Native american beaded earrings

The Woodroof Protocol
A method of reducing withdrawal,
support tapering and prevent relapse
I dedicate this work to everyone struggling with addiction as well as those, helping the
increasing number of people, out there suffering. From the parent worried sick about their
child, to the healthworkers and professionals each Day fighting to save the lives of those, still
stuck in addiction.
My dear American friend whom I had the pleasure of getting to know and helping to taper
from a severe opiod-addiction, inspired me to write this to share with you.
This information will be of great value, if you’re trying to recover, or currently helping
someone, recover from addiction to: stimulants, opioids and GABAergics.
Here below is a short guide, that summarizes the findings made from Years of experience
working within this field making personalized regimens of supplements with very promising
results.
The individual regimens are all legal, non-toxic, non-addictive, natural and most importantly
based on evidence. They can all be bought or ordered online, at a reasonable cost and self
administered or used alongside other treatments etc.
Introduction:
I wanted to show my appreciation for Woodroofs work and courage making treatments
available back then, fighting for the rights of people, who weren’t offered the best
treatment they knew at the time.
Woodroof is a referal to Ronald Dickson Woodroof (1992) who founded the famous Dallas
Buyers Club which later was made into the movie by the same name. R.D.Woodroof through
the buyers club, distributed medicine to treat Aids during the hardship in the 80’s. Today we
see addiction is killing more people each Year than Aids did when it was most rampant in the
US. Not only OD’s but addiction-related suicide as well as alcoholism is widely spreading,
creating torn apart families and isolated individuals, all who are in dire need of our help.
This story ressonated with me, as I started a non-profit myself about 3 Years ago, where we
collectively bought large amounts of supplements to save money and to get around the
legislation in my country. I would then make personalized blends of these for a lot of cases,
but especially for people struggling with addiction and cases where our psychiatry had failed.
I quickly started getting people referred to me struggling with stimulants, opioids and
GABAergics but were also able to help in a lot cases with somatic diseases and I had to keep
learning and read up on the studies as well as scout the internet for knowledgeable sources.
I was educated as an intercultural and international socialworker, later having studied
anthropology and globalization, although I have no background in medicine, this must be
mentioned.
I suffered a minor TBI (traumatic brain injury) 10 Years ago, and I had to learn, how to
recover from the cognitive issues and did a lot of experimentation and researched neuro
regeneration and supplements for Years which meant I was familiar scouting for resources, reading studies as well as looking for interactions.
I needed to dive deep into the individual effects of minerals, vitamins, amino acids,
adaptogens and nootropics and the different synergies, and found some very interesting
finds regarding possible addiction treatments and support, and I have witnessed some very
promising results.
These following regimens and advice is what I’ve seen having the highest rate of recovery as
well as the lowest rapported issues with relapse, accute withdrawal as well as PAWS (post
accute-withdrawal-symptoms) while and after tapering. Studies are linked beneath each, for
further reading.
If you’re on any other medication or supplements, then either get a medical professional
to look into interactions before trying any of these or if you proceed on your own hand,
make sure either ask on i.e. Reddit / FB groups, or Google substance-x + substance-y +
interactions and do a bit of reading.
I. Opiods
Warning, this blend of supplements potentiates opiates to a high degree, meaning if you’re
on an active taper, then dose lower than you’re used to before trying these, approximately
half your usual dose. It also means you can do a far more rapid taper and use these before,
as well as after, your last dose during the taper, to reduce RLS and PAWS here. When you
hit a wall and your body starts reacting with WD’s, then hover at that dose for a few Days
and then continue cutting down a little less aggressive from there on.

