Kendrick was upset with all that had just happened as he looked at his surviving soldiers. “My daughter had better be safe or I will be having everyone of you executed!”, Kendrick said as he ran towards his daughter's room. But she burst open the locked doors from inside and ran out to him before he could get there, crying out loud. Kendrick kissed her forehead as he wiped off her tears with his thumbs. “It's alright”, he said to her. She looked beside him and saw Cyrus, covered in blood and sweat, panting. Kendrick noticed she was looking at Cyrus, and he smiled. “That young man saved my life”, he said, and she looked back at him. “If not for him, I would have been killed.” Felix and Richard were behind the dead soldier who that last rebel had just killed. Richard had killed a few of them with his arrows, while Felix followed behind. “What happened to all the soldiers I had stationed outside?”, Kendrick cried out angrily. “How could they let this hap
Later that day, it was not long after the assault on the Prefect's home, and Harold was highly upset. There he sat at a new hiding place, with Conrad and Olivia standing before him like guilty criminals brought in for questioning. "Just once when I choose to listen to your advice and follow your way of doing things, this is how it ends up", Harold said. "So, what do you both have to say for yourselves now?" "We were wrong", Conrad said. "We underestimated the strength of the reinforcements the Prefect brought along with him." "So you are the one who put up your sister into sweet talking me to allowing for this failed operation?", Harold asked. "Normally she would be divided on issues like this, but the fact that she was completely on your side felt like a good thing. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened." Olivia sighed. "Look, Harold", she said. "We were wrong and we failed, you don't have to rub it all over our faces. A lot of our men died today because of that failur
As Conrad walked away, Harold kissed her one last time. "How long?" she asked. "Two days," Harold replied. Then she turned towards Conrad, who was now almost out of sight. "Two days!" she yelled at him. He understood and signaled towards her with his hand before continuing on his way. Before Olivia could turn back to face Harold, he had already lifted her up with strange glee. She had never seen Harold so joyful, not in forever. As she felt herself getting swung around, elated by Harold's joyful smile, she couldn't help but feel that this moment would be short-lived, and a terrible thing was about to occur. Cyrus had put on his casual clothes and went to meet Richard and Felix, who were about to start a brief training session. Oddly enough, it wasn't for anything formal or very important, and the both of them couldn't help laughing at Cyrus when he asked the strange question. "I'm supposed to meet with Natalie soon. Tell me, how do I look? Is my hair well combed?" They
"I think I will just stop talking now," Natalie said. "Not necessarily," Cyrus said as he took his cup, blowing on it. "You still haven't told me much about yourself." "I don't know what to say," she said, laughing. "Well, how about we talk about certain philosophies you buy into?" Cyrus said. "What values do you have that others either lack or don't have as much as you do?" "Let's see," Natalie said, looking up with her hands joined together. "I love reading, a lot. But one distinct feature I think I have is that I dislike war and conflict." Cyrus arched a brow. "Who doesn't?" he asked. “Recently it feels like I have a thing for attracting pacifists. What gives?” "Don't be silly! You don't have to be one to hate bloodshed, although I'll admit that my case takes things up a notch," Natalie replied while chuckling. "I get uncomfortable with the slightest confrontation or disagreement, despite how trivial it may be. It just makes me upset when people don't get along." "Then it m
"That's right," Kendrick said. "I became prefect because I believed I was saving the town from starvation and extinction, but the rebels don't care about that. They just want me dead. And it's a shame I'm only beginning to understand that now." "I have delivered my message," the mole said. "Farewell." "Wait!" Kendrick said quietly. "I just need to ask a question," the prefect said. "But if you want, you don't have to stay longer." The mole remained motionless, indicating he was ready to hear the question. So Kendrick proceeded. "While I do appreciate your help so far, I still want to ask: Why are you doing this? You just said that you don't care about my leadership, so why do you keep helping me like this?" the prefect asked. "As I said, I stand for law and order, not your leadership or the Emperor. I don't view the Empire's rulership over Fayhold as a good thing but rather an evil that must be tolerated for the greater good," replied the mole. "I'm only helping you because we b
"Richard put down his daggers, feeling somewhat frustrated. "There is no better way for him to learn," Richard said. "You didn't think I was going to kill him for real, did you?" "You tell us," Cyrus said. "I was only being that way because of necessity," Richard said. "What on earth makes such aggression necessary on any level?" asked Cyrus. "Are you serious, Cyrus?" asked Richard. "I thought of all people, you would understand. Felix has no battle experience, and yet he is with us on a mission of conquest against one of the most powerful women on earth. And you are asking me what justifies such aggression?" "If we don't train him that way, who will? The need for immediate mastery is so important because if he doesn't know how to defend himself, he will die sooner or later," Richard said. "On the contrary, I want him alive as long as possible. He is my friend." "You don't protect your friends by trying to kill them while only holding back by a thread," Cyrus said. "That's not h
