The Princess

Winter began slowly and beautifully. Snow fell softly through the grasslands, painting a canvas of green with white blotches across Lythan. Winter was once my enemy, as it was the season that took my parents, and 2 years later, my Helena and Issac. It was the season that killed more people than anything in the kingdom. But this winter was beautiful.

Stephania was fully conscious now. The missing part of her leg was fitted with an iron brace attached to a false foot. Most doctors in the kingdom would create a peg for an injury like that, but our new medicinal team had wanted to experiment with new technologies they were secretly developing after treating the injuries from the Arkan War. In addition to the iron brace, they fitted a pouch of self-secreting Thraliga gel that would numb and heal the pain at the contact of the leg and the brace. This was absolutely ingenious.

Stephania and I practiced our sword work with each other everyday after she finished stabilizing her iron brace. Even with one leg, she was able to keep up with my techniques. She was no longer as limber as she used to be, but her sword work was almost just as fast, and perhaps even deadlier. Her strength was like a cave bear, her precision like a falcon, and her endurance like a desert mouse that would travel hundreds of miles without ever stopping for water. She was such an incredible warrior that the training grounds would stop just to watch us continue our duel from the siege.

After we practiced, we would enjoy warm tea by the fireplace, and we would wrap each other in our arms. Her skin was always so warm and smooth. Her hair lightly scented of citrus fruit, which refreshed me whenever I was close to her. Her eyes were like deep brown gems, where I swore I could see the Great Sky the more I stared into them. Ironically, we rarely talked to each other. We were so enamoured by each other’s presence that we had forgotten what Common Speak was. As a powerful woman, she was the one that finally broke the ice for us.

“Rytus, would you like to hear the reason why I knew who you were right away?”

“Of course, darling. It was utterly surprising to say the least.”

“Well, to be fair, I had a feeling when I stood still to hear you speak. I use that technique frequently to provoke my enemy so they would stumble by their own impatience. I can also read people through their sword work. Our duel was just like one of our letters. It was uniquely similar to how we talked to each other. I knew as soon as we started.”

“What did you see during our duel?”

“It was obvious to me who it was when you sidestep, parry, stab… I saw a gentleman who carried the weight of his world, and his failure resulted in the harm of the people he cared about. I saw that you were also a bit hasteful, and it showed that you had limited time to solve the problem of the siege. I saw that you hated violence with the force you applied in my helmet. You had just the softest touch with the tip of your sword, and you took it off without hurting my head. You aimed for my sword rather than my body, which showed your true intentions in the duel. You were never there to hurt me, as you really were prepared to parley. Any nobleman would enjoy a duel with you, as you show your kindness and your tactfulness through your blade. I love that about you.”

I melted from hearing her words. She was honest, insightful, and powerful. Her eyes pierced me like her blade, and her smile was like the sun after a blizzard. She appreciated who I was beyond what anyone could see.

“And I also thank you for allowing my people to live in your realm. We constantly moved through the tunnels without settling for more than a decade. We had to constantly kill monsters and maintain the tunnels so we could camp between the entrances.”

“Of course, I will always open my lands for you and your people. I am curious about 2 items of interest, though. First, who was the mother you were referring to in our letters?”

“The mother that I referred to during the letters was High Priestess Nuliax. She has taken care of me since I was a little girl. She passed on a few years ago.”

“I am so sorry to hear about the High Priestess. I wish that I was able to reach out to you before this tragedy. I wish I could have saved her.”

“Rytus, do not fret for the past. She was already very elderly and frail. She had lived through 2 eras and had a fulfilling life until she passed. She had met a traveling caravan through our tunnels, and she heard about you and your good deeds.”

“Thank you for your reassurance. I am curious, though. My traders had told me that they did not meet anyone in the tunnels…”

“The High Priestess led them to the ocean in exchange for her secrecy. Otherwise, I think they would have been in the tunnels for another hundred years.”

“I highly underestimated the size of the tunnels. I would like you to show me soon after the winter. My second question: Why was your true mother’s name hidden from the nobility?”

“My grandparents had a few more young daughters, but they were killed by House Veraxus under the King’s command. To conceal the identity of the last daughter, they erased my mother’s name from every record that the House could find in every keep they could enter. This completely infuriated the King because he could not trace the ‘Secret Daughter’ anymore.”

“Was that why King Maxus I destroyed House Veraxus? Was it to retaliate?”

