linkShezvolume_up
Probably didn't realize how outmatched they were. I mean, they never could've expected that the king himself would show up to stop them.
linkShezvolume_up
Probably didn't realize how outmatched they were. I mean, they never could've expected that the king himself would show up to stop them.
linkSylvainvolume_up
But the three northern houses have always fought as one against the forces of Sreng.
linkSylvainvolume_up
Plus, they know the entire Kingdom will fall on them if they press the issue too far.
linkDimitrivolume_up
Sylvain is right. This was no miscalculation—instead, I think someone was whispering suggestions in their collective ears.
linkRodriguevolume_up
Espionage by the Empire? Or perhaps Cornelia's fell group.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
It will take time to pin down the truth.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
But even if this is the result of some outside influence on the Sreng clans, the fault still lies with me. I never should've educated that man.
linkSylvainvolume_up
I agree with His Majesty. We will never achieve peace without understanding each other.
linkSylvainvolume_up
And you know we can't end this through sheer force of arms alone, Father.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
We already understand our enemy perfectly well. They fight for a port that is not choked with ice, and for land that is warm and fertile.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
Yet Faerghus is hardly a region of abundance, and there is nothing we can spare them.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
So how exactly do you hope to achieve peace amidst such scarcity?
linkSylvainvolume_up
I don't know—yet. But I'll keep searching for a way, even if it takes my entire life.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
Pah! You remain as naïve as ever, boy!
linkRodriguevolume_up
Matthias, wait! Apologies, Your Majesty. I will go speak with him. You should make ready to head back.
linkDimitrivolume_up
What the margrave says is reasonable, yet I sense an earnestness in your words as well, Sylvain.
linkSylvainvolume_up
Oh, I'm earnest, all right. I'll drag our people kicking and screaming to peace if that's what I have to do.
linkShezvolume_up
Are you serious? They fought us to the last, and the only one we could even talk to was the commander. How do you make peace with that?
linkShezvolume_up
Are you serious? They fought us to the last, and the only one we could even talk to was the commander. How do you make peace with that?
linkSylvainvolume_up
This will probably come as a shock, but I actually speak a little of the Sreng language.
linkDimitrivolume_up
Regardless, we must eliminate this threat if we ever hope to free ourselves from the power of the Relics.
linkDimitrivolume_up
Still, there's no reason we must do so through military might and bloodshed if another way will suffice.
linkDimitrivolume_up
I appreciate the way you think, Sylvain. I truly do.
linkSylvainvolume_up
And I'm always impressed with how much you hate warfare, considering how good you are at it.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
Do you remember the night of the ball, Rodrigue? Back in our days at the academy?
linkMatthiasvolume_up
You, me, and Lambert grew weary of the festivities and stole away to train by ourselves.
linkRodriguevolume_up
How could I forget? The stars in that sky were a true sight to behold.
linkRodriguevolume_up
We talked about all sorts of things that night. It was the first time we ever discussed our dreams for the future—and the last, as well.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
Lambert told us how he hoped to forge a peace between Faerghus and the people of Sreng and Duscur.
linkRodriguevolume_up
Ha! He certainly did. And once he was named king, the man did his best to see it through.
linkRodriguevolume_up
Sreng may have been a lost cause, but he worked tirelessly to bring Duscur into the fold.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
I called him naïve that night. His dream sounded like the thing of childhood storybooks and cradle tales.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
But these days, I wonder if I wasn't the naïve one.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
He always took the long view of things—saw the whole continent unfolding before him.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
But me? I've lost too many over the years, and their blood clouds my vision. I could never see things now as he once did.
linkMatthiasvolume_up
Could there really be a pathway to peace?
linkRodriguevolume_up
You haven't changed one bit, Matthias.
linkRodriguevolume_up
If you regret what you said to Sylvain, I suggest you find him and apologize before this goes any further.