
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"For many people during and after the war, it was difficult to resume their lives the way they had once been. Including the people of those countries who won the war. For the North, it was worse. Many people found themselves without jobs, homes, families, and with little-to-no food and money as well. Ctrigall was probably the worst off, being a country that lacked the resources to keep a stable economy, and jobs, while not epidemically so, were hard to come by. Naturally, this prompted many men to join the army before and during the Great War.
"On top of this, they were losing income due to cheaper natural gas prices in the South stealing their investors and clients. Being a client state to the Gardarik Empire, they also had lost a lot of their men in the war. To add insult to injury, much of Ctrigall's crop fields were hit with early frost, killing them before they could be harvested, increasing the poverty and instability of the nation.
"As the distrust in Ctrigall's government mounted, it is no surprise then that the Pro-War Faction gained momentum in Parliament, winning the minds of both government officials and soldiers as the discontent and panic grew, desperate for a change in their new circumstances. Unfortunately, many veterans in the Ctrigallian army ended up joining the Pro-War Faction either through deceit or desperation, eager for food and money to send to their struggling families. However, once the conflicts escalated, many began to realize that this wouldn't solve anything, and would only make things worse for their livelihood, and it wasn't long before soldiers deserted, either returning to their homes or surrendering themselves to any Coalition troops that were nearby. Unfortunately, there were some who either succumbed to the elements or got caught and shot for desertion. Despite threats and executions, this didn't stop rebel troops from deserting in the dozens as the conflict went on, becoming an epidemic as the situation turned more in the Coalition's favour. The end of the civil war was just a matter of when..."
— Prof. Viola Young of the National Institute of Culture and History, Socio-Political History Department; excerpt from her book, "The Cornered, Wounded Bear: The Pro-War Faction's Rise and the Ctrigallian Civil War".
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"Life is full of uncertainties; life is full of pain and trials, rainbows and sunshine. There are many choices to make... many paths to traverse or choose. For me, it was joining the rebellion against the government, just so that I could have a job and be able to send food and money to my starving children with their aunt. If I had known what the end of this road I took would lead me towards beforehand, I would've decided to either return home and ignore the conflict or join the Pro-Peace Faction. I wonder if, perhaps, I could've not only kept my leg, but my pride as well... hmm... regardless, I am fortunate enough that I got away with a dishonorable discharge, and could return to my life with my family and eventually get a job. There were many who were not so fortunate..."
— Jeromus "Jerry" Kipper, former Captain of the 101st Fusiliers Regiment; former Pro-War rebel; dishonorably discharged.
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"My last words, you ask? It's simple. I curse those Ctrigallian cowards into the very pits of hell. Pond scum, the lot of 'em! Had they been more competent, and just heeled to our authority like the obedient dogs they ought to have been, we'd have won the war and still have Ctrigall under our boot! Such yellow-livered weaklings! Bah! Little wonder they needed the Empire to hold their hand like the infants they are. And they had the audacity to secede from us? Serves them right they should suffer much and gain little for their impertinence. And those who joined us scattered off the moment they encountered trouble! Should've just used them as human shields against the Coalition b****ards, if they were going to prove so unreliable. Only use they served us! Mark my words, Ctrigall: we'll bring you back under our leash one day!"
— Last words of 2nd Lieutenant Henry Barnes of the Gardarik Insurgents (formerly of the Gardarik Imperial Army) before being executed by firing squad during the "Bonfire Trials".
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Dear Diary,
Once again, I'm put on blasted guard duty again! Even though I did a shift not two nights ago and have had very little to eat! It's been... about a fortnight since I joined the Pro-War Insurrectionists, expecting that I'd get paid in money and food that the government had failed to give us the year before — things that I knew my family was in dire need of as much as I. And, as such, I couldn't think about it for too long.
In the last letter sent from my darling Patrica, she had told me she was pregnant with our first child, after 7 years of trying on our end. That was last year, when the Great War was beginning to turn bad for us. I remember being so happy back then, at a time when good news was as precious as a hot meal and bath. I remember being excited to return home after so many years. But when I got home, I almost didn't recognize it. Sickness and starvation had been prevalent, and there was forewarning of a harsh winter ahead. I heard word that several farms lost their crops to an unusual early cold front; the frost came before the autumn harvest season, causing a large food shortage. I suppose this is our punishment for our involvement in the war — for our attempts to continue it as well.
While awaiting my discharge papers (which never came due to the sudden conflict we now find ourselves in), I was thinking about the welfare of my family after hearing the bad news when an old comrade came by on his way home to the nearby town. He was given a letter that was addressed to me, and bid me take it. You can imagine my surprise and dread when my eyes beheld the written words on the parchment: food and money was growing scarce in my hometown, and it was growing harder for daily living. Patrica, who was expecting soon, was growing weaker. I was asked to return home.
Thinking back, I probably should've just left and returned home, discharges be damned. Perhaps I could've avoided the tragic satire that was to come.
But I didn't. I was instead focused on trying to find a job that paid — if any could be found in this afflicted country — and give my earnings to my family. I had some money left, including some Southern notes I had "liberated" from some Leidenschaftlichen corpses. I had planned to send the money to my family when that man came.
