ah. well. he smiles a little bit at that, leaning against the door, all graceful. ]
Yes, you could say that. [ a little huff. ] The Vlderians have been oppressed by damned Irians for as long as any of us can remember - enslaved by Prince Dantalion, King Faris, and the lot of them. It's what I've been writing about. Why?
History comes in waves. Prince Dantalion promised our freedom and then stole it, but he's dead now, and whoever takes charge after - might be someone better. Most likely won't be. The Papal States keep committing atrocities under Bishop Caris, no matter what kind of front she puts on as kind - whether they're royal or not, everyone just need to mind their business. All we ever wanted to do was to be left alone.
[ there's a pause, and then a rueful smile. ] I'm sorry that you've had to experience anything similar, my friend. It's a terrible thing.
Well, he weren't noble by birth, he was adopted into it and rose the ranks in the army through his own power alone.
His world's one where your birth don't matter. It's not about your tribe, but what you're capable of as a person. He already took out the spineless bastard who was on the throne before this, and he's gonna tear down the church and all the other powers that reinforce the current hierarchy that oppresses tribes like us.
He's the one man with both the strength and conviction to make it happen.
his eyebrows raise slowly as fidelio tells this, but - taair is still taair, after all, and there's a light of historian curiosity on his face as he listens. ]
A visionary... [ ... ] Though... I'd be cautious. I know that you're loyal, but... King Faris was exactly the same. He swore to end our oppression alongside Iria's, and we believed him. A general come king.
[ ...he vaguely feels like he might have made this same comparison in his own head when he heard the story before. like being similar to louis was something to worry about that had made him slightly uneasy about an otherwise hopeful ending.
but— of course he wouldn't think that. louis never lies. he's the one person outside of his family that he's sure he can trust. ]
...Yeah, well, Lord Louis ain't your king. He means what he says, and he's not gonna bend to anyone else's ideas or let power corrupt him. Wouldn't have bothered savin' us and doin' all he did if he didn't truly believe people like us could amount to somethin'.
[ but, that distinction aside - he just regards him for a moment, quiet, thoughtful. there's a twist in his stomach that feels like familiarity. history always comes in waves, in cycles. it rises and falls. ]
...I hope I am wrong. I would like it, if I was - a nation built on equality sounds wonderful. [ and that's genuine - the smile on taair's face is as genuine as it always is. ] He saved your lives?
I mean, he didn't pull us out the way of a runaway carriage or nothin' like that, but.
[ ... ]
Paripus kids in the army, we're just fodder. Probably would've died bein' meat shields for some fatcat officer who never bothered to learn our names. But Lord Louis took us with him, and he treated us with respect. Made sure we had what we needed, helped us learn our letters and everything. Didn't let nobody look down on us.
[ louis did things for them that no one else would have. they still owe him more than they can ever hope to repay, and he feels guilty even entertaining the idea of abandoning his trust in him. ]
Only reason we made it far as we did was 'cause of him.
[ the worst thing is this isn't even an unfamiliar story. even if taair wasn't afflicted by this strange alternative universe timeline, he'd still think it. the vlderians, the paripus - they've been through such awful suffering, the kind of things taair records in his histories that make his heart break.
what makes it the worst is that it sounds like this person, this louis, earned their trust for basic dignity. he swallows, hard. ]
...It sounds like a trust earned. [ but the similarities are still there. faris had vlderians fighting for his cause, after all. prince dantalion took allies in luccia and vlder - even the chieftainess, fearsome and proud, agreed to help him, and what did they get out of it? corpses on a battlefield. ]
[ it was earned is the thing, and even if he knew everything he usually knows right now, fidelio still wouldn't be able to say otherwise, as much as he'd like to. he'd never really let on to bas how bad they'd actually had it, and so he'd never understood the full extent of just how much louis had done for them and how rare that was. ]
What? No, she's a priestess on this island way out in the ocean. Only just met her.