“That was half of the reason. He also killed them all except for Ulises because they knew too much.”

“Too much of what? I understand hiding Josephina’s name was necessary to keep her safe, but what would cause such a massacre?”

Stephania looked into my eyes with a severity I had not seen from her yet. She drank her cup of tea, and placed the empty cup back on the table. She took slow, deep breaths before starting her story.

“After the Fourth Era was ushered in, some citizens were thrown into slavery, specifically the darker skinned Imperials. During a civil war, those slaves were freed, and they fled back into the tunnels where they felt the safest. They sealed the entrances off, and they had lived in the tunnels since. They were known as the Liberaxus.

When the Perseus War started, the Liberaxus were contacted by the Kingdom of Yurga to help defend them. However, they declined because of their reluctance to interfere with the surface politics, especially since the Kingdom of Yurga was created from exiled Liberaxus. That is why they had risked their lives to save my mother and I. They wanted to correct their mistakes. Had they helped, Yurga would have stood, and the Imperium would have survived.

Ulises found me after my birth, and he took me to the Libertaxus. They had protected my mother, and they promised to protect me as well. They taught me everything I needed to know to reclaim the Imperium. The Libertaxus, they are direct descendents of the Third Era Imperium. ”

I had known none of this information, possibly due to the information censorship from both House Veraxus and the old kings. It was amazing to hear that Ulises hid his knowledge of this deep conspiracy to avoid being killed by the King. I also understood why he had told me to save this book. I wondered about the key, but I allowed Stephania to finish her story.

“Under the Capital of Regalius, the people had defended a sacred relic that helped form the Imperium.”

I gasped. “Was it the God Stone Fragment?” Stephania widened her eyes, clearly surprised by my knowledge of the relic.

“How did you know? This is one of the most well-kept secrets of the tunnels.”

“Ulises. He wrote details of the Imperium in a book, and he had me take care of it after his passing.”

“I had heard about his passing. I am sorry to hear, and I offer condolences to you for your losses as well. I could not find the right time to tell you.”

I grabbed her hand and kissed it. We shared an embrace, and I began to sob. She gently brushed my hair with her hand, sliding strands of hair between her fingers.

“I am so sorry, I-”

“It is alright, Stephania. Let us continue. I want to hear more.” She nodded, and took a long breath of air.

“Yes, the Liberaxus were hiding the God Stone Fragment underneath the Captial. As you know from ‘The Divinity of the Eleven’, the God Stone was given to the 11 heroes that slayed the Demon Lord, Zarkesh by the First God, Torzo. The Stone broke into 11 fragments, and imbued each hero with the power of Torzo, but it claimed their lives in return.

Thousands of years later, most of the fragments had been lost with time. However, the First Era Imperium found 4 of the 11 fragments of Sycus, God of the Sky, Demune, God of the Earth, Laylana, Goddess of the Sea, and Yoroxa, the Goddess of the Heart, while constructing the Great Palace in what we know as Arkan. When the 4 fragments were placed on a bronze table, the table crumbled from the overwhelming energy from the fragments. It took great effort to separate the fragments from each other, but when the fragments were finally apart, the dust from the destroyed table glowed with light. The light would become much brighter when any of the fragments were near the dust. The light would completely darken when far away from any fragments.

The Elected Emperor of that time ordered his men to collect the dust and create a medallion with his royal crest. The Imperial Crest. He believed that using this medallion would activate the fragment’s power. He used Yoroxa’s Fragment to control the hearts of his Electors, the richest and most powerful elites of that era, and created the Second Era Imperium, with his sole leadership to rule the entire Imperium.”

“Are you suggesting that magic is real? I have to see it to believe it.”

Most people in this current world did not believe in magic, more or less even the gods themselves. Was she claiming to be able to use magic?

She smirked. She took my hand and walked me over to the messaging chamber.

“Let me show you how I trained my birds to find you.”

Stephania fed her bird and allowed it to walk on her hand. She closed her eyes and prayed.

“God of the Sky, Sycus, please bless this animal with your gifts of direction.”

She opened her eyes, and held one of my letters to the bird. Suddenly, a light glow appeared between the letter and the bird’s breast. Never before had anyone in the known world seen this. I had always thought prayers were, to be blunt, bullshit. However, I saw before my eyes a god's blessing physically manifest.

