SCENE: NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA, FILO and HANK are sleeping in the tavern room: FILO and HANK on the left side, and NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA on the right. It is night, and scant moonlight streams in through the window. FILO had her bed turned into a nest, curling up in between pillows and several blankets. RAPHTALIA’s sword rests against a nightstand next to her bed. HANK snores lightly.
Clouds passing by break up the light from the window, sending shadows across the room. Among these shadows, it is hard to notice a larger one appearing, covering up most of the window.
The window to their room opens slowly. A masked head arises above the windowsill, surveying the room, before motioning for people outside. A trio of ASSASSINS crawl in, dressed in black. Two of them approach NAOFUMI’s bed, with the last one going for RAPHTALIA, quietly unsheathing their daggers.
Behind them, FILO raises her head out of her nest. In complete silence, she jumps out, currents of wind carrying her through the air and cushioning her footsteps on the ground. She approaches the ASSASSINS heading for NAOFUMI’s bed from behind, and speaks confidently.
FILO: Who are you?
ASSASSINS are momentarily startled by the sudden voice. One of them spins around, aiming their dagger for FILO’s throat. FILO catches their arm and pivots with her entire body, lifting them off the ground in one fluid movement, and sends them flying across the room. They hit the wall with a loud crack, and fall to the ground, not moving.
The loud noise wakes everyone up. HANK screams in shock. The other two ASSASSINS lunge for NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA. NAOFUMI rolls out of his bed, barely avoiding the strike. RAPHTALIA kicks her blanket in her assailant’s face, giving her time to grab her sword. FILO goes to help NAOFUMI, forcing the ASSASSIN to dodge with powerful kicks.
NAOFUMI: Shield Prison!
ASSASSIN in front of RAPHTALIA vanishes in a ball of shields. RAPHTALIA joins FILO. ASSASSIN defends themselves frantically, but soon, FILO lands a kick, snapping their knee backwards with a crunch. ASSASSIN falls to the ground, screaming, and RAPHTALIA lops off their hand holding the dagger. FILO knocks them out with a precise kick to the back of the head. The quiet of the room is only disturbed by frantic breathing of HANK, and muffled clangs from within the Shield Prison, as the last ASSASSIN is trying to break free. FILO approaches the ball of shields, lying down on the ground next to it. Wind gathers around her hand.
FILO: I’ll hit him with a Wind Spear as soon as you pop him out.
NAOFUMI: Don’t kill them. We need someone for questioning.
FILO: Yeah, yeah.
NAOFUMI nods, and releases the skill. Shield Prison vanishes, releasing the ASSASSIN in mid air. They try to twist away, but a pillar of wind hits them square in the chest, sending them into the ceiling. They hit it hard, losing their grip on their dagger, and fall back down, straight into FILO’s grasp. FILO pins them down.
FILO: So. Who are you?
ASSASSIN snarls. FILO twists their arms back and they cry out in pain, still not responding. NAOFUMI comes close and crouches next to their face.
NAOFUMI: If you tell us who sent you, we could let you go.
ASSASSIN does not respond. Foam starts coming out of their mouth, their body twitching strangely. NAOFUMI swears and rushes to get a potion out of his bags. They turn the ASSASSIN over, and force the potion down their throat, but it doesn’t help. Soon, the body is still. NAOFUMI sits down and rubs his face. RAPHTALIA kicks the bed in frustration.
NAOFUMI: He must have swallowed some strong poison. Stronger than the antidotes I have.
NAOFUMI stands up and goes back to his pack.
NAOFUMI: Their weapons might have been poisoned too, so let’s take some ourselves, just in case.
They take potions, and drag the bodies to one side of the room. RAPHTALIA and NAOFUMI search the corpses, but don’t find anything besides some money, and common medallions of the Church of the Three Heroes. They are interrupted by a knock on the door. NAOFUMI opens it, and is faced with a worried INNKEEPER.
