"JEI! ENOUGH! THAT IS GOING TOO FAR!" Vanessa's forceful rebukes resounded.
At her words, a deathly silence fell over the camp. Even those uninformed of Caliber combat doctrines knew of [Dance of Valor and Glory]. Its nickname to the common man was the hero's waltz. Because of this most knew that anyone who could dance the hero's waltz had ties to the Valorian empire's royalty.
Alan, Xing, and the San-Baka even without knowing the story of the Vaginarnis already had an inkling. The dance, her persona, and how she carried herself screamed Valorian. As such, hearing Jade lambast one of the biggest tragedies of the continent made them fearful.
However, what followed were not screams of emotional outbursts it was silent weeping. Raylene's tears streamed down her face nonstop. Her countenance was one of sorrow.
The fire in the woman's eyes while still ablaze, seemed lost. Her body while being tense with her body taut like a drawn arrow felt feeble. Lene while appearing extremely emotional said nothing.
Raylene wiped her tears and left. The pride in her footsteps and the majesty of her demeanor seemed to vanish.
Hiro stood up and followed her out. While Vanessa, Ryuuka, and Tsugumi tried to placate Jade who bit her lips in frustration.
The Gracyeanor Empire as a whole became famous for its wisdom, intellect, and pragmatism. It is a normal understanding that Valorians hated Gracyeanors and vice versa.
To the men and women of Valorious, the smart and intellectual Gracyeanors were cowardly, had no morals, and were spineless, while Gracies believed Valorians to be attention-seeking mentally challenged brutes.
Everyone in their group already expected Raylene and Jade to clash. The core things their cultures valued were vastly opposite.
Lene placed a high value on things without forms such as Honor, loyalty, legacy, and History.
In contrast, Jade focused on things that could be measured, power, mutual needs, resources, and academics.
With opposing virtues, it would already be a miracle that they have yet to be at each other's throats. But as they all expected, the fall of the Valorian empire would be an issue that could not be resolved. Ryuuka who both understood and got confused at what was going on asked in annoyance.
"Mustache man, explain what is the fall of the Valorian empire to Ryuuka."
Put on the spot Alan looked at Jei and Nessa to know if he should oblige. After making a deep sigh, Nessa nodded as she looked sternly at her sister.
"Jei, I know the Gracyeanor empire blames the Valorians for the death of the Matriarch but we were not there. Please do not take your anger out on her. This sensitive topic is outside of our family. Please apologize later."
Tsugumi then approached the mage and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "Jade-Nee-sama, I understand your thoughts. But that might have been a bit too harsh. I am sure it is all a big misunderstanding."
Jei said nothing and began to leave camp in the opposite direction. Tsugumi and Vanessa accompanied her as she left. Ryuuka was left with the San-Baka, Alan, and Xing and again asked for an explanation.
"Mustache man, I am still waiting. Tell me now."
Lars then softly chastised the young dragonkin for her impertinence "Lady Ryuu, being a rude child is something you must never be. It would reflect badly on the people that raised you. Alan while your father's servant is not someone who should be treated like dirt."
Due to her natural pride as a dragonkin Ryuuka normally treated anyone outside of her family like a worm. Luckily she listened to the counsel of the ones around her. One thing the young child hated more than anything was to be a reason for her parents to be seen in a bad light.
Quickly understanding Ryuuka bowed to Alan as she apologized. "Sorry Mustache man, please tell about the fall of the Valorian empire. Ryuuka wants to help Sword and staff mommies make up. Pretty please."
The young dragonkin started to tear up as she balled her small hands. Despite looking like a young teen, Ryuuka technically lacked the maturity of one and thus moved childish most of the time.
Alan smiled as he answered. "That is alright Lady Ryuu, I forgive you. The story is a bit complicated so please bear with me." Xing approached the young dragonkin, picked her up, and placed Ryuuka on her lap.
