Scenario:Reinhardtzar - Blue Period

Blue Period

Reinhardtzar, Cain, and Leona meet an old man who calls Reinhardtzar a "Rekki user." In fact, Reinhardtzar is the scion of a long line of Torhid Kingdom royal retainers who used this fearsome power which endangers the life of its user. As a new recruit in the Torhid Army, he was put through draconian training to awaken that power, though he didn't realize the training's purpose until Abel risked court-martial to tell him, beginning an unlikely friendship.

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After Pholia abdicated her throne, her country was reborn as the Republic of Idelva.

Years of conflict ceded to peace and stability at last.

Some time has passed since this sea change. In a palace without a sovereign, a lone man stands lost in thought.

Reinhardtzar: ...

Cain: Yo, Reinhardtzar. What are you and that long face up to?

Reinhardtzar: Oh, it's you. I'm not up to anything.

Reinhardtzar: But since you're here, there's something I'd like to ask you.

Cain: Why so formal? Shoot.

Reinhardtzar: You said you were leaving Idelva. I assume your plans haven't changed?

Cain's expression turns serious.

Cain: If this country is truly going to belong to all its people, then we can't be here.

Cain: We're too tightly linked to the way things were run before.

Cain: They're setting up a new system of government, and it'd be naive to think we could contribute like normal citizens.

Cain: Whether we liked it or not, some people would want us to take the reins, given our distinguished service.

Cain: Others might try to use our names to drum up votes for themselves.

Cain: That's not what Pholia wanted for the country... It's not what we worked for.

Pholia acted as Idelva's sovereign while hiding a sin from its people.

When that secret stoked the flames of war, however, she resolved to abdicate.

Pholia: I hereby renounce my position as sovereign of Idelva Kingdom.

Pholia: I give this land back to you—the people.

As punishment for her trespass, Pholia was exiled from Idelva in perpetuity.

That punishment was in fact devised by Cain in order to protect Pholia, but few people were aware of the true intention behind it.

Reinhardtzar: I see. I guess that's fine then.

Cain: Geez, what's with you lately? If you've got something to say, just—

Leona: Cain. Reinhardtzar.

Leona, Cain's second-in-command, walks up to the pair.

Leona: Do the two of you have a moment? There's someone I'd like you to meet.

Leona: We've arrested a senior citizen with no form of identification on him. It sounds like he may have had something to do with the Torhid Kingdom though.

Cain: What are you talking about, Leo?

What is now the Republic of Idelva, and was formerly the Idelva Kingdom, was in turn preceded by the Torhid Kingdom.

Leona: Apparently he looks like someone who used to visit the Torhid royal palace.

Leona: I don't recognize him myself, but I thought one of you might.

Oldster: How dare they lock me up like this... Who do they think they are? Idiots... This country has gone to the dogs...

Cain: Eugh! Did you bathe in whiskey? I can smell you from here!

Oldster: Another ill-mannered young whippersnapper... No respect for their elders... Who raised these little hellions?

Leona: Um, sir? You can go home soon, but...

From the blank expression on the old man's face, it's difficult to tell how much of what they're saying is registering.

Leona: So, do either of you recognize him?

Cain: Nope. I wasn't posted at the castle back then though.

Reinhardtzar: He's a stranger to me. But it's not like I was the most connected person.

Leona: Yeah, that's true... Just because you worked at the palace doesn't mean you'd know everyone who came and went.

Leona: Sir? Sorry for keeping you so long. You can go home now.

Leona: I'll send a soldier to escort you. Where are you headed?

Oldster: ...!

Leona: Sir? Is something wrong?

The old man's eyes lock onto Reinhardtzar. He begins to tremble.

Reinhardtzar: Huh?

Oldster: Finally... I finally found you! The Torhid Kingdom's secret weapon!

Oldster: You have to help restore the Torhid Kingdom! It's your duty!

Oldster: Your duty as a Rekki user!

Reinhardtzar: ...!

Oldster: That strength of yours, which makes you an army unto yourself—it is the strength born of loyalty, passed down in Torhid since before the War!

Oldster: You wouldn't stoop to wielding that power for your own selfish purposes, would you?

The man is frothing at the mouth as he advances on Reinhardtzar—who remains silent.

Old memories resurface unbidden.

This was in the Torhid Kingdom's heyday, when it was one of the greatest powers in the Nalhegrande Skydom.

Reinhardtzar—then a new recruit—was put through a grueling solo training regimen high in the mountains.

Reinhardtzar: Pant... Pant...

Major Payne: No resting! It doesn't count as training unless you're sweating blood!

Captain Dufresne: Hunh! Not much of a soldier, but you're a hell of an actor when you want a break.

Reinhardtzar: Captain... I've been wanting to ask for a while. Just what is this training for?

Reinhardtzar: Why am I training alone instead of with my unit? Why empty-handed and not with a weapon?

Reinhardtzar: Every single day, driving my fingers into trees, scaling cliffs with weights strapped to my back...

Reinhardtzar: All I did was enlist in the army—I don't remember begging some mountain hermit to make me his disciple.

Captain Dufresne: All right, I was wrong. You're also a professional-level whiner. But fine, I'll answer your questions. It's because you're a failure.

Reinhardtzar: Hunh...

Captain Dufresne: What's with that attitude?

Major Payne: Don't get distracted with meaningless questions, Reinhardtzar! You're not here to think—just do what you're told!

As a lowly recruit, Reinhardtzar has no choice but to obey his superiors' orders and continue with his draconian training in spite of his reservations.

