Gilded Age: Spoken Ideals

Two years later, Creed stood behind a podium, his speech streamed throughout the area. Vincent, his older brother, stood off to the side, admiring how much he had grown. That skinny child, who was ridiculed and hated, has become a respected figure.

On the right of Vincent was Loyal, Queen of their species, who had her heart set on Vincent.

On the left was Vincent’s ex-wife. Beside her stood Creed's father, King of the Nards, the once-cursed race.

On the opposite side of Creed were Crystal and Terrence, along with Ashley and her wolves.

Sue stood behind Creed.

Creed looked back at Sue for a moment. She nodded, as a relieved smile spread across his face. Creed turned his attention to the front.

This past year, a lot has happened. The inner turmoil has boiled over a few times. He often wondered how they were supposed to make this work. He opened his mouth, then hesitated a few seconds before speaking.

"As a being of two species, I can tell you what lies beneath all three species. Beneath the skin, beneath our differences, is heart, tissue, muscle, and soul. We should celebrate our differences, those things that make us unique—but let us not forget our similarities, the similarities that you cannot deny. They are constant and unchangeable. If you were to strip away the skin, pluck away the feathers, look past the aggression, you would see what I see. Before me, I do not see three different species, but one—the face of humanity.

"I grew up in an environment of hate, prejudice and pride. I grew up being hated for being alive. They killed my mother, made my father go mad, and have tried to kill me. I do not want that for us. We can do something magnificent here to provide a better understanding for future generations. I get that it is terrifying because it is new. We are beings you do not understand. Well, we do not understand you, either. We want to, though." Creed paused to scan across the diverse crowd.

"We want to forget our pride, our hatred. We want to know you. We want to work with you. Together we can build a future that will last a lifetime. We can set an example. I know it will be a long, steep road ahead of us. But look at what we have already achieved together. The streets are now named. There are no more homeless. The hopeless now have hope. We have a higher food production. We cultivate human and monster relationships. The homes and schools that were broken are repaired or rebuilt. We have a military academy. A wall surrounds the city. More Nards than ever have broken their curse and live among us. The hospital now has both Casalyian and human doctors. We were able to declare ourselves a sovereign government, away from the traditional.

"We have established a name for us through intense debate and voting—Elias, which means ‘of all,’ and the Council of Seris, which means ‘committee to be.’ We have stopped living in the past and made a move toward the future. I know it has been a difficult adjustment for all three species. But together, we can continue to work on it."

After his speech, some Casalyians and humans stood apart from the Nards that were in the crowd. But some Nards stood with the humans and the Casalyians, all accepted by one another.

One person yelled out, "It was better before. We had more freedom!"

Creed slammed his hands down on the podium. "Have we taken your freedoms away?"

The person taunted, "No, but we had more!"

"More what?" Creed glared.

"I mean we could do whatever we wanted, we did not have to worry about your Authority Force," the man continued. "You provide homes and jobs, but what if we just do not want to do anything?”

"The Authority Force includes both human and Casalyians. The Nards have expressed no interest in joining yet," Creed shot back.

"I mean you all, including the Nards, are freaks!" another person spoke up.

A Casalyian began speaking. "We are better than they are!”

Creed thought to caution the group before their disagree- ments became physical. But before he could speak again, a loud boom echoed throughout the area, interrupting the meeting. Dust and bricks blew into the air.

Those assembled together panicked and began screaming, running in all directions. A Casalyian mother, holding her child in her arms, ran to Vincent. "The wall . . . !" she shrieked. “Hurry! A few mothers and their children were playing nearby. There is a big cannon blowing the wall apart. Hurry!"

Loyal, who stood to the side to hear Creed's speech, stared wide-eyed. "We forgot to guard the walls."

Someone with a thick, heavy accent began shouting, his voice seemingly amplified, "Surrender now or be prepared to become slaves!" The accent's place of origin could not be determined.

Vincent took off and ran to the wall. He began to help the sobbing mothers look for their children.

"You there!" A small plump male began yelling at Vincent. "You look strong. I wonder what hunger would do to you!"

Vincent huffed, standing straight. He held his hands toward a cannon.

"Electroblast," he called out. Waves of energy surrounded Vincent. He pushed all that energy into his hand. He released it, causing a stream of electric blowback to blow him back. Vincent pulled out his wings to fight the current.

The blast tore through the air, hitting under the cannon and blowing it up.

"This means war!" the plump man shouted.

Vincent snarled. "Go ahead! I will rip you and yours apart! This is the Bloody Terror speaking!"

Terrence appeared beside Vincent. "I will track them when they retreat.” He turned invisible.

"I am the New Order Commander, Veilfist, of the new empire, Gold Hope. We will conquer you! Murder the weak! Turn the strong weak, like we did before you. Ask yourself—do you really want a war?"

Loyal appeared beside Vincent. "Here," she handed him a megaphone. "The mayor said it should multiply your voice. Click this button." Loyal pointed to a red button on the handle.