“Many of you may know me as the leader of the Garden of Irises, but the man speaking speaks simply as a Eustacian.

“The Kingdom of Eustacia is beautiful. I love the Kingdom of Eustacia and have fond memories of the Kingdom. When I was young, my family and I would travel on a willow boat across a small river beside our home. Whenever we got close to the shore, we would hear the blunt sound of farming rakes hitting the soil and children’s hearty laughs. Occasionally, they would wave to us and we would wave back. I think I live in a good kingdom.

“The Kingdom of Eustacia is also ugly. The border between Eustacia and Tzapp is now guarded by people who bat not an eye slaughtering our kin. Grey-haired people now make up most of the population in East Frey, our capital city. The grey rat emperor is now sitting on the Eustacian throne, contemplating new ways to suppress us. The Eustacians who turned on us thought they took ahold of power, when it was power who took ahold of them. And the imperial court boasted providing the best for their people, when it was the people who provided for them.

“When will their tyrannic ways end? How much longer do we have to survive on dried tree bark? Can my family live till tomorrow? These questions are as common as there are stars in the night sky. Yesterday, we said today would be better, but today we all wished yesterday never went by so quickly.

“Friends, I am prepared to make enemies tonight. But as a Eustacian, I am not afraid. They are enemies worth making.

“I remember my neighbour. They were a family of two: a sickly old mother and her eight-year-old son. They were illegal immigrants. Two months ago, in that unforgettable night, everything was ablaze. It was the dead of night, yet I was blinded by the surrounding flame and deafened by the screams of men, women, and children. I recall the stiffness in my chest. It was hard to breathe. People were scampering away from those tyrannical Tzappians, except for that family.

“The mother helped the injured and guided people to safety, herself limping. She never stopped. She would not let herself catch her breath if it meant there were still people in danger. As her son and I were helping her, she would tell us to just go, just go! Run! But how could we? Shortly after, she collapsed, and those ruthless bastards caught up. They grinned in a way I can only compare it to the devil.

“As one of them raised his bloodied axe, ready to swing down on her, the boy dove headfirst into the bastard’s chest. That bastard’s grip loosened and in the instance the bastard dropped his axe, the boy bit his right hand. Several fingers flew off. I heard the cry of a young child, ‘You will have to go through me before my ma!’ In the face of death, he did not panic. And even after the two merciless swings which robbed the family of their lives, his face showed no regret.

“They were more heroic than anyone I have ever met. And even though they were not born Eustacians, I consider them to be true Eustacian heroes.

“Let me ask you: what makes us Eustacians? It’s the strength, the compassion and the unyielding will that define us. They are our Eustacian pride which lies deep within each and every single one of us. They are afraid of our pride, afraid of our potential, afraid of our unity. So they want to suppress us, just like how they would a raging flood. But our overflowing Eustacian pride cannot be contained. When the time comes, the flood gate will burst open. And I am here to announce that now is the time. No longer shall we be suppressed. No more shall we suffer in silence. No further shall we stray from our Eustacian pride. If they dare reject what defines us, then I say they are enemies worth making.

“We are Eustacians: strong, compassionate, and unyielding. Perhaps it’s time for us to stop bowing to those barbarians. Perhaps it’s time to fight back. Perhaps it’s time to make them our enemies. If you recognise them as our enemy, I invite you to brave our way into the Amber Manor next Wednesday. And through blood and chaos may our Eustacian pride be recognised.”

(New series! Oddly enough, it starts off with a speech... The prologue is a quite long, but it kicks off the story with a life-changing event (for someone). Look forward to meeting the main character as he struggles between right and wrong in an unforgiving world of martial arts! If you like this story, please check out my other story "The Parallel Scripture and Its Stories" with an... unconventional hero. It's a story about martial arts, treasure, and kindness. Please kindly give a vote and comment if you like the story! It really helps me going.)