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[ he reaches up after a moment and touches his own ears. fluffy. ]
Have we not spoken of this before...? I was raised in the Vlder tribes.
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[ he DOES remember being a kid yesterday, but he does not see how... changing tribes... is a timeline matter..... ]
...That your world's version of the paripus, then? People treat them like shite too?
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ah. well. he smiles a little bit at that, leaning against the door, all graceful. ]
Yes, you could say that. [ a little huff. ] The Vlderians have been oppressed by damned Irians for as long as any of us can remember - enslaved by Prince Dantalion, King Faris, and the lot of them. It's what I've been writing about. Why?
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tch. figures. only person he can trust not to let power corrupt them is lord louis. ]
Didn't know we had that much in common is all.
Anyway, good to know royals are fuckin' scum in every world. That part's no surprise.
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History comes in waves. Prince Dantalion promised our freedom and then stole it, but he's dead now, and whoever takes charge after - might be someone better. Most likely won't be. The Papal States keep committing atrocities under Bishop Caris, no matter what kind of front she puts on as kind - whether they're royal or not, everyone just need to mind their business. All we ever wanted to do was to be left alone.
[ there's a pause, and then a rueful smile. ] I'm sorry that you've had to experience anything similar, my friend. It's a terrible thing.
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Lord Louis is finally gonna put an end to all that in our world, at least. A better place for people like us, even if I'm not there to see it.
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Lord Louis? You've not spoken of him before.
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[ just like fidelio before - the reminder gentle. ]
Lord...? You're trusting nobility?
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His world's one where your birth don't matter. It's not about your tribe, but what you're capable of as a person. He already took out the spineless bastard who was on the throne before this, and he's gonna tear down the church and all the other powers that reinforce the current hierarchy that oppresses tribes like us.
He's the one man with both the strength and conviction to make it happen.
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his eyebrows raise slowly as fidelio tells this, but - taair is still taair, after all, and there's a light of historian curiosity on his face as he listens. ]
A visionary... [ ... ] Though... I'd be cautious. I know that you're loyal, but... King Faris was exactly the same. He swore to end our oppression alongside Iria's, and we believed him. A general come king.
It took ten years, but it still happened.
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but— of course he wouldn't think that. louis never lies. he's the one person outside of his family that he's sure he can trust. ]
...Yeah, well, Lord Louis ain't your king. He means what he says, and he's not gonna bend to anyone else's ideas or let power corrupt him. Wouldn't have bothered savin' us and doin' all he did if he didn't truly believe people like us could amount to somethin'.
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[ but, that distinction aside - he just regards him for a moment, quiet, thoughtful. there's a twist in his stomach that feels like familiarity. history always comes in waves, in cycles. it rises and falls. ]
...I hope I am wrong. I would like it, if I was - a nation built on equality sounds wonderful. [ and that's genuine - the smile on taair's face is as genuine as it always is. ] He saved your lives?
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[ ... ]
Paripus kids in the army, we're just fodder. Probably would've died bein' meat shields for some fatcat officer who never bothered to learn our names. But Lord Louis took us with him, and he treated us with respect. Made sure we had what we needed, helped us learn our letters and everything. Didn't let nobody look down on us.
[ louis did things for them that no one else would have. they still owe him more than they can ever hope to repay, and he feels guilty even entertaining the idea of abandoning his trust in him. ]
Only reason we made it far as we did was 'cause of him.
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what makes it the worst is that it sounds like this person, this louis, earned their trust for basic dignity. he swallows, hard. ]
...It sounds like a trust earned. [ but the similarities are still there. faris had vlderians fighting for his cause, after all. prince dantalion took allies in luccia and vlder - even the chieftainess, fearsome and proud, agreed to help him, and what did they get out of it? corpses on a battlefield. ]
Does Miss Eupha work for him as well?
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What? No, she's a priestess on this island way out in the ocean. Only just met her.