1. Bacopa Monnieri Extract_______________________300mg-3000mg pr. Day in 1-4 doses
   
2. Black Seed Oil (Nigella Sativa) ___________________1 tbsp.-3 tbsp. pr. Day in 1-4 doses
   
3. Agmatine ___________________________________500mg-1500mg pr. Day in 1-4 doses
   
4. Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate)_____________50mg-100mg pr.kg divided in several doses*
   

*Before starting the vitamin C, I recommend to read up on this link:
https://ericazelfand.com/vitamin-c-for-opioid-addiction/
If you suffer from hemochromatosis, skip the vitamin c though.
*In some cases where you’re coming off a dangerously high dose of fentanyl or methadone,
then substituting with kratom alongside this regiment can be useful in certain cases, but it
must be said kratom in of itself is an opioid with risk of addiction. It’s the lessor of two evils
though and for some can have benefits, if they can’t get suboxone etc. It will work fine,
alongside this taper as these supplements also potentiates the kratom and suboxone a lot. If
you’re trying to get off kratom the same supplements will help you too.
Bacopa (BM) can require a step by step increase to avoid stomach issues, so start with a low
dose. Some people get slight diarrhea dosing high on BM, so always dose right after a fatty
meal, or just use Psyllium husks and some butteoil before taking the BM, although a large
meal containing fats, is the most effective way mitigating this. Also certain bad extracts
tends to make the diarrhea inevitable even in low doses and with food so if you’re unlucky
to get your hands on a bad extract, try giving another a go before you give up on BM as it is
truly effective when it can get absorbed. Both the vitamin c and the BM needs to get adjusted for by slowly increasing until you reach
bowel tolerance. A meal before, with the fiber and fats seems to shorten this period.
BM in higher doses causes a slight fatigue and some prefer to take 200-500mg of rhodiola
extract early in the Day to counter this because if the rhodiola is taken late, it will hinder
sleep.
Bacopa has a long history of use for opium-addiction in India but have recently been studied
and hailed for it’s effect of diminishing discomfort and reducing WD’s as well as the dose
needed for painrelief etc. Agmatine and BSO also show great potential for reducing WD’s
and managing PAWS as shown in the studies.
I will refer to a few studies here but for more detailed information, I recommend reading or
skimming the PHD dissertation about the potential of bacopa in opioid dependency as well.
For further reading on each supplement Google each + opioid + studies or opiates, and read
about some of the studies or old threads about these.
 Effect of bacopa monnieri on morphine dependence and tolerance to analgesia in
animal models (PHD Thesis)
http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2010/2/1574S.pdf
 Effect of Bacopasides on acquisition and expression of morphine tolerance
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50289046\_Effect\_of\_Bacopasides\_on\_acqui
sition_and_expression_of_morphine_tolerance
 A new and novel treatment of opioid dependence: Nigella sativa 500 mg
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19385474/
 Thymoquinone: From Nigella sativa to a protective pharmacological compound in
managing opioid dependence and amphetamine type stimulant issues
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7395189/
 Effect of agmatine on the development of morphine dependence in rats: potential role
of cAMP system https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15541421/
 Agmatine Prevents Adaptation of the Hippocampal Glutamate System in Chronic
Morphine-Treated Rats https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5563829/
 Attenuation of heroin withdrawal syndrome by the administration of high-dose vitamin
C
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236834375\_Attenuation\_of\_heroin\_withdr
awal_syndrome_by_the_administration_of_high-dose_vitamin_C
I recommend to continue this regimen for a while after seizing the last mg’s of opiates as
this prevents relapse by a great deal as well as helps to bring the body back into homeostasis
as bacopa increases synaptogenesis as well. You can skip the high dose vitamin C when
you’re out of the woods and just get a good multivitamin and some omega 3’s to maintain
the effects. The rhodiola also acts as a powerful anti-fatigue and anti-depressant for post
addiction lethargy. Most get great relief from doing this regiment for longer periods as they
report it helps keep them clearminded and manages their cravings for opiates, is what I’ve
experienced from feedback. The doses can easily be lowered to more sustainable levels that will still offer relief from
cravings. On the last page I have some recommendations for other natural compounds with
neuro-regenerative proporties that also reduces cravings for alcohol and drugs that can be
worth looking into to add to, as well as substitute for some of these when you get clean and
free from WD’s again.
II. Stimulants
Warning, do not use mucuna alongside an active taper still using stimulants. You should be
able to stop or do a rapid taper with the others and continue with the mucuna but do so
only, when you’re off the stimulant. In most cases it is easier just to stop and substitute with
this regimen as it will reduce cravings, mental instability as well as physical WD’s very
effectively. Also be aware that polygala potentiates stimulants so dose lower than usual
around 2/3 normal dose and monitor your reactions if you are going to taper off without
mucuna. If any sign of discomfort arises, wait to use polygala also until you’ve tapered down
using the others.

