Masquerade of Madness: Creating Madness

Figuring they had wasted enough time on piety, Vincent decided it was time to move. He stood in a strategic position on higher ground, where the gathering occupants of this location could see him. After all how could anyone not notice the display. His posture and body language were demanding everyone to look at him. Vincent smirked as he began to talk.

"Casalynn is a city in the sky. This city is named after its engineers. They built it thousands of years ago, as a united race trying to escape from the Nards, and trying not to mix with the idiotic Humans. But now that is about to change. Creed is going to attempt what we all have forsaken. He is already an achievement of peace that has long since fallen through."

Unsure of the reason, Creed listened intently to his brother. He felt drawn to every word.

Spike was bored and intent on bothering Jade, who seemed entertained by a butterfly.

Other Casalyians, charged with apprehending them, began to listen also. One by one, they were drawn in by Vincent's speech.

"This achievement happens to be my brother, a single living individual that is our treaty with the Nards. Thus an agreement was forged. If any side did harm to this individual, an all-out war would ensue for this act of betrayal. But have we been living by this standard treaty? No, we have not. We have treated this individual like the dirt the Humanoids walk on. You have considered him one of them and not one of us. But he is one of us. He does not look like them; he does not eat like them. He was not raised by them, either. This young individual is one of us."

The gathering crowd of Casalyians multiplied, some even bringing their very young children. Once word got out that Vincent Angelus, Captain of the King's Knights, was giving a speech, they gathered to hear him.

Creed looked around and gasped. "Oh, I get it now," Creed muttered aloud but in no one's hearing, as his brother's speech continued.

"He is trying to win the hearts of our race. Because the more support we have, the longer we can stand against the Council of Casalynn. Have we sunk to the level of those Humans, who misjudge their own kind?" Vincent continued. "Are we the next ones in line to have slaves of our own? Are we going to be the next race that kills each other because they are different? Are we going to be like the Nards, who do not distinguish between good and evil? Are we going to be like the ones who eat the weaker and kill the strong, because to me that is a Nard trait?" Vincent pulled out his sword, lifting it high, then drove it into the ground. As his voice roared with fury, his eyes burned and his anger became more evident.

The Casalyians watched and listened. Their eyes, quiet murmurs, and bodily stances reflected their emotions. They were quietly thinking about their own unjust actions toward Creed. Many of them did nothing and watched Creed's abuse happen. Others, who had no idea who he was, filled themselves with pity for their race. Some of the ones who were murmuring, displayed their anger with a tense stance.

Vincent quickly stopped his speech to the crowd, wanting them to talk among themselves for a few seconds. Then he hushed the group, all the while studying them. "Good," he whispered to himself. "This is what I want – an uproar of emotion big enough to question the council's actions. This will bring attention to it. The king will probably persecute them." It pleased him to think of their suffering. He began to speak again.

"I have never once been ashamed of us. We are truly an advanced race, but today, due to the council members' actions, I am ashamed and disgraced by my own race."

The crowd's eyes fixed on Vincent in disbelief. No one was allowed to talk about the council unless it was true. And even then, it must be discreet. Besides the king, only the council members had an official voice in matters that involved Casalynn. Now the crowd was frightened.

Undaunted, Vincent continued. "They signed a document stating Creed can go to the Humanoids to study and learn from them . . . so that one day, Casalyians may leave this city and live among the Humanoids in peace. Now they deny Creed's right after permitting him. What does that say about us as Casalyians?