INNKEEPER: What is going on here? We heard screams.
NAOFUMI: Call the city guard. Some fools tried to kill us.
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SCENE: NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are waiting in the tavern hallway. FILO and HANK are being questioned by a senior guard in the room in front of them. Light of the dawning sun comes through the windows. A pair of guards are bringing out bodies from a different room - the one they stayed in - wrapped in white satin. RAPHTALIA is pacing, a scowl on her face. NAOFUMI looks at her, his eyes bouncing around like a metronome. Finally, he sighs.
NAOFUMI: You are mad.
RAPHTALIA throws her hands in the air.
RAPHTALIA: Of course I am mad! These bastards attacked us and we don’t even know who sent them! No letter, no secret signs, nothing!
NAOFUMI raises an eyebrow.
NAOFUMI: That only happens in stories. Why would an assassin bring their contract with them?
RAPHTALIA stops and faces him, crossing her arms.
RAPHTALIA: We could have at least tortured them for information.
NAOFUMI: That also only works in stories. We’d have no way to confirm anything they said, and they’d know it. Without any way to distinguish lies from truth, they would have no incentive to say the truth.
RAPHTALIA huffs and starts pacing again. NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: Does it matter? It’s obvious who sent them.
RAPHTALIA stops again, frowning.
RAPHTALIA: You mean the Church, because of the medallions? But many people have those.
NAOFUMI rolls his eyes, and takes out one of the medallions out of his pocket.
NAOFUMI: Well first of all, look at it. There is an eye in the center: that’s not a regular church symbol. But no, I mean either the Church, the King or Myne, possibly in concert, because we don’t have any other enemies. It’s probably the King, since we pissed in his porridge recently.
RAPHTALIA: You don’t think it could be our…mysterious acquaintance?
NAOFUMI shakes his head.
NAOFUMI: I don’t think so. Why would they? They just gave us something to do. Even if they wanted us gone, they’d wait until after that was resolved, one way or another.
RAPHTALIA hums, and goes to stand next to NAOFUMI. They wait for the interrogations of their friends to be over. FILO comes out first, stretching her neck.
NAOFUMI: How did you know they were coming, anyways?
FILO taps her ears.
FILO: I sleep light.
HANK follows after her, still in shock from the experience. NAOFUMI puts his hand around his shoulders.
NAOFUMI: Hank, listen. When we asked for your help, we didn’t think it would be this dangerous. If people are going after us… I figure it may be best if you went back to your village.
HANK seems shocked and conflicted.
HANK: But how will you get around?
NAOFUMI: We’ll get another wagon, or ride around on Filo. We’ll be fine.
HANK fights with himself over the decision, but finally relents. Tension drains out of his shoulders.
HANK: Thank you. God, to think that I might have died today…
NAOFUMI: I paid the innkeeper generously for his trouble, so you don’t have to worry about that. I am sure you know where to find good guards in this town. Rest, then go back. We’ll see you in a few months.
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SCENE: NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are riding on top of FILO in her bird form. FILO is following a river, moving cross-country at incredible speed, leaping over ditches and chasms, throwing herself into the air with gusts of wind, and leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Soon, NAOFUMI spots the bird foot island. They follow the stream through a dense forest, and soon stop under a large, dry oak tree. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA dismount, and FILO turns into a human. NAOFUMI tosses her the weighted knuckle dusters.
NAOFUMI: Are you tired?
FILO hums a cheerful tune as she puts on her weapons.
FILO: Nope!
NAOFUMI: You sure? That was quite a run. I don’t know how mister F measured it, but we got here in a quarter of the time.
RAPHTALIA: Probably thought we would follow roads, and didn’t expect us to ride on the fastest filofial in the country.
FILO grins at the compliment. NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: Well, if you are sure, let’s find that cave.
