An entirely unknown room expanded before Pansy, a room filled with shelves, shelves filled with books, a library might come to mind, but it was no such place. There were no chairs or tables where one might sit to read, nor was there a reception desk or a librarian. It was simply a room filled with books.
Just because it had books, that did not necessarily imply that the books were meant to be read, in fact the room looked unused, Pansy wondered why it looked that way, there was no specific detail that she could point towards if asked why she believed that, and yet she could not shake the feeling.
She wandered aimlessly into the room, observing the shelves and the books contained within, rather than books, they felt more like notebooks, or… diaries?
One book in particular caught her eye, it was on a shelf which sat by a window at the end of the room, the gentle sunlight streamed in, lighting up the entire shelf, however it's intensity peaked when illuminating that book, as if highlighting it.
She stopped to look at it, on it's cover was the name, 'Iris Arcadia', she plucked it from the shelf, and opened it up, the writing inside felt unintelligible, black scribbles filling up pages, but as she looked on, they changed shape, twisting and turning into script she could understand, and thus began the tale long forgotten…
--- --- ---
"Watch out dear", a middle aged woman called out to her daughter.
Pansy jumped around like the little kid she was, too happy to contain her excitement, "We're going to the church! We're going to the church!"
As they walked down the road, Pansy would peer over every corner trying to see if the famed church spires came into view, the woman giggled at her antics, "You love the church, don't you Pansy?"
In response Pansy nodded her head with all the strength she could muster, "I looove the church! I wonder what sermons father would give today!"
"Quite admirable that you are so dedicated to the church at this age."
Pansy hummed along happily.
The woman squatted down to her level, "Remember Pansy, you must become a priestess, the Arcadia's always pay their debts, that makes us who we are."
Pansy tilted her head to the side, young that she was, she hardly understood the ideals of her family, "Mom, you are so weeeird, of course I will become a priestess in the future, I will become the best one there is."
"I'm glad that you are such an understanding daughter, Pansy."
This happy mother-daughter scene continued until they finally arrived at the church, Ernst stood at the entrance, a gentle warmth in his eyes, as he looked at Pansy.
Pansy pushed the gates open and ran towards him, in tiny steps, "Faaather!"
She ran straight into Ernst, who scooped her up into his big arms, "There there, if you run like that you will hurt yourself. You will be a good girl and listen to your elders, right Pansy?"
"Booo, father, you sound like mom."
"Hahaha, is that so? Hear that Iris? Your daughter is as spirited as ever."
Pansy's mother walked into the church grounds, shaking her head in exasperation, "Honestly, I can't keep up with her, Father."
Ernst gave a wry smile, "I think her enthusiasm has it's own merits. She's only a child, and yet her devotion to the Goddess is unmatched."
"That's true, and I hope it remains so."
Ernst's tone of voice suddenly turned somber, "I have already told you that God does not expect compensation. Are you sure, this is what she wants? She is still a child so even if this is what she wants right now, her wishes may change in the future…"
Iris looked away and walked into the church, as if trying to avoid the topic, "Oh, I can't wait to see what Pansy looks like in a nun's robes."
Ernst looked at Pansy with a tinge of sadness in his eyes. She cocked her head to the side in response, "What's the matter, Father?"
He shook his head, "Let's get you the front seat dear."
"Really!?"
A chuckle escaped him as he walked into the church with Pansy in his arms.
The church was ready for another sermon, people remained seated, facing the altar with a practised air of solemnity.
Ernst seated Pansy on a seat in the first row, specially kept empty for her, and then walked upto the altar.
He turned to greet the crowd, "Since everyone is present, let us start the sermon."
--- --- ---
Pansy was shaken awake by her mother, who pointed to the altar with an air of seriousness, "Wake up, it's lord Eustache, he's here."
She raised her head groggily. Through her blurred vision, she made out the person in question, an aged man of about forty, with a bushy moustache, dressed in a black suit. He had an air of the aristocracy, with a black fedora adorning his head.
