El Baúl de los Sueños

It all has been taken away, after all. All hope, all path, all memories have vanished as they always do under blood and fire. Steel reigns free, and I am again what I have always been: a dead man. All is lost, but if this is to be the final chapter of this story, I should start with the beginning.  They came at night. Keryth leading them, said they wanted to meet and talk. I welcomed the four of them with peace and hospitality, opening the door to the meeting room. But it was not to be. My disposure to talk with the northerners was met with brutality. Hildegard and Murdach hadn't come to talk, they had come to destroy and so they started detonating bombs in our workspace. I went down, alone, unarmed, unarmored, to see what could be done, and I was met with Hildegard's spear.

Shadows, here and everywhere, that is all that is left. A place like this, where life can be valued in gold and steel, where even those that shouldn't have to fight. Just like in the Old Hag, isn't it right? Wherever you may go, it's still a matter of who pays who for revenge, power, ambition or any other reason. And you don't care if we fight and die, do you Aquilonia? You don't care about my death here, but you don't care about the death of your merchants and generals, whores and knights, it doesn't matter. We're all just pigs headed to the slaughter, and here more than anywhere else, where we can die dozens of times.

Following the ancient tradition of the Centuria, the beacon has been lit to guide our way back home. Until the time when we may again walk the Halls of the Dead, it will burn day and night, remembering us that war is not all there is. Because that is our world once again. The powerful march to battle for freedom, richness, lands or other reasons. We're just the pawns in their boards, and we know it. But their gold will enter our pockets and, with it, we once again fight for ourselves. Not for their ideals or glory, but for our own wealth and wellbeing. And in this case, we may even get the chance to protect and aid those we appreciate. A good thing for a change.