"You must be looking for Davia Stark. She's a poor little thing. She fought heroically against the sandmen in the initial stages of the invasion, only to lose all of her comrades, family and state. The losses broke her. Even now, we have tried to introduce some cheer in her life, but it's like she is dead inside."
That sounded ominous. Brutus followed the elder Larkinson woman to the courtyard and found the woman in question resting under the shade of an apple tree.
A desolate atmosphere surrounded her. It was as if all of the cheer and pleasantry was being sucked into a black hole centered around her body.
An instinctive response came out Brutus, yet somehow he failed to get a grip on the woman!
Yet even as Madame Stark looked completely broken, Brutus sensed an inner strength within her that seemed to resonate with him. There was more to this mech pilot than met the eye.
He stepped forward until he came up to her sitting form. It was as if she had collapsed against the tree. Her dull eyes barely noticed his approach and her body was completely devoid of strength.
"Hello." He said in a gentle voice. He completely put aside his Hexer demeanor. "You look like you can use a friend."
"..."
Davia didn't even bother to look up at him. So many people had already tried to engage her in conversation. None succeeded. The Larkinsons only made marginal progress in mending her broken existence.
Though Brutus failed to elicit the reaction he wanted, he did not show any disappointment. Instead, Davia's condition inspired more interest from him. Aside from pitying her condition, his intuition also hinted that she was much closer to his level of existence than she appeared!
He sat down next to her while maintaining a modest distance.
"You are probably unaware of my identity. Let me introduce myself. I am Venerable Brutus Wodin. I am an expert pilot serving in the Glory Battalion. Perhaps you have heard of us already."
"..."
"I've heard a little about your life experiences from the Larkinsons. I'm sorry for your losses. Life and death is inevitable in war. As a Hexer, my state bears some culpability in failing to protect our star sector from the aggression of alien invaders."
Davia finally made a reaction. She minutely shook her head and whispered a response.
"It's not your responsibility. Only I'm at fault."
"That.. you should never think that way. I've heard how many fleets the sandmen threw at the border states. None of your forces could have withstood so many sandmen. Your states were already doomed the moment the sandmen decided to invade. Sure, they might have fared better if your people made more preparations, but even then that will only delay the inevitable."
Being reminded of the failures of the past only caused Davia to sink even deeper.
Brutus noticed his mistake. He placed a hand on her back.
"Look. You survived. That's good. That means that at least one person is able to carry forth and keep the memories of your comrades and people alive. You have a responsibility to prevent their names and deeds from fading. If the records and memories of their existences have truly gone to dust, then you will have lost even more. Don't let them be forgotten. Find a way to make people remember."
He was actually voicing a Hexer principle, though he was mindful enough to strip the hexism aspects from his explanation. He already learned that it was not a good idea to persuade foreigners to the merits of Hexer culture.
He succeeded in getting a reaction out of Davia this time.
"I came from a border state called the Vindmar Republic." Davia cracked her voice, as if she was unused to talking. "It was a weak state, and life was anything but perfect so close to the frontier. It was my home, though. No one remembers Vindmar anymore. It is just a single mention in a long list of fallen states. Fewer people even remember the people who lived there."
"This is why you matter, Davia." He encouragingly said. "You are their legacy. The Vindmar Republic will always live on so long as you preserve your precious memories. You may not be able to bring them back, but you can help them move on by commemorating their existence."
She started to draw herself out of her misery in order to contemplate his suggestion. She paid more and more attention to the mech pilot who visited her. "Who are you?"
The expert pilot offered her a reassuring smile. "I am a protector, just like you."