August 12th, 1800
...
Imagine two carriages.
Each running in the opposite direction, one towards the other.
The impact is inevitable, it seems almost impossible to escape the pull of a first encounter with death.
A frontal kiss takes away the lives of both drivers, who didn't make a sound as soon as they collided, but someone in the crowd unleashed a scream from the depths of their soul, a sound so horrible and inhuman I can't put into words.
It wasn't me, though. I stood quiet as people gathered near the accident. What an awful sight! I didn't know anyone involved in it, but there was an awful lot of blood pouring out of the wooden remnants of the two carriages. It's been a week and I haven't heard any news from the passengers, I'm not sure if they're alive or not and, you know, there is something wrong about seeing Chocobos bleeding out, it's the kind of thing a child refuses to imagine at any cost, but since I'm no longer a child, I guess seeing such wonderful creatures of nature suffer is part of my routine.
Just another day in the life of a Lindblum citizen, I guess. I hate suffering, from people and animals. I think animals suffer a lot more because, well, it's so unfair what we do with them. We force them to do hard work, we injure them, we hurt them as much as we hurt this kingdom, and you know, they kill a lot of animals, or beasts, because a beast from the outside world sure is different from your beloved pets.
As much as I know plenty of people who agree with me, to cancel the Festival of Hunt won't do anything to end this violence. Others will complain that they need to be entertained and that our bravest soldiers need to test their skills by bringing this carnage disguised as competition to our kingdom, and after all of this is done, we still feel empty inside.
To be fair, our world is like this. So empty, so dull, even civilization is scarce, and now that the majority of Burmecians perished in the conflict, it seems even emptier than before. I can't wait until I move on to live in Gunitas Basin. That area used to be important for the ice trade within the continent, but since the Mist's disappearance, the Ice Cavern began to melt and now most of the ice is harvested from the northernmost continent.
I don't have enough gil to pay for an intercontinental trip, much less to a place with a cold climate. Still, the Evil Forest nearby contains some rare plant specimens that are used to make ailments and a lot of money is invested by the upper class in hiring people specialized in finding these hard-to-reach plants. I wonder if I can do that equipped with my leather boots and a single machete. It seems hopeless, but at least I'm not holding a sharp carrot for a blade.