'That little Prince's plan is quite amusing. Ambitious, for sure, but incredibly amusing. I suppose I cannot fault him for it. In his position I would do something vaguely similar.'
'Sadly, he has no idea who he's up against. He thinks that by crippling House Dramaour like this, he is leaving us helpless and stranded. He does not know what I already have in store for him.'
'My biggest disadvantage right now is this infantile body. I can do very little with it besides formulate plans that I cannot act upon. Even so, time is no issue. My parents seem capable enough to handle things for now. All I need do is instruct them adequately- not an issue.'
'What I find strange, though, is the reason behind the alienation of the Eastern Province. The land isn't exactly infertile. The people are mostly devoted loyalists of the Kingdom, and among those a large number of them are fanatics of the Church.'
'Why, exactly, do they value this place so little? If value is not the issue, then what? No intelligent person, especially one aiming to be King, would toss aside good land like this.'
'I must be missing something.'
Gilgamesh's Thoughts As The Prince And Princess Leave|
"It's not like we were actually even a part of it all anyway. There was obviously no way anyone here would be selected as Pharaoh by the Church," Angelica said as she recalled Prince Heka's words.
"Even so, I doubt that once things heat up in the Capital they'll just act as if we no longer exist. I fear that we won't be safe here much longer."
They shared their worries, and Gilgamesh listened until he couldn't take it anymore.
"In my opinion this is the best possible outcome."
They looked at him funny for just a moment, as if forgetting that he was more than just a baby.
"Why do you say that, Gil?" Angelica turned him around and placed him on her lap so he could look at them. Logan frowned, waiting to hear what he had to say. He doubted that Gilgamesh had a proper understanding of their situation, but what he heard next shattered those doubts.
"Given your standing in Eusia, you were pretty much a separate body. The attitude of past Pharaohs, and even the Church, toward the Eastern Province has only worsened with each generation. It is more than likely that there was never a Pharaoh who was native to the East, unless you count King Amasis."
"This Province and those native to it have constantly been alienated, but now they use your presence here as a scapegoat? It's a clear attempt to manipulate public opinion, and also an easy way to get loyalists to leave once that prince presents his proposal, signed and sealed."
"The natives of the East, who are desperate for a chance at elevating their status, will flock toward other Provinces even without the kingdom offering them benefits for doing so. Likewise, those that are loyal to you will remain here, leaving us all in one place. At any moment, you can be wiped out, thus there is little point in moving against you now. You already know that the East is of no value to them, so unless you give them reason to move against you, you shall be safe here."
"That prince wants the public behind him, and he's not afraid of making an enemy of the Church."
Logan and Angelica were speechless at first. Angelica swallowed and nodded, and Logan managed an 'mm' in response.
"Luckily for you both, I am here."
Gilgamesh yawned, then continued.
"I have made my promise to you, that no god, demigod, monster or mortal can ever cause any hardship to befall you. I intend to keep that promise, and what just happened is a step in the right direction. At some point I would have proposed something similar."
"But why?" Angelica asked, clearly not following.
"Think about it, Angelica. Being connected to Eusia, even in name, was doing us no favors." Logan said this, and Gilgamesh added, "It would only serve to limit your actions going forth."
Logan and Angelica perked up, interested to hear what this feeble baby before them was going to say.
"The edict will pass, and when it does this land will no longer be the Eastern Province of Eusia. That is when you will take your first steps toward House Dramaour's future. This land shall become a city-state and, in time, you will announce its independency."
Logan froze. When Angelica noticed his reaction, her brows furrowed and she leaned forward, getting closer to Gilgamesh's smug face.
"You're planning on making this... a country?"
Gilgamesh nodded. "It's still far from that, but yes. As long as you take the appropriate steps, and remain shrewd, House Dramaour will become its own country. When that time comes, and it is made public to the world, Eusia's response will no longer matter."
Logan listened closely up till this point, as if he had been considering the idea but then ran into far too many obstacles in his mind.
"That's being a bit too optimistic, don't you think? Even if we were able to take steps in that direction, Eusia would notice something of that grand a scale. We would still be at our most vulnerable, and they could easily destroy everything we worked to build."
Gilgamesh closed his eyes and shook his head, smirking. He expected Logan to say this, or something similar.
"Which is why I do not plan to make any such steps until I know one thing for sure."
Logan and Angelica had similar expressions at this point. They had subconsciously started expecting Gilgamesh to have everything figured out, and had to be reminded that he did not know all.
"Why exactly is the Eastern Province worth so little to Eusia. Is it because of the Church? Something to do with King Amasis perhaps?"
Angelica's mouth opened but no words came out. Logan nodded, indicating that he would answer, and she sat back, waiting for him to explain.
"As Northlanders, all the knowledge we have was taken from a detached perspective-- the outside looking in, essentially."
"Good. I prefer it that way."
"As do I. Less chance of any biased opinion clouding the facts, right?"
"Prcisely."
The two bickered a bit about the complexities of information, ignoring Angelica for a while.
"Ahem!" Logan eventually got back on track after noticing his wife's expression, and he continued with his explanation.