Ernst stood in front of him, giving a speech, "Oh, good folks of Merkington, today we have with us, a person indispensable to the church, the very person responsible for funding our endeavours, the very reason we are able to provide for the poor the way we do, Mr. Morton Leven Eustache!"
Although no one cheered, the sheer silence and admiration the people looked at the man with, was enough to demonstrate the respect he commanded. Pansy blinked her eyes at the appearance of the new person, she had heard all about him from her mother, about how they would not have a place to live if the church and him had not been so charitable towards them, about how she had to work hard and pay back that debt, but the weight of such ideas still eluded her, young that she was.
The man took a few steps forward, as Ernst stepped back, "And now a few words from the man himself."
Morton looked around the audience with a gaze most sombre, until his eyes happened upon young Pansy, at which a warm smile flashed on his face for a moment.
Pansy smiled back, responding to the gentle gesture with one of her own.
Morton cleared his throat audibly before addressing the crowd, "Gentlemen. We stand here before God, before God all of us are equal… and yet we look at eachother with a perspective coloured with distinctions… distinctions of race, distinctions of family, distinctions of wealth… They cloud our vision. I ask, why should we allow these distinctions to shackle us so?"
He shook his head solemnly, "We are one! I repeat, we are one people. We are of one race… humanity. We are of one family, God's family… And so should all of us be one in our wealth. Thus this initiative of the Eustache family aims to destroy those superficial distinctions that threaten to separate us once and for all."
Ernst entered the spotlight from the side and nodded to his words, "As we all know, Mr. Morton's financial contributions to the church singlehandedly take care of all the church's needs and still leave us with an excess of money, which is why, after consulting with him we were able to come to the decision that we would share it among the ones who need it. As a result, our town is now free of poverty. Everyone gets a home to live in!"
The crowd bursts out clapping and cheering. Little Pansy looked around confused, and decided to follow suit and start clapping too. The meaning of most of their words had escaped her but she did not wish to be left out.
Iris gently stroked Pansy's head from behind her, "Remember this scene Pansy. That is the man we are indebted to, do not forget."
Pansy made a double take and noticed a young boy, about her age standing off to the side of the altar, he seemed to be staring intently at the man, holding on to each and every word he said.
She turned to her mother, "Mom, can I talk to that boy?"
"Keep your distance Pansy, we cannot afford to approach them so carelessly, never forget your station."
"Who is that kid, mom?"
"That is sir Morton's son."
After the sermon ended, Iris started cleaning the church along with the other volunteers, Pansy was instructed to go back home, she had to study and prepare for her indoctrination as a nun, but she had a different destination in mind.
"Well well, if it isn't Pansy, the prettiest flower in Merkington."
A voice resounded as Pansy stepped into the library.
Pansy turned in it's direction and squealed with glee as she ran towards it, "Big sister Salvia!"
Salvia held Pansy up and sat her on her lap, "Now what kind of story would you like to hear today?"
Pansy angled her head, trying to think of an answer, and then a smile spread across her face, "Tell me a story about equality."
"Equality huh? That's a big word you just dropped there. I'm guessing it's got something to do with today's sermon?"
Pansy nodded heartily, "They used maany hard words, I couldn't understand most of what that man said, but mom says I should take them to heart, so I want you to tell me about it, that would help me understand."
"I see. You certainly are serious about your future huh… Well, if it's a request from my sweet little sister, how can I refuse. Also I have heard talks of something that might be related."
Pansy threw her arms in the air with glee, "Yay!"
Salvia cleared her throat as she started, "Long ago, before people started calling this land Protea, there were small tribes all over, they fought and vied for power. Women, children, old people, none were spared in these conflicts, it was as bloody as it got."
Pansy gasped at this revelation, "But that's sooo cruel!"
"Isn't it? And people agreed, the wars had become a part of their routine at that point, everyday there would be a war between some tribe or other. They started to realize how pointless these conflicts were, no one maintained power for long even after winning, the endless conflicts made sure of that. Thus, they decided to have a meeting, friend and foe alike."
