As the Nortfrozzian revolution was being assisted by Arkhan’s forces, the people of Nortfrozz were being supplied with more food than they could have ever dreamed of. The serfs normally had to make do on near starvation rations as their already poor harvests were always being taken by the elites of Nortfrozz, leaving the masses with very little. Now, with the absolutely absurd amount of MREs that were being given away like candy at Halloween that only needed water and heat to be prepared the masses had, for the first time in recorded history, full bellies and truly happy smiles.

They were waiting outside the city while the ‘MSGs’, as they called themselves, softened up the defenses with fire from some truly bizarre weapons. The smarter members of the revolution realized the implications that these weapons had. They could theoretically be carried and used by anyone, not just the MSGs and they made it not only possible but near certain that eve an untrained serf could kill even the most well off member of nobility. While the Arcadians were unwilling to part with these weapons, they did grant some less advanced Dwarven-made firearms.

Slowly, more and more Non-Humans were joining in the mob that encircled the doomed city of Frozzgrad. As the revolution’s ideals changed from being about just freeing the serfs to being about freeing all peoples faster than expected, it became clear to more and more people in the revolution that the lines that the Church and the Aristocrats had used to define and limit people were merely artificial and could be crossed at will.

As the mob eventually began to flood the city after the walls and other internal fortifications had been breached, the divide between the humans and non-humans began to further disappear as agents from the Gaian Alliance accomplished great acts of valor, despite having done so to assist the very race that had oppressed them for so long. Perhaps this was easier due to the fact that Nortfrozz’s masses had very rarely ever seen a Non-Human, as there was not enough money or food for slavery to be commonplace. It took only a scant bit of reasoning for the Revolutionaries to view the oppression of the Non-Humans as equal to and just as terrible as the oppression of the human serfs.

….

In Arkhan’s eyes, things were going better than expected on the Nortfrozz front. Surprisingly, the revolution was easier to steer than he had expected and the people were more open to their intervention and assistance than what he had anticipated. What astounded him the most was that the attitude of the revolutionaries towards Non-Humans was by far more acceptable than that of any other Human Nation. While the battle for Nortfrozz’s capital was quite costly due to the high concentration of powerful Magi and elite Soldiers, the fact that the majority of the lives lost were those of the revolutionaries and not Gaian Alliance members was, while welcome, quite concerning. He was worried that the revolution would turn on the Alliance after the battle was won due to the casualties that they were sustaining, and thus he made it clear to all those from the Gaian Alliance that they should be doing their damnedest to make it look like they cared about the revolution.

Now, after that order, he needed to design medals to give to those who did their duty and had performed beyond the normal duties of their position. He was going to have to design a lot of new medals as the members of the Gaian Alliance that had joined the siege were routinely going out of their way to assist and rescue those in the mob who bit of more than they could chew.

…

The bloody fighting had lasted for over two weeks, but the end was in sight. The Royal Palace was the last hold-out of the aristocrats who had now been concentrated even closer together along with what remained of the clergy. Nortfrozz’s high society was now all alone, as they had foolishly sent every single person capable of helping them make a final stand out into the city in desperate and pointless attempts to defeat the mob of angry serfs, Gaian Alliance troops and the now freed slaves that the aristocrats had owned and brought into the city with them. As they cowered in their final bastion with the windows and doors barricaded and their last hope pinned on the other Human Nations coming to their aid, the sounds of a song taught to the masses by the Arcadians could be heard thundering around the palace complex.

“Can you hear the people sing? They’re singing the song of angry men! It is a song sung by a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there’s a life about to start when tomorrow comes!”

That damned catchy song was being sung over and over again and had even begun to be heard echoing in the heads of those ‘poor, unfortunate souls’ who now lived in absolute terror that at any moment the mob would break in and slaughter the lot of them.

And then, the next day, that is almost exactly what happened.

With the roar of the terrible weapons wielded by the Metal Demons, explosions and flames ripped holes in the walls, doors and windows and sent the hastily erected barricades flying. The mob surged forth, but as the aristocrats and clergy found themselves now cornered by the mob, a miracle occurred. Rather than be torn apart, the mob merely took them quite roughly to the infamous prison that was used to hold anyone who rebelled against the Royals and the status quo; the Grey House.

While they expected to be given a kangaroo court and summarily executed, they were instead given a fair trial. Well, it was as fair a trial as could be given the fact that they had never given the jury (comprised of serfs and non-humans) any reason to like them and the fact that the testimony of not just the serfs but also the slaves and even live-in servants were damning at best. While the mass majority of those tried were merely stripped of almost all possessions and made to work in prison labor, there was a handful that indeed got the death penalty. Those few who were executed included the King, Queen, the Head of the Nortfrozz Branch of the Church and the leader of the government-sanctioned organization that routinely slaughtered the villages of anyone who was suspected of starting a revolt.

With the aid of the Gaian Alliance, the Republic of Nortfrozz was born and became the first Human Nation to truly embrace both Democracy and the Secular State. While the transition of power was not as peaceful as what was ideal, it was still better than what Arkhan had feared would come to pass and with the support from the Gaian Alliance, Nortfrozz slowly began to change from being the backwater of the east to a shining example of the potential that could be achieved when coexistence, equality and cooperation led the way. The ‘Red Menace’ that Arkhan had feared would arise never had the chance to assume control, and the ‘5-party system’ was implemented, mimicking the system that was in Arcadia.

With floating islands being constructed in the Republic of Nortfrozz, it would only be a matter of time before the people could choose to live on the ground in mud or snow or in the sky on grass and pavement.