Hope's Flame/Story

Hope's Flame - Opening

Arlen	I told you, I don't need anyone's help to deal with pathetic bandits attacking a village, so...
I'm sure you're quite capable, but we don't know how many of them there are yet. We should work together.		Caeda
Yuliya	That's right! You seem confident in your magic, but I think we should try to avoid being needlessly reckless.
I will never be bested by such vulgar creatures as bandits! I have far more significant concerns. Like why must I be forced to work with you, Merric?		Arlen
Merric	Arlen, I'm pleased to be reunited with you like this. We can use our abilities to complete this mission together.
Work together? With you? Don't be foolish! I'll never trust you! The tome of Excalibur was always meant to be passed on to me! Although... Perhaps there is an opportunity here. Shall we see who can defeat the most bandits? If I win, you will return Excalibur to its rightful place with me! Princess Caeda of Talys and Princess Yuliya of Grust, I would like you to be the witnesses for this contest.		Arlen
Yuliya	No. We are not going along with your weird plan for some silly competition when there is a threat to deal with.
Arlen, setting aside your competition, fighting may not be the only way to bring this conflict to a close. Why don't we try talking to these bandits? We may be able to resolve this without the need for combat.		Caeda
Arlen	They're bandits. We must deal with them decisively or they could do irreparable damage to the village. Pay attention, Merric, and you will see how much greater I am than you!
...		Merric

Hope's Flame - C

Merric	It has been a while now. The bandits should arrive at any moment.
I advised the villagers to stay hidden from danger, but I’m afraid something bad may still happen.		Yuliya
Caeda	Yes. We should remain alert as well.
Ridiculous! If they’re going to attack, we should await them in the open, and strike them down quickly.		Arlen
Merric	Arlen, I have to disagree with you. The village could suffer significant damage if they find out we are here and attempt to burn us out.
Merric is right. Our priority has to be protecting the village. To think you would risk goading the bandits on!		Yuliya
Merric	Quiet, everyone. They’re here. Let’s watch and see what their move is.
You can stand and gawk if you want. I shall strike down each and every one of them myself!		Arlen
Merric	Wait, Arlen! ...And there he goes.
Hmph! He never listens! Is he too wrapped up in his own ambitions to lend an ear to anyone else?!		Yuliya
Caeda	Don’t worry, I’ll go after Arlen. You two, protect the village!
You can count on us! Be careful, Princess Caeda!		Merric
Yuliya	What is that? It’s strangely bright on the eastern side of the village.
What?! Princess Yuliya, watch out! The bandits have begun shooting fire arrows!		Merric
Yuliya	Then we need to lead the villagers to safety! Terrible things could happen if we don’t hurry!

Hope's Flame - B

Arlen	I will not allow Merric and his irk to claim this victory. Haaa!
Arlen	Hmph. There are quite a lot of them, though they’re still no match for me. But... Where is Merric? He can’t hope to win if he doesn’t fight.
Everyone, you must listen to me! I have something important to say!		Caeda
Arlen	Why is Princess Caeda shouting like that? Doesn’t she realize we are in the midst of a battle?
Arlen! You need to stop fighting. At least until I’ve had a chance to speak.		Caeda
Arlen	Stop fighting? Is this her idea of a joke? What nonsense!
Everyone, you will be safe if you take shelter over here! Hurry! The flames are right behind us!		Yuliya
Merric	Leave this to me! I’ll use my wind magic to prevent the flames from coming this way!
I would expect no less of a talented wind mage! You are stopping the fire in its tracks!		Yuliya
Merric	Everyone, run to safety now, while you still can!
Huh? That’s strange. Did you notice how quiet it has gotten? Is it possible the fighting could be finished?		Yuliya
Arlen	Yes, it is. The battle...is over.
Arlen! Thank goodness you weren’t injured.		Merric
Arlen	I lost track of you when the battle started. Were you...leading the villagers to safety?
Why, of course! The bandits shot flaming arrows at us. We helped them get away safely, and Merric prevented the flames from spreading with his wind magic.		Yuliya
Arlen	I see...
If the battle is over, does that mean the bandits have all been defeated?		Merric
Arlen	No, a large number remain, though they seem to have lost the will to fight. I didn’t have to do a thing.
I don’t understand. Are you saying they simply stopped fighting?		Yuliya
Arlen	Perhaps you should come and see for yourselves.
Conflict only brings greater suffering. There is no future in it. If you look in your hearts, I know you’ll see it’s true. I believe you all have kindness deep within you. You understand what it is like to suffer.		Caeda
Merric	What is this?
Look at that! All the bandits listening to Princess Caeda speak have cast aside their weapons!		Yuliya
Merric	It’s true. Princess Caeda has convinced them to stop fighting.
I thought it pointless to try convincing villains such as these the value of peace, but...		Arlen
Yuliya	Look! Some of them are even crying. They must have secretly hated doing such terrible things.
Princess Caeda is remarkable. I can scarce believe she was able to end this confrontation without fighting.		Merric

Hope's Flame - A

Yuliya	I see you are the last one. Let me help you.
Yuliya	There, now all of the bandits who were injured in the fighting have been healed.
Thank you, Princess Yuliya. Because of your efforts, there are no major injuries to the bandits or villagers.		Caeda
Yuliya	I can’t take all the credit. It was mostly because everyone worked together. But still... Arlen, I found it impressive how you took on so many bandits by yourself.
I suppose.		Arlen
Merric	What is it, Arlen? Is something about this not sitting right with you?
I was thinking about my competition with you...		Arlen
Yuliya	Really?! Must you bring that up again? You both did quite a lot to help out today. Is that not sufficient?
Princess Yuliya, I did drive back the bandits alone, but I do not say that with pride now.		Arlen
Merric	What do you mean?
Merric, you chose to protect the villagers rather than compete with me. I know you were right to do so.		Arlen
Yuliya	Hm. I see your attitude has improved since we got here.
Most importantly, I see the true victor in this battle was Princess Caeda. The way she convinced the bandits to lay down their weapons... I was nothing short of miraculous.		Arlen
Caeda	It wasn’t that impressive. Everyone has a conscience, even those who perform evil deeds. All I did was help them find that. Now they have a chance to lead honest lives and atone for their sins.
Fighting isn’t the only way to resolve problems. I disregarded that before, but now it resonates with me deeply. I apologize again for trying to drag you into my personal rivalry, Princess Caeda and Princess Yuliya.		Arlen
Yuliya	The incident has already been discarded form my memory. How about you, Princess Caeda?
And also from mine. Arlen, please continue to lend your considerable might to the Order of Heroes.		Caeda
Merric	It seems you learned a lot from this mission, Arlen.
What?! Such arrogance... I despise that smug face of yours. ...But, it is as you say. There is much I still need to learn. I shall endeavor to become greater than you while I am here in Askr, and I will succeed no matter what. Until that day, I suppose it makes sense to leave Excalibur in your care.		Arlen
Merric	Thank you, Arlen. I, too, still have much to learn. Let us learn together, as comrades here in the Order of Heroes.

Scenario
Thaw of Knowledge ←		Hope's Flame		Will into Action →
Arlen	Yuliya		Merric		Caeda

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