Day of Wrath

In the land of Esmeralda lived a boy named Flanders. Not yet eighteen years old, he had already made a name for himself a name as an artist and composer. At the age of six he had already painted a of his older sister Gisela, a very beautiful young woman, and with this work he had his abilities as a painter impressively demonstrated. At the same time, he also began to play the piano and was soon able to play all the national anthems of the world and composed his own serenades and fugues. Flanders had also tried his hand as a dramatist. At the age of sixteen, his play "The Scent of Marigolds" had its world premiere, which was highly praised by the media. With unusual elegance, Flanders described the effect of the local flora on the female sex. The play was so dramatic that it captured the hearts of the audience and remained in their memories for a long time. Flanders also occasionally worked on mathematics; he succeeded in solving several hitherto unresolved problems and proving propositions that were still unproven.

"People of Armania, you know what distinguishes us!" began King Herb I's annual address on National Day. "Diligence, order, discipline are the virtues that bind our nation together. Together we are strong. We know that we do not live for ourselves alone, but for the good of the nation. The individual is not important, it is rather the strength of the strength of the whole people! In our society there are no class distinctions; we know that we are one people, all equal. With our efficiency and fanatical will we will achieve our goals. our goals. For the glory of Armania! Victory be ours!" Then he gave the floor to his Minister of War, Colonel Verkaufner: "Truly, our King has spoken! And now, people of Armania, prepare yourselves for your greatest challenge! We will wage war against an insignificant neighboring country, against an undisciplined horde of barbarians who have produced no culture, whose downfall will not be a pity! We will teach them what it means to disobey the will of Armania! We will show them who is the master of this continent, and give them eternal respect for us! For the glory of of Armania! Victory be ours!" The crowd hooted, "Victory be ours!"

In the last days Flanders was busy completing his first opera, title: "The Perfection of the Creator God." He was already working on it with singer Serena, who specialized in coloratura soprano, to rehearse the opera's main song. Then Flanders suddenly heard a messenger from outside: "Extra! Armania has declared war on Esmeralda! Extra!" Immediately, Flanders rushed outside and bought a copy of the paper. How shocked he was when he realized that the report seemed serious and that it was obviously not a a joke! Surely this could not be true, a war in this day and age! Those cruel barbarians!

Ascher was euphoric to be allowed to participate in the campaign against Esmeralda. Ever since he was a child, the warrior had looked forward to actually seeing action one day and proving to King Herb I what a capable soldier he was. For decades he had trained for this. Now the fulfillment of his life was approaching. All the maneuvers and tactics he had rehearsed to eliminate as many enemies as possible in the most efficient manner would now be put to use.

As the Army of Armania stood at the gates of the capital of Esmeralda, Vien, a huge force of defensive fighters rushed in. It cost Ascher only a weary smile to slaughter the rushing soldiers like cattle. The first was a young man about his age, so about eighteen. Ascher slashed his belly. When the soldier fell to the ground by Esmeralda, Ascher shouted to him, "What an ugly, useless person you are! Well, I don't mind your existence!"

Although Flanders did not like fighting, as a patriot he felt called to volunteer to defend Vien, the capital. If Vien fell, his life was meaningless anyway! For only in Esmeralda was he appreciated as an artist. The barbarians abroad understood nothing of his genius. If Esmeralda goes down, Flanders goes down too. It's no use running away. I must fight. I must strive to defend Esmeralda. No matter what the cost. My life depends on the continuity of my homeland.

The young soldier from Esmeralda, whom Ascher slaughtered first and whom he described as an ugly, useless person whose existence was not a pity, was none other than the young, highly talented artist and composer Flanders. Totally unknown in Armania, he was finally forgotten after the fall of Esmeralda. Even hundreds of years later, no historian discovered that such a young high talent had once lived in what was then Esmeralda.

Armania celebrated its total victory with a huge parade. All the men of Esmeralda were executed, the women enslaved and raped, and King Herb I personally set fire to the library of Esmeralda, the largest in the world, so that all the knowledge that the academics of Esmeralda had painstakingly gathered over centuries was forgotten. There were no libraries in Armania; science was considered a useless endeavor, and anyone who showed interest in such nonsensical things as mathematics was executed. Colonel Verkaufner was proud of his victory, and centuries later, adolescents in Armania's elite schools focused on military discipline learned that on that day the glorious people of Armania had wiped out an insignificant, backward civilization that had accomplished no cultural feat whatsoever, thus doing humanity an enormous favor. Then, at the end of each school lesson, the entire class would chant, "For the glory of Armania! Victory be ours!"

Claus Volko, cdvolko (at) gmail (dot) com, in September 2019.