Heim Castle
[Lanselot Tartaros enters the dungeon where a sullen man hangs by shackles.]
LANSELOT: Hmph. You still live. Leave us!
[The dungeonkeeper nods and leaves the cell.]
VOICE: ...Another uprising...companies...to the highroads...
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Can you hear that, Knight of Xenobia?
[The prisoner raises his bloodied head - it is Lanselot, the Holy Knight.]
H. LANSELOT: It is only a matter of time before you fall.
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Who rules in Valeria is a trifling matter. You of all people must understand this.
H. LANSELOT: ...
VOICE: ...Need more men...nearly enough...Loslorien! ...Not be able...quell this rising...
H. LANSELOT: Let me guess. Unable to stem the tide that rises from the hamlets and villages?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Perhaps we asked too much of the Bakram's soldiers. They are not the soldiers we are, you know. Or the men.
H. LANSELOT: Always binding people to your will, fettering them lest they show signs of free thought. Perhaps therein lies your problem?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: They ask for a stern hand to rule them.
H. LANSELOT: They...ask? You're mad!
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: You have it wrong. It is the world that is mad. Tell me, how many of these peasants would even lift a hand to better their lot were they given a chance? How many would bloody their hands, risk their necks, walk without leaning upon another?
H. LANSELOT: ...
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Think back to your own uprising. Where were the people for whom you shed blood? Safe at their hearths, grousing that more was not done for them!
H. LANSELOT: Times were hard. They had all they could do to keep themselves fed...
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Nonsense. They chose to be victims! They think that only from without the castle walls may one voice discontent. Not realizing that the quickest way to the throne is a knife to the king's ribs.
H. LANSELOT: These people have the right to live out their own lives, not some part in a play of your design!
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: You have both your eyes, and yet you see less clearly than do I. True freedom is not granted from above, it is won from below. And yet the commons look without for a savior, even as they claim sovereignty over their own fait! They wait and they wait for this savior, never taking that first step toward saving themselves.
H. LANSELOT: Man is not so slothful a creature as that.... They...merely lack our strength.
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: You are much too pure of heart, Holy Knight. The people have no need of dreams. We give them all they need.
H. LANSELOT: And what is that, pray tell?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: A strong, unwavering ruler.
H. LANSELOT: You are mad.
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: All men are born with a terrible burdon upon their hearts, this insatiable yearning for pleasure. They do not hesitate to take the lives of others if it will better their own. And yet, even these base creatures can know guilt. So what do they do? They turn it round. This is not -my- fault, man says. The world has failed me. Someone must bring order to this chaos! If the commons want to pursue their pleasure, let them do it in our service, under our rule!
H. LANSELOT: You call this "rule"? This trampling underfoot of all who disagree with you?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: We trample no one. All we do is reach beneath the suppurating flesh of this world and wrench out the source of its ailment.
H. LANSELOT: No. As the body strives to mend itself, so does the heart. These people you so despise may one day astonish you with their valor!
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT (turning): You have far too much faith in the creature called "man," Knight. People are drawn to power, drawn toward safety. They will betray even their most beloved to obtain it - Catiua, come!
[Catiua enters and joins Lanselot at his side.]
H. LANSELOT: Catiua! What are you doing here!?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Allow me to introduce you to your leige, knight. For this girl is none other than the gift left us by Dynast-King Dorgalua: The Princess Veralia, rightful ruler of Valeria!
H. LANSELOT: What!?
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: As you say, the Bakram are not long for this world. But, with the princess in our hands, Valeria will beg to serve under Lodis.
H. LANSELOT: Catiua, how.... Is this true?
CATIUA: I loved Denam. As my brother, I loved him. But he was no brother to me. He abandoned me. And now I, him.
[She flees.]
H. LANSELOT: Catiua!
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Though it pains me to part with the man who took my eye, I see no need to further torment the vanquished.
[He starts to leave.]
H. LANSELOT: Wait!
THE DARK KNIGHT LANSELOT: Farewell, Knight of Xenobia.
Phidoch Castle
[Denam stands in war attire, listening to a messenger in the former meeting room of the Dark Knights.]
SHADOW: The princess has not been seen since the ceremony. Not even the officers among the Bakram know her whereabouts, and the regent has lent his spies to the search. I see no other explanation but that the princess has sided with the Dark Knights.
DENAM: Then the rift between Brantyn and Tartaros widens. What word of the Dark Knights?
SHADOW: Most remain garrisoned in Heim. But many of their commanders, including Tartaros, are conspicuously absent.
DENAM: Perhaps this is why the Bakram do not move against us. What could they be scheming?
SHADOW: You asked me to search for the Holy Knight of Xenobia...
DENAM: Yes. Have you heard something?
SHADOW: A confession wrung from a scullery maid. It seems that the Holy Knight languishes in the dungeon below Heim Castle.
DENAM: So he lives!
SHADOW: Yes, but under such a guard that not even the Bakram are allowed near. I was unable to mark him with my own eyes.
DENAM: Still, you have done much. Go. Rest.
SHADOW: By your leave, commander.
[The ninja informant retires.]
DENAM: Catiua...
ATTENDANT: Commander, should we not move our forces on Heim?
DENAM: Not as yet. It would be rash indeed to strike without first knowing the Dark Knights' purpose.
ATTENDANT: Yes, but the more time that passes before we strike, the weaker we become. Have you forgotten the way the men speak of the princess? Soldiers in your own ranks weep aloud at the thought of lifting a sword against Dorgalua's blood!
DENAM: I know. I know. All the more reason to not act in haste!
[A messenger enters.]
SOLDIER: A report, sir!
DENAM: What is it?
SOLDIER: The soldiers at Brigantys have taken hostages and holed up inside the castle!
ATTENDANT: What's this!?
DENAM: What are their demands?
SOLDIER: Our surrender to the Bakram, sir!
ATTENDANT: After all the fighting we've been through? Not bloody likely!
DENAM: So the Order of Philaha joins the fray.... Their followers among the soldiers were many, were they not?
ATTENDANT: Aye. And their influence has only grown since the princess's appearance.
DENAM: Not a situation we are like to change. My sis- the princess's arrival was, for many, the advent of a savior. Add to this the fact that the late Dynast-King was a fervent follower of Philaha. How natural for these new converts to rekindle his cry for accord and seek to abandon the fight.
ATTENDANT: What will you do?
DENAM: I see no other choice but to meet with these followers and Philaha and speak with them.
ATTENDANT: Out of the question! It's too dangerous, Commander.
DENAM: Not if I go alone and unarmed. They will hear me out.
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