Welcome to the spotlight Ms. Firstlight. Let's start of with you telling us a bit of who you are and what you do.
Well, my name is Vespias. My current occupation is General of Tiran. Basically, it means I am the Commander of the Tiranian Guard, our army in Castia. I am also the Commander of the Sarnian Rangers, the elite unit of our army.
Well that is quite an accomplishment for someone so young. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?
I'm thirty now. I never mind answering questions like how old I am or how much I weigh. Vanity has never been a part of my life. I wear size nine and a half boots, so my feet are not the dainty, little feet women are supposed to have. It's part of who I am and people can either accept it or move along.
That is a much different attitude than we get most of the time. While some would admire such a bold personality, others might feel threatened by it. How do you handle the latter?
Over the years I've run up against my share of those people. Some men still live in the dark ages when women never spoke and walked five steps behind their man. That's certainly not me. I can ride as good as any man and can shoot better than most. I plan and organize battles as well as my home life. I lead and mold men. When I run into one that can't accept having a woman telling him what, how and why to do something, I just ask him if he ever had a mother. Every person starts their life with a woman telling them how to do things.
Have you ever encountered someone who you couldn't persuade?
Of course. Some men measure their importance by the length of their...by the length of their pride so to speak. I don't have the time for buckprod measuring contests. I have things that need to be done with precision and if you can't accept me as your leader, then there are plenty of opportunities to work on farms or in the city cleaners ranks.
Can you tell us some of the personal parts of your life? Are you married or seeing someone special?
I was engaged to be married, but circumstances ended it before it could happen. My fiance Bel was killed in the war with Romero. It took me some time to get over that but I can move along now. There is one special man in my life but nothing serious.
There have been rumors that you're not the lady that most think you are. How do you address them?
Well, let me say this; they aren't rumors. I do plenty of things not considered lady-like and I don't apologize for them. I drink too much sometimes. It happens, I'm not perfect. I was considered promiscuous at times as well. After I lost Bel, I lost my way as well and was reckless with my body. I slept with men and women, had multiple partners...you name it, and I've probably done it. In the end, does it make me a terrible person? No. Does it make me a bad commander? No. All it does is make for good gossip. Again, it's who I am and people can either accept it or move along.
During the war against Romero, you lost your mentor and friend General Salaris Woodward. How do you feel about what happened to her?
As you know, Salaris was killed by the Black King. His evil magic returned her to life, a life he imagined would be his to command. Salaris broke free of his grip but not before she was branded as a traitor of Castia by narrow minded people.
I think of her often. She was and always will be someone I admire very much as well as someone I am proud to call my friend.
Speaking of friends, you have an unusual friend that has been with you since your childhood. Tell us about him.
Ahh, you must mean my big boy here, Kasi. As you can see, Kasi is an Eastern Woodlands Cave Lion. You can tell by the extra large canine teeth that protrude. His are a full eight inches, very big for his species. He carries the typical markings of his kind, the tawny colored short fur and the very large, black mane. He was a gift from my father at my twelfth birthday. I named him Kasi which means "Wind" in our language and he's been with me ever since. He accompanies me in battle which got him his Junin last name of Ukomo. Kasi Ukomo translates to "Winds of Death" in the combination of both languages and there are quite a few that could attest to that...if they were still here that is.
We would like to thank you for your time General Firstlight. Is there anything you would like to leave with our readers before you go?
Yes there is. To the young women coming of age that read this, I would say to persevere. You can do anything you set your mind to. You don't have to accept traditional roles. If you want to be a hunter, then learn to be a hunter. If politics intrigue you, then become a politician.
To the young men that read this, I'll give the same advice. Be who you want to be, but be that person to the best of your ability. Everybody in this world is so afraid of deviation, but they seldom understand that without deviation, without young people challenging what is accepted as normal and without them daring to deviate, to be different, there can be no progress.
Without progress, a society will wallow in apathy and what follows is a slow painful demise.
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