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Preparation of the Envoys(1)
The first Holy War, generally referred to as the War of The Holy Saints, took place a thousand years ago. It was a glorious and sacred war in which the four Holy Saints led the Black Dwarfs to end the tyrannical ruling of the Darkness Dragon.
The second Holy War began at the end of the Year of Mayhem, waged by the Farnezain, the Kirrlutzian, and the Wind Elves to open up the vast wilderness and the Black Forest between the three kingdoms. It was a time that belonged to the pioneering knights. The sorrowful time lasted until after the founding of Aouine, after which the three empires took shape, leaving only the narrow Black Forest as a buffer between the kingdoms. This war was equally dramatic, lasting nearly two centuries, and the name of the Holy War was established as a result.
The third Holy War began in the Year of Glory and lasted nearly half a century–a war that proved to be neither glamorous nor honorable. The battle in the last seven years became the only piece of memory of the people in which immense bloodshed had occurred. What led to the beginning of the war was the Magicite technology brought upon by the rising Haizaiers. The introduction of the new technology led to the most prosperous era of the nations, but the dangers of the expanding population also became apparent. As the population began to pour across the borders, the kingdoms had to shift their attention to the remaining unexplored lands.
From the Year of Glory, the three kingdoms, in compliance with the Covenant of the G.o.ds, advanced together to the borders of the Wilderness of Four Realms and began the war from south of Alkash Mountains. However, it eventually turned into a terrible mistake.
Throughout the war, because of conflicts over the division of the lands, conflicts between the mistrust of the royal houses and the doctrines of the churches, as well as the sabotage and demagoguery of the followers of the All For One, the local legions of Vollez, Kirrlutz suddenly attacked the flanks of their ally, Wind Elves, in the year 320 of the First Era. It was a battle that was ostensibly in retaliation for an earlier conflict, but the role played by All For One was evident.
The human legions on the Wind Elves’ side then retaliated in kind, completely inflaming the conflict. Humans and Wind Elves fought each other on a narrow battlefield while All For One infiltrated the orderly society of n.o.bles, invoking disputes that ultimately led to battles. By the time most of them came to their senses, the outcome was already irreversible.
However, this was, in fact, a reflection of the human heart in a way, as the scholar of Runeburg, Ron Samirian, wrote in his book: “People too often blame some evil force for their sins, instead of reflecting on their own faults, when in fact history has long proved that this force has only served as a sort of catalyst in the course of the war and has merely exposed the ugly side of human nature.” This statement described the scene of the war at that time.
After six months, the Farnezain joined the war, followed by Lion Beastmen and duchies and kingdoms, large and small. The war dragged all the partic.i.p.ants into an endless battle that began out of hatred, greed, or whatever it was. Just like that, they fought each other to the point of exhaustion.
The Kirrlutzian came out of the war occupying the entire Wilderness of Four Realms plus a small portion of the Four Leaf Clover Plains, including a large swath of land that originally belonged to the Wind Elves. The Farnezain were the biggest winners, taking advantage of both sides. The Lion Beastmen fulfilled their need to resolve their hatred while many duchies were enslaved in the war because of the n.o.bles’ greed or the need for the course of the war. On the surface, it appeared that the second Holy War had ended around the Year of the Cave Beast, but in truth, the seeds of a deeper hatred had been planted long ago. The last trust between empires was lost, and friction in the borders was growing. Almost everyone understood that the three beasts had merely lost their strength and needed a brief respite. Each of them was eager to jump up and bite the other immediately.
The Kirrlutzian needed to make some sort of payback for the blood of the n.o.bles shed in the war of the last seven years. While they gained from the war, it was more of suffering. The entire n.o.ble cla.s.s became fiery, driving them to extricate themselves from that dishonorable war and impose punishment on the Farnezain and Wind Elves. This social conduct led the Kirrlutzian to increase their exploitation of the smaller nations and gave a wider area for the infiltration of All For One. However, the same hatred was engrained in their bones for the Wind Elves, both toward the Farnezain and for the Kirrlutzian. After all, they had lost their territories in the war and naturally wanted it back. Farnezain, the only ones hoping to retain the gains of the previous war, gradually began to grow impatient because of the constant provocations of the Kirrlutzian and Wind Elves.
