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civman2000
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of the Martian Empire
Jun 2001
time: 23:30
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Daniel de la Civ runs out of his Pamplona house, seeming angry. He looks around himself. The street is flooded with people. Suddenly, he begins to address them:
"Citizens of Pamplona, Spaniards, countrymen, and above all, Christians! Come, hear what I have to say.
"I have been in the stomach of a demon of Hell for...a long time. Now, as you see, I have returned.
"When I arrived back in Pamplona, I discovered what had happened. The war goes badly. People are flooding into the city.
"But most of all, the Tyrant Togas has annulled the Vigo Accord and claimed supreme power. This is INTOLERABLE! I know that the Tyrant has been in full control for years now, and that his coup d'etat has fallen out of recent memory. But remember it now! Why, when he needs the support and aid of the nobles the most, when he needs the love of his people the most, why would a King sever himself from them to enhance his own power? Evidently the Tyrant was just masquerading when he said that it would be a good idea to spread power among many people and that Kings should be accountable to their subjects and vassals.
"So what should we do? The answer is simple: revolt! We must not tolerate being slaves, even if our master is not too harsh. He gave us freedom, but has changed his mind, and just as the ancestors of the Virgin Mary had to flee from the then-heathen Egyptians when their Pharaoh decided to reinslave them and took refuge in Persia, Arabia, and Spain, we must flee in a sense as well. We must call on our fellow Christians the Egyptians to protect us, and aid us in replacing this worthless--"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!" screamed Roberto Mayor de la Civ, who had evidently just came out of the house.
"Saving Spain, Christianity, and freedom!" replied Daniel defiantly.
"Fool! Scum! Rebel! Traitor! What shall happen if you revolt? The power of the King and his armies, including myself and my son, will be undermined. Without our armies, we will be defenseless against the heathen Arabs and Chinese!"
"The Egyptians will protect us! God will protect us! He will not allow us to fall into the hands of heathens!"
"I have taken an oath to protect the life and sovereignty of the King! Prepare to die, rebel scum!" He charged at Daniel, his sword ready to strike.
"Father, stop!" called Roberto Menor from the doorway of the house. He ran, his own sword ready, toward Daniel. Daniel began to run, to attempt to immerse himself in the mob he had tried to energize, but as Roberto Menor charged, the mob melted away around Daniel.
Cornered, Daniel began to plead. "I am a Cardinal, will you kill a Cardinal of the Church? I am your nephew, will you massacre your own family??" As Roberto Mayor finally came within feet, Daniel drew his own sword. "I do not want to fight you. I love you, uncle." Roberto swung his sword. Daniel blocked it with his own. Roberto swung again. Daniel blocked again. A third time: Daniel failed to block, and the sword plunged into his stomach. Daniel slumped over dead, and a second later, Roberto Mayor mimicked him, to the shock of the crowd. Behind him stood his son, whose sword was in his father's back. The one remaining Roberto collapsed into tears.
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23-08-2003 17:39
Nice tale. 
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