They leave their bags under the oak tree, and drink stat-boosting potions before spreading out. They search through the forest in a spiral pattern, starting with the oak tree. It takes a while, but RAPHTALIA finally notices a cave entrance, hidden at the base of a small hill in the dense underbrush. She calls out to the others.
NAOFUMI: Well, this seems to be it. Let me get our lamp.
NAOFUMI goes back to their packs, bringing a lamp. RAPHTALIA cuts away some of the underbrush, and they enter the cave. The floor slopes upwards, keeping water out of the cave, and the walls of it seem quite dry. Further into the cave, the floor levels off, before sloping downwards, opening into a larger room. It is filled with boxes, some of them smashed open, with several entrances opening on various sides of the room. Their group circles the room, glancing into the individual passages. RAPHTALIA puts her hand up in front of one of them, whispering.
RAPHTALIA: I can see something. A nest, I think?
NAOFUMI nods and they move into the passage. Beyond it is a longer room, filled with broken beds and scattered, dirty bedding. At the end of the room is a large pile of bedding and wood, with a depression in the middle, forming a nest. It is empty. To the right of the next is an opening into a different passage. RAPHTALIA kneels in front of the nest, reaching in with her hand.
RAPHTALIA: It’s still warm. It must have heard us.
FILO frowns.
FILO: I didn’t hear anything move. Its ears must be better than mine.
From behind their group comes the crackle of electricity. NAOFUMI pivots around, and sees the large shape of a CHIMERA. It is shaped like a lion, but larger, the size of a cart, with three heads: dragon, goat, and lion. Electrical sparks are coming from its dragon mouth, intensifying, shining blue across the passage. RAPHTALIA leaps to her feet, taking out her crossbow. FILO moves towards CHIMERA. NAOFUMI raises his shield.
NAOFUMI: Air Shi -
CHIMERA breathes out electricity in a long, dense line, heading straight for NAOFUMI. Air Shield only manifests halfway before the attack reaches it, and breaks into shards. NAOFUMI throws himself to the side to avoid the strike. The lamp he was holding flies out of his hand, falls to the ground, and cracks, going out.
In complete darkness, the sound of CHIMERA’s paws is soft on the cavern stone as it charges the group. FILO screams.
NAOFUMI: Fuck! I can’t see her health if I can’t see her.
RAPHTALIA: Making light!
RAPHTALIA chants a spell, and blobs of light appear in an orbit around her. The light reveals CHIMERA furiously shaking FILO in its mouth. FILO is hammering at CHIMERA’s skull with her fists. NAOFUMI swears again.
NAOFUMI: I can’t do anything when they are locked together!
RAPHTALIA shoots her crossbow at the CHIMERA, but the monster dodges to the side. She swears, drops the crossbow, and rushes towards the CHIMERA with a sword, rapidly fading from view. The circle of light traces her progress. CHIMERA leaps out of the way, and RAPHTALIA’s strikes do not connect.
RAPHTALIA: Motherfucker. Can it guess where I am by the light?
NAOFUMI: No. It’s the sound!
NAOFUMI switches to the BANSHEE SHIELD, using its scream. CHIMERA bawls, dropping FILO to the ground, and looks around frantically before charging at NAOFUMI. RAPHTALIA comes from the side and delivers a single, precise strike straight into CHIMERA’s heart, killing it instantly. It falls to the ground and rolls over to NAOFUMI’s feet. FILO picks herself up and limps over to NAOFUMI, drinking healing potions on the way.
NAOFUMI: Are you alright?
FILO spits blood to the ground, already standing straighter.
FILO: Nothing major.
They wait, to make sure the monster is dead. Finally, RAPHTALIA helps NAOFUMI cut off a part of the CHIMERA, feeding it to his shield.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Chimera Shield unlocked! Special: allows you to use other shields in place of skill shields.
NAOFUMI: What a vague skill… Alright, let’s take our trophy and get out of here.
