"And we shall fight.." [WWIV]

He had survived.

The King has lived to see the next day, and he had brought to heel that monster Ravan.

Yet the war still raged on, and on this day the fighting was dying down. Despite his own injuries, despite his own pain, the king had to address the citizens of the world, and of his kingdom. Perhaps his wife had tried to stop him but she would be unable to in this regard, for as he stepped to the podium in the center of the Cortes chamber the world awaited with baited breaths. He was looking rough, thin scars seemingly etched onto his face which had yet to fully heal. No doubt a byproduct from his titanic battle.

But as he arrived at the podium he could see the lords and ladies of Vastime awaiting to here his words, their armies where abroad fighting for their justice. Many had died but they had inflicted blows upon their enemies with malice, years of vindictive retribution being enacted. Karakura had been hurt deeply, and even their homeland had been struck. Yet, they had pushed the enemy back time again and again. Thus, he knew the words needed to be heard by his people. He knew, what to say.

"It is on this day that I greet my nation after it has been shaken to it's core by attacks which sought to destroy out very way of life. That even now, we have our youth abroad fighting for a future that is not promised. It is through that sacrifice, through blood and bone, that we may turn that future into a tangible reality."

The King of Vastime voice seemed solemn, but there was the underlying of pride. For even as his thoughts came to the broken bodies of soldiers, citizens torn asunder under the weight of war, his people still stood tall their chins held strong despite the blows they have suffered. His callous hand seemed to rest upon the podium edge, gripping it tightly.

"As our enemies assault upon our lines, I say these words not to remind us of our duty, but to inform our enemies what they can expect from those of Vastime. Even as they assault our beaches, we shall always throw them back into the sea. They will break themselves upon our bulwark attempting to force us into defeat, for such ideas and words are foreign to us. We shall come again, and again against the forces of evil until we have thrown the evil back from it came from. We shall be the bastion of the new world, burning brightly as our ideas and way of life inspire a new day!"

There was a rising storm within the chamber, mutters as the words of the king seemed to please them. That was this speech was televised where all could hear it in the world, soldiers on the front lines gathered around radios. Citizens of Vastime huddle together in the chaos of the assault upon their lands, the fires of their spirits being stoked by the words shared. That now as the war raged on, they where a single people ready to rise to the occasion.

"And should they occupy our lands, of which I do not believe for a second they will, but if they where to capture our nation, I know that our allies from foreign lands shall rise to the occasion. That Lux Orior, and the Gotei, in all that power will set to combating this enemy with all the might they can muster until every citizen of the world lives freely. And we shall come again, and again, for the generations after us may know peace. As we throw ourselves into the furnace of war, let our souls stokes the flames, using our blood to oil the chains of which we lift the future! That is the Vastimian way, and we shall never waiver!"

The king, their king, would strike his hand upon the podium. He'd take a step back was he stepped in front of the congress of lords and ladies. His voice carried far as feet began to pound, a physical representation of approval. The world eyes where upon this young king, and his young nation. Across the seas soldiers seemed to grip their rifles tighter, each one reinforced by the sovereign will of their nation and king. But he now stood in the center of the room, his face twisted into something displaying the raw emotion he felt.

"We are engines, rending our flesh and bone to secure the future of our world! I speak now unto our enemies, unto our allies, so they may know the Vastimian way: We shall never surrender! As our fore-fathers once said; success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall come again and again so that our children may know victory!"

The man would allow his voice to roar into the chamber, as he watched with grit they erupted into applause. He was not a godly orator, but he was what they needed to see. A figurehead who had been in the trenches fighting the same war as them, that he suffered as they did. In some ways, he had become more than man in the eyes of Vastimian citizens. He was the personification of their will, and if even he could meet their enemies again and again— then Vastime's will cannot be broken.

Across the world, where all those who sought Vastimian liberty and fought in their names, they would feel their blood pulsing. Such was the will of Vastime, and such was the will of their king. As he left the chamber, emerald clear eyes holding visions of the future, and a burning which had ignited the nation.