Path to Power (Chapter 4.5) - Overview -

[TzenToku]

In the world of Ashura exists many great countries that have enjoyed millenniums of peace and prosperity living side by side. Among these many great nations exists two superpowers that were different in many ways such as political administration and economical strategies. On one side was the Empire of Vanorse, ruled by an “Absolute Monarchy” political system. However a “Parliamentary Republic” ruling system is exercised between the royal family and noble Lords to ensure an equal and fair distribution of power and authority and also to avoid any rebellion. On the other side was the “Diarchy Ruled” nation, the Empire of Fanlarg.


Since the death of King Tidus and the rise of his son and heir, King Moriarty, to the throne, a great tension grew between the two countries. Both countries had many disagreements in many aspects but tolerated each other’s different opinions. Six years after King Moriarty ascended to the throne, the thin line which separated peace from war for the two nations finally snapped. When democracy finally failed, the two nations resorted to military force to overpower the other.


As the war went on for about a decade with no clear sign on who was winning, the two nations resorted to having their allies to impose sanctions on the other. The world was literally divided into two where there would be no economical trade between these two groups.


Small towns and villages of both nations near the borders were raided, burned or destroyed in the crossfire. Fifteen years after the war started, the intensity of the war was at its peak. A small Vanorse fishing village of the “Nan-Zhou” Province became a target for the Imperial Fanlarg Navy. The attack on this village caught the whole of Vanorse by surprise for this village was nowhere near the Vanorse – Fanlarg borders. The fishing village became a target because it was suspected that weapons were being stored there. Such information was unreliable and not accurate, thus costing the lives of every villager in that village.


A Noble Lord who was passing by, making his way to meeting another Lord with his bodyguards heard the loud explosions coming from the village and was the first to respond to the scene to aid. The name of the Noble Lord was Lord William D. Flourite, Head of the Floutire family. By the time he got to the village, all that was left were burning wood houses and sunken fishing boats. Lord Flourite ordered his troops to search for survivors and any sign of life. The scene was very clear that the entire village was destroyed by cannon fire from the Imperial Fanlarg Navy’s battleships which had sailed away after the destruction.


Lord Flourite made his effort to put out the fire by summoning rain clouds to put out the burning flames. Just when he lost all hopes of finding life in the village, a cry came from a burning wooden house. Lord Flourite broke his way into the burning house and found a little boy lying on the ground within the ashes. He carried the boy out and immediately ordered first aid for him. The young boy looked like he was about five years old was completely traumatized by the event and could not speak.


Lord Flourite brought him back to his mansion in “Jesselton” Province where he was the ruler. He adopted the boy as one of his servants and gave him the name Zhang for the name was found on the necklace the boy was wearing. The boy was not given a last name, just a first name for everyone to call him. Zhang was raised and brought up most of his life from that day as a stable boy. He had completely forgotten his past and does not remember anything from the day he entered “Jesselton” Province, even the destruction of his village.


The young mistress of the family, Lord Flourite’s only child, Lady Sophie F. Flourite, had always treated Zhang as her little brother and appointed him as her own personal escort. Every trip Sophie took, Zhang would have to follow her. She took this opportunity to teach him everything to know about the situation of the war and how important of a role democracy plays in maintaining peace. Sophie has always impressed Zhang with her talent for establishing relations between communities and societies during times of need. Sophie also teaches Zhang the importance of almost every detail when forming a relation, even the journey or trip itself.


Recently, Lord Flourite has invited a guest to his mansion to discuss matters about the ongoing war. No one had expected the visitor was the great and legendary Oracle. His presence came as a total surprise to the mansion’s staff for it was a security measure to keep his whereabouts a secret.


The Oracle understood the good heart of the Flourite Family whom only wished to seek peace for the country and therefore graced them with his presence. The Oracle shared a very vague version of his vision of the future about what was to come. The Oracle predicted the Royal Family’s intentions to harvesting the Shiva Gems. The Shiva Gems was the key element for the Royal Vanorse Army to winning the war. The army required these stones to be in the possessions of the mages and spell casters who could summon powerful magic but not within the Fanlarg territory. Although these gems would give the mages and spell casters a major advantage in the war, it also carried a side-effect to its bearer which included death and also to the environment which included turning it barren.