The fourth Holy War, or widely known as the third as the world, was increasingly reluctant to a.s.sociate the third Holy War with the War of The Holy Saints, especially the scholars. Many did not regard the War of The Holy Saints as the same kind of war for territorial expansion but rather weed it out of history alone and put it aside. That was so that the misery from the second Holy War, destined to erupt in the third, were something that all nations had antic.i.p.ated, but it really began earlier than anyone had expected.
In late July, an explosion happened in Deadly Tundra Forest.
On the same day, the regions of Toquenin, Vollez, and Ogins were bombarded with the tier fourteen spell–Divine Judgment, killing and injuring countless people and reducing three cities to almost ashes.
Within the next two months, the Lion Beastmen began to a.s.semble a large army and began attacking from Grey Mountain Ranges, Janirasu, crossing St. White Plains and finally advancing toward Kirrlutz. At the beginning of the Month of Frost, they left the warm, great plains and reached the Lion Fortress. The news of the imminent war spread throughout the Kirrlutz within half a month. In the same month, the avengers of the Wind Elves set out from the ruins of Ogins and ambushed Crimson Legion of Kirrlutz on Four Leaf Clover Plains. Soon, the Wind Elves recovered several towns and forts on the plains and held their own with the Kirrlutzian on the Wilderness of Four Realms borders.
As for the Farnezain, though still seemingly inactive, their armies had long since begun to a.s.semble from White City and Greyhus.
When the decree from Constance and Valar—summoning the envoys and n.o.bles of the nations under the rule of the Holy Cathedral of Fire to Lusitar, arrived, Brendel understood the second chapter in the game–the era of war and chaos–had come early.
Gryphine chose the group of envoys in the shortest possible time.
Naturally, the head of the envoy was Brendel. Although there was much opposition in the Royal Faction, Gryphine suppressed all the dissent with a flourish. She understood well the true purpose of Brendel’s trip and supported him in going for it. Most of the opponents of the Royal Faction saw it as an act of indulging in childishness and impulsiveness, but she did not think so. Brendel’s words, “this is the pride and integrity of a nation,” finally struck her. The kingdom did need to have some pride of its own, and Gryphine understood that such a banner would get her some real supporters, not just cowardly and fearful n.o.bles.
They had parted ways with her back in Ampere Seale, and she had not cared about that the slightest bit.
If the n.o.bles of a kingdom did not stand with her, then she must at least stand with its citizens. Brendel’s words seemed to have lighted up a beacon of light for her in the midst of darkness.
As for the envoys from the royal family, Gryphine still stubbornly chose Haruz – which made Brendel feel a bit flattered. After all, he was well aware of the rules among the n.o.bles of Vaunte and thus knew the reason she made such a choice. That was because Haruz was the future crown prince of Aouine, and the Kirrlutzian could not possibly hold him within their kingdom for whatever purpose. Otherwise, Constance would not only offend all her va.s.sals but would also leave an extremely bad reputation among the Kirrlutz’s royalty.
However, making such a decision came with risks. Haruz’s expedition itself was fraught with danger, and Lenarette, who was still living in seclusion in Trentheim, was a ready example of that. Nonetheless, Gryphine was determined, willing to let her beloved brother take the risk and protect Brendel, the head of the envoys because she understood very well what Brendel meant to Aouine at this moment. If he died in Kirrlutz, her and Haruze’s futures were equally bleak. She knew exactly what she was about to do, and in her opinion, it was time for Haruz, as the future king of Aouine, to take responsibility for the future of this kingdom.
These were her exact words to her only brother. “Haruz, your experience on this mission with your teacher will likely be the most valuable treasure of your life. This may be the last time I tell you this–you must be strong alone, for you are King of Aouine.”