"Before Eusia was founded by the Second Hand of the Twelve, Mother Superior Seha Helal Barakat, it was a colony of the Shafra People. As I'm sure Angelica has told you, the Shafra now border the Southern Province, and are more or less contained to the land there. However, long ago, Eusia was surrounded by the Shafra in the North, South and East. The entire expanse of land to Eusia's north-east, east and south-east was dominated by the Shafra."
"Once the Church decided to intervene, powerful warlocks left the Twelve-Head, and flooded this continent. They 'liberated' Eusia from the Shafra, pushing them back until they had no choice but to flee. In their haste, the Shafra People to Eusia's north-east fled to their allies in the east. Their plan was to travel along the straight and head south from there, where they would finally unite with the rest of their people in the South."
"Why not use their increased numbers to stage an offensive?"
"It was hopeless," Angelica all but muttered under her breath. Gilgamesh turned to her, and saw the distance in her eyes. She was not there, with them, but reliving the very scenes that the records described. It was like she was there, in that horror.
"When the Twelve-Head decides on something, no power in this world can object. They must simply take what's coming to them, and cower in fear. Obedience is the only path, and even the proudest and most powerful of leaders soon realize that. Also, the south is the ancestral home of the Shafra." Logan sighed.
"While they attempted to flee along the straight, they were ambushed. They did not know that their home had already been subjugated, and the forces of the Church broke through, arriving on the other end of the straight. They were trapped, blocked off on both sides." Melancholy washed over Logan, and he took Angelica's hand in his, needing to feel her touch.
"Then, they were massacred without mercy. Not only did the Church aim to drive them back, but it also wanted to reduce their numbers. They knew that the forces they had brought to the continent would need to return to the Twelve-Head eventually, and the Shafra are terrifying warriors who would only suffer a loss under an overwhelmingly insurmountable disadvantage."
"I get it now," Gilgamesh nodded.
"The straight that they were all massacred on is the land that lies further east of here. It is now known as the Wasteland, because it was irreversibly ruined. The blight is another issue. No one really understands what it is, but theories have been made. Some say that the insane amount of vengeful spirits in the Wasteland directed their anger toward Eusia. Others say it was because King Amasis arrived, his origins unknown even to this day, that the blight came."
"A terrible sickness spread across Eusia rapidly. People would wither into barely recognizable versions of themselves, becoming emaciated, hairless and weak, then die. No cure was found, and soon the Church carried out a purge."
"If a child was sick, their entire family would join them in the fire, every generation still living- even distant relatives. Things continued like this, but nothing changed, and soon King Amasis bore the brunt of the people fears and superstitions. Him and his family were exiled to the east, the Land of the Pierce, to appease the Twelve. A new Pharaoh was appointed, and the blight faded away into memory."
Gilgamesh could piece things together from here.
"So everyone native to the Eastern Province is viewed as a descendant of King Amasis, and thus a sign of the blight and the Twelve's 'Plague' on Eusia?"
"Essentially."
Logan and Angelica sighed collectively, almost ashamed of the history this land bore. Gilgamesh was digesting what he was told as well. He had not heard of vengeful spirits cursing the living with incurable diseases, but it did not sound impossible to him. His memories stirred, making him suspect that something he had experienced in his past could prove that theory to be true.
He did not know what though.
"This is all too ridiculous for me."
His parents stared down at him in surprise. They were just in the middle of mourning a dark history, and he said it was ridiculous?
"The past is past, and it has no place in the present. The Shafra People have been oppressed, the Church and Eusia fear the blight, and I have a direct mode of entry into the Plains of the Shafra. This is all I need to know. With this understanding, I cannot see how I can fail."
They were still at a loss, but Gilgamesh did not stop there.
"Before that Prince's proposal is accepted, and this land ceases to be the 'Eastern Province,' we must begin to prepare. Gather all natives to our estate that are not loyalists, give them land, resources and funds to secretly begin a large scale farming operation. Have them go into the mainland, hire whoever they must, and bring as much as they can back here. Food is a necessity. They must move now, while the Kingdom still knows nothing of the Prince's plans."
"We start there, then move toward more complicated things. House Dramaour must monopolize all this lands natural and human resources. It must all belong to us the very instant the loyalists leave. I suggest we identify them all now, and make plans to seize them which we will enact once the timing is right."
"Wait, wait, slow down, Gil." Angelica could not even wrap her head around just what Gilgamesh was proposing. He was just rattling things off of a list of unimaginably difficult objectives. Despite his mental capacity, he was just a baby. Did he think he could change the world with a wave of his hand?
Yes. Yes he did.
"Don't worry, Angelica. I will explain everything to you both, slowly and clearly, when the time comes. After all, I still require your help to carry it all out. Remember my promise to you, and do not forget, for today I add a new requirement to it. Not only will I ensure that no entity in this world can cause you harm, but I will make House Dramaour the mightiest nation to ever exist. That is my new promise to you."
Logan and Angelica were speechless yet again. Doubt and logic battered their brains in a battle against what they were hearing and seeing right in front of them. They thought back to the short life that Gilgamesh had lived up till that point, and the words of the Twelve on the day of his Naming Ceremony.
It was difficult for them to anticipate anything he would do, but it was absolutely impossible for them to not believe that he could do what he said he would.
After all, he was Gilgamesh.