[Dimitri nods, then sits in the chair. He doesn't let his back rest against it, instead leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His gaze goes on a downward angle, and he doesn't appear to be focusing on anything.]
It started with my father conducting diplomatic negotiations with a region known as Duscur. Their people had a culture different from the rest of Fódlan as a whole, much less Faerghus. They followed different gods, spoke a different language, had different customs and cuisine, and their skin was darker than ours. But Father believed that we could engage in peaceful diplomacy that would benefit both the Kingdom and Duscur. Eventually, the negotiations reached a point where Father would have to go in person to continue. He took myself, his wife -- my stepmother -- and a platoon of his best knights to escort us.
Along the way...we were ambushed. Unknown assailants, all with large hoods to obscure their faces, assaulted us from the shadows. I still remember...as vividly as if it had happened only yesterday...the carriages catching fire, the panicking horses, the look on my father's face as he burned alive...the cries of agony and suffering, the begging for release...
[Dimitri's breathing becomes ragged at this point, and he's forced to pause for a moment to steady himself. He takes two deep breaths, which seems to help him return to a normal breathing pattern.]
...I alone managed to survive. I know not why, or whether or not it was deliberate, but out of all the people in our caravan, I was the only one allowed to walk away with my life. Father, Stepmother, my childhood friend Glenn...after that day, they were all gone.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-11-22 10:43 pm (UTC)It started with my father conducting diplomatic negotiations with a region known as Duscur. Their people had a culture different from the rest of Fódlan as a whole, much less Faerghus. They followed different gods, spoke a different language, had different customs and cuisine, and their skin was darker than ours. But Father believed that we could engage in peaceful diplomacy that would benefit both the Kingdom and Duscur. Eventually, the negotiations reached a point where Father would have to go in person to continue. He took myself, his wife -- my stepmother -- and a platoon of his best knights to escort us.
Along the way...we were ambushed. Unknown assailants, all with large hoods to obscure their faces, assaulted us from the shadows. I still remember...as vividly as if it had happened only yesterday...the carriages catching fire, the panicking horses, the look on my father's face as he burned alive...the cries of agony and suffering, the begging for release...
[Dimitri's breathing becomes ragged at this point, and he's forced to pause for a moment to steady himself. He takes two deep breaths, which seems to help him return to a normal breathing pattern.]
...I alone managed to survive. I know not why, or whether or not it was deliberate, but out of all the people in our caravan, I was the only one allowed to walk away with my life. Father, Stepmother, my childhood friend Glenn...after that day, they were all gone.