Léira

Summary

Part I: The Separation

In the year 1940, the vibrant city of Cuáma, the heart of Riyana, was under siege. The neighboring Qonklese Empire, led by the cunning and ruthless false-emperor Dain Pain, had set its sights on the city, seeking to claim it as the new imperial capital. As the Qonklese Imperial Army advanced, the citizens of Cuáma were gripped by fear and confusion. Léira, a young woman, only sixteen in age, with a heart full of dreams and ambitions, was among those caught in the turmoil. In the chaos of the invasion, she was separated from her family, her father, mother, and two sisters, as they fled their beloved city. Now alone, she attempted to seek help from the Riyan soldiers that guarded the last train out of the city, but he shrugged and instead simply pulled her into the last available train car and shut the door. Léira thought she was safe in Cúbhlgabh, where the train eventually ended up, but the Riyan government capitulated on February 9th, 1940, and she found herself under Qonklese occupation.

Part II: The Resistance

The new government implemented internal passports to prevent freedom of movement, as with the rest of the empire at the time. Léira was unable to secure one in order to return to Cuáma and reunite with her family. Having been separated from her parents in the resulting chaos, and unable to prove her identity as she lacked papers, Léira was assigned to a Kwang foster care family who had settled in Cúbhlgabh. They hated that she spoke no word of Kwang, and frequently abused her. In 1942, after Léira turned 18, she was kicked out of the house, and was homeless. She was recruited by Sémbhas to the underground Riyan Armed Resistance (RAR). Sémbhas, she learns, was a Riyan colonel who refused to join the Imperial Army when the invaders called for officers to staff its occupying forces.

As the years passed, Léira transformed from a frightened young girl into a fierce and resilient fighter. She joined a Lugid-funded detachment against the Qonklese Empire in 1948, finding camaraderie among brave Riyan volunteers and their new friends, Lugid soldiers who were assigned to their group to teach them military tactics to fight more effectively. Together, they fought for the liberation of Riyana and the downfall of the tyrannical Dain Pain and his empire. In 1950, after years of bloodshed and heartache, the Lugid forces and the newly established Provisional Government of Riyana finally succeeded in driving the Qonklese Empire out of their land. The city was freed, but the cost of victory was immense. As Léira prepared to return to her home the moment it was possible to do so in winter of 1950, she was unprepared to confront the new reality.

Part III: The Unrecognizable City

When Léira, now twenty-six and a captain of the Provisional Riyan Army, finally set foot in Cuáma once more, she was struck by the chilling reality of her once beautiful city. The charming Riyan architecture she had grown up with had been replaced by overwhelmingly ornate Qonklese buildings, as if to purge the city of its pre-war cultural identity. The streets she had known like the back of her hand were now wholly unrecognizable, and the signs that once displayed elegant Forian letters were now written in utterly alien Kwang logograms. Worst off, she heard virtually no Riyan save for the few thousand Riyan soldiers and military police that were dispatched to maintain order; the inhabitants of the city were all ethnic Kwang settlers. In a moment of self-proclaimed weakness, she assaulted at an elderly Kwang man, before two Riyan soldiers intervened. As Léira wandered through the streets, hopelessly lost in her own city, she felt an overwhelming sense of disorientation and despair. Her spirit, however, urged her to keep moving forward. She was determined to find her family, no matter how insurmountable the odds seemed.

Part IV: The Search for Family

Despite the barriers of language and the disorienting changes to the city, Léira persevered in her search. She sought help from the few remaining Riyans in Cuáma, who had managed to preserve their culture and language despite the oppressive Qonklese rule, risking their lives by maintaining an underground archive during the occupation. Together, they pieced together the fragments of the city's past, hoping to uncover the fate of Léira's family. The truth, however, was more devastating than she could have ever imagined. It was becoming more evident that she had left on the last train out of Cuáma, and her family likely never made it out of the city. The Cuáma Massacre, which was the Qonklese Imperial Army's solution to clear the city of resistance, likely saw to the death of her family.

Part V: Rebuilding

As the years passed, Cuáma slowly began to regain its former charm. The streets once again echoed with the laughter of children, and the elegant Forian script returned to the signs. Léira, now a civil servant, stands on a platform, watching the construction of the Cuáma Cenotaph.