1. L-tyrosine____________________________________________500mg-2500mg 1-3 doses
   
2. Bilberry/Blueberry Extract_______________________________300mg-1500mg 1-3 doses
   
3. Polygala Extract_______________________________________ 50mg-200mg 1-3- doses
   
4. Mucuna Extract________________________________________50mg-250mg 1-3 doses
   

Mucuna extract contains l-dopa which is a direct precursor to dopamine and l-tyrosine is a
precursor to l-dopa, which helps prevent neurotoxicity to some degree. Bilberry/blueberry
extract also has neuroprotective proporties on the dopaminergic system as shown from the
studies below. It’s best to get bilberry as it contains 4-10x higher the amount of
anthocyanins but a higher dose of blueberry extract will also work. It is though not
recommended to use mucuna for lengthy periods due to risk of neurotoxicity so later, you’ll
be able to, instead drop the mucuna, and add NAC + d-phenylalanine which is a precursor to
the l-tyrosine, alongside the others. This is once you’ve been clean for at least a Week and
managed the most severe craving and WD’s.
In case you’re showing troubling signs of brainaging due to stimulant-use, you can add
bacopa to this stack as well, as evidence is showing it is acting as a powerful neuroprotectant
in meth+mpp induced neurotoxicity and it’s effect of synaptogenesis will aid here, as well.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9414486/)
Pair it with rhodiola 200-500mg if you experience fatigue or depression from the PAWS that
won’t dissapate with the supplements.
 Antioxidant-Enriched Diet Affects Early Microglia Accumulation and Promotes
Regeneration of the Striatal Dopamine System after a 6-Hydroxidopamine-Induced
Lesion in a Rat https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.4137/JEN.S10424
 Blueberry- and spirulina-enriched diets enhance striatal dopamine recovery and induce
a rapid, transient microglia activation after injury of the rat nigrostriatal dopamine
system https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014488605002797  Dopamine mediated antidepressant effect of Mucuna pruriens seeds in various
experimental models of depression
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213977/
 Neuro-Cognitive Effects of Acute Tyrosine Administration on Reactive and Proactive
Response Inhibition in Healthy Older Adults
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6084775/
 Tyrosine influence on amphetamine self-administration and brain catecholamines in the
rat https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3786355/
 Effects of dietary tyrosine on L-dopa- and amphetamine-induced changes in locomotor
activity and neurochemistry in mice https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2080188/
 Polygalasaponins effective against antipsychotic treatment
https://patents.google.com/patent/KR100378323B1/en
 Antidepressant Principles of the Roots of Polygala tenuifolia
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6804019\_Antidepressant\_Principles\_of\_the
_Roots_of_Polygala_tenuifolia
 Hypothesizing Balancing Endorphinergic and Glutaminergic Systems to Treat and
Prevent Relapse to Reward Deficiency Behaviors: Coupling D-Phenylalanine and N
Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) as a Novel Therapeutic Modality
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4760695/
I also recommend you continue this regiment for as long as you experience cravings or fear
you might relapse. Just switch the mucuna after the critical phase and instead use NAC + d
phenylalanine and perhaps bacopa if there’s some damages from a long period of addiction.
You will easily be able to find a lower or even a higher, functioning dose of the supplements
that suits your need for repair and relief. The most important part is you move further and
further away from relapse and get the natural energy and drive to get back into a healthy
lifestyle again. In general people I learn who’ve forgotten or stopped their supplements,
after they get clean, tends to relapse, way more often, than those who keep their regimens.
So use this for as long as needed and read the part about alcohol and managing cravings
