Chapter 33: Chapter THIRTY THREE

Mia and Ethan had had a particularly gloomy week. The blonde struggled to dissipate the frustration that inhabited her after the bath incident and was particularly on edge as soon as the Vila had the misfortune to even brush against her. Ethan, meanwhile, had walled himself in a tortured silence, clearly occupied in an inner battle with his Vila counterpart. They had slept most days in the young man's room, Mia enjoying the privacy provided by the Vilas district which was far less lively than the infirmary. The showers were also more sophisticated and, if she chose her hours well, she managed to find herself alone in the room to calmly enjoy the hot water and the comfort of almost modern life. In return, they regularly spent their afternoons in the infirmary with Lily and the two magicians when they weren't busy in class.

Ethan had obtained Vassili's permission to be excused from class until the tensions died down, now accompanying Mia wherever she went. She didn't complain about the feeling of security that came from his presence, but it kept reminding her of the unsuccessful activities of the previous weekend.

To clear her mind, she had decided to continue pondering the many questions that resided in her head about this world and its inhabitants. With the help of a few books and the knowledge of her friends, she hoped to be able to understand the situation in which she found herself by being slightly less vague and by understanding a little more the implicit mechanics of their society.

A book on her knees and a cup of tea in her left hand, Mia was leafing through the book, sitting on one of the armchairs in the infirmary with Ethan and Lily. The sun had already gone down, but the blonde had no desire to go to bed to be confronted once again with emotions she was trying to bury. She persevered, but she encountered many comprehension difficulties in her readings since she lacked basic knowledge of Istarea. A knowledge that she had not yet had time to acquire.

"Arry had vaguely explained to me the political system of each race, but... if all the races are living together here, there must be some sort of alliance, right?"

"It's a bit complicated," Lily explained. "After the war, the system changed for many of us. Many clans and peoples have come together, alliances have been created, and certain ruling castes have been completely transformed. That's especially the case with the Vilas," she continued, glancing over to Ethan for him to elaborate on his own.

"The most respected families and elders met in a Council when it was vital. And that was pretty rare. Each family lived more or less in its corner with its own rules. With the other races... you could say we were pacifists. Vilas did not take part in any clan quarrels, and no one came to mess with us. That changed when the other races got together and decided they were coordinated enough to stand a chance of winning."

"It started with magicians. Between werewolves and vampires, they had a lot of enemies," Lily went on. "Gradually, clan leaders came together to form alliances. They elected one representative per type of magic and formed a council. From there, they were able to repel the attacks without too much trouble, since they were coordinated. After only defending, they began to counterattack. Under threat, the werewolf packs united and appointed a warlord to unite them under one banner. The vampires already had a ruling caste, but they had never been particularly interested in the prospect of real war. They didn't really have a choice. Once each race was united, it was too late. The scale of attacks has doubled and even isolated areas have turned into battlefields."

"I don't know who launched the first offensive, but Vilas were drawn into the conflict. Since you can't say they were united, many families were decimated," Ethan continued.

"Wait, what about the humans in all of this? What about fairies and centaurs?" Mia inquired.

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"For the fairies, nothing really changed since we have managed to stay relatively far from the conflict, preferring defensive positions only. We're not big fighters, but we're good at going unnoticed. We still have our King and our Queen and that's not about to change. The centaurs applied the same philosophy and went into hiding in the forest. Since they live in herds and move fast, it was relatively easy for them to avoid battlefields. Humans, on the other hand, were ruled by a King, like fairies. They were pacifists, preferring to grow, mix and trade with other races. It was thanks to their prized goods that they suffered little attack before the war. Wines, spices, minerals... the advantage of having a lot of manpower. Their connections and their bribes saved them from suffering a crushing defeat in the event of an organized attack. Unfortunately... their trade has been disrupted by the war, and their King has decided to join the battle in hopes of restoring peace."

"That's when my mother started rallying some families to form a council of war. She saw it as an opportunity to satisfy her ideas of purging. She had the perfect case for uniting the Vilas under her command: under the threat of other races, the families had no choice but to unite. Vilas, though powerful, were outnumbered by the others. My mother knew it. She took advantage of her relationships with the other races not to create alliances, but to up the ante. It wasn't complicated to pit the others against the humans, making them look like arrogant people who try to parasitize the other races. With two birds with one stone, she managed to push the Vilas out of the overall battle and lead the attacks against the humans, leading them to their downfall."

"The war lasted four years. Humans were not the only collateral damage, each race suffered heavy losses. The war was beginning to run out of steam. At a certain point, the fighting subsided. A peace treaty was eventually signed before the numbers dwindled too much. The Arena is one of the consequences of this treaty. We can't say that we live in harmony but... everyone knows that this treaty is necessary. At best, this will settle the feuds between the races, at worst... It's a welcome break."

Silence reigned in the room for a few seconds, giving Mia time to assimilate all this new information. Istarea's political situation was complex, and she suspected strongly that this was only a rough summary of its power games.

"And what about now? How does every race gather together and meet?" she asked her two interlocutors.

"Diplomatic representatives were elected. They meet weekly to settle the major remaining feuds between the races. So far so good," Lily replied. "Sorry, but if we start going into the details, it will take us hours."

Mia sighed as she threw herself against the back of the chair. She wasn't even sure she could remember the broad strokes given the magnitude of the information that had just been brought to her. A yawn brought her out of her thoughts, making Lily smile.

"I think it's time we all go to bed," she suggested, getting up.

"Yeah... good idea," Mia agreed. "That's already a lot to take in."

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