Explanations Continue

"Around fifty years ago, there were two brothers, Eduard and Philippe. They were both running for the presidency of this country. They couldn't have been more different - Eduard was arrogant and full of himself, while Philippe was quiet and unassuming.

"It had been believed by many that Eduard would win by a landslide. When the results came in, however, Philippe had won. Not by a large margin, but it was still enough for Eduard to claim it had been fixed. Nothing was done to investigate this claim.

"Not long after Philippe had been sworn in, Eduard tried to stage an overthrow with a group of malcontents and troublemakers. It failed, and Eduard fled the country."

He stopped at this point to check that Astra was still paying attention, as he wasn't certain how interesting she found the history lesson. To his relief, she was still awake and seemed to be listening attentively, so he continued.

"Five years later, he reappeared in Esputa. He had somehow worked his way into their royal family, and was now their king. He soon made it clear that he still had a grudge against his brother.

"To the north lies the large country of Helsingdon. We have strong ties with them and did a large amount of trade. The trade routes passed through each of the provinces except for Kandaver. Philippe wouldn't dare do anything against these trade routes, as Helsingdon would see that as an act of war. Esputa isn't that large, and it has been said Helsingdon could take and hold Esputa with only a seventh of their armies.

"So that left the province of Kandaver. Claiming it was theirs, and thus creating a land dispute, meant Helsingdon would ignore the conflict."

Astra was still awake, he noticed. He wished the same could have been said for his students, as he had been a history teacher before deciding to join the army. Astra seemed a bit more eager as to ask questions as well, it seemed. He nodded for her to go ahead and ask.

"You used the word 'presidency'. How is this country run?"

"We gave up on the monarchy many years ago," he said. "Instead, we have a leader we call a 'president', who's voted in by the people of the country. They serve periods of time called terms, which last four years, after which they get reelected, or someone else gets chosen. How ever long they're in power for is known as their presidency."

1. The question and answer session continues.
2. They are interrupted by a knock on the door.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree