O, beware, my lord, of jealousy

Well.

That was truly unnecessary. 

She wasn’t going to let her wyvern just eat the man. No, she had intended on dropping him unceremoniously to the ground… by a few hundred feet. From what she could tell, even without the wyrmsbane, she wouldn’t introduce such stinking filth to her dear mount.

No, no creature on earth deserved his sack of miserable flesh.

“Fine by me, but don’t complain if the ride is uncomfortable. I have to get back as quickly as possible; after all. Don’t want those pesky rebels to get away, now do we?” Her gaze flashed as she turned, walking away. He didn’t dismiss her, nor did he control her. Camilla would remind him – somehow – that one slip of the tongue, and he would be crawling on the floor desperate for forgiveness.

A toss of the hair, “Well? Are you coming, or are you going to lag behind? I thought you were so eager to get to the front lines.”

                { ♝ ♚ } ❝ Oh, don’t be obtuse... ❞

                Charging into battle with the vanguard would be suicide, after all. Despite the countless runes and enchantments shielding him from the full extent of any damage, Iago was still only a mage. Without tempered armor, swords and arrows would pierce right through him. 

❝ Oh, is that so? Certainly the guilds ask for much, but the middle class of Nohr have already been given so little. Crime, disease, food shortages…we are already a nation of nothing. ❞

❝ Perhaps if this damnable nation did not empty our coffers on the military, we could afford a touch of kindness. I suppose it does not matter; this land is already on its way to become a ruined empire, an example of what not to do. ❞ Her last words came out suddenly bitter, oddly sharp; what had she expected? That he would defy her father’s description, and be kind and affable, merely doing what he needed to do?

             { ♝ ♚ } ❝ And, pray tell, what would happen if I suddenly decided to divert our military spending into, say... state welfare programs? What would happen... is that I would be arrested and swiftly executed for treason, and my successor would learn a valuable lesson regarding the chain of command. I am a man of many faces, my dear... ❞

            ❝ But not a single one bears the crown of the King of Nohr. ❞

            If he were king, after all, there would already be a university in every city. Every citizen would required, at the very least, to learn simple reading and mathematical skills.

             ⚔“𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝑘 𝔦𝔫 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝓘𝔞𝔤𝔬. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫’𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔞𝑘𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔰 𝔏𝔞𝔡𝑦 𝓒𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱.” 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔩𝑦 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔟𝔧𝔢𝔠𝔱.

             “𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡. 𝓘𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝑦 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔞 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱.  𝓘𝔱 𝔦𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔞 𝔰𝔴𝔞𝑦 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝓘 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔞𝔡 𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔴. 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔭 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔥𝔢 𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔩𝔬𝔯𝑦 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔞𝑘𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯.”

            𝔊𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔬𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢; 𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔞 𝔟𝔦𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔞 𝔟𝔦𝔱 𝔟𝔦𝔞𝔰. 𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔫 𝔞 𝔴𝔞𝑦 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝑘 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔩𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔡𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤. 𝓗𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔡 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔞𝑘𝔢 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝑘𝔰 𝔰𝔬 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔩𝑦 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔡 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝑘 𝔟𝑦 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝑦 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢. 

             𝔄𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔡. 

             𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝑘𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔪𝔲𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔠𝔥𝔲𝔠𝑘𝔩𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔵𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱𝔩𝑦 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞 𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔭𝔲𝔣𝔣 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔞 𝔪𝔦𝔵𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔲𝔟𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔪. 

          “𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔡𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝑘𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔲𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯. 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔭𝔞𝔤𝔢𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔞𝔡𝑦 𝔰𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔰𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝓗𝔬𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔡𝔞𝔫’𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔩𝑦 𝔟𝔲𝔤𝔰. 𝔚𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝑘𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔞𝔡𝔪𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝑦 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔫 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 ‘𝔤𝔞𝔰’ 𝔞 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔴𝔩 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔬 𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢. “ 

          𝓗𝔢 𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔬𝔵𝔦𝔠 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔭𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝑦 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔡𝔬𝔬𝔯. 𝔐𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔡𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝑦 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔞𝔯 𝔦𝔫; 𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔠𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡.

            “….𝔴𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔩𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝑦 𝔞 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫.”  𝓘𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔦𝔣 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔯 ,𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯.  ⚔

            { ♝ ♚ } ❝ Ironic, isn’t it? His Majesty claimed, long ago, to have begun this war only for the sake of conquering fertile lands in the name of the Nohrian people. ...And yet, these battles has dragged on for so long that we’ve likely wasted more resources than we could have ever hoped to gain, even from a perfect victory. ❞

            He shrugged, nonchalant. 

            ❝ Though I certainly don’t mean to imply that the notion concerns me in the slightest. A kingdom at peace, after all, has little need for a tactician. I would find myself suddenly, and very sadly, unemployed. ❞

            He could certainly find a job as a researcher, or a professor, certainly, but even then, there would be too many constraints for his liking. Iago had spent far too much time living his life as his own master. In Castle Krakenburg, he set his own schedule- his own priorities. So long as it benefited the war in some way, there were no restrictions limiting his experiments. No lines left uncrossed.  

            So long as all was fair in love and war, Iago had free reign to commit whatever atrocities he so desired, all in the name of victory. It was an arrangement which admittedly suited him well. 

Send ❤ for my muse to confess a turn on.

            { ♝ ♚ } ❝ High heels. ...Stilettos.Whenever a woman in heels crosses my path, why, I cannot help but stop and stare.❞

            ❝...I’ve always found such footwear fascinating, indicative of the lengths to which human beings will go in order to appeal to potential mates. Wearing high heels has been proven to cause bunions and other complications, and yet the practice still stands.❞

            ❝...Ironic, how modern society shames ancient Hoshidan cultures for engaging in foot binding rituals, while a similar practice of podiatric disfigurement exists even today. In the future, surely we, too, shall be seen as savages.❞

Send ❤ for my muse to confess a turn on.

Send ❤ for my muse to confess a turn on.

Send ❤ for my muse to confess a turn on.

Send ❤ for my muse to confess a turn on.

                { ♝ ♚ } “I don’t like this...” the old alpha muttered as he oiled and polished his latest masterpiece- a gleaming silver sword fit for a king. 

                ❝ You dislike a great many things. Unless you intend to impose a guessing game upon me, you are simply going to have to elaborate. ❞

                Roderick glanced up at his son with a look of utter disbelief plastered on his face. Even after forty seven years, Iago always managed to surprise him with the sheer level of his insensitivity. If it weren’t for his scent, and his small, delicate frame, it would have been difficult, almost impossible, to believe that someone like him was actually an omega. 

                “What bothers me is that you’re breaking curfew- and all without an escort. ...You’ll be walking back to that castle alone, won’t you?”

                ❝ Are you implying that some ridiculous gang of mindless, drooling troglodytes could ever manage to overpower me? ❞ He couldn’t believe it; out of all the possible appropriate emotions- fear, concern, remorse- Iago only managed to sound offended.

                “...No. But you’re breaking the law, and I don’t want you to get arrested.” 

                His son actually laughed, at that. 

                ❝ Just who do you believe enforces the law? I am the highest authority in the Nohrian military. Every soldier, including those who comprise the night watch, answer to me. The ‘law’ is no more than what I say it is. ❞

                That bone-chilling tone... Roderick didn’t want to debate. There was never any hope of winning when it came to starting an argument with Iago. He would simply begin to use bigger and bigger words until the other party simply gave up out of confusion.

                “Well, alright. You do what you want to do. For now, though... I think we have a customer. Iago, could you-” He glanced over and realized that his son had already gone back to staring blankly at the wall, the way he always did when he was running through impossibly complex mental calculations that ordinary men like him could never hope to understand.

                Roderick sighed, laying down the sword to address the young man who’d entered his shop. 

