Gyaar's War
- Gyaar Ryuu is running late to a meeting with his dad. Why is this such a big deal? His dad is Lord Ryuu (you know, the lord Ryuu) and it's a special council meeting.
- His dad punishes him by making him wait to meet with him. When Lord Ryuu asks his son why he missed the meeting, Gyaar has an answer for everything.
- The meetings are nothing but taxes and people complaining, plus Dorn-Lannet used to be a Downlander town—and everyone knows Lord Ryuu is no Downlander—but now he's ruling it.
- To top it all off, there was a war, and even though there's peace now, it was bought with war, Gyaar reminds his dad.
- We get a flashback to when Gyaar was younger. He remembers being taught that his job was to settle disputes and punish wrongdoers.
- One day he asks his dad to teach him how to be a warrior, and his dad asks if his older brother is mocking him again.
- Yep—Gyodan thinks his younger bro Gyaar is a wuss and never lets him forget it.
- When the war starts, Gyaar asks if he can go with his dad and brother, even though he is supposed to train for priesthood.
- Gyodan tells him war is a kind of art—it just seems like bloodshed to Gyaar, though.
- Gyaar sees his brother die, and his dad proclaims it is a "proud" death… whatever that means.
- Suddenly his father's only son (and heir), Gyaar becomes way more important in battle, and they decide to move to Dorn-Lannet the next morning.
- While fighting, Gyaar screams "Gyodan!" Later he realizes that the soldier he injured wasn't his brother at all, but he sure looked like him on the field.
- He tells his dad he would like to keep the soldier (a.k.a. Cam), and the lord agrees the guy has a Ryuu face, so he promises not to order his death. The soldier will probably die from his injuries anyway.
- Gyaar's dad tells him that everyone is calling the soldier "Gyaar's Downlander," which he doesn't like one bit.
- Gyaar shares with his dad that the solider actually spared his life, so in exchange, he won't kill him now.
- They decide to give Cam the choice: put him in the service or send him packing. Cam chooses the latter.
- In the spring, Gyaar visits his mom and sisters, and his mom tells him he's got to start thinking about marriage.
- He's been so preoccupied with the war that he hasn't given a wedding much though—it's his obligation though, now that he's the heir for the Ryuu line.
- His sisters Shi-karu and Shi-mii mock him for this, but later Shi-mii marries a war hero—Gyaar thinks she's a hypocrite for teasing him about marriage and then walking down the aisle herself. Can't you just feel the love flowing between these siblings? Yeah, us neither.