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SCENE: RAPHTALIA, NAOFUMI and FILO return to Malatok. They pass through the town gates, three heads of a chimera prominently hanging off FILO’s side. FILO runs leisurely, taking them on a wide path to a merchant where they sell their newly acquired materials. This done, they head to a tavern to celebrate, and discuss their plans.
RAPHTALIA: So what now?
NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: I suppose we just wait. We made sure that many people saw us with the chimera heads: our benefactor will eventually learn of this, and get in touch with us. In the evening I will check with the traveling merchant guild, to see if they’ve found anything. Until then, I was thinking we could do some more advocacy among the industrial workers.
FILO knocks her fists together, grinning maliciously.
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SCENE: Tavern in the industrial district. A large scoreboard has been set up behind the fighting pit. At the top of the board are words “CROWN OF THE HILL TOURNAMENT”. Below are names of challengers, their bets, and their scores. Way at the top of the list is FILO.
Down in the pit, a circle some four meters in diameter has been drawn in the sand. FILO is busy fighting off three people at once who are trying to push her out of the circle.
Not far from the pit, NAOFUMI is standing on a bench and giving a speech to a small crowd of workers. His shield is still covertly hidden in a blanket. RAPHTALIA is moving among the group, encouraging individual members. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are dressed in casual clothes, though RAPHTALIA has her sword at her side.
NAOFUMI: Let me tell you something I heard on my travels. There was this merchant - his factory made clothes. He used to think that his workers would laze about or steal from him, and so he would lock them up in his factory during the day. Close the door, come back in the evening to let them out. I bet some of your factories do the same thing, right?
WORKER 1: Yeah, it happens.
NAOFUMI: Well, what do you think happened to this factory? A fire started! Everyone inside burned to a crisp. Some tried to leap through the windows, breaking their skulls on the street to escape the flames! You think that can’t happen to you?
WORKER 2: What are you saying?
NAOFUMI: All I am saying is, maybe this merchant would have thought better of locking the doors if he knew that his workers could come together and burn down his own house, if something did happen. One person is weak, but a dozen, nay, a hundred? A hundred is power!
He continues agitating the crowd until he feels that the energy will sustain itself, and goes to get a drink. As he does so, he is approached by one person out of the crowd.
WORKER 3: Are you one of them burning oak people? You speak like them, only without the fliers. I liked the fliers.
NAOFUMI frowns in confusion.
NAOFUMI: What burning oak people?
WORKER 3 takes out a flier from his pocket, handing it to NAOFUMI. NAOFUMI glances at it, and his eyes fly open in shock.
It is a short article printed on paper, titled TOGETHER AGAINST THE MONSTERS. Above the article is a minimalist picture, printed in two flat colors: red and blue. On the picture are two figures: a male worker holding a hammer and a female peasant holding a sickle. The figures are helpfully labeled “WORKERS” and “PEASANTS”. Opposing the two figures is a mass of dangers: a scowling monster head labeled “MONSTERS”, a swirl labeled “WAVES”, an ugly head wearing a monocle labeled “CAPITALISTS” and another one, wearing a stylised crown labeled “NOBLES”. The hammer and sickle held by the two humans form a shield, keeping the monsters at bay.
Stolen novel; please report.
WORKER 3: They’ve got a newspaper too, called Spark or some such.
NAOFUMI: Where did you get this? I need to talk to them.
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SCENE: NAOFUMI exits the tavern, walking quickly, almost breaking into a run. RAPHTALIA hurries after him.
RAPHTALIA: You think it’s fine leaving Filo there?
NAOFUMI snorts.
NAOFUMI: She’ll be fine. What are they gonna do, try to beat her up? Let her have fun in the tournament.
RAPHTALIA: What’s the hurry, anyways? You didn’t say.
NAOFUMI takes out the flier from his pocket, thrusting it in RAPHTALIA’s hands without slowing down. She looks at it curiously.
