A new morning sun rose over the horizon, casting a warm glow across the land of Solitude. As the dust settled from the epic battle that had unfolded, the kingdom began to stir once again, awakening to a new day filled with both sorrow and hope. In the heart of the kingdom, amidst the rubble of the battlefield, the survivors gathered to tend to their wounds and mourn the fallen.
"It's been 2 weeks since the invasion from Saga."
"We must take action soon Milord!"
Awhina stood solemnly beside makeshift memorials, her eyes heavy with grief reading off the list of names these stone tablets had to offer. As she paid tribute to those who had sacrificed everything for the greater good, her faction of advisors all razed their eyes in anger. They questioned why she hadn't given the order to avenge the fallen, and why she chose to spare a captain of the foes army who harmed many of their own. They questioned what they did not understand, and we're oblivious to the dangers that faced them if they proceed.
"These we're good men '' an advisor said earnestly. "Among the many noble men that died, my son and his son have fallen along the trail of endless mourning we see here."
"Milord-" he said, wavering, "why haven't you done anything to that wretched murderer?"
"Why has his life not been taken? For why must the suffering suffer while those who've done wrong-" he hesitated "be redeemed for their actions!?"
"Milord!" He yelled, crying out to Awhina.
"Shhh" She muttered, " Let them rest in peace, Veriloq."
"This morning is a time of grief for all whose lost." She said as she got up from the earthy dirt.
Angry Veriloq raised his voice, "For You Who Haven't Lost A Single-!"
"Quiet…" Awhina sputtered, now facing the advisor her sorrowness face was shown to the crowd. Shocked in her raining shower of tears they uttered no words.
"May it be the death of a loved one, or the death of your rivals and foes."
"Each relationship is a sign of fate… A bond between brothers is as important as a bond between foes, and so as it stands, a bond between neighbors too."
"Should I? The King of a nation whose been ravaged continue to lead while her people lay wasted in bottomless sorrow?"
"Should I? The King of a nation whose only feeling in the current moment show the power and prestige of a partially fallen nation?"
"It is not right for us to fight with anger and rage but to fight through the anger that fills it."
"No."
"When we lose a loved one, only those who know what their love was are saddened by the fate they succumb to."
"But for the little whose lived through the life of everyone they loved and continue to love them- for the ones who stay, and are left behind in this cursed plane…"
"Why is it I!" She cried out to her people. "Why is it I, who takes the means to mourn the death before seeking out revenge?"
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"They say that those who are humble… those who recognize their spiritual neediness and dependence on God are to blessed and will inherit the kingdom of heaven"
"So why is it a must that our first action is to seek vengeance? Is it our human nature we are set to have as people?"
"To cry our eyes out into the sin of vengeance? Or to walk a path that is ever so gently away from it?"
"No."
"Listen to me Solitude. Let us not seek vengeance for the death of our loved ones, but aim to fight the unveiling evil that fuels it..!"
Awhina's state of sorrowness ends and within a silent atmosphere she speaks again.
"From the invasion of Saga I learned this."She paused, looking at her subjects who's ears listens obediently.
"The forces of evil are making their whits and are acting out of boredom once again."
"This battle wasn't a battle against people." She said boldly. "It was a battle between the corrupted wits of demons, against the mind of people as innocent as you and I are…But now the hour of mourning is behind us! Today, we plan to fight the Sagarian Kingdom!" She shouts as a loin's rage of fire burns through her soul.
Pointing up her sword Awhina speaks once more.
"We shall fight not for vengeance, not for rage, or anger. But to save the souls from the wicked demons!"
"Are you with me!?" she questioned the people of her nation who uttered no words.
"I said Are You With Me!?"
"I-I am."
"I'm with you Milord!" a soldier from the crowd stated.
"I'm with you, Your Majesty!" another soldier said followed by the agreements of others around them. Hyped with positive energy, the crowd shouted with cries of redemption. Their cheers could be heard throughout the whole nation.
"Not to avenge the death of my son and his son, but to free the souls who had been overtaken with a 'corrupt darkness?'" Veriloq laughed, "You're funny Milord, very funny," he said as he walked away with his head down…
In a carriage going back to the Castle, Awhina and Yaovilda watch as they pass through the multitude of crumbled shops and buildings.
"The people are already working on rebuilding. They're not even fazed!" Mildred said, surprised.
"This isn't the first time Solitude has suffered an attack like this"
"What do you mean?" Mildred questioned as she quickly turned herself from the window to face Yaovilda accordingly.
"It felt like it was just yesterday but in turn, it was a decade ago." She continues, "It was a sunny day almost like this one." She explained as she opened the other side of the curtains. A long pause before she spoke again.
"It was a red dragon. To be more precise it was a true red dragon named Ignissothraxe," (ignis·so·thraxe)
"Ignissothraxe? You mean the dragon who dissipated into thin air? That Ignissothraxe?"
"Yes, in the fairytail it explains that the dragon was enraged by the lost of its kin and went on a year-long rampage. In that time of rage, the dragon claimed the lives of millions of people and monsters alike. It stormed over entire countries and burned them into what is known as 'The Sea of Red Wasteland.' When it came over this country it nearly destroyed this nation too." Yaovilda said clenching her fists in anger. "Her Highness led the charge confronting the dragon, they battled ferociously for 3 days. And by each hour we lost a piece of Solitude one by one until suddenly… it vanished."
"If it hadn't vanished like it did, then there'd be no Solitude standing here today." Awhina implided.
"But enough about the past, it's time to focus on what the future presents us. I fear that this upcoming battle will mark the end of a Kingdom."
"Then Solitude will soon be entering a new era, Milord?" Yaovilda questioned.
"A new era indeed" Awhina responded.
"Then the true battle of bloody mary awaits us at the doorsteps of the Sargarin kingdom..!"
A pause of silence awkwardly filled the atmosphere.
" I am honored to fight beside you Milord."
She sighed with an uneasy tension.
"So it may be.".
End of Chapter 12