“When I swore to lead and protect my people, to take back the Imperium, they granted me the privilege to take the God Stone Fragment of Sycus. When I touched it, I felt weightless, but heavy at the same time. I heard a thunderous voice in my head, commanding me to be his champion. I accepted, and I fainted. I heard only after I had awakened, that the moment I touched the stone, the world changed. The sky turned red, the animals had gone mad, and monsters became much more powerful.”

I gasped loudly. “Was this seriously the cause of the Great Oddity?”

“Yes, I had caused the Great Oddity. I believe that it was the power of Sycus transferring his power to me to be his champion.”

“It seems that when you touched the fragment, you gained magical powers. Have you tried letting someone else touch it, to see if they receive magic too?”

“I had tested it with some of my generals. At first, it seemed that the person who wielded the Imperial Crest could take the powers from the fragment. However, I had given someone both the crest and the stone, and they were unable to use any power. It seemed as though the fragment had chosen me. The crest itself seemed like it could be used to find the other fragments.”

“If so, then that means Emperor Xanitxus VII was wrong. He wrote in a journal that Ulises translated saying that the fragments were useless without the crest. I wonder if he had mistaken the glowing effect as a sign.”

“Perhaps. It seems like the highest nobility of Regalius has known about this for a long time as well. The reason why my grandparents stowed my mother away to Regalius in the first place was to save the crest from destruction. When House Veraxus found out, Maxus I killed them.”

“Why did your mother come back to keep after being protected by the Liberaxus?”

“She had found out that Maxus I had another fragment in his possession. In her caravan wagon, she read the letter. ‘The Crest will light the way. Take hold the light, and take back the Imperium.’ When Maxus I approached the wagon, both his necklace and the crest glowed like nothing ever seen before. That was the moment that my mother ran as far and as fast as she could. When the Liberaxus taught her the truth, she waited for the right opportunity to take the fragment. Instead, she fell in love with Maxus II. Before she gave birth to me, Maxus II was chosen by Yoroxa because he wore the same necklace. If I caused the Great Oddity while being chosen by Sycus, what do you think happened then?”

The horrible reality had hit me. King Maxus II was chosen by Yoroxa, and the fragment caused the Great Scourge. If the champions were chosen, then utterly terrible things fell onto the world based on the god. For Sycus, the sky was affected, and drove animals to madness. For Yoroxa, the heart was affected, and mothers of newborns died before loving them and raising them. Has history been written due to each era of chosen champions?

“Maxus II died of madness, inflicted by the pain of knowing that becoming champion had killed his lover. The fragment had disappeared ever since. I do not know what happens after a champion has been chosen after the last one has perished so soon. But I suspect that someone else has been chosen by Yoroxa.”

“I think that the Winter Illness was another champion that was chosen by Yoroxa. Many healthy parents, including my own and Helena’s, died suddenly after the winter had begun. I suspect that the new champion may be the person behind our constant wars.”

“S.T.? Rytus, you might be correct. I love how sharp you are.”

“You know of S.T.? Would you know who that may be?”

“I had received a wrong letter from a lord corresponding to S.T. They had started the first usurper war, the one right before the Arkan War. I do not know who it might be, but they must be close to the nobility.”

It was ironic to hear that the response letter to Count Peralus Eterus from S.T. made its way to King Theatus III, and the previous letter to S.T. from Count Peralus made it to Stephania.

“With your new magic powers, are you seeking to reclaim the Imperium by order of the crest?”

“That is part of my intent. The true intent is to bring forth an age where commonfolk and nobles have equal power, where nobles treat commonfolk with respect and honor, and nobles have much lower power than they can use to abuse their people. Whether or not that requires the entire Imperium depends on the livelihood of the people.”

“What happens if you have the rest of the fragments?”

Stephania stared away from me in deep thought.

“I do not know what would happen with the magic of the fragments. However, I will find the rest of the fragments with the crest, and keep them away from noble hands for as long as possible.”

“I will help you find the fragments, then. I cannot allow the nobility to gain even more power over the commonfolk.” I held her hand and peered into her eyes. “I will be by your side, wherever you go and whatever you choose to do.”

We embraced deeply. Her heart was pounding like a hammer.

“As will I, my handsome knight in shining armor. If you would like to wed, you could be my Emperor.”

“This sounds like a matter that should be discussed at my chambers. Shall we?”

Stephania giggled and she rushed with me to my chambers. Her metallic prosthetic boot clanked in rhythm all through the keep. An evening of stories slowly evolved into a night of passion, with both phases gleaming with magic.