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By Benjami
03/10/2025 - 16:43:45

Type: Captain
Rating: 5 (Good)
Tags: gaprop

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Description

2/3

After I finished my spiel, there was a long pause. It felt awkward. I wonder how many other naive idealists had come to this chamber, saying the same things. Finally, the Captain-Knight spoke:

?Something that actually matters..? He muttered to himself while letting his gaze wander across the wall-carvings, and then turned his gaze back to me: ?Elaborate.?

?Oh.. well.. you know the reputation of Nauternia. Having lived there all my life, I can tell you that much of what you?ve heard is probably correct. There, knights really only serve as police. No great adventures, no great power to earn, no great enemies to defeat. Most of the Soul Rites we have are related to either surveillance or restraining people. Said Rites aren?t earned via show of skill or strength, but bought by those with the most sbucks.

Hex, the Order of Decros barely even qualifies as an Order. It?s more like a splintered group of private security companies, hiring out their services to the local barons, magnates and worst of all, the leeches of the Union. Start a business but don?t pay a protection fee? Suddenly rumours of witchcraft or illicit business might start spreading around. Won?t be long before a Warrant Knight pays a visit.

I.. regret to say that I was a part of such rackets multiple times. I kept telling myself that it was for a greater good, to maintain peace in the city so trade could continue. That?s the thing, right? Xocal?Inac is reliant on Nauternia. The ugly backbone of the Queendom. The Forges are reliant on the imports from the Union, and the Golden Court has an iron grip on their trade routes. As long as the docks stay operational and trade keeps flowing, Nauternia serves its purpose. That is how we were trained.?

I took a pause to process what I was saying, as I wasn?t sure how much my host wanted to hear. The Captain-Knight took this as a chance to interject: ?So what was the last straw??

?Guess that would be my last official mission I had as a Warrant Knight of Decros. My team and I were sent to this.. well, a district in the bottom layers of Nauternia. You know, the city of layers, where the most esteemed and wealthy lived on the top, the lowest and poorest in the bottom, out of sight.

We?d gotten a tip of witchcraft, a rogue unlicensed communer selling dips in the area. One of the popular illegal services in Nauternia. They?d use Herbs concoctions and rituals to allow untrained people ?dip? into the Unoo?o. What each customer wanted to do during their dip, varied. Some wanted to connect to other souls, living or dead, and feel their memories. Experience the thrill of battle, learn private secrets, feel intimate feelings, so on. For many, the simple escape from their own lives was enough. The bottom layers were full of malnourished, decrepit xocals who would do anything for a few sbucks, just to dip for a moment.

Ever seen what a xocal that has neglected their Herb treatments for decades looks like? Their limbs cracked and bent, unable to move as the body loses the ability to generate pressure. Many go blind, cursed with Omun, unable to distinguish between reality and memory. Eventually, they just stop moving, streets littered with withered bodies that just simply gave up. Some keep living in that state for weeks or months. But they?re not really xocals at that point anymore. Just.. husks.

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