Lafrenia

"That's very commendable," the commander commented on Milo and Airlis's speeches. "I have no doubt that with such promising recruits, our cause will triumph over the injustice that looms over our country. I believe it would be fair to tell you a little about myself. Like Coriel, I am from Kimika. I served in the royal army from a young age, but to my shame and disappointment, the last war caught Eolia at a time when I was abroad on duty, and therefore I could not provide any assistance to our nation during such a dark time for it. However, I actively fought during the first invasion of Dithlind 20 years ago, and therefore I am well aware of what our enemy is like..." At one point, Kiera's calm tone and expression changed to anger filled with contempt. "In this world, there is nothing easier than turning an oppressed person into an oppressor. All it takes is to put someone who was once thoroughly neglected into a position of power. This is the face of the Republic of Dithlind. I don't think anyone will be surprised by the behavior of this country's soldiers during both wars: they mocked Eolian men, raped women, and killed the elderly and children. Today, all of this is conveniently attributed to the vagaries of war, but the deeper wounds of Eolia are not mentioned. Allow me to ask, have you ever heard of the 'Dithlindian roulette'?" Without waiting for an obvious answer, she continued. "During wartime, this was one of the pastimes of the Dithlindian aristocracy. They would choose one of the captive girls, usually the most physically attractive of all – due to their perverse sense of aesthetics – and tie her to a table, tree, or any other surface, and then place bets and spin a roulette wheel. In the usual version of this game, the winner receives a cash prize, but in Dithlindian roulette, the rules were slightly different. Each number on the roulette wheel corresponded to a specific part of the body of the nominee chosen by the person placing the bet, and when the ball stopped, the executioner would cut off the "winning" part of the captive's body to the excited applause of the assembled participants. One might think that with the fall of the aristocracy, all this barbarism would be forgotten, but rumors have it that even during the last war, some of the Dithlindian detachments practiced this kind of "entertainment," albeit instead of the extravagant inventory of the aristocracy, they used simple dice..." Kiera told her story in a steady tone, but it was clear that her mind was not entirely clear at the moment; she had uneven breathing, etc. Finally, she pulled herself together. "What I want to say is... Twenty years is a very short time; people don't change that easily, and even less so their culture. Those who were barbarians will remain so, regardless of the political system and the chosen ideology. The same applies to our neighbors to the north and east: some have blindly come to believe in the chosenness of their rulers by God, while others can only count money, which means we can only rely on ourselves."