Benjamin might have forgotten, but Mavislin certainly did not. She burned that image into her mind. That her mother was the Empress and that everyone bowed down to her. And yet, when it comes to being a mother, she made no excuses for that.
Valokia worked in a very different way from the other worlds. In a galaxy that was filled with millions of planets, Valokia was the only one that placed females above the rest. The other planets were male dominant but Valokia had an Empress to rule overall.
Her mother was the 42nd Empress to take the throne and the youngest as well. Mavislin had forgotten her True Name because she was never called by it. Each reign of an Empress was as long as the Empress was active, from the moment she gets crowned today she dies.
Usually, a reign of an Empress spans for a thousand years. Unfortunately, early in the reign of her reign, the Great Noble War had started. Thus, it had her era cut short. But she was able to earn of the Empress of Kindness.
The Empress was to rule over the entirety of Valokia, ministering to the affairs of the common people as well as attending the Council regularly. She commands people to do so but decisions are made by her. And each Empress had something that they were known for.
She was called the Empress of Kindness due to her acts of compassion. She placed her priorities on the weak. The young and the old were her major targets since she was well aware that the previous Empress was the Empress of Tenacity.
It was already quite toned-down compared to the previous ones but it still struck terror into the citizens' hearts. It wasn't a bad thing, but Valokia's people still feared their leader to the point that they could not breathe. They felt trapped.
But being so high up meant that you couldn't see the pains from the small ones below. The Empress of Kindness hated seeing children cry or when the weak were getting bullied. Growing up, she secretly detested how the Empress ruled.
She refused to attend any meetings and acted like a stubborn child in front of all the leaders of the other worlds. Even the Bahamuts had sneered at her, saying that she would rule Valokia to the ground if her mother did not get ahold of her soon.
On the surface, she seemed like she hated the throne. But on the contrary, she didn't. She wanted to be in power so that she could use it to help the needy. They were already the highest seat within the Council, who they were trying to prove that they were the strongest?
The Empress Of Kindness did not see eye to eye with her ancestors. There was no need for them to show that they were stronger than everyone else when their people suffer. The same concept that Mavislin had years ago was implanted into her mind by her mother.
What's the point of having such a strong front when the people inside are suffering? A kingdom is judged by how the ruler treats its people and how the ruler rules as a whole. They can have the strongest army in the world but isn't a good leader because their people are in anguish.
A ruler who fails to listen to the hearts of the commonfolk is no ruler at all! A kingdom is not something you can mess around with for the befit of your own, you are responsible for everyone's lives in your kingdom. If you do not care for it, you are nothing but playing pretend!
Things took a turn for the better when the Empress Of KIndess was seen playing with a group of young Valokians. She was helping them get over their fear of flying. The current Empress was so strict about having certain flight movements that some children refused to fly as a result.
She carefully coaxed the children to play with her and spread their wings to take flight. That was the start of her reign. Where she constantly gave to those in need or when she helped when the weak ones couldn't speak.
Everyone kept having the misconception that she was just like the other Empresses before her. But they were all wrong. She may have the royal blood pumping within her but she was not as ruthless as her predecessors. She was a mother first before an Empress.
Her mother gave it her all to protect her children. She didn't care if the world was burning. Her only wish was for her children to grow to be strong or healthy. If they didn't want to be ruling the kingdom, so be it. So long as they are happy, she was contented.