down at the bottom. If you feel some resistance to using supplements or want to learn more
about other kinds of medicine like these, I advice you to download the free guide, linked to
at the last page.
III. GABA
’ergics
Warning, don’t completely seize your use of benzodiazepines abrubtly. Plan a careful taper
as risk of seizures can be highly dangerous, especially in the higher dose-range. This regimen
will potentiate benzodiazepines also, as well so be aware to dose lower in the beginning
until you get a sense of how much potentiation, for the benzo, you’re currently on.
Approximately to 1/2 and then if WD’s kick in dose a bit higher until you feel okay and if you
get high vice versa. If you’re using a benzo that is metabolized fast like alprazolam it can be
worth to slowly adjust and start using a benzo with a longer half life like clonazapam and
diazapam to better be able to cut doses and not worry about getting into WD’s at every hour. Emoxypine________________________________________100mg-500mg 1-3 doses pr.Day
Agmatine_________________________________________500mg-1500mg 1-3 doses pr.Day
Magnolia Bark Extract_______________________________200mg-800mg 1-3 doses pr. Day
Black Seed Oil (Nigella Sativa)______________________1 tbsp.-3 tbsp. 1-3 doses pr. Day
*This also works for gabapentenoids like (Gabapentin, Pregabalin and Phenibut) but if
you’re tapering down from a high dose phenibut, you might also benefit by substituting 1g
of phenibut with 10mg baclofen in that ratio. This regimen will make you able to taper fast
and effective down from the baclofen too.
Glutamate surges from excitotoxicity when tapering, often creates severe adrenal fatigue,
mental instablity and wearyness, after a while and here it is also important to make sure to
get a enough vitamin b6 and you’ll also be able try kava, NAC and l-theanine, alongside this,
to prevent these symptoms. Magnolia modulates GABA-a but there’s not many studies on
emoxypine even though safety has been well-established. Regarding emoxypine, you can
find a wide arrange of user reports that backs it’s efficiency in tapering which were
confirmed from my own observations.
All of these together, can bring a bit symptoms of fatigue due to the combined effects of the
supplements. If this becomes an issue take 200-500mg of rhodiola extract early in the Day to
counter this because if the rhodiola is taken late, it will hinder sleep. Lemon balm and
magnesium glycinate can be a help in getting some sleep, in certain phases in the WD’s if
you taper aggressively.
Use this like the other regimens for as long as you need the support and when you’re
completely off all benzodiazepines and stabilized, then you can switch the magnolia extract
to sabroxy extract, and this will help your brain heal faster due to increased BDNF,
neurogenesis as well as synaptogenesis. Bacopa too has effects of synaptogenesis and will
help mitigating symptoms of alcohol WD and craving and can be useful to add, once you’re
off as well.
Benzo induced neurological dysfynction (BIND) can require more of the neuro-regenerative
effects in general and higher doses. I suggest you download the free guide, linked to at the
last page, and look into, sabroxy, polygala, bacopa, sulforaphane, emoxypine and the
neuropeptides as a start.
 Agmatine Inhibit The Tolerance To The Anxiolytic Effect Of Diazepam In Rats
https://www.semanticscholar.org/papeAgmatine-Inhibit-The-Tolerance-To-The
Anxiolytic-Of-Patel-Bhartiya/077ecdcea512f2298acc528f3d70944c04e8c01f
 Magnolol, a major bioactive constituent of the bark of Magnolia officinalis, induces
sleep via the benzodiazepine site of GABAA receptor in mice
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028390812002894
 Effect of Magnolia officinalis and Phellodendron amurense (Relora (R)) on cortisol and
psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255705487\_Effect\_of\_Magnolia\_officinalis\_
and_Phellodendron_amurense_Relora_R_on_cortisol_and_psychological_mood_state_
in_moderately_stressed_subjects  Promising effects of emoxypine and its succinate derivative in the management of