"Is this how Protea came to be?"
Salvia shook her head, "Very astute of you to come to that conclusion, but unfortunately the decision they came to was hardly so tasteful. They had come to hate eachother over the course of time with all the endless warring, every tribe had members who had been killed by the others, no tribe was able to trust any other, and so a conclusion was made. They would separate and isolate themselves from eachother. This event came to be known as 'The Great Rift'."
"Whaaat!"
"Centuries went by with the tribes not interacting with eachother at all, it became so bad that the new generations had never even laid eyes on their neighbors. However, these new generations lacked the mistrust and hatred for the other tribes that their forefathers held."
Pansy listened intently eager to learn the what happened next.
A smile crept across Salvia's face, "Therefore, with the time of the great rift growing distant and the generational shift in values, they gradually started to interact."
Pansy tilted her head to the side,"Whaaa..."
"Ah, sorry I guess that was a little difficult for you. What I mean to say is that they finally started intermingling again."
"And then, and then?!"
"You might think, this is how Protea came to be but unfortunately Protea wouldn't unite for the next hundred years."
Pansy exclaimed, "Why can't they just get along!?"
"This time they actually wanted to, but couldn't. In the long time for which they had isolated themselves, their cultures and languages had developed separately, to the point that they could no longer understand one another."
"Why does something bad always happen whenever people try to unite?"
"As they say, the history of Protea is the history of people struggling to get along."
Pansy shakes her head in disappointment.
Salvia giggles at her childish behavior, "Despite their desperate attempts however, a shadow was soon cast upon the tribes, it was one they recognized instantly. 'War', the very thing they had isolated themselves to prevent bared it's fangs once again."
"They started fighting again?"
"No, the threat came from outside, the kingdom of Cascadia, which at the time had been on a reckless spree of expansionism, decided to invade the isolated tribes. The tribes lacked in unity and the language barrier prevented them from meaningfully collaborating with one another and fight back together. Ironically, their isolation, the very thing that was meant to protect them from wars had become the reason for their impending defeat in one."
"But Cascadia is so big! How did we win?"
"When all hope seemed lost, a saint appeared in the city of Coronaria. He preached of the goddess, and the people loved it. It wasn't the goddess they were clinging to but the hope that she offered, of a world without strife, of unity, and thus under that saint, the tribes were unified."
"How did they understand eachother?"
"Legends say that the Goddess's grace allowed them to understand one another and to stand together as equals, their distinctions demolished and Protea was born. With the formation of Protea, Cascadia retreated, it wasn't like they lacked the power to crush us. It was just a principle the king followed, he didn't invade countries that were self sufficient."
"The goddess unified us all, she is amazing just like father says!"
It was possible that the hope that was represented by the goddess increased people's morale, and the end result was simply a sign of their efforts to unify, but Salvia decided against telling it to Pansy.
Salvia grinned, "Now, with that we conclude the prologue."
"Prologue!?"
"Haha, I say that but there isn't really a lot more to the story. This one tells of an old relic, one with immense power…"
Pansy's ears perked up at those words.
"It was a scale, one supported by a beam."
Pansy tilted her head to the side, "A scale?"
"Have you not seen the vendor use a beamed article when people come to buy from him?"
"Ah!"
"That's it. So that was what it was, a scale. It was said that if you held it by the handle, you would be no different from the one who held it before you."
"How so?"
"It is said that it somehow removes any distinctions people may have, the specifics are not clear to me either though. So, it's said that it was precisely the article that helped the tribes come together back during the Cascadian invasion."
"Disinctions?"
"Differences."
Pansy thought about it a moment before responding, "Is that all equality is? People with no disinctions? Then wouldn't all of them be the same person?"
Salvia was shocked at the depth of that question, even a kid such as Pansy was able to - no, it was precisely because she was a kid that she could jump to the heart of the matter, her vision remained unclouded by the stereotypes of society.
