History as Written by the Loser -- A Montclaire Autobiography

[Notyel]

A duo of papers come to rest in the world, one tucked away inside of a chest in the Church of Three, and another enclosed in a pocket.

[b]Introduction: 1744 ac[/b]

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My name is Romani cos Montclaire, and I have been called many things over the years. 

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A failure.

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Unremarkable.

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Plain.

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A sheep.

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Weak.

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A loser.

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The amount of insults is truly staggering. And I will be the first to admit, there is some truth to it all. I have failed, and failed and failed. When people look at me, they do not often find me remarkable. I am plain, and easy to miss in a crowd. While serving Alexander, I was a sheep, not able to create the peace I wanted, and following in hopes it would be made. I could not win fights for the life of me against anyone with a weapon. I lost, and lost, and lost.

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My father was right. I am nothing more than a series of failures. All the same? I want to try. I want to try to bring the peace I sought in my youth. I want to try to protect the people I have come to care for. Because while some people have called me cruel things?

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Marie called me a moral anchor.

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Finn said I was cared for.

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Ophelia said she loved me.

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Sparrow said I was his Stellus.

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August said I was his family.

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And the people that live in Osrona right now are my friends, those who care about me, or those who believe in my vision enough to stay.

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I will try to be everything that they expect of me. There are people that I can not let down.

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"'Mani, we save those we can, and keep fighting for those that we cannot. Lightbringer Mora told me that, and she was right." - Ilsa

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"Stand up and get stronger, you crying in the damn bed isn't getting you any stronger, it just makes you look pathetic, like you said your a noble, nobles are meant to be a pillar, and you can't be one if your crumbling." - Siegfried

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"It was an honest attempt to help, Romani - just because you couldn't, doesn't mean it was wasted effort or that it's something to be ashamed of. You just have to try harder next time, y'know?" - Marie

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"You won't win every fight or save every life. All you can do is take each loss and build upon it. Like a stepping stone until the day comes where you don't fall." - Finley

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"Your voice is plenty loud, Ro'. Y'just have t' believe it is. That's the only way it's ever gonna be heard." - Reese

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"Well, we're more than just clergy members, ain't we? We're family, so of course I have your back. I wish..." - Sparrow

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"You are a part of my niece in a way you will not know. In this, I trust you in a way you will never understand." - Berrios

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"Osrona needs it's Stellus, Romani - though I suppose that's more or less in the future anyway. But regardless of anything else? You are my knight in shining armor. Period." - Ophelia

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I may not be able to win every fight. But I will live, and push forwards, so that when I leave for the stars, I will be able to face them with all I have.

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As Thorgil would say? My bonds are what I would fight nations for.

[Notyel]

The first chapter is written onto the page by quill.

Chapter 1: Patriarch, 1744 ac

My Father always called me a failure. And I him.

“Romani, you can not live your life with your eyes upon a page. You must work to bring honor to the Montclaire name.” He said, while stuffing his pockets with gold. That was the type of man that he was. One concerned with only furthering the looks of the house, one who masked the rotting underside of his activities with a layer of gold to make himself look good.

He was only concerned with himself. I hated it.

When it comes to one’s father dying at a young age, or one’s father living, but only being selfish, I am not certain which is worse. In truth? Neither one receives a proper upbringing.

So what I had to occupy my time with instead of my father’s words were books. Lines and lines of books, things to read, to memorize. And inside of these books of information, I found an ideal that I could believe in.

Noblesse oblige.

It is the obligation of Nobility to protect those of lower status. It is the obligation of those who have to assist those who have not. A Noble, or a higher up of any society is not supposed to be someone who stands above and only furthers themself.

An ideal that my father never represented. An ideal that my grandfather, in his journals, did.

Proof that what I believed was not wrong, and that my father was one who was acting improper. Something to give me the strength to separate, to do what I believed in for the first time without my father’s words, without him calling me a failure, or smacking me with the metal ruler. 

And so, while until I was thirteen, my life was the words on the inside of a book’s cover, when I turned thirteen, I made my own path.