0. Dorothea! I have it!
1. You have what?
2. I have learned more about the story you mentioned [cdb]the other day! The one regarding the song that ended [cdb]a war!
3. That's incredible! How did you manage it?
4. I've been asking around myself, but I haven't learned [cdb]a thing.
5. I actually asked my brother.
6. Or to be more specific, I just so happened to stumble [cdb]across it in one of his books.
7. I happened to stumble across it in a book my brother [cdb]left behind.
8. I see. And what did it say?
9. It is the story of a woman who ended a war with [cdb]a song.
10. This took place a short while after the Empire [cdb]emerged victorious from the War of Heroes.
11. The brother of an Imperial noble started a conflict [cdb]regarding the succession of their territory.
12. It was a minor struggle at first, but gradually the [cdb]other neighboring lords became caught up as well. It became quite the event.
13. One thing spiraled into another, and soon they were [cdb]on the cusp of a war that threatened to splinter the [cdb]very Empire itself.
14. Nobles are always like that, no matter the era.
15. At the time, one woman was very worried about [cdb]the state of affairs—a childhood friend of the two [cdb]brothers on opposite sides of the struggle.
16. Oh? Now that's a development right out of [cdb]the storybooks.
17. She made her way to the battlefield—which was on [cdb]the brink of exploding into violence—stood between [cdb]the two armies, and began to sing.
18. She filled her every word with the hope that the [cdb]brothers would not be driven to fight. And it went [cdb]like this...
19. ♪I remember with fondness, days long past with [cdb]those I love. With warmth in my heart I think of [cdb]them, and sing to the stars up above.♪
20. ♪Hands once linked now carry swords, filled with [cdb]rage and bloody. And with their smiles forgotten, [cdb]they seek the sweet release of death.♪
21. The sound of her voice in song moved not only the [cdb]hearts of the two brothers, but of their armies as well. Soon, they all dispersed and returned to their homes.
22. Having settled their differences, the brothers [cdb]petitioned the emperor to change their territories.
23. So that there would be no lingering grudge, [cdb]they asked to be given lands at the east and west [cdb]ends of the Empire, with the capital betwixt.
24. And that is the tale of how House Fenja and House Menja came to be!
25. You know, I just realized something.
26. The name of the Mittelfrank Opera Company means "friendship at the center."
27. It's taken from a festival of singing and dancing that [cdb]was held in the capital long ago in the hopes of [cdb]fostering peace.
28. Maybe the origins of this festival are found in the [cdb]story you just told me.
29. Do you truly think so?
30. Noble houses divided with a capital between them? Singing and dancing in the center for peace?
31. I don't think it's a coincidence.
32. Now that you say it, I find I must agree!
33. Which would mean that you, Dorothea, diva of [cdb]the Mittelfrank Opera Company, might use your [cdb]talent to bring about the end of war!
34. That would be quite something were it to come [cdb]to pass!
35. Hmm. I wonder... But let's put old tales aside for now [cdb]and continue our lessons, shall we?
36. Perhaps if we pray and sing for peace, happiness really [cdb]will find us all!