NAOFUMI: There is another socialist in town. Another socialist from Earth, in fact. Imagine if we waited and missed them? No, we cannot risk it, we have to go talk to them right now.
RAPHTALIA’s eyes go wide.
RAPHTALIA: Are you sure about this? Couldn’t someone reinvent the same ideas here?
NAOFUMI shakes his head.
NAOFUMI: No. This art style, the symbolism… I know it. It’s definitely from Earth.
They walk down the street, soon coming to a set of open gates. Above the gates are large steel letters, spelling out MALATOK TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY. Beyond the gates are neat, styled grounds, with gaggles of STUDENTS moving from place to place. NAOFUMI enters through the gates, and looks around, soon spotting a small building with red flags framing the doorway. NAOFUMI heads to it.
Inside is a small theater hall, with a scene on one side and the floor shaped into layered seats on the other. A door in the back leads elsewhere.
A dozen STUDENTS are in the hall, chatting or doing course work on the floor. One of them approaches NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA.
STUDENT 1: Are you here to sign up?
NAOFUMI shows him the flier.
NAOFUMI: Saw the flier. I want to talk to your leader.
STUDENT 1 frowns in confusion.
STUDENT 1: What?
NAOFUMI: Your leader, boss, head organizer, big communism theorist. Someone showed up and started this all. I want to talk to them.
STUDENT folds his arms, frowning.
STUDENT 1: They are busy. Why would they talk to you?
NAOFUMI’s lip twitches in annoyance, and he moves past the STUDENT 1, ignoring them, heading for the back door. RAPHTALIA follows after.
STUDENT 1: Hey! Wait!
STUDENT 1 tries to get in NAOFUMI’s way, but RAPHTALIA trips them, apologizing at her supposed mistake. NAOFUMI opens the door and heads inside.
The next room is a long and fairly narrow storage room, filled with various boxes, planks, rolls of fabric, and other odds and ends. In the middle of the room space has been cleared up, and a large, metal, primitive printer has been set up. To the side of it is a large set of boxes full of metal letters. Several STUDENTS are working on it, assembling new prints, refilling ink, and switching sheets of paper in and out. Next to them, a second group is folding the sheets and binding them into newly printed newspapers. In the far back of the room is another door.
One of the STUDENTS looks up and sees NAOFUMI.
STUDENT 2: Hi. Are you looking for someone? Sefi should have directed you.
NAOFUMI: I am looking for your leader.
STUDENT 2: Are you here to sign up? You’d need to talk to Sefi then, they have new member books.
SEFI THE STUDENT comes through the door.
SEFI: They just showed up. Look, you shouldn’t be here.
NAOFUMI is glancing between the working STUDENTS. A couple other STUDENTS rise their heads.
NAOFUMI: I just want to talk to the leader.
STUDENT 2 stops their work, moving to block the way down the room. NAOFUMI rolls his eyes.
NAOFUMI: Do I look like a guard to you? I just want to have a chat with them.
STUDENT 2 motions to the sling NAOFUMI has wrapped around his shield.
STUDENT 2: What’s in that package you have there?
NAOFUMI: Waste of time. Is that an office in the back?
NAOFUMI moves towards the back door. STUDENT 2 gets in their way, grabbing their hand. RAPHTALIA follows, putting her hand on her sword. Other STUDENTS stop their work, looking around uncertainly. NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: Are you really going to make this difficult? I really just want to talk.
The back door opens, and ITSUKI, wearing a beret, pops his head out, sighing.
ITSUKI: Let them through. I know this asshole.
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SCENE: The office of ITSUKI. It is a small, windowless room, clearly repurposed from being a closet of some fashion. A round table takes up most of the room, surrounded by chairs, and with manuscripts scattered on it. Storage cabinets full of papers and documents line the walls, and maps hang on the walls - map of the city of Malatok on one, and map of the country of Melromarc on another, with mysterious markings and needles stuck into both.
NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are seated around the table. ITSUKI is pouring them tea from a small kettle, heated by a portable stove. He is wearing practical clothes of no particular distinction, a beret, and a scroll case on his back that no doubt hides his bow.
NAOFUMI: So, you are also a socialist.
This brings ITSUKI short, the stream of tea momentarily interrupted. NAOFUMI continues, unabated.
NAOFUMI: Why didn’t you say anything?
ITSUKI pours his own cup and sits down, frowning.
ITSUKI: Why didn’t you? Because there is no point. Most people aren’t socialists, and in fact a lot of them react to the word as if you just said you were a nazi. Actions speak better than words: once the revolutionary action is fully underway, revealing yourself would be unnecessary.
NAOFUMI leans back, thinking.
ITSUKI: And before then, revealing myself is risky. The party is most vulnerable at the early stages, when neither ideas nor conviction have really solidified. Have you done any organizing so far?
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: We do it here and there. Village we saved from the Wave was the biggest success so far. My reputation gets in the way, so I am trying to do it incognito. I can see that you figure the same way.
NAOFUMI nods towards ITSUKI’s scroll case. ITSUKI smiles.
ITSUKI: We should join forces. I was worried when you came in, but knowing there are other socialists here is really good. Perhaps we could even pull Motoyasu or Ren to our side. Together, building the party would be much easier.
NAOFUMI frowns.
NAOFUMI: You keep saying party. Do you mean the vanguard party?
ITSUKI frowns.
ITSUKI: What else could it mean?
NAOFUMI stares at him for a while, before covering his face in his hands and groaning.
NAOFUMI: Of course you are a fucking marxist-leninist. Just my luck.
RAPHTALIA stares at him in confusion, and ITSUKI in surprise. ITSUKI folds his hands.
ITSUKI: I am a marxist, as is every socialist above the age of eight. I am also a Leninist. But no, I am not a marxist-leninist. That’s a term with no meaning, and morphs from one usage to another. Very convenient for various countries to claim they are socialist without actually being so.
NAOFUMI takes one hand off his face.
NAOFUMI: I guess you aren’t completely braindead.
ITSUKI sips his tea.
ITSUKI: You don’t believe we need a vanguard party?
NAOFUMI rubs his forehead in frustration. RAPHTALIA purses her lips, trying to understand the conversation.
NAOFUMI: Of course not. You are trying to replace one class system with another, how the hell is that supposed to help?
ITSUKI: I take it that you are an anarchist?
RAPHTALIA leans forwards, interrupting them.
RAPHTALIA: Both of you are very clever. Now can either of you explain what the sweet guardian beasts you are talking about? How can you both be socialists and still argue?
ITSUKI and NAOFUMI share a look, and chuckle.
ITSUKI: Miss Raphtalia, arguing with one another is what socialists do any time they meet. It's an unfortunate tradition.
NAOFUMI: Yeah. The joke goes that two socialists walk into a bar and establish three separate organizations that all hate one another.
ITSUKI nods knowingly. NAOFUMI takes a sip of his tea.
NAOFUMI: If anything, the amazing thing is that you don't argue with me much. We were due for some kind of schism.
RAPHTALIA opens her mouth in shock, closes it, then opens it again to speak.
RAPHTALIA: But why?
NAOFUMI ruffles his hair, thinking.
NAOFUMI: Because of who gets into the movement, really? Every person, every institution, every tradition around you will support the current system; to break with that, to say that things could be improved, takes a very particular sort of person. Someone who is willing to stand for their beliefs no matter what. That sort of person isn't going to just agree to disagree with someone else, even if it's on fairly trivial issues. So if you have two socialists who disagree on how exactly the system should be changed, they will argue.
ITSUKI nods, and continues NAOFUMI's argument.
