[action] oh god why does he talk so much
[Not certain how much is too much information, but the connection between how he went from "happy fun times in a village" to "tearing apart an empire" is not so clear, so he continues.] The soldiers arrived. After much discussion, she convinced me to accept escape whilst she distracted them. I could not fight them--not without destroying the village.
I attempted to return, only to discover news of her arrest. Thus, I set out to the capital, for I assumed her to be a hostage of sorts. [He looks down at the mudkip, because it is something to look at.] Foolish. I underestimated them. A hex struck me whilst passing through a forest, rendering all the land unlivable. Her very soul was used as the source of the hex, tortured and mutilated until death. Her reward for caring about and befriending a stranger.
The rot was to be cleansed, lest her death be in vain. [And that is the story of why Fou-Lu is so screwed up.]