"A fair question child."
A voice rung out from the doorway, the same voice that had planted the question in young Pansy's mind.
Salvia scratched her head, "Ah, shit. Spoke too much."
Morton walked upto Salvia and Pansy, "I see someone was listening intently during the sermon. A devoted young lass are you not?"
Pansy smiled at the compliment and bowed her head as taught by her mother, "Thank you kindly sir!"
Morton smiled back, "But the thing is young miss, for all the talk of equality that I spouted at the sermon, even I have no idea what true equality is. You see, I have never witnessed it myself."
"Even you sir?"
"Yes child, even me. For all I know, the ideal of equality might only be a concept that cannot exist in reality, but that is something I will have to confirm for myself."
"You will find what equality means?"
Morton bent down to match Pansy's eye level, "I most certainly won't give in till I get to a conclusion."
"If you find what it means, will you tell me?"
Morton chuckled at that question, "No… I will show you."
Pansy smiled happily at that proclamation.
Morton turned to Salvia, "To that end, I am going to need to hear more about what you were just telling her."
Salvia clicked her tongue, "Damn, you play dirty."
Pansy turned to Salvia, "Please sister?"
Salvia sighed, "I hate being manipulated like this… But I guess a defeat's a defeat."
Morton smiled, "Now about this relic you talked about, where do you suppose it could be?"
"No idea."
"Alright then, do you have any leads about it's whereabouts?"
"Ugh… Fine, there's some talk that a strange travelling peddler has it in his possession, and that he's offering to sell it to the highest bidder."
"And where might he be?"
"Try the Spire."
"That's more like it."
Morton made to leave, "That's all I needed to know… I'll be on my way then."
Salvia called out to him, "Morton."
Morton gave her a sidelong glance.
Salvia continued, somberness in her tone, "I know you're not going to listen to me… but this research of yours… The knowledge you seek…"
After a brief moment of silence.
"It's best left unearthed.", said Salvia, the ultimate knowledge advocate.
Morton turned away, and walked out of the church.
--- --- ---
Several days later, Pansy was at the church, drowsily listening to her mother speak with the other adults.
Iris gossiped with the others in a tone most jubilant, "I've heard Mr. Morton had left the town for the spire, for three days now yet none in the manor felt his absence, in fact the workers who did not need to interact with him directly, did not even know about his absence."
"Apparently he had left his son incharge of the internal affairs, to think he was so talented at handling things that are far beyond his age."
Iris giggled, "He takes after his father it would seem."
"But I wonder what business Mr. Morton had?"
"Us common-folk might never understand his grand devices."
Pansy jumped up, "I know, I know, he's going to find equality and he said he'd show it to me!"
Iris massaged her temples with her fingers, "I'm sorry, my daughter is a little bit of a dreamer, she says dumb things like this sometimes."
The others shook their heads, "It doesn't bother us, don't worry about it. Don't say such things to her, she's a sweet girl."
" 'But, but I'm telling the truth!', that's what I said, but they just patted my head like I was some child, they don't believe me.", Pansy slumped down dejectedly.
Salvia patted Pansy's head as she sat slumped on her laps, "This sort of thing happened with me too when I was little."
Pansy exclaimed in shock, "Really!? Even though you are so smart big sister?"
"Yes really, the thing is how you act won't change the image people have of you. They might call you mature for your age when you show exceptional skills in something, but commit one childish act and they will start thinking that you are a child after all, the same goes for when you're an adult, you will be treated as one, even if you have some kind of retardation that impedes your mental growth."
Pansy slumped down again at the overly complicated explanation.
"Ah, I'm sorry, what I meant was that you won't be considered an adult until you actually become one, so it's no use worrying about what the adults think of you, you can just be you and enjoy the time you have as a child."
Pansy nodded solemnly, "To be an adult is to stop worrying about becoming one."
Salvia giggled, "Now, that sounds adult-like."
