[b][i]Ken’s Mindscape[/i][/b]

Ken Illustrious Ikari was at peace.

The sky in his dreamscape was clear, a blue expanse dotted with wispy white clouds illuminated by bright sunlight which brought everything to full relief. He looked down and saw a field of tall green grass that waved softly as a breeze wafted through it. In this unnatural calm, the boy looked through his memories without the crippling effects of his ego and internal expectations coloring his perceptions.

[i]The people of Izumo used to smile,[/i] his father had said to him, [i]Like they do in Rhea when things are good, which is almost all the time.[/i]

Kindness. Love. How could he have forgotten his first experiences of life in Rhea, of the hard fight his parents waged to lift themselves out of poverty? He had not forgotten being weak before, the sight of others’ suffering, but he had forgotten happiness, the smiles of people, and the love and kindness of everyone but his parents. 

He had forgotten how in Rhea, smiling was a right, not a privilege for the rich and powerful and the extremely lucky. Why had he forgotten? Because of the allure of the Imperial Throne. The allure of having an Empire of his own. When in fact, what he should have remembered, what he should be fighting for... Was the right of his people to smile like the citizens of Rhea did, to believe that happiness and its pursuit were their [i]birthright[/i] and not just a grant by the cruel usurper calling himself 'their' Emperor.

In this unnatural calm, Ken found out why he had kept that truth away from himself - He was a coward, choosing to be selfish in order to avoid making the sacrifices that his [i]real[/i] goal demanded. He was afraid of making the sacrifices of himself in order to make his dream, his dream for his people, come true. He wanted someone else to pay the cost or inure himself to making others sacrifice themselves for his goals; he was that afraid. But now he knew that, and he also knew that he was going to [i]keep[/i] being afraid unless he faced that fear and continued on no matter how long it scourged him.

[i]There are some dreams worth fighting for,[/i] his mother had said, [i]Your father risked his life and his place on the throne to spirit the Ame-no-Murakumo away from Izumo so that the usurper[b]s[/b] cannot use it for their foul ends. We believe that you should not have to go through such trouble... But if you want to, do it for your own reasons.[/i]

[i]I want my people to smile![/i] he thought as the calm began to fade. In the real world, his body began to tremble, as the boy anticipated the sacrifices he was going to need to make, the pain and sorrow and grief he was going to go through for his dream. [i]I saw their haggard faces, the fire and slaugther and hunger as one of the first things I remember![/i] 

The Imperial Throne was only an instrument. A way to guarantee that his people never had to suffer like that again, that they smiled like the people in Rhea did. But oh gods! His ego! His pride! His desire to be important!

[b][i]Ken to Reverio[/i][/b]

[i]Meaningless,[/i] he thought to himself as he forced himself awake, his eyes opening then almost closing again as he felt the vertigo from his power being sapped, and he had enough presence of mind to see that his magic items were gone, presumably stolen.

He said weakly to the person who woke him up, "Rev... Let's save them."

The other Prince might notice that his powers were getting stronger again, that Ken was somehow able to boost them with what he had left.

"You strike him from behind, I'll strengthen you and whoever else can fight. If there's a sharp object around, I'll stab him in the spinal cord; [i]no one[/i] deprives my people of their smiles," Ken's voice took on a sharp edge, "Now let's go!"

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