A Trust Earned/Caineghis: Gallia's Lion King

Caineghis: Gallia's Lion King - C

Alfonse	You have my gratitude, King Caineghis. Your support is very reassuring...and appreciated.
Yes, perhaps it was providence that brought us here... Whatever the case, we will give all we have in the name of peace. For the pride of Gallia, we can do no less.		Caineghis
Alfonse	I'm glad to hear it. And I must admit, I am eager to learn how a great king such as yourself approaches war.
I have had little occasion to act more like a warrior than a king... It has been some time since I took to the field and looked my enemy in the eye... In my younger days, however, things were different... It's strange. You are of the royal family, and yet...you still risk your life in battle. Does no one protest?		Caineghis
Alfonse	Yes... I am aware it isn't quite proper for royalty to enter the fray...
On the contrary! Putting yourself at risk with your countrymen raises their morale. Is that not a king's purpose? I am sure there are many varieties of beorc king, but...yours is a style we laguz find a natural fit.		Caineghis

Caineghis: Gallia's Lion King - B

Caineghis	When I grow old and frail, Gallia will need a successor to take my place. Unfortunately, that successor is currently a hot-blooded fool...just as I was in the days of my youth.
You? A fool? I have trouble imagining that, King Caineghis.		Alfonse
Caineghis	Yes, well, my younger self had it in his head that any problem could be solved if one applied enough force. My successor acts as if he has the same idea in his head—if indeed he has anything but muscle up there.
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but...isn't the king of Gallia determined by strength rather than by bloodline? If that is so, it seems natural for Gallia's future king to use his great strength to fight for his people.		Alfonse
Caineghis	While his physical strength cannot be denied, it makes him weaker in some important ways. Conquering your foes by force alone fills one with a certain arrogance... You begin to feel unstoppable. Then, when a crushing defeat finally comes...more than just the battle is lost. Everything you knew changes. When one values strength above all... Some can lose themselves—who they thought they were—in defeat.
If strength is a weakness, as you say, what would happen if such a person took the throne?		Alfonse
Caineghis	With someone like that...as long as he does not lose, he cannot change—and therefore, he cannot rule justly. The ruler who cannot change, you see, can only be a tyrant. And so he must lose before taking the throne. I would rather have died from the defeat that shaped me than to have never faced it at all. And if my successor dies in defeat, though I would mourn, so be it. It will be better for Gallia in the end. But if he can meet defeat and keep moving forward, he will be that much closer to being worthy of the throne.

Caineghis: Gallia's Lion King - A

Caineghis	My personal philosophy is, as a king on the battlefield, the one thing you must always be sure you do is... never die. No matter what happens, you must survive. To me, that is part of a king's duty as the head of his country. No matter how miserable the loss, if the king lives, there is hope.
...		Alfonse
Caineghis	I have a personal advisor and envoy, who some call my shadow. His name is Giffca. If he is able to perform my duties in one way or another, I will ask him to so that my life is at less risk. My people need me—at least until an heir is ready to replace me. To that end, I must take certain measures.
Thank you, King Caineghis. There is so much to being a king— both on and off the battlefield. I think I'm beginning to understand that. And as part of that understanding, I'm also beginning to see how much I still have yet to learn...		Alfonse
Caineghis	Take heart... Though you may have some work ahead of you yet, already you possess much of what is needed. Keep looking for examples of kings you admire. Find them one by one, and let them shape your growth.

Caineghis: Gallia's Lion King - S

Caineghis	Ah! Good timing, Prince Alfonse. I was just thinking about our talk. I want to clear something up.
I'd be happy to hear anything you have to tell me!		Alfonse
Caineghis	All life is equal—or so we wish. But... that is not the reality we live in. You can see the evidence in the difference between the weight of a king's life and that of a soldier's.
I don't—		Alfonse
Caineghis	Let me be clear... Neither life is superior to the other. The difference is the weight of the responsibility. A king's life is not his own to spend. It is a life responsible for the people. That is one thing we must not forget. A king must be disciplined and live to carry out his responsibility to his country and people. Are you prepared to do that, Prince Alfonse? Is that the kind of promise you can make to your people?
I admit, I am extremely inexperienced next to every other king gathered at the castle, but... I can promise that my resolve is unwavering. I'm ready and willing to do everything I need to do.		Alfonse
Caineghis	Good. As long as you remember that promise, your path will lead you to become the king you need to be. As for me, there is no country here over which I rule—no Gallia. Yet I will still fight in its name, as king. And as king, rest assured, I will survive, and I will win the day. With the weight of both Gallia and Askr on my shoulders, that fact will remain true. So let us fight, survive, and win together, that we may both fulfill our duties as kings!

Scenario
← Bastian		Ranulf →
A Trust Earned
Caineghis	Lethe	Ranulf	Mordecai

---