Chapter 2: A Thankful King
Mortal beings have only a limited view of the world. Yet, even they can sense its ever changing nature, even if that change is quite slow. Caineghis has lived through many seasons and has seen countless moon rises. He watched the birth of generations in peace and their deaths in war. Be they Beorc or Laguz, all sentient beings understand both the beautiful and terrible force of time and fate. During his reign, there have been several wars. About thirty years ago, Crimea and Daein were forced to ally to prevent Begnion from fulfilling its greedy desire for land and power. With the help of Gallia, Phoenicis and, eventually, Kilvas, the war came to an end. But even more recently, there was a terrible war last year in which the nation of Daein was destroyed by the combined might of the Begnion Empire and the damaged Kingdom of Crimea. Gallia had joined the fray in that fight, and as he thought of his recent actions, Caineghis felt quite guilty that heroes such as Jill, Haar, Sothe, and Tauroneo were forced to see their beloved homeland come to ruin. (1.)
Yet it was through the efforts of brave laguz like Muarim and Ranulf that had ensured that Gallia would not be next in Daein's 'menu' of nations to consume. Caineghis personally believed that he was indebted to the former slave; the laguz who for years had been forced to call himself a sub-human, and be subject to the whims of a cruel beorc 'master.' Caineghis personally could not imagine himself being in such a situation, but his grandfather had lived as a slave for some time before he became the first Laguz king.
Of course, General Ike and the other Mercenaries were deserved equal thanks for their efforts, and Caineghis intended to thank Ike in person, but, deep down, he still felt that Muarim deserved the most glorious of welcomes, because, in a way, the green tiger had finally come home.
So when Ike and Muarim entered the doors of his beloved Capital, Caineghis found it essential to welcome the two heroes to the city. He personally stepped out of his palace, shocking many of the commoner laguz, for they rarely saw their King outside of his home. Standing before the small band of veterans, Caineghis smiled and spoke:
"It is an honor to be seeing you in person, Ike of Crimea and Muarim of Gallia." Caineghis had put emphasis on the last word, and Muarim seemed a little stunned. The King of Gallia continued: "Your actions during the last great war have inspired all of us warriors here in Gallia. For too long, we believed that, by staying our ground, we'd be able to repel any threat from our border, but you've reminded us that a good offense is a good defense. By rallying our troops with your courageous march from Begnion to Daein to Crimea, you were able to show the glory that persistence brings. Even without our timely attack on occupied Crimea, your amazing army would probably still have won the war.
"Now, peace has finally come. Our allies in Daein have rallied their countrymen to rebuild their nation and end their wrongful ways, and war seems to be far into the horizon. Thus, it is time for relaxation and for us to celebrate the joy of living. I welcome you to this capital, and both of you can experience the beauty of our homeland... After all, General Ike, you were born here. And, well, Lord Muarim, you have been exiled for many years under the cruel shackle of slavery. Welcome home, great heroes, and may you never face the pain of war again!"
With those words, a cheer erupted among the commoners who listened to the speech, and Ike and Muarim, along with their companions, were ushered along the streets of the city. Merchants of all sorts would grab onto them and drag them to their shops, offering their goods at half price, for a hero deserves some reward for his or her valor. The ruckus continued as Muarim and Ike were pushed along by the crowd, and Mist sighed and exchanged an exasperated glance with Ilyana and Soren: "Did they forget that we fought with those two?"
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Hidden in the shadows of the forests outside of the city, a small band of laguz glared at the party nearby. One of them snarled angrily: "Have our brethren forgotten about the crimes those Humans committed on us?! That Muarim has no backbone if he chose to fight alongside humans, and Lethe's grown soft and weak. Laguz are meant to be stronger than humans, and they are our prey! We are not equals by any means! Our king has grown soft, our people have grown soft, but, brothers and sisters, we shall not fall for those traps. We must make some sort of plan to show our brethren the might of us laguz, and we must stop this celebration at all costs! Come, brothers, let us plan our next moves!"
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1. Some of you have expressed concern over my obsession with Tauroneo. Tauroneo is one of my absolute favorite characters, but ever since I wrote Silent Warriors, I have felt that I owed Muarim an equal tribute. Tauroneo was given his tribute via Whims of Fate. Now, this is Muarim's time to shine.