One day, however, his instructors leave him alone for a while.

As he practices his drills, Reinhardtzar becomes aware of a presence in the direction of a nearby thicket. Instinctively, he assumes a defensive stance.

Reinhardtzar: A monster?

???: Nope. You can relax.

???: You're Reinhardtzar, aren't you?

Reinhardtzar: I saw you at the intake ceremony. You're Lieutenant Abel, right?

Even among the Torhid Kingdom Army, this man is known for his affability.

Abel: No need for formalities. Just call me Abel.

Reinhardtzar: I was told not to talk to anyone but my instructors until training was over...

Abel: Yeah, which means I'm breaking the rules here. So do me a favor and keep your voice down so I don't get caught.

Reinhardtzar: I might. Depends on your reasons. What's so important that you're risking disciplinary action to come here?

Abel looks the wary recruit straight in the eye.

Abel: Okay, I want you to listen closely. You need to get out of here immediately. If you don't, it may cost you your life.

Reinhardtzar: What?

Abel: This training they're putting you through is supposed to awaken a power called Rekki.

Reinhardtzar: My instructors didn't say anything about that.

Abel: I'll bet they didn't. It's a dangerous ability. And mishandling it can be fatal.

Abel: Long ago, in their thirst for power, the Torhid Kingdom began conducting secretive experiments on a certain family of royal retainers.

Abel: The modifications they made to these people allowed them to summon supernatural strength. That was the birth of Rekki.

Abel: Rekki users were the Torhid Kingdom's ultimate weapon. They allowed Torhid to gain supremacy in Nalhegrande.

Abel: But Rekki endangers the user's life. The more someone uses it, the more it eats away at their body.

Abel: Which is why over many years, that family of users died out... Or so everyone thought.

Abel: Until you showed up. When they were doing background searches on the new recruits, the army brass realized you were part of that bloodline.

Reinhardtzar: I am?

Abel: In this day and age, you can't have as much of that blood in your veins as the users of old, but even so, you've got an incredible aptitude for that power. You could be developed into quite the weapon.

Abel: The training methods necessary to awaken the Rekki lying dormant in your blood have been passed down in Torhid. That's what they're using on you now.

Reinhardtzar: I don't get it. Why wouldn't they tell me that?

Abel: Like I said, it's dangerous. The best way I can describe Rekki would be as an explosive compound that is also a deadly poison.

Abel: Summoning Rekki even once will unlock an explosive power.

Abel: But to control it takes long, rigorous training and an iron will.

Abel: If you can't control it, it'll destroy you from the inside, like the most potent poison.

Reinhardtzar: Hah... So they figured I'd piss myself over the risks and go running off into the night.

Abel: They want to awaken your Rekki without your knowledge, so you don't even have the option of turning back.

Abel: I couldn't just let that happen, even if it meant disobeying orders.

Abel: As soon as you joined the army, you became one of us. Using a comrade up and throwing them away is unforgivable.

Abel: I'll find some way to sort things out afterward, so you just get the hell out of—

Reinhardtzar: Nah. I'm gonna see this through.

Abel: What? Were you listening to what I just said?

Abel is aghast, but Reinhardtzar is calm as ever.

Reinhardtzar: I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. No parents, no siblings. I spent my childhood being shunted from one place to another.

Abel: ...?

Reinhardtzar: I wasn't welcome anywhere I went. I thought no one would ever have any use for me.

Reinhardtzar: But thanks to all that, I learned early what life is all about.

Abel: What do you mean?

Reinhardtzar: The meaning of life is to be needed by others. It is to me, at least.

Reinhardtzar: If the army needs this Rekki, or whatever it's called, and I've got it in me, then I'll figure out how to use it. Doesn't matter if it's dangerous.

Reinhardtzar: I'll do it to prove to myself that there's a reason I exist. The country's motivations don't make a lick of difference to me.

Abel: You...

Abel: Awakening Rekki is like inviting a wild animal to live inside your body.

Abel: And you don't get to change your mind down the line and return that beast to the woods! You're stuck with it for life!

Reinhardtzar: Heh. Fine by me. I could use a pet. Maybe I'll teach it to roll over and play fetch.

Abel: ...

It takes Abel a moment to pick his jaw up off the ground.

Abel: There's something not right about you. You're about a rupie short of the lunch special.

Reinhardtzar: Pfft. Look who's talking. I'd say you're the one acting irrational.

Reinhardtzar: Why warn me? If I do have this power, it'll be good for the army. You're an officer. Don't you want what's best for the troops?

Abel: That's not the issue. I didn't like how they were going about it.

Reinhardtzar: Is that all? That's your whole reason for betraying the army?

Abel: Yeah. You got a problem with that?

Reinhardtzar: Nah... I'd heard you were an odd duck, Abel. Sure enough, you are.

Abel: Yeah... I get that a lot.

Abel scratches his head, seemingly at a loss as to why this opinion is so common.

Abel: Anyway... I'm not giving up.

Abel: Your life is still being recklessly endangered. I'll keep coming here until I convince you to leave.

Reinhardtzar: If that's how you wanna waste your time. I don't think you're gonna convince me.

Abel: Oh, boy... This is gonna be rough, isn't it?

Abel and Reinhardtzar each came away with the same first impression of the other: "What a weirdo."

Each was also certain that the other had been entirely frank about his own convictions.

However...

Captain Dufresne: ...

Neither had noticed that their conversation was observed from the nearby shadows.