ITSUKI: There are other conditions that exacerbate this. For example, socialism is predicated on caring about systems of human life: you could maybe imagine compromising on a minor point of strategy, but could you compromise on something that you think may ruin the entire movement, or break the lives of hundreds of thousands? If you want to free the slaves, and the other person doesn't, is the agreeable compromise to free half? Certainly not.
NAOFUMI: Yeah. On top of that, you are always working in a very hostile environment, where the established system - be it monarchy or capitalism - will seek to subvert your movement whenever it can. Take those assassins this morning - this wouldn't really happen to someone who wanted to push some minor, non-essential reform. Can you really trust the other people to not be - consciously or subconsciously - working against the revolution?
RAPHTALIA looks between them.
RAPHTALIA: That sounds incredibly dumb. Isn't it obvious that the “established system” will exploit these arguments and break your movement apart? How are you going to concentrate organized power if you keep infighting?
NAOFUMI and ITSUKI cringe.
NAOFUMI: Yeah, that's what happened to the First International.
ITSUKI: And the Second International.
NAOFUMI: And the Third International.
ITSUKI: And the Vienna International.
NAOFUMI: And in the October revolution.
RAPHTALIA: Then why do you keep doing it?
NAOFUMI scratches his head.
NAOFUMI: Sometimes, these disagreements are actually very important! At other times, well, you can forget that there are people with even worse ideas out there when you are arguing with someone close, and it’s easy to lose focus. And at yet other times, there are some power-hungry, lying authoritarian assholes only out to exploit the movement for power, like Lenin in the October revolution -
ITSUKI snorts.
ITSUKI: Oh please, the provisional government deserved to be overthrown. They couldn’t get anything done!
NAOFUMI stands up out of his seat, leaning towards ITSUKI with an angry face.
NAOFUMI: You -
RAPHTALIA hits NAOFUMI over the head with her sheathed sword, and turns to ITSUKI with a threatening scowl.
RAPHTALIA: What did I say about infighting?
NAOFUMI sits back down, rubbing his head. ITSUKI raises his hands placatingly. RAPHTALIA puts her bonking instrument on the table in easy reach, and glares daggers at both of them.
RAPHTALIA: Good. Now, actually explain what all that was about. You -
She points to ITSUKI.
RAPHTALIA: What is “the vanguard party”?
ITSUKI: I assume Naofumi told you the basics, about historical materialism, classes, organization?
RAPHTALIA nods.
ITSUKI: Alright. A Vanguard party is a centralized organization that leads the establishment of socialism; hence “vanguard”. They develop theory, do political advocacy and agitation, and, eventually, lead the revolution to replace the state apparatus with one that is amenable to the interests of workers. They are necessary because it’s not realistic to expect all workers to understand all the fine details of socialist theory: someone has to be properly educated in all the details, and lead others, partly by example, and partly by instruction.
NAOFUMI folds his arms.
NAOFUMI: Except, of course, that’s wrong. Socialism isn’t rocket science. “Understanding theory”, while nice and valuable, isn’t actually necessary to do socialist praxis. The basics are very simple, and absolutely can be understood by everyone.
ITSUKI: The basics, maybe. But the basics are not enough, are they? There are a thousand different ways that the capitalist class - or the noble class - could splinter a socialist movement. Sure, the basics of organizing aren’t difficult: people have a strong instinct for grouping together, after all. But they also have other instincts. Xenophobia is one such instinct: will your “basic socialists” exclude others based on race? How about gender? How about religious faith? Will they know how to avoid rhetorical trickery their class enemies will employ? The only reliable way to avoid these dangers is to have a solid theoretical foundation.
NAOFUMI: And your solution for that is to replace the capitalist - or noble - class system with a different class system? Because that’s what you are describing, a class of vanguard party officials, with a corresponding class conflict between them and the rest of the proletariat. Any real materialist would notice this immediately.
