Kingdom of Zuland, Blaika Outskirts, Present day.
General Svarga closed his eyes as he tried to recall the steps on using the crimson pearl. Is all I have to do is think of you, brother? He sighed as he built the image of his brother. A square jaw and an equal height to his own. The only trait they didn't share was their hair color. How long had it been since he had seen him? He sat back on a stone as he tried letting the ocean's song of waves ease his senses. No such luck. An anxious feeling gnawed at his gut as he remembered Princess Sara's words. She was a valiant girl, who was he to deny her revenge? But would it be enough? Of course not, killing one man wouldn't absolve her of her problems. The endless debt of blood would only grow. If the past wars taught him anything, it was that the only ones that wished to wage it had never truly seen it. Ryker was right, war was an inevitability. But with the time he spent with Sara, he couldn't bring himself to see her turn into a catalyst for it. She accepted what she was doing, seeing only what she could gain from her victory without understanding what she might lose. He hadn't known her fiancé well. Defined as a warrior to the bone with a strong sense of pride. Sounded like the perfect match for her highness. "Hopefully you can offer me some guidance, brother." He crushed the crimson pearl.
~~~
Svarga landed heavily on one shoulder, the otherwise hard impact nullified by the plowed soil below him. "Fuck," he uttered before the whistle of a freed blade rang loudly in his ears.
A blade was now inches away from his neck.
Svarga smiled as he saw the owner at the end of it, trying to push away the grogginess of the pearl. "Hello, Nell." The woman was one of the few that he could recall that held beauty without needing long luxurious hair. Perhaps it was the fire in her eyes and her grip of the blade that perpetuated her fierceness.
"I told you I would kill you if I ever found you here."
"If I wasn't wanted in your home, then I wouldn't have been given a key," he said boldly." He opened his hand and dropped what was left of the pearl; fragments and red dust. He eyed his surroundings slowly, it seemed nothing had changed, save for some new homes spread about the edge of the plowed field.
"You're not wanted here." She narrowed her gaze.
"Well, I'm out of pearls, so it seems I'll be staying." He stretched in attempt to be rid of the muscle aches that came with the teleportation.
"That won't be a problem, I'll simply toss you off the edge. I'm sure the demons of the Undergrove would welcome you."
He sighed as he washed a sardonic reply from his tongue. "I'm here to talk to Ren. Nothing more." He stood halfway only to be forced back into the dirt by the glaring woman.
"You don't remember what happened the last time you came to 'talk'?" Her voice rose as she pulled down her collar, revealing a deep scar. "This! And I won't forget what the kingdom did to Ren either."
Svarga eyes jumped from her eyes to the ridge that ran down her neck. A sense of guilt overcame him but for moment before it was drowned out by recent memories of Sara. "My apology has no worth to you, so what is it you want?"
"Your head."
He sat up, cross-legged. "I won't wander. I'll remain here and wait for Ren."
"All of these kingdoms taking claim on everything and forcing us to pay to live on the land we already fashioned as our own. We plant the seeds of orchards and then need the permission of the kingdoms to harvest the fruits of our labor."
"Its order. Everyone needs order."
"Order?" She grimaced. "Ren wanted no part of being a soldier. And what did Zuland do? Branded him an enemy. All you want is control. And all we want is to be left alone."
Her voice was drowned out as Svarga noticed a familiar figure walking towards them from the homes.
"Nell. I'll take it from here," said his brother's gruff voice.
"Ren, please…I—"
"No one will be hurt this time, I promise you," he assured.
She quietly shook her head as she sheathed her sword. "I trust you," she muttered before walking away.
Ren looked down at him, a mask of irritation, the same as Nell. "Giol." He tilted his head. "Or are you here as the new General Svarga?"
"As a man that shares your blood." He broke his eye contact. "And hopefully one could share in your wisdom as well," he admitted with a thin veil of shame.
"Does the kingdom know you're here? My family's safety comes first."
"Am I not your family?"
"Not as long you wear the leash of Zuland."
Leash? A spark flickered in his mind, one of agitation, reminiscent of the times he and Ren would brawl in their youth. "Leash huh? I never judged you for leaving the mantle of Zuland. Nor did I judge you when you were the first to leave home. A piece of mother died when you left us."
Ren rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Are you really bringing forth the events from two decades ago? That's pitiful."
"Leaving your family to join Zuland was pitiful. You were the first to wear their leash, as you've put it."
"I've no need for this, Giol. Tell me exactly why you've come?" His voice was stern.
"As I said, I wanted your advice. You had your kingdom and family to choose from. You chose your kingdom. Years passed and you were given the choice once more. And now you choose the people of this village over your kingdom. These people are your new family now. You choose them." Svarga stood, empowered by his annoyance. He now stood on even ground as his brother. "It seems I was given a similar choice; the right option was lost to me."
Ren put a hand out and dropped a crimson pearl in Svarga's waist pouch. He then took ahold of his hand, placing another pearl in his brother's grip. "You chose your kingdom once and it led you here." He tightened his grip around Svarga's hand, forcing him into crushing the pearl. "Perhaps you should choose your other option. Think of that person now."
Ren's words were quickly a memory as a bright flash overtook him. He didn't have time to picture a secure arrival location. He appeared at the cliffside that he had sat beside earlier, tumbling over and nearly falling from the brittle edge. He crawled back, his body aching and too fatigued to fasten his heart rate. Today was the final day he had to act. To make a decision on what was more important to him. He only hoped it would be the right one.