Pansy walked back from the library, strutting along the road. The town was painted in hues of orange, the setting sun cast it's veil upon the windows drenching them in vibrant colour. A usual sight for little Pansy, she had skipped her studies today too and had been hanging out at Salvia's.
She quickened her pace with each step, she had to make it home before her mother returned from the church, lest she realised what her daughter had been upto.
She had walked this path numerous times and always in the same direction, it was familiar enough to her that she had always felt a strange sort of comfort treading it, today however she was filled with an inexplicable apprehension, was her little secret finally out?
Before she knew it, she was there. Her home lay just around the corner. She turned the corner even as apprehension gripped her.
When one anticipates the worst thing that could happen, they aren't actually thinking negatively, instead they brace themselves for the worst outcome they can imagine, they think this way precisely so that they can convince themselves that nothing worse can happen, so when this imperfect defense mechanism is pitted against the cruelty of real life, it hits twice as hard.
"There you are lass. Behold! The equality I promised you!", Morton stood in the middle of the street spreading his arms wide. The houses around him were all on fire, including Pansy's.
"M-Mom!", Pansy sprinted towards her house.
"Where are you going, didn't you wish to witness true equality!?"
"Halt! Surrender yourself!", The call came from the Merkington guards, they rushed at Morton with their swords out.
Morton smirked and stood still instead of running away. Before the guards could strike at him, something lunged at them from the shadows, and one of the guards had their arm severed.
"Ahhh!", screams covered the sound of gushing blood. All the guards turned to face the attacker, and froze in place.
A man, dishevelled and dirty, stood on all fours and chewed on the severed arm, as if it was just a piece of meat, and had not connected to a human moments ago.
Gradually several other beastly people started appearing from the shadows, and growled at the guards. What ensued was a bloodbath.
As the road was painted in red, Morton chuckled to himself, "A human brain transformed into one of a dog, pair that with induced starvation and this is the result!"
Soon, there was silence, all of the guards lay dead, as the beastmen feasted on them, Morton walked over to them, "Everyone is equal in death!"
Pansy stood there paralyzed, the scenery before her was too much, before she could voice the emotions swirling violently within her, the words were stolen from her.
"'Why do people have to die?' is what you're thinking right?", Morton turned to Pansy.
"You do not have to worry, just as I answered the question of equality for you, I can answer this one as well."
Morton pointed behind him, "These beastmen are live example of that. Their brains have been transformed into those of dogs, yet they still endure, living proof that life can endu-"
Before Morton could finish however the air was filled with growls as the beastmen convulsed and vomited before collapsing on street.
"Ah, they hardly lasted a few minutes. Worry not though, I shall find a way for life to endure through all sorts of trials and tribulations."
"P-Pansy…", a weak choking voice resounded behind Pansy, she turned to find her mother crawling out of the rubble.
Pansy ran to her mother's side, "Mo-"
Pansy's eyes widened, the look on Iris' face was terrifying to her. Why? Because there was no 'look' at all or one could say, no face at all. All that remained was the mouth she was speaking through, the rest of her face was all skin.
Iris hyperventilated as strange jumbled words came out of her mouth, "W-where had you b-been!?"
Morton nodded, "Ah, my second experiment, eyes and nose removed, throat blocks air every time subject tries to breathe, but oxygen is provided to all the cells as necessary, there is no reason for the body to die even in such extreme conditions, truly the tenacity of life is amazing!"
Iris' shouted at Pansy through her panting, "W-why!? You! You betrayed m-me! You s-shirked your duties! G-Goddess is punishing us because of y-you!"
Both the sight and the words of her mother stabbed at her heart, until she could no longer bear it.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The ruined world disappeared, returning Pansy to the mystical library, and then the library was replaced by the ruined church.
Her shriek resounded in the church, destroying the silence with it's piercing noise, which gradually faded in intensity until it disappeared completely, what followed it was a light thud, as Pansy fell unconscious on the floor.