various diseases-with insights on recent patent applications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9389226/
 [The results of the study of the efficacy and safety of mexidol in patients with chronic
cerebral ischemia] (Mexidol = Emoxypine) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26081329/
 Kava as an anticraving agent: preliminary data
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11205899\_Kava\_as\_an\_anticraving\_agent\_
preliminary_data
 Bacopa monnieri abrogates alcohol abstinence-induced anxiety-like behavior by
regulating biochemical and Gabra1, Gabra4, Gabra5 gene expression of GABAA receptor
signaling pathway in rats
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332218383914
III. I.Alcohol
Dealing with alcoholism often get’s tricky as this is tied deeply into culture as well as
patterns of engaging in much needed socializing.
This regimen of supplements might be able to reduce most of the cravings and help with
many of the issues from a physiological point of view. While on the other hand, the isolation
and mental toll it takes to step outside of the festivities, often tend to push people back into
drinking or worse even, into drugs.
Kava shows some very promising results being a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA-a
receptor which means it doesn’t have much addiction potential at all, yet mimicks a lot of
the effects from alcohol. In a lot places now, people are beginning to bring kava for
themselves for going to parties, to manage social anxiety and peer-preassure as well as
experiencing the enjoyment of being a part of the letting loose.
Kava has shown to act as a powerful anti-cravings agent as shown in the study below, not
only for alcohol but most drug of choices tested on the group.
My anecdotal observations:
Most people who’ve gotten clean, functional and even stopped drinking due to it leading
them to do drugs, often told me about them getting a nagging evening restlessness. In
general how it would get their head spinning about relapsing just once etc.
Those who tried kava all reported that it took away that sense of craving and it helped them
relax and unwind when they got stressed enough to begin fantasizing about drugs and
alcohol. Some of those who didn’t want the kava, managed to stay clean, while others
unfortunately found themselves, slip a few times.
But they often reported, that having the supplements and knowing the way back, kept them
getting back to living clean very quickly after.
A theory of this is, could be due to the role alcohol and cannabis has played for thousands of
Years perhaps, being incoded in our biology, to come to a point where the need, for just
some kind of recreational effects for some, becomes highly unbearable to cope with.
This is why I often advice people in risk, to get to learn about kava and have at least a little
bag of instant/micronized kava lying around, so they know they’ll be able to push the panic
button on the accute cravings.
The point of kava being highly adviced as the lessor of two evils is displayed in these
infographics here: (https://sci-hub.st/10.1177/0269881119841569) Kava and safety:
Kava got a bad stain from back in the 90’s when some medicinal companies bought up a
kava-company and shortly after started making acetone extracts of leaves and stems which
wasn’t allowed. A few cases with people with pre-existing liver issues and even alcoholism
and medication on the side, in a rare instants experienced hepatoxicity and the pharmaceutical industry, in a collective effort, blew it out proportions. The most likely cause
of this, is hypothesized to be, the rapid increase, in loss of sales of benzodiazepines and
addictive sleeping medication, which they began seeing as kava increased in popularity back
in the late 90’s. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have since put these claims to rest, and
these are linked to beneath. As a comparison acetylsalicylic acid, also known as aspirin, was
actually found, to be more dangerous than kava.
 “Kava Lebertoxisch?” DAZ.online. https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/.../uid-