Lord Flourite did not want these dangerous gems to fall into anyone’s hands, regardless if they were friend or foe. The Oracle advised him to establish a trade between the only Shiva Gem producer, the Mansoor Family and the ruler of the “Sand Graves”, the Kaneshiro Family. The plan was to have the dangerous gems dumped in the dessert where no one ever goes. For the plan to work, the Oracle advised Lord Flourite to seek Lord Mansoor and Lord Kaneshiro directly during the emergency parliament meeting which was to come two days.


Lord Flourite was not confident if he could approach either of the other Lords but the Oracle advised him to bring Zhang along for he will play a major role in establishing the relation. With such vague information, all Lord Flourite could do was follow them and hope for the best.


The day before they embarked on their journey to the capital, Zhang was trained the proper etiquettes of a noble servant. The next say, Lord Flourite was escorted to the capital by a handful of elite bodyguards lead by Captain Ranjen, the head bodyguard for the Flourite family. The convoy made a detour to meet with a neighboring Lord so they would head to the capital together. They made their way through the woods looking for Lord Ganth V. Bismarck’s convoy where they were met by a group of bandits. The convoy fought the bandits and chased them to a nearby village which was being raided. Lord Bismarck and his bodyguards were fighting the bandits there to ensure the security of the people and were then assisted by Lord Flourite.


Once the bandit problem was settled, they made their way to the Azerath, capital of Vanorse. Both convoys settled in the Villas prepared for them by the royal family along with other convoys. Lord Flourite gave Zhang permission to walk around the capital and to return before dinner time.


While Zhang was on his walk around the market place in the capital, he met a friend, a girl who was about his age. She introduced herself as Manami and that she was also not a local around the capital. They instantly became friends and wondered around the capital and had many wonderful and unforgettable experiences seeing all the unique things brought to the capital from all around the country. When they finally part ways to return to their masters, Zhang realized he was still holding onto Manami’s handkerchief. That night, he slept wondering what the KNSR initials on her handkerchief stood for.


The next morning was time for the parliament meeting called by King Moriarty. The lords entered parliament building and took their seats in parliament hall. Each presented their report about the situation of their provinces and how the war has affected their people. During the break, Lord Flourite took the opportunity to approach Lord Edhas Mansoor and inform him of his plan and the involvement of the Oracle. Lord Mansoor was reluctant to accept but agreed to take the matter into consideration.


When the meeting resumed, King Moriarty pressured Lord Mansoor to harvest the Shiva Gems and send them to the frontlines. Lord Mansoor was against the use of Shiva Gems and fabricated the face that there were no more Shiva Gems in his province. He was challenged by King Mansoor where an investigation would be carried out by Crown Prince Valtrana on his lands for the Shiva Gems. If a large amount was found, Lord Mansoor would be prosecuted for crime against the throne and his family would lose their status as nobles and also their land. This pressured Lord Mansoor to immediately leave the capital after the meeting to think of a plan to solve the problem at hand.


Lord Flourite was extremely frustrated for he had not approached Lord Kaneshiro yet. At the time when he was most frustrated, an unexpected friend came running to Zhang. It was Manami herself and she was most pleased to see Zhang again. Another most unexpected event that later occurred was when Lord Kaneshiro came looking for Manami. Only then was it clear that Lord Kaneshiro Kurosaki was Kaneshiro Manami’s father. Lord Flourite now had an excuse to start a conversation with Lord Kaneshiro. They continued to discuss about the matter at hand in the royal garden where Lord Kaneshiro gave a surprised expression when he heard of Lord Flourite’s plans and the involvement of the Oracle. Lord Flourite gave the same answer as Lord Mansoor where he was reluctant to accept but would take the matter into consideration.


By the end of the day, Lord Flourite was most pleased with what he had achieved and could now let the future take its course. He now understood that Zhang would play a major role in the outcome of the war in the future as prophesized by the Oracle.