Chapter 54: Foundation of Elysium

Dean had changed the whiteboard’s structure entirely, working with Yuki to add certain responsibilities outside the domain of organization.

Today’s list included the “Proclamation of Elysium” while the next day’s included the “Agoge Initiative.”

A decree Dean had made to introduce functional reserve forces. Fifteen men alone could not hold Elysium. But if every man and boy capable of bearing arms learned to train with them two-four hours a day in between their normal occupation.

Then Elysium no longer became a city-state held together by a fragile but professional warrior elite. Instead it would become a society where thinkers and fighters were one and the same.

As for Dean, he returned to his task of training the Peltasts, leaving these affairs to Yuki. She approached the community the same way she did every day. With a batch full of rations to distribute based on yesterday’s deeds.

However, as the people stepped forward, whose names were listed first, she took a step upon a crate and cut them off.

“Halt! Before I distribute today’s resources, I have something important to discuss with all of you!”

The crowd of residents that gathered looked at one another and whispered in silent insecurity. But none dared to prevent Yuki from speaking.

“Until now, we have all survived by coming together and covering for each other’s weaknesses. But as we can all clearly see, the snow will not be fading any time soon. And the battle that was waged at our gates will not be the last.”

Her words sufficed to stoke the fear within the hearts of each of the men, women, and children gathered before her.

But also reminding them of what they had achieved despite the cruelty of the world outside their walls.

And she allowed just enough time, just enough brevity before continuing.

“If we wish to survive the winter not just for weeks and months, but the years of hardship that are to come. Then we can no longer remain mere neighbors, bound together by sheer proximity and circumstance. We need to become something more… something closer.”

It was exactly as Dean had said, if he had spoken these words it would seem like the propaganda of a dictator trying to coerce them into becoming something they weren’t.

But Yuki was a friendly face, a beautiful one at that. Her voice carried warmth and support that Dean’s could never find.

And she had her own personal perspectives that acted as a glue he lacked.

“It is no secret that I have not lived here long. Only a few months before the long winter came. But in that brief time I fell in love not just with this land, but the community we have all enjoyed.”

This personal sentiment was more than enough to get even the most skeptical of observers to admire Yuki. And she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Look around you. Look at all that we have accomplished in the month since those who wished to divide us departed? We have walls rapidly being built around the city. Homes are being rebuilt to survive the snow, and power is being redistributed in a way that is sustainable. Why do you think those barbarians came to our gates? Because we have maintained here what no longer exists elsewhere… Civilization.”

Many in the crowd looked around. They had not even thought about it, but Yuki was right. They had power in their homes, heat, food, water. It wasn’t as comfortable as the world had once been before the snow fell.

But… It was more than they knew existed elsewhere. Especially after the Raiders’ slaves were integrated and warned them all about how cruel and unforgiving, the world was just outside their borders.

The last word that Yuki had said instilled a sense of pride in many of those gathered that didn’t exist before.

Their efforts until now had been branded in their own minds as menial, backbreaking labor, all for the sake of gaining enough food, warmth, and water to continue surviving.

One could only do nothing but survive for so long before their spirit shattered. Especially in an era where survival had been driven to the corner of their minds for their entire lives.

What Yuki said however shifted the focus from survival to something far more important… far more admirable. Continuation of civilization in a world without it.

And when the gazes began to shift from suspicion, doubt, and fear to certainty and pride. Yuki knew she had captured their attention and continued with the climax of her speech.

“The Union of Columbia is gone. My own homeland of Yamato no doubt has followed it into the pages of a history that no longer exists. We are not Columbian, or Yamato, or any other group that existed before the snows fell…”

This time the grim nature of her words didn’t cast doubt or weakness into the minds of those gathered. Instead, they led to something greater. And Yuki capitalized on that sense with her next words.

“We are something else entirely, here we have built our own Elysium. Here we maintain the fires that will guide us back to civilization. Today, I give out food and gas to everyone. Today we celebrate as a reminder that we are not simply survivors of a dead civilization, but the trailblazers of a new one in a world devoid of its light.”

Yuki then stepped down from her soapbox, and handed out the rations with a warm smile, and a gentle demeanor. Each citizen of Elysium stepping forward and thanking her not just for the food, the water, and the gas. But also for the speech that had given them a new perspective on their lives, which until now had seemed nothing but grim and somber.

She didn’t know it, but Dean had watched from afar, smiling and shaking his head as he shifted his focus back to his Peltasts in training. His words were quiet and meant for him alone. But they carried his approval, nonetheless.

“That’s my girl….”

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