❝My, what a dark outlook on humankind! You will be happy to know that I couldn’t care less of what you think of me, whether it be trusting a priest or not. Regardless! I would like to first know about your origin.❞

          { ♝ ♚ } ❝ I hail from Canton District, along the southwestern border of Windmire, ❞ he began, unconcerned with the nature of his little confession. They were alone, after all, and Iago was certain that if their conversation devolved into combat, he could kill the priest with ease and still have time to return home by sundown. ❝ ...In truth, I am surprised that you were unable to discern that information on your own. I’ve been told that the Canton accent is rather distinctive. ❞

                { ♝ ♚ } He opened his mouth, preparing to give an insufferable lecture about how cowardice and morality were really only cultural constructs, and that objectively, he hadn’t done any wrong at all. Before he could even begin, however, he realized that argument would win him nothing but a prison cell and a death sentence.

              ⚔“𝔑𝔬.”  𝓗𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔭 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔣 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔞𝔠𝑘𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔣 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔫’𝔰 𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔩𝑦 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱.

              “𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔯𝑦, 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯. 𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝓘 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔬𝔯 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡. 𝔚𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝑦 𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔢; 𝔦𝔱’𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯. 𝓘𝔱’𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪.” 𝓗𝔢 𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔦𝔣 𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔬 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔩𝑦 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔩𝔦𝑘𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝑘 𝔰𝔬 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱. 

              “𝓘 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔤𝔲𝔱 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝑦𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱. 𝓘𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞 𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔣 𝓘 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔤𝔬 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝑘 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔵 𝔦𝔱 𝓘’𝔪 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔣 𝓘 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡. 𝔄𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢, 𝓘 𝑘𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝑘𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔲𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔩𝑦’𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔱𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩 𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔰𝔱. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔯 𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔞 𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫, 𝔦𝔣 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝑦𝔰 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯. “

              𝓗𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱𝑦 𝔬𝔣 𝑦𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔢𝔩𝔡, 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰𝔰’ 𝔤𝔬𝔞𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔦𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝑘𝔦𝔠𝑘𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫.

            “𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝑘𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔞𝔪𝔢. 𝔒𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔫𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔰𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔣𝔲𝔩……” 𝔒𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔯𝑦𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔭𝔰. 𝔗𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔢𝑦𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝑘 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔦𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫. 

           “𝓘 𝔡𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝑦 𝔬𝔣 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔬 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝑦 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔯, 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝑘𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡. 𝓒𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩𝔱𝑦 𝔡𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔢𝔩𝔡, 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔬 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔱. 𝔄𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔡𝔬 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔱, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝓘’𝔪 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔰𝔩𝔞𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩 …. 𝔦𝔣 𝓘 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩. 𝔖𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔦𝔱.“

           “𝔇𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔢𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯…𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔣 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔫’𝔱 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔞 𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱.” 𝓘𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔞 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝑘𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝔤𝔬 𝔬𝔯 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯, 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔢. 𝔊𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔫’𝔱 𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝑦𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔯 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝑘𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔪. 𝓗𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝑦𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔞 𝔫𝔲𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯, 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔦𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔦𝔣 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔢.  ⚔ 

                { ♝ ♚ } He actually laughed, then, lovely and bright- and frighteningly dissonant, stemming for a man like him. 

                ❝ I wonder what our soldiers would say to that, ❞ he joked, shrugging off the compliment. Iago already knew that he was brilliant, and yet he also knew that the truly talented needn’t prove themselves to anyone. ❝ Our men do not think highly of me as a General. They would prefer a leader like Corrin, waving around a sharpened piece of metal and charging recklessly into battle with no regard to personal safety. She fails to understand that there is a reason why, in games of chess, players lead with pawns.  ...If my tactics appear cowardly, if I appear cowardly, it is only because I choose to wisely castle the king. Lose a General, and the battalion falls into disarray. ❞