 “Kava Toxicity.” https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-2026.2000.00107.x.
 “A Plant Kavalactone Desmethoxyyangonin Prevents Inflammation and Fulminant
Hepatitis in Mice.” https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077626.
 “Kava Feeding in Rats Does Not Cause Liver Injury nor Enhance Galactosamine-Induced
Hepatitis.” . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2007.01.015.
 “Lack of Evidence of Kava-Related Hepatotoxicity in Native Populations in Savaii,
Samoa.” https://www.herbalgram.org/media/12000/issue59.pdf.
 “Yangonin Protects against Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Farnesoid X
Receptor.” Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy and
Phytopharmacology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2018.09.006.
 “Effects of Kava Root Extract on the Liver Morphology of c57bl-6 Mus Musculus Mice.”

1. http://www.amgs.or.kNew/common/journal/vol4\_no.13.PDF.

 “Anxiolytic Action and Safety of Kava: Effect on Rat Brain Acetylcholinesterase Activity
and Some Serum Biochemical Parameters. http://dx.doi.org/.
 “Chemical and in Vitro Toxicity Analysis of a Supercritical Fluid Extract of Kava Kava
(Piper Methysticum).” https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2019.01.032.
 “Flavokawains A and B from Kava (Piper Methysticum) Activate Heat Shock and
Antioxidant Responses and Protect against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Cell Death in
HepG2 Hepatocytes.” https://doi.org/10.3109/13880209.2015.1107104.
 “Aqueous Kava Extracts Do Not Affect Liver Function Tests in
Rats.” https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2003-40658.
 “Safety of Ethanolic Kava Extract: Results of a Study of Chronic Toxicity in Rats.”
Phytomedicine: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2006.01.006.
 “Kava Hepatotoxicity: Comparative Study of Two Structured Quantitative Methods for
Causality Assessment.” . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2710.2009.01131.x.
Finishing words:
Reintegrating your lifepath back into your original flowstate again, can be difficult, as all
addiction tends to originate from trauma of some sort, but also create a lot of trauma in of
itself. Most of us, are also carriers of multiple generations of traumatic experiences and all of this, if not treated, will hinder our journey into the higher levels of emotional and spiritual
growth. These regimens can provide us with a long window of opportunity to begin to find
your way back into progressing with a healthy lifestyle. But if the addiction-issue, is taken
lightly, and given enough time, the signs of trauma’s will come clawing their way back and
have you risk relapse.
I see a lot, find great comfort in religious community with a strong faith as well as evolving
values of reciprocity to newcomers. Some start to exercise a lot and eat healthy again, as
well as reach out to new friendgroups. Some show great benefits from getting therapy or
counseling for that extra assistance in unraveling, certain kinds of severe trauma. Others go
into Eastern and spiritual practices like Qigong and Yoga and start to meditate. A
combination of all of these would be ideal, but focus on one step at a time. There are many
paths back to healing and a good marker for progression here, is if your eyes are getting
kinder, your voice is becoming softer and you begin to feel and see the traumas, of others,
and wants to be in service of some sort.
A short story we can use to remind ourselves.
A long time ago, a therapist explained to me.
"Once a woman told me that she would always love being intimate with her husband
because then after that his eyes would be mild and kind.
A man then told me how he loved making his wife laugh, because after that, her voice
would become soft and playful.
Lastly a young child told me, how the child loved being around and being in service to the
parents, because after that, they would listen and stay present, just as ready to cry with
them as to laugh with the them.
Counter-intuitive strategies
For those who at some point will seek out, some kind of therapy this here beneath, might be
worth knowing.
PTSD therapy offers relief for around 20% of people with PTSD, while MDMA-facilitated
therapy shows results of around 80% instead. If you suffer from PTSD or severe trauma, and
you can’t get this therapy where you’re at, using kanna extract (preferably MT55) and
getting a good therapist to work with, will help you up the percentages. This is because
kanna works very similarly to MDMA. Just let the therapist know politely, that you’re
supplementing with a herbal extract while you’re there, to treat your anxiety, and most will
have no issues with this.
The promising aspect of this, is that now, you can have Weekly sessions instead of having to
wait 2-3 Months in between each, as with MDMA due to sideeffects and toxicity. Although
be careful that the euforic effects of kanna doesn’t act as a trigger so be mindful about this
before proceeding.
 The safety and efficacy of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted
psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress
disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122379/
 Acute Effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a Dual 5-HT Reuptake and PDE4
Inhibitor, in the Human Amygdala and its Connection to the Hypothalamus
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828542/  A Chewable Cure “Kanna”: Biological and Pharmaceutical Properties of Sceletium
tortuosum https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8124331/
This picture below, can be a great opener in the first stages of acknowledging and
understanding our trauma.
Credit for picture: u/imabritnotayank (Reddit)
Further reading:
You can find a more comprehensive guide on these and other supplements as well as good
places to buy from and save money etc. called: A Short Guide To Using Powerful Healing
Medicines In A Modern Age, on this link. https://fastupload.io/GPMqH19NazVNJNk/file
If the link stops working or if you have any inquiries, reach me on this email, I’ll try answer
within a few days : [email protected]
If you want to donate to our work
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=UHL52DQEL5D2C&no\_recurring=0¤cy\_code=USD
bc1qhd28veysgr84xc3r729tdq4d2hgz9rhx9xllcq (BTC)