The man was a recruiter from something called the "Pro-War Faction", which advocated the necessity for a continued war in order to make up for the losses our country incurred. He still wore his uniform, and he had the markings of a sergeant. The man (who went by the name "James Ward") informed me of how a lot of soldiers were dissatisfied not only with the outcome of the war, but also the lack of jobs, money, and food to earn for their families or themselves, and decided to join them in bringing about a change in the current administration.
When he noticed my hesitation and wariness, he told me that I'd earn food and money if I joined. Thinking of my beloved wife, I had asked if it was possible to get both immediately after joining, and requested sending them to my family. He said that shouldn't be a problem, and was more than willing to go to his superior on my behalf. After hearing that, I decided to shake hands with him in comaraderie.
And thus, I had signed my deal with the devil, with my very life and soul. And there was no way out for me.
At first, things went well. The recruiter was able to get his superior to agree to my terms, and I was able to send the money and food to my family thanks to a trusted comrade who was leaving for his hometown, which was in that direction.
After that, though... it wasn't long before I began to see the cracks in the mask this faction was wearing. Behind this mask was a bear with bared, hungry fangs: Gardarik Insurgents.
Hell's Teeth! And just when I thought things couldn't get worse! Now I have to deal with those Gardarik rat-spawn!
We were promised better care and treatment if we joined the Resistance against the "tyrannical government" led by the Pro-Peace Faction. All lies, of course. Once we desperate souls sided with the Pro-War Resistance, it wasn't long before we discovered that the pay and food remained the same, if not worse. Shoot, we weren't even getting paid for this new Hell we were creating in the desperate hope for a better life — and all for a more "satisfactory" result. No surprise, of course, once I discovered that this was all spearheaded by those Gardarik renegades. Once again, us Ctrigallians are being used as pawns for Gardarik schemes. The scum! No different than it was during the War we had just fought in. And now here I am, standing on my post in the Evergreen Mountains, knee-deep in snow and in four-degree weather with a biting winter wind. All for those stupid Gardarik imperialists. (And here I thought I was fighting for Ctrigall!)
If only I had known... I wouldn't have joined. I shouldn't have joined. I should've just said 'no' and skedaddled when I had the chance. Should've known better. My Pa always said: 'Fate favours those who mind their own business'. I suppose he's right. Should've listened to that advice, and now I'm stuck between a fire pit and a hungry wolf. (If only! I'm hungry enough to eat a bear raw if there was one still around this time of year — which there isn't. Lucky blubber-gut!)
What's done is done, I suppose. There's nothing else to it but soldier on, tighten my belt, and suck on a stone and hope that it delays my hunger pains. Perhaps we'll get lucky and one of our foraging bands will have raided an enemy pantry. Now won't that be something!
— Excerpt from an ex-Pro-War soldier's diary.
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Note
According to the date, this passage had been written two months before the soldier's capture. Apparently, he had decided to desert when he couldn't take it anymore and ran to the nearest unit he could find, unarmed and starving with no more fight left in him. One soldier who captured him found his diary and kept it for safekeeping. In the diary, his name was Mattias Counsel, a veteran in the Ctrigallian army who was drafted for service in 1916, before joining the Pro-War Faction.
Unfortunately, due to poor nutrition and exposure to the winter elements, he eventually died from pneumonia not long after his imprisonment. With his wife and sister dead from childbirth and illness, respectively, Mattias's belongings — including his personal journal — were sent to his only surviving relative: his older brother Tomas Counsel. I was fortunate enough to be contacted by the brother when he heard of my project and wished to show me his brother's diary. This is definitely a valuable look into the life of a soldier that had been on the other side.
It was also learned that Tomas also became the guardian of his brother's son, who had miraculously survived both the break-in and the harsh winter. They are now a happy family, with several more children. Mattias Counsel II is now of-age and is thinking of traveling to the South to learn Southern cuisine and then later opening a restaurant in his hometown, which will introduce the best foods of both worlds, North and South. (I may come by and visit should he succeed in his endeavours.)
My many thanks to Mr. Counsel for sharing his brother's memoirs with me, and may Mattias Counsel's memory and sacrifice for his country never be forgotten, regardless of the mistakes he made.
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Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I'm back, after 18 months of absence! And with a new chapter! Terribly sorry for not having updated sooner, but life has been really hectic and I also had to move twice with my family. But hopefully things will settle down now to where I can start posting regularly on this work. I've already got 3 chapters in my drafts section! I should be able to get another chapter in this month, and perhaps another one by early next month in December. I hope you guys stick around for that!
Don't worry, guys! I will be a little more active now than I have been. And I'll hopefully be able to post more chapters for this work, which I'm enjoying so much. ^w^
Also, I have several more VE fanfic projects in the works. One of which I'm currently working on after this is a one-shot for Cattleya/Hodgins (aka "Hottleya"). Hope you stick around for that.
Please enjoy this chapter and let me know in the comments what you think. Hope you have a lovely November.
Thanks again!
— Noctus Fury