Chapter 11
The Ascret Republic is a land of small hills, plains, and valleys. Having most of its territory being available for agriculture and possessing some of the most fertile land in the known world, the Ascretian people feared little in the way of starvation, and compared to most of the rest of the world, lived a rather charmed life. Bordered by dangerous and inhospitable mountain ranges and forests to the south and west, an ever frozen wasteland in the north, and the sea to its east, the Ascret Republic had few foes that it could not repulse, let alone fear.
Thanks to the nation's immense size and population, it maintained one of the largest and well equipped military forces on the continent. With the resources to employ and cultivate many powerful and talented 'Blessed' into their ranks, and allowing them proper training to harness their abilities, the only 'sword' capable and sharp enough to pierce their 'armor' was the Misiril Theocracy. Speaking of which, the two powers were currently at complete odds due to different ideological beliefs in the treatment of those who were 'blessed' and those who were 'cursed'.
This one aspect truly attracted me to this nation. Their policy towards those who were 'Cursed', was purely unique and was the key to their falling out with the Misiril Theocracy. This policy was to allow for the equal treatment of all citizens….even 'cursed' ones. Such thinking and actions was considered extremely radical, and in retrospect, had the nation not been as prosperous as it was, such freedom and forward thinking ideals would never have even been considered. Let alone passed as law.
This is where the Ascret Republic and the Misiril Theocracy differed in extremity, and it was this emphasis on equality under the law that caused such international turmoil. The Misiril Theocracy employed a feudal caste system with a very strict hierarchy, which naturally was a complete autocratic authoritarian state. The 'Blessed' were treated as demigods, and the 'Cursed' were destined to be urged at all costs. Equal treatment and democracy were deemed "irrational, ineffective theories crafted by illiterate, plebeian despots" by those at the pinnacle of the Misiril Theocratic society.
Granted, some discrimination against the 'Cursed' is unavoidable no matter the country. Some 'cursed' can be truly hazardous to society, and as with every group some 'cursed' are scum of the earth, while the rest could be considered 'average, normal' people. However, the actions of those scumbags, certainly resounded louder than the normal scum due to the 'cursed' extraordinary abilities.
Policy though, wouldn't make me want to emigrate into a nation and start a new life, even if it was truly necessary. This is because of monicker, "The NIghtmare", humbly given to myself by the endless waves of bounty hunters and Misiril state-sponsored subjugation missions. I don't wish to get to far into numbers, but if the reports I picked up from downed Airships and fallen mid-level authorities of the Theocracy were to be believed, I am personally responsible for a lot of the damages done to the Theocracy and its allies in recent times.
The estimated cost of my actions in cruel, unfeeling monetary form was an estimated one hundred trillion Gold Units, a sum only the most devastating of natural disasters can conjure up. Personally wrecking uncountable amounts of mayhem and wanton destruction I was a wanted man in most of the world. A considerable bounty was put on my head even in the Ascret Republic, a place I had never been.
"I guess I should be proud of myself, eh Vanessa?" Looking at my traveling companion across the dancing flames of the campfire, a playful smile flashed across her face as I explained the purpose of my travels.
"Boss, you are a real inspiration, you know that right. Yep, to every dastardly bastard rogue out there, myself included, I think you take the cake as the most terrifying bad ass amongst us!"
"Haaaa, anyway, back to the story. The Ascret Republic set up a program about a year ago, as tension and pressure were building up, to bolster their military beyond anything the world has seen before. Officially named, "Project Rebirth", all 'cursed' and 'blessed' who have been convicted of a crime can have their entire criminal record purged from all records and have the bounty on their head removed by joining the Ascret Armed Forces voluntarily. So long as these former criminals obeyed all major rules and regulations, after serving for a decade they could start over with a new life in the Republic."
"So you're joining the Ascret Armed Forces, Boss? It seems like a waste of a scoundrel, but if you join, I will join up to." Looking at the determined face of the cute Vanessa, I felt a pang of guilt for dragging her along with me.
"Hey, hey. Don't be mistaken, I am only doing this for the fame and the sentence clearing. Please don't follow me into this mess without proper foresight and thought."
"Where boss goes, I go! End of story! I am that leech that you can't rid yourself of no matter how hard you pull. Mwahahaha!"
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Little did the two of us know of the hellish maelstrom that was about to unfold between the factions of the Ascret Republic and the Misistil Theocracy and its allies. The bombing of the nameless border fortress was the spark that ignited the powder keg that had only been getting larger and larger over the last three decades. Hopefully it would be never be known that I, Callahan Nyx, was the flint that struck the rock to create the spark of war.
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Trekking through vast plains and endless rolling hills, it took me and Vanessa a little more than a month and a half to reach the capital of the Ascret Republic, Angalion. With any luck, this will be the place I can leave my old life behind, and possibly, just maybe, start a new one.