Don't hate me for it, I'm not very familiar with the whole social media netiquette, I don't know popular stuff therefore I often don't get if something is a joke or not.
Whenever I watch some instagram reels with accents from all over the UK or some Australian ones, I see comments like "What is that language? Thanks for the subtitles, I wouldn't have understood, Does anyone know what language they are speaking?". Recently I saw reels made by a Scottish guy in Scotland with other Scottish people. And random people were commenting that his accent is a joke in a quite rude manner.
Honestly these comments always seem to be very rude but maybe that's some inside joke I don't get (still rude, English is spoken in many countries after all).
I am wondering, is that some kind of "meme" or do Americans really struggle to understand some accents? I am asking this as an non-native speaker. English is my third language I've learnt on my own, mainly through the Internet. In general I don't have problems with understanding people from all over the UK and Australia.

I’m Native American/Canadian I’m enjoying movies and I’m lonely for company. I’m looking for someone to chat with daily if you’re up for it, It’s been quiet on my phone and would appreciate a friend. About me, I’m silly and respectful I enjoy gaming on the PS4. I love Sci-fi, romance and drama, and Action adventure movies are my favourite. I like rap and country. K-pop. Listening to spooky stuff on YouTube or reading it on Reddit. I’m mostly into nerdy stuff. I’m also Christian if that matters. I’m not someone super interesting, but I can certainly hold a conversation and keep it going. I’m just a small town guy living the big city life ha PM me if you want a conversation.

Trigger warning: sexual abuse
I have always wanted to talk about this topic. Although the post is stretching the definition of Expatshame, I feel that there is not enough discussion regarding the military abuses. The main point of this post is to spread awareness and create solutions (and for the subreddit to be united) , rather than expat shame per se.
Okinawa is one of the prefectures in Japan, in which it was annexed by the Japanese Empire. It currently hosts US Military bases, which resulted in numerous issues to arise. The criminal offences (e.g. rape, arson etc.) of some US military personnel have gotten unnoticed. At the same time, ecological damage is worsening due to the construction of new military bases. Kyodo News (2019) reported that seventy-percent (70%) of Okinawans had opposed the US military bases. There have in fact been multiple protests and rallies by the Okinawans. Nonetheless, the construction of new military bases will go through.
​
Unpunished criminal offences
There have already been hundreds of complaints against US military personnel. If you ask me, they are expats who are just employed under the US military. The OHCHR (2022) wrote that the total number of cases and complaints against the US military personnel had already reached above five thousand (5,000).

... according to the statistics of the Okinawa Prefectural Police, the total number of criminal offenses committed by U.S. servicemen, servicewomen and their families until September 2020 counted 6,052, of which 581 were heinous crimes such as murder, robbery, rape and arson, and 129 were rape cases.
This is only the number of arrests made, and the actual number of incidents is believed to be much higher.

​
The following are specific cases of the abuse by the aforementioned personnel (Johnson, 2008) :

1.) On June 29, 2001, a 24-year-old air force staff sergeant, Timothy Woodland, was arrested for publicly raping a 20-year-old Okinawan woman on the hood of a car.
2.) On November 2, 2002, Okinawan authorities took into custody Marine Major Michael J Brown, 41 years old, for sexually assaulting a Filipina barmaid outside the Camp Courtney officer's club

​
Let us not forget the infamous 1995 gang-rape case:

...the notorious 1995 kidnapping, beating and gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by two marines and a sailor in Kin village, Okinawa. The convicted assailants in that outrage were Marine Private First Class Roderico Harp, Marine Private First Class Kendrick Ledet and Seaman Marcus Gill

​
Johnson had also reported that there are often other issues happening in Okinawa:

Other incidents of bodily harm, intimidation and death continue in Okinawa on an almost daily basis, including hit and-run collisions between American troops and Okinawans on foot or on auto bikes, robberies and assaults, bar brawls and drunken and disorderly conduct.