"Lady Ryuu, this story might take a while, do you want some candy as you listen?"I think you should take a look at
Ryuuka made cute faces as she tried to resist the allure of sweets. In a span of a few minutes, the dragonkin made faces that shifted from over ten emotions as she debated internally. Maybe picking it up from Hero, the child wore her heart on her sleeve.
Like her father, the emotions on her face reflected her state of mind. Thus the remaining people found her hesitation adorable. As if trying to become a grown-up but also desiring sweets as a child the difference in demeanor was endearing.
Eventually, though her desire to help won. And she answered Xing in sadness. "It's okay Aunt Xing, this is important, Ryuuka must focus…" Xing embraced the child as she petted her head.
"Is that so? Okay. Lady Ryuu is such a good girl." The young child giggled adorably at Xing's caress and faced Alan.
Knowing that he needed to explain how the merchant cleared his throat then began his tale. "The specific battle Lady Jade mentioned earlier was the fall of glory. The capital of the Valorian Empire is Glory City, much like how Valor City is the capital of the Dominii Empire.
"The Valorious Empire was known for its martial might and strict military order. They had arguably the strongest army. But as if the world didn't like that in their lands a deadly disease called blightsoul spread. No one knew where blightsoul came from but that it just appeared one day. It was a dangerous disease that devastated the Valorians."
"Devastated?" asked Ryuuka in confusion.
"Ah, my apologies, that means it made life pretty hard for them. Many people needed to pass because of it."
The dragonkin then inquired further. "But what does the fall of glory city have to do with the sickness?"
"I will get to that. Blightsoul made a lot of people sick and a lot of them passed, but the problem with blightsoul is that the people who become infected would soon lose their minds and attack others. What is worse is that, if you died from Blightsoul you would not stay dead."
"Eh?"
"Yes, my lady, blightsoul not only turned the living insane but turned anyone who dies from it into undead."
"Like zombies, skeletons, and ghouls? Scary!"????????????????????????????????.????????????
"Yes, they turn into something like a ghoul. They are called blight walkers. Even just a single scratch would be enough to infect someone with blightsoul. So the blight walkers unlike regular undead do not have to kill you to become create a new blight walker. So it was very hard to stop them.
"The other empires when they saw the nature of blight walkers suggested eradicating the sickness. The Dominii, the Alabarda, and the Gracyeanor all suggested purging the Valorian empire. This meant that they wanted to put down anyone who had been infected, regardless if they still had their minds or not.
"But because the Valorians believed that the still sane should not be killed just because they were infected it lead to a difference in opinion. Against the advice of the others, the Valorians quarantined the ones infected. Using their powerful system users they tried to control the outbreak.
"Even though they somehow contained the blightsoul, the empire suffered severely. It takes more men to quarantine than just kill the blight walkers. So eventually the Valorian empire started to run out of food, clothing, and medicine.
"The other kingdoms did not wish to risk getting infected so they sent limited aid. Only the Gracyeanor sent their people to help led by the Gracyeanor Matriarch. If the Valorians were known for their strong warriors, the Gracyeanor had the strongest mages and priests as well as the smartest people.
"With the support from their allies, the Valorian empire started to gain back control. While a slow process the strong healers delayed the death of many Valorian citizens. That is until it came out that one of the Valorian princes was infected while not in quarantine.
Alan stopped for a moment to fix his breathing. Ryuuka waited in earnest for what happened next.
"The prince then went insane and destroyed the quarantine areas allowing the infected to mingle with the healthy people. When the infected turned insane, thousands died immediately. Blight walkers rose up en mass and crippled the entire empire in the span of a month.
"Unable to regain control the Valorians were faced with a tough decision. Kill everyone or try to again separate the healthy and the sick. The Matriarch who was present suggested purging the infected cities.
"The Valorian emperor at that time Nero Valorious did not wish to kill innocent people and believed they could still be saved. This became his biggest mistake and the one that destroyed the empire."
