Chapter Text
May 1st, 1800
...
Fear is fascinating.
It's something that has been brought to our hearts ever since we're children. You refuse to go to bed? Well, let your father or mother or whoever is taking care of you to convince yourself that it's good to sleep or else the boogeyman will come to you. What will it do to you? Who knows. It'll eat you alive, it'll devour your soul, it'll take you away in the middle of the night... It needs to be frightening, unsettling, you show some concern to your child as much as you terrify them too.
Why do we do this? I have no idea. Is it because the very things our parents and caretakers told us when we're little could happen to us right now? I've visited Burmecia once or twice in my life, and during my visits, I have witnessed all sorts of unspeakable horrors.
The first was somewhere in 1780's. I was young when my father brought me to Burmecia. He was an airship engineer and the Regency of Lindblum had sent him and hundreds of men, architects, masons, plumbers and other engineers to establish an airship factory somewhere in the kingdom of eternal rain.
A lot happened during the troubled construction period. From what I remember, the rain made it difficult to work, even with an improvised ceiling. A few Burmecian families offered us shelter, which was good, although their kindness wasn't enough to solve all problems. My father worked tirelessly for 12 hours a day, and I wonder how he managed to stay sane. He didn't smoke like the others. One day, a friend of his was left paralyzed after a heavy slab of metal fell on his right leg, while five other men lost their lives in work-related accidents, and then there was the incident with the Burmecian guard, whose child was caught stealing parts from the airship to impress other kids, resulting in fifteen injured and one death.
Worse of all, the Regency's plans were met with failure as King Oberon no longer invested his treasure with the new technologies. The Burmecian council was divided between following their rooted traditions and providing safety for their nation's future. As a result, my father, as well as the other men, were disbanded. Their efforts did not matter as the price of progress was paid in blood and tears.
Not everything was in vain, though, as the alliance between the nations of Lindblum and Burmecia remained intact and a few neighborhoods have benefited from the renovations carried out by the workers. I even made a few friends and, lucky me, I had time to say goodbye to each of them.
Years later, 1791... I grew up and it feels like something has changed. Outsiders from all over the continent were allowed to visit Burmecia only to be met with their eyes of disdain and sorrow. Perhaps nothing has changed.
During that time, I realized that half of Burmecia's male population was composed of guards, sons of merchants and fishermen and other guards who had preceded them. It's how their society works ever since its foundation, dating centuries. One guard dies, another comes to replace them. Grandpa is too old? His son comes. He marries, has children, and one of their children replaces him when their father is too old or injured. It's not different from Alexandria or Lindblum at all, but you see, it's different because they are rats and no reason is ever given.
Just rats, it's how the rest of the world sees them as.
I reunited with a few friends who recognized me after all of this time. Jeremy was surprised to see me doing well, his sister Ingrid told me about Dan and how he recently got married with Learie, that Gidd became a soldier like his old man, Cicely moved on with her family to Alexandria, this Fratley I haven't heard about in ages became a Dragoon or something and other things that happened when I was out. Later, I went to the market and bought some almonds sold by an old Burmecian lady.
Time passes. It's March 1800, and once again, I came back to Burmecia only to see it in ruins. Lots of dead bodies belonging to guards lying in the streets. I wish they were only guards...
The market was one of the few populated areas, or at least a place where I saw people breathing and walking. Not a crowd as it used to be, but there was some movement. The old lady selling almonds was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her daughter took the business and she was fine, selling a lot of almonds and other seeds. When I asked about her mother, she said she died of an aneurysm years ago, nothing related to the war. For whatever reason, that made me feel sad even though I barely knew her.
The next week, I found myself working on the reconstruction. Lindblum is currently undergoing reconstruction as well, pretty much all nations are and everywhere I go feels the same except for Burmecia. Here, the people look terrified all the time, the walls have colors but it all looks gray from a distance. The old lady's daughter, her name is Isabell, told me that I could stay at her home and I became her lodger, I pay for the rent, mine and her own, while I also help rebuild her neighborhood.
"Why do you do this if you aren't one of us?", she said. I was not even sure why I was doing this. "Maybe to feel better about myself", that was my answer. Maybe it's something I would do too, no matter the place I was.
Isabell's right, I have no ties to Burmecia, I'm not one of them, but I made a few friends during my few visits and I too have witnessed the worst of humanity. If there was anything I could do to repair the damage, then I would. Anything but bring back the dead.
I heard no news of Cicely. Fratley was diagnosed with amnesia but is still working as a Dragoon. Gidd is presumably dead, so is Dan. Learie sought refuge at Cleyra and is one of the few survivors of the massacre. Isabell had a sister called Lorena who also fled to Cleyra when the invasion began. She doesn't like to talk about it very much. "The Cleyrans had no way of defending themselves, it was but an act of cowardice", that's all she has to say and nothing else.
Dear Lord, when did everything turn sour?
Well, I do what I can. Tomorrow, I'll help with the reconstruction of an orphanage and a bakery, then I'll feel better about myself. I'll make my day and someone else's too.