​
Ecological Damage
Not only are the native Okinawans affected by the US military bases, but their eco-systems are in-danger as well. Dias (2018) further details on how extinction and contamination affects Okinawa:

The Oura Bay alone is home to 262 endangered species. The [US] military facility plans to dump 21 million metric tons of sand and soil mixed with the alien invasive Argentine ant and Red-back spider into its waters.
In this distinctive natural environment, 26 newly discovered endemic species have been found since 2006.
These islands are home to the Sekisei Lagoonresides, Japan’s largest - and dying - coral reef. Corals currently on Japan's 'red list' - Okinawensis veron and Sargassum carpophyllum - could be crushed by the construction works.

​

Since 1998, there have been over 415 incidents of toxic spills and dumping from the [US] military facilities. Polluted matter has flowed into rivers and embedded itself into the ecosystem. It's horrific to imagine this occurring yet again, especially amidst seeming efforts to house nuclear weapons in the the Oura Bay.

​

Added to this, it was uncovered in 1996 that US aircrafts were test-firing over 1,500 depleted urranium shells near an important fishing ground in Torishima.
In 2015, the Pentagon's release of US Marine Corps’ documents from the 1970s revealed “large fish kills” in the waters near Camp Kinser. Inspections demonstrated a high concentration hazardous compounds in the sea.

​
Here are the solutions that I have come up with:

1. Research more about the effects of the US military bases on Okinawa
2. Coordinate with the Okinawan activists
3. For Asians: Focus on Asian empowerment projects with the Okinawans
4. For people living in Western Countries: spread more awareness of the issue (via newspapers, blogs, Youtube videos etc.) , pressure politicians to oppose military expansion ( even if it falls into deaf ears most of the time)

​
References:
Dias, T. (2018, October 1). US military bases in Okinawa threaten people and Ecosystems. The Ecologist. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://theecologist.org/2018/oct/01/us-military-bases-okinawa-threaten-people-and-ecosystems
Johnson, C. (2008, March 3). The 'rape' of Okinawa - apjjf.org. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://apjjf.org/-Chalmers-Johnson/2686/article.pdf
KYODO NEWS+. (2019, February 25). Over 70% of voters reject U.S. base transfer in Okinawa referendum. Kyodo News+. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/02/92e0b7fff7b5-voting-under-way-in-okinawa-for-referendum-on-us-base-relocation.html
OHCHR. (2022, January 30). Report on violence against indigenous Ryukyu/okinawa women and girls. OHCHR.org. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/AOCHR.pdf

Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
​
End of chapter 10
​
---
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Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
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You natives are hard workers and do what you gotta do keep going you have my respect, keep on thriving Finland. I saw youngster working hard as well, im proud to live among you.

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It was a Native American brand that was white and had a dreamcatcher on it. Cans were the size of a normal Red Bull can. I saw it for one month in 2014 as part of the energy drinks the military provided to troops while in Afghanistan. Appreciate any and all leads! Thank you!

Mike: It's not like you're native American. Sue: Yes, I am. Mike: N-no, Sue. You're not. Sue: Sure, I am. I mean, that's what I put on my forms. Mike: What? Why did you do that? Sue: 'Cause I'm a native of America. I'm a native American. Mike: Sue, now they think you're native American! Sue: Right, a native American. Mike: [Sighs] Say, "I'm a native American." Sue: I'm a native American. Ohh! I hear it now. Well, what was I supposed to check? There was no other option that seemed right. It's not like we're "ca-kah-zee-an." Mike: Actually, Sue, we are. Sue: What?!

Heading south on 89 in Arizona trying to keep my brain from bouncing out of my skull. If you've driven this highway you know the many native American craft booths set up along the highway. Passing by one and I see an old native man holding a tiny white dog standing next to an old minivan vigorously pumping his arm at me. Of course, I happily oblige and toot to my heart's content. I figured I would get the arm pump one day, but I assumed it would be a child. Not that I'm disappointed. It's nice that the older generation enjoys it too

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3927037-native-americans-used-horses-far-earlier-than-historians-had-believed/amp/