half his shadow studied borders
where lines were drawn to stay
and learned to call it order
when others turned away

he heard that nations weaken
when difference is allowed

that culture must be guarded
from voices not in his crowd

he read the past as a warning

of what must not return
and shaped that fear to doctrine
as something he could learn

so policy became his language

to give his vision frame
the power behind the throne
without the baggage of name

fracture marked his other half
his body set apart
he turned his inward anger
to sharpen mind and art

he found within the masses
a hunger to be led
learned that words could shape them
by feeding what they dread

he gave their fear a language
and cast it as their truth
repeating it as gospel
until it felt like proof

and in their rising fervor
he saw his power grow
for what began as weakness
became the force below

together they form pure nation 

shadow halves fused as one 

where fear becomes the engine

and mercy comes undone

he serves the lord of the ridge

yet betrayal’s wind now blow

his higher master marked him 

beneath the inverted glow

Pure Nation attends a graduation ceremony at the Shadow Trooper Academy as the Gold House’s Special Assistant for Internal Security. Shadow Guards escort him to a raised platform of black stone that holds a podium beneath a sharp, angular emblem that draws the eye downward to its center. 

He ascends the steps and gazes upon thousands of Shadow Troopers standing in tight rows. The elite soldiers are dressed in black armor including masks that cloak their identities. Banners with the Lord’s dragon-engraved family crest are affixed to the chamber walls as well as the front of their uniforms.

At the podium, Pure Nation addresses the troops:

you stand at the threshold
where duty is defined
not by what you feel
but what must be aligned

this mountain is threatened
by forces within
they weaken our order
and call freedom a sin

you are now its guardians
the line that will not break
to restore what was taken
and cleanse for order’s sake

we must cleanse our mountain

by force of loyal hands 

collateral damage is expected

including innocents of these lands

but do not hesitate
when the moment is near
for mercy misplaced
is the language of fear

we act not in hatred
but in service of the flame
to restore what is sacred
and reclaim our name

The Shadow Troops respond in unison:

one will now define us

one path we proclaim

we carry out his judgment

in loyalty to the dragon’s name

Pure Nation grins and responds:

go now and purify

let lesser voices fall

for strength is born in unity

when the ridge governs all

The Shadow Troopers salute Pure Nation as he exits the Academy and heads back to his office at the Gold House. He arrives to a waiting systems analyst. They sit at a small table and Pure Nation asks:

so what you have uncovered

from systems tied as one

to mark those who are hiding

beneath the shadowed sun

The systems analyst says:

we matched the jailhouse records
with crossings at the line
to rank the most severe offenses
and act where risks align

Pure Nation replies, dismissively: 

they all are criminals
no difference to be drawn
the time for cleansing rises
a nationalist purity reborn

they tear the doors open
before morning can rise
names turn to numbers
beneath the shadows’ eyes

schools they enter 

searching for the young
hiding beneath their desks
then silencing each tongue 

into places of work

factories and farmland 

with no crime other than

refusing their command

the foreign are marked
with a symbol of shame

then driven to shadows

to sanctify the name

some fall in confusion
no guilt to their name
yet order moves forward
unaltered by shame

as force takes it aim
an icy stillness spreads
the outer lands quiet
obedient as the dead

yet one region resists

they do not bow or yield

the hills of hope stand firm 

a truth not yet concealed 

around the willow they gather

to guard both root and breath

as shadows press the valley

and draw their line with death