“Young man, you don't know what you are talking about," one of the oldest elders said to Apollos. "Sit down!" "I told him to speak, Jameson!" Kendrick said to the elder sternly. "And I am not done with him." Then Apollos continued, "Given the circumstances, I would say that a short time of tyranny is only a small sacrifice to pay for a longer period of peace. I know we will make more enemies, but our reaction to that would be more swift and efficient." Apollos went on to explain, "If I've learned anything from the people of Fayhold, it's that most of them are apathetic to political issues. That is part of why the rebellion is only a sect of the population. The people's stance on the current political system differs greatly from that of the general populace, who just want a peaceful atmosphere where they can live serene and mundane lives with their families and loved ones until they die, with or without the Emperor ruling over them." "So, with that said, I don't think we would make
“We made the mistake of assuming that applying extra security to our homes instead of going out there and fighting against those terrorists was the best way to address the issue. But we have only lost the lives of several soldiers and innocent civilians as a result. So how about we don't make that same mistake again? How about we identify the rebels for what they are - terrorists and take proper action against this movement once and for all? Let's stop pretending like we don't know what to do about this. You all can act all practical and diplomatic in front of the civilians for all I care, but you can't fool me because I know all of you. Let's bring an end to this, and for once in our dishonest lives, stand up for what we believe is right instead of putting up a false front for the approval of men. How about a bit of integrity for once?” All the leaders remained silent, including Kendrick, who wanted what he had just said to sink in. Knowing all the elders, he knew that they all agr
Three years later... Back at Frostfall, Faora sensed a disturbance coming from the cave at the other side of the village. She came out of her house, looking around with a worried frown on her face, expecting to see obvious threats like she and her husband did the night that Dorcas and the other two dragon Slayers attacked. But there was nothing noteworthy going on outdoors. The weather was wonderful, and the mood was serene. That's why, just past midnight, everyone was still sound sleeping despite the strange feeling in her gut. The only strange thing was that she wasn't alone. At the far end if the village, right where the entrance was, beyond the barricade, she could see Nebula's blue eyes staring back at her. Though they couldn't communicate telepathically at that moment, Faora instinctively knew that they were sensing the same thing. There was trouble, and were sure of it. But Nebula wasn't getting the same sense of fear that Asherah was giving off. It was like Faora was
When Wayne returned with Natalie, Aurora, and Serena, the palace seemed elated. Richard was happy that Serena had come to be with him, and Cyrus's family had been reunited. Now that everyone of interest was present, it was time for the formal coronation to mark the young Cyrus as sovereign King, and his wife as ruling Queen. They divided the kingdom into new provinces, a few of which Natalie would rule over, leaving the majority for her husband. After signing several scrolls and getting married for the second time in line with Griffindale's royal tradition, the day of coronation finally came. It was a day like no other, but since Cyrus didn't want to lavish the Kingdom's wealth at a time when the city was still being rebuilt, he made it modest, only prioritizing hygiene, food, and wine. Decorations and other accessories were ruled out of the budget, still, it was a day to remember. That day, King Cyrus was formally coronated as King and was no longer acting as one. He reinstated
It wasn't too long afterward when the Warlord and his soldiers returned to the Midlands. By head count alone, they had not lost a single soldier. 3,000 went to battle, and 3,000 returned. There was nothing credible to report, as it was difficult to believe that 3,000 men went to war against a great and powerful city and none of them died. Worse yet, what credited them with such a flawless victory was the fact that they were assisted by two dragons that did most of the heavy lifting for them. Sure, there was an occult following of fable enthusiasts who believed in dragons like they were their bread and water, but reporting it in a battle account felt off. He was conflicted on whether or not he should account for that part of the battle. Still, it would be impossible to explain how no one died in such a war. Soon, he gave up on making up a story and decided to report on what truly happened, though he was afraid that the impulsive young Emperor would thin