ITSUKI: That’s asking the wrong question. Class framework is adaptable to the situation, and so you can distinguish a set of classes in any society that has any degree of differentiation on any topic. Even in a perfect anarchist society you could distinguish people who are more or less interested in political work, and thus classes of “engaged” and “disengaged” people. The question isn’t “is there some kind of class system”, the question is how entrenched it is, what degree of influence it has over human life, how easy it is for people to move in between classes, and are there any self-reinforcing feedback loops. When it comes to Leninism, education necessary to contribute to the vanguard party should be made universally available, so that entering or leaving the vanguard party is possible for anyone. Furthermore, the vanguard party has to constantly consult with the working class, to keep in touch with their needs and desires.
NAOFUMI: This is anti-materialist thinking. You construct a system which is fundamentally built to disengage a whole class of people from political action, and then pretend that you will “consult” them about something. Of course that is not going to happen, and that’s why grassroots organizing has to be the backbone of any socialist movement. And we know it is not going to happen because, exactly as historical materialism would predict, the first thing Lenin did after the revolution was to round up the anarchists and put them up against the wall, solidifying his control over the country. The party was fossilized, with the entry and advancement becoming harder and harder, turning into a rigid class system. There is your feedback loop, in action.
ITSUKI: Yeah, despite the name, Lenin wasn’t a very good Leninist.
NAOFUMI: This always happens with statist types! The historical record is pretty clear on this.
ITSUKI: Oh come now, mostly the historical record is short. And it’s not exactly stellar when it comes to anarchists either, now is it. Yes, there is a danger in the vanguard party sliding into a self-reinforcing class system; but there is also a danger in not being capable of mobilizing enough force to fight off capitalist attacks from the next country over. Ignoring this fact is naive.
ITSUKI and NAOFUMI glare at one another from across the table. RAPHTALIA rests her head on one hand and sighs.
RAPHTALIA: I see. This doesn’t sound like something we can resolve today.
NAOFUMI: I wish.
RAPHTALIA: Can you two at least agree to cooperate for now, until the monarchy is done away with?
NAOFUMI sighs. ITSUKI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: Yeah, you are right, of course. Neither of us has the power to handle any kind of schism right now. What have you been doing so far, Itsuki?
ITSUKI goes through the documents on the table and takes out one of them. It’s a large table, with many checkmarks and notes next to every line. NAOFUMI looks through the list.
ITSUKI: Here is my list of approaches so far. I’ve been writing down what I remember of the basic theory - you could help with that. We are working on getting access to a larger printing press - once we have that, we could really expand our efforts at spreading the agitation materials, and publish our own Das Kapital. I could also get you a column in Spark, our newspaper. I admit that I am not very skilled at direct organizing - if you managed to organize a whole village, there is a lot we can learn from one another.
NAOFUMI nods, then frowns.
NAOFUMI: These dates… How long have you been in the city?
ITSUKI frowns in confusion.
ITSUKI: About two weeks. Why?
NAOFUMI: But I saw you in the castle two weeks ago. How did you get here this quickly?
ITSUKI stares at NAOFUMI, then speaks slowly.
ITSUKI: Using the fast travel system? How else?
NAOFUMI: What fast travel system? There is no -
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Fast travel unlocked!
NAOFUMI looks at the SYSTEM MESSAGE, closes his eyes, and stabilizes his breathing. He opens his eyes and faces ITSUKI head on.
NAOFUMI: I just unlocked fast travel. Tell me anything you know about the system, and I’ll do the same. Clearly I don’t have the same interface as you do.
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
NAOFUMI IWATANI, THE SHIELD HERO. The real first socialist. The other one is a blind fool.
KAWASUMI ITSUKI, THE BOW HERO. The actual first socialist. The other one is a naive moron.
RAPHTALIA. Confused second socialist. Against factionalism on principle.
FILO. Will throw down any time. Great ears. Bird ancestry.
HANK THE TRAVELING MERCHANT. Not prepared to deal with assassins every other night. Has a wagon.
SYSTEM MESSAGE. Mysterious, yet helpful.