                ❝ I... don’t exactly know when it began- this toxic concept of chivalry. Of honor and cowardice. Risking your life in a hopeless duel, struggling to survive against a heavily armed opponent, is somehow deemed more honorable than poisoning him and completing the same objective without sustaining a single injury. Lady Corrin prefers to walk the path of heroism; she would struggle against the Hoshidan forces only if they had their swords drawn. ...Me? I would gas them all and be done with it. ❞

                ❝ ...And then I would return home and prepare myself for the inevitable witch hunt, courtesy of mindless civilians who fail to realize that it is only in fairy stories where the ends do not justify the means. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and we are all adults; it is time for the vast majority of us to wake up and grow up. ❞

            ⚔ 𝓘𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣, 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔧𝔬𝔟 𝔠𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱. 𝔗𝔬 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔱. 𝔄 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔴𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔩 𝔬𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰.

             “𝔒𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔯𝑦, 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔱 𝔪𝔢… 𝔞𝔤𝔥𝔞𝔰𝔱. “𝔄𝔫 𝔲𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔞 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔞𝔩 𝔪𝔞𝔫, 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢. 𝔊𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔫𝔬 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔦𝔣 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭 𝔦𝔱. 

            “𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔧𝔬𝔟 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝑦 𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝓘 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔱. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔳𝑦 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔭𝔦𝔠𝑘𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱 𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯, “𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔞𝑘𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝑦𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝑦 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔞 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱 𝔣𝔦𝔵 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢.

             “𝔇𝔬 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝑘 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝑘 𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔬 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢? 𝓒𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝑦𝔰 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔫, 𝔫𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝑦 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝑦𝔰 𝔰𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯’𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔩𝑘. 𝔗𝔬 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝑦𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢. 𝔄𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝑦 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔰, 𝔡𝔬 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔩𝑦 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝑘𝔢 𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔥𝔬’𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝑦 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔰? 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔰𝑘 𝔱𝔬 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔞 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔩𝔩.⚔               

                 { ♝ ♚ } ❝ Imagine that: the first tactician in history ever to abandon king and country during wartime. My name would live on for centuries, certainly, though neither as a brilliant researcher nor a magical prodigy. Oh, on the contrary- I would be branded a villain. ❞

                He laughed, then, quiet and mirthless. In truth, he was merely whining; he possessed the self-awareness to realize that. For all that he spoke ill of Corrin and her entourage, perhaps it was childish of him, in a way, to complain without any goal in mind. In truth, however, his thoughts were actually beginning to worry him. Better to voice them aloud, he considered, and force himself to face their folly.

                ❝ This job is all that I have; I could never leave. I merely wished to... vent my frustrations, if you will. It is rare that I encounter a situation that I cannot influence, after all. Here, led by these children, who are ruled by emotion, and who fail to think ahead beyond the immediate future, I find that I am simply trapped. I cannot return home, and I cannot remain here, if I’ve any wish to retain my sanity. ❞

                ❝ The younger generation has been blessed with the luxury of ideals. Lady Corrin believes that sparing the lives of our foes will lead to peace, when in fact, the true result of her actions is only that these enemy soldiers have now been granted the opportunity to return to their generals, to report our tactics to enemy ears. War cannot be won through goodwill and mercy; it is blood and sacrifice that shall carry the day. ❞  

                  { ♝ ♚ } ❝ Am I not permitted to voice my displeasure? ❞ he snapped back, though without his usual scathing vitriol, ❝ Everywhere I go, I am met with resistance. Despite my title as Grand Marshall of this army, nobody in this group respects my authority. Why, this is absolutely ludicrous. I feel like a nanny, at times, fussing over the children whilst they tear apart the curtains and make a mess of the carpets. ❞

                  While he never quite shared a “friendship” with Gunter, per se, Iago was closer in age to him than to the little boys and schoolgirls who currently led their group. Better to place his momentary trust in a wise old man, he decided, than to ever deign to speak with a child. 

                  ❝ There are times when I wish for nothing more than the opportunity to pack my things and return to Windmire. If I have to spend one more night in a tent, fighting off mosquitoes, then I will- ❞