About a week had passed when Wayne rode off on his dragon to bring Natalie to Griffindale. He too had decided to settle in the new land, and since he was going back briefly to get Cyrus's wife, he would use this opportunity to tell his family about his plans to relocate. Despite the ruins half of the city was in, he liked it at Griffindale. He felt at home there, as it was refreshing living somewhere where it wasn't snowing all the time. His dragon, Kyron, also seemed to love the climate at Griffindale, perhaps due to his natural affinities as a reptile. Wayne got in his dragon that morning and took off to Frostfall, it took several hours to get there despite how fast the Dragon flew, and he arrived by evening. Everyone was glad to see him, all asking questions that excited them. Children asked what it was like to live in a place where there was no ice and snow, others asked what other fruits in the area tasted like, and how easy it was to access them. Wayne tried to
It was almost noon when everyone had gotten out of their slumber, ready to take on the rest of the day. The Emperor's soldiers who at first tried to remain sober and disciplined at the start of the feast the previous night ended up being the most wasted. The generals and commanders assembled all their men, and they were all ready to leave. However, the 25 veteran soldiers were to stay behind to help Cyrus maintain order until the city could reestablish its military, as most of its fighting force had been eliminated during the war. The time for war and victory celebrations was over. Now was the time to rebuild. Cyrus and the Warlord, Jin Tsung bid each other farewell as they each went their separate ways, with the great Legionnaire taking his soldiers with him, along with all his captains and commanders. Frederick and the young men from the village were about to bid the acting King farewell also, but Cyrus was not going to allow it. He insisted that they stay behind with him to take
While Cyrus was still speaking, Kamala sent a message back to him. “I am with your mother”, she said. “Should I bring her to you?” “She's dying” Cyrus sent back. “Get her something to eat. Take her to Wayne. He must be outside the city. Let him see to it that she has everything she needs. I don't want to see her looking like that again.” “Understood” Kamala sent back. While he was still sending, he looked at his stepmother. And after communicating with Kamala, he picked up his sword and walked toward Regina. The Queen braced herself, lifting her son towards Cyrus, who raised a brow, wondering what this was all about. “I know this is too selfish of me to ask, but before you kill me, promise to take care of my son”, Regina said. “He has done nothing wrong. You can raise him without telling him anything about me, you can even tell him made-up things to make him grow up to hate me. Just give him a chance to live. I beg you.” Cyrus sighed, taking the son in his hand, but not for th
“My mother” Cyrus cried out towards her. “Where is she?” Then all of a sudden, the Queen's look of desperation turned to quick sadism. “What is so funny about what I asked?”, asked Cyrus. “I am not the same naive young man you sent on exile. I have killed a lot more people than you think to get to get here. So don't think I can't just run my sword through this child if I want to.” Then to make things worse, the Queen began to laugh. The laughter was so hysterical that she almost choked on her saliva, coughing profusely after a few cracks. She held on to her chest as she gave the last cough, struggling to regain her composure while looking back up at him. “WHERE IS MY MOTHER?!” Cyrus yelled out as loud as he could. “When my nightmares of you doing exactly this became worse, I knew you would soon come back for me. So I thought of the best collateral through which I could make you do as I want, which would be by putting your mother in misery, putting her close enough to the point o
She looked around, but it seemed all the Knights around her were dead. She was ready to meet her fate, but she didn't want any harm to come to her child. At a time when she was expected to cover up her shame with pride and charisma, she was not ashamed to show that she wanted to protect her child. The look on Cyrus's face didn't suggest he wanted to spare any of them. After all, if he truly came back to get the throne and her head, there would be no point in leaving any of them alive. Why would he let the son of the woman he killed remain alive only to enact revenge decades later? There was nothing to gain in keeping any of them alive, so she prepared her mind for the worst. Clutching onto the child in her arms, she prayed hard that their killer would make things quick and painless, especially for her child. But as she heard the footsteps approaching, her heart sank with fear. This was it. All her nightmares were coming true this very minute. Cyrus would take her head, just as h
While the fierce battle took place behind him, Cletus kept his sight on the higher provinces, particularly the Queen's residence, where his comrades were guarding Regina, the sovereign ruler. The next move the dragon made confirmed his suspicions that an attack on the Queen was imminent, as the beast landed on the pinnacle of the highest point of the castle, where the rider jumped off and went in through one of the large windows. “Cyrus”, Cletus said as he gestured for the horse to run even faster as it sprinted towards the palace. “I have to protect the Queen, no matter what.” ********* Cyrus got down from his dragon, swinging himself by the ropes connected to the dragon's saddle to break through the tainted glass of the nearest large window. As he got inside, he was assaulted by multiple guards who were alerted by the noise. He brought forth his self-defense skills and managed to take down the guards, hacking and