In the grandiose hall of the castle in Elrod, stood a renowned Queen and along her were 12 knights that held their sword near them, pointing upwards.
Veritas was incorporeal, he saw the majestic sight of the regal knights forming a line and awaiting an abomination that was to come.
But.. they did not know that yet, they knew that the Seraphim had come to bring them graces and to improve their well-being.
The Kingless Kingdom stood firm on its own, led by a Hallowed Queen.
Thus, they awaited, a few seconds passed by and a heavy thud could be heard, belonging to that of a Seraphim.
Her footsteps carried weight to them or rather.. it could be explained as an emotion. A footstep with feelings? What nonsense, but nonsensical it was.. the Soul gravitated towards defying the physics and common sense of the world.
Even Veritas, who was an Impure, managed to conjure desecrating tornadoes that destroyed a mountain of Facelesses.
The doors opened widely, revealing a Seraphim with 2 pairs of pearlish-white wings. She had straight and silky long hair, wearing a long white robe that extended to the floor.
Her face was beautiful.. in fact, all three of her faces were.
That's right, the Seraphim of Feelings had 3 faces. The middle face contained a calm expression, carefully studying the surroundings around them. The left face contained grief, an expression that showed sadness and regret, it wept and tears rolled down on its face. Lastly, the right face showed joy, smiling ever-so brightly and its eyes glowed in radiance.
Suddenly, a resounding voice echoed in the hall.
"I welcome you, O, Great Seraphim of Feelings. I am Queen of Elrod and I am humbly gratified to have been blessed by your presence.."
Then, the Seraphim spoke, and three voices were let out at the same time. It sounded like a harmony, as if it were a beautiful song to be heard.
"I appreciate thee courtesy, O, Queen of Elrod. I have come to grace thee in the aids of thine Kingdom prosper."
She walked slowly, making her way towards the Queen who had sat down on a throne.
Then, She bowed towards her, and showed courtesy.
"Please, O, Great one, raise your head, such a divine being like yourself shouldn't be bowing to mere mortals like me."
"I appreciate thee concern, but such a mortal like thyself needth the proper respect that tis one can give. Thou is of the same level as I, a Hallowed Soul."
The Queen's bright eyes stared at the Seraphim with indifference, showing a slight contempt towards the being.
..Still, she needed to put up an act.
Disrespecting a Seraphim could have dire consequences that may befall them.
After a show of courtesy, the Seraphim raised Her head and directly stared at the Queen.
"Thou Majesty, Queen of Elrod, Tis Divine one hast come to thee upon the gospel of the Sun God."
Veritas saw the familiarity and parallels of the situation.
He had already seen such a sight before, and he saw it through the end. He could feel nothing but uneasiness at the sight of another Seraphim bowing to a leader of a Kingdom.
The Queen gestured for the Seraphim to continue.
"Very well. I shall adhere to this proposal of yours."
"Tis Divine Being hast come forth to bless the Kingdom of Elrod with the grace of the Sun God! We shall make thine Kingdom prosper!"
The Queen then suddenly stood up from her throne and loomed over the Seraphim.
The Seraphim's three faces all stared at her simultaneously, carefully judging her next set of actions.
However.. She remained quiet and stared down at the Seraphim.
This went on for a couple of minutes, and the Seraphim respectfully asked:
"What is thy response to mine proposal, Queen of Elrod?"
The Queen's eyes turned bright, as if her emotions suddenly changed.
One of the Seraphim's faces smiled widely.
But! Her eyes turned back to that of cold contempt and the previous brightness dimmed down.
It was not noticeable but the Seraphim's body slightly shifted.
"I refuse."
The three faces of the Seraphim suddenly all frowned. Their gazes turned into murderous intent as they saw the Queen's response to be blasphemous.
"Dost thou knowest what thee is stating?"
"I am well aware."
The atmosphere in the room tensed, and the knights clad in steel armor began to tremble in fear, anger, sadness, and joy.
These emotions were also invoked to the Queen but she remained composed and acted indifferent to the Seraphim.
Then, she proclaimed:
"My Kingdom does not need the guidance of the Sun God! We will prosper on our own! Me and my people are capable of doing so.. We've lived for many years, centuries even, without the help of a Seraphim. With all due respect, I do not see any benefit to the offer of yours."
Veritas saw this and was perplexed, the ancient Queen of Elrod had the guts to refuse to a Seraphim! After he witnessed the power of one, the mere mention of their names made him tremble in fear.
But she... she directly denied, and pointed out the negatives of the Seraphim's claims!
The Seraphim then looked at her and the middle face frowned deeply.
With her harmonious voice, she said:
"Blasphemous!"
The hall shook, and pressure intensified.
"Do not talk about such travesties in my Kingdom. You, who have invoked your powers to my knights and me, have caused a great disservice. You dare talk to me about Blasphemy, when you, yourself have caused my knights to tremble in fear!"
"Treacherous Seraphim, you have disrespected my stature. Leave now or fall by my blade."
The Seraphim went silent for a second, all three of Her faces had dissatisfied expressions. Her voice slowly turned into a disharmony as She said:
"I see. So thou art the Crowned Dreamless.."
She turned back, Her wings blooming with voracity, but She could not do anything with the presence of the Crowned Dreamless.
Thus, the Seraphim left silently as Her disharmonious state trembled the hall inside.
Veritas, with perplexity in his face, stared at the Seraphim's dismissal. As he had heard the story of the girl from before, he knew exactly what would happen.
But to think that the girl from the courtyard is the previous Queen of Elrod! It was amazing to think about! Veritas had not learned much about the roots of their royalty.
There were various books and biographies written but they were only limited to the past 10 rulers or so.
After that, he was clueless.
"Queen Valeira Elrod, the Crowned Dreamless.. that must be her Path and she's a Hallowed too!"
In the history of Elrod, every King that ruled the kingdom was all Beyond rank. None of them had ever surpassed that!
Now, Veritas was seeing a legend.. a Hallowed Queen that ruled Elrod in the past!
The castle looked all too familiar too, he knew the halls and different corners that existed in this vision.
Still, Crowned Dreamless is a unique name for a Path. Veritas had no clue as to how it worked or what it did, but he did know that it was related to dreams. However, the name 'Dreamless' was quite contrary to that.
Veritas was bumfuzzled by the paradoxical nature of Queen Valeira's Path.
'But why was the Queen in the dream so... expressive? Yet here, she was stone-cold and taciturn.'
She stared at the hall and her Knights with coldness, and then walked back to the hallway that led to the 2nd floor.
The Knights then stood still and moved only after she had left the hall.
*
Moonlight basked the soft fields of Elrod. They were peaceful and the cold breeze swept through the people that were still outside.
A woman wearing a white nightgown walked through the fields of grass, her radiant white hair was laid down and stretched down to her shoulders, he enjoyed the calmness of the night, staring at the moon with those cold eyes of hers.
She stayed there until the sun had risen from the east.
..After all, a Dreamless cannot sleep.
When the sun had risen, she would walk back to the castle. The soft sunlight touched her pale white skin that was excessively exposed to the moonlight.
One may think that the lack of sleep may take a toll on her body.. but it was quite the opposite.
If she were to sleep, it would tantamount to the feeling of death.
Once she did.. she would not wake up anymore, becoming trapped in an endless dream.
That is the essence of the Dreamless.
As she walked through the fields of grass, looking as calm and emotionless as ever. A knight suddenly paced and rushed towards her, running through the fields with panic in his eyes.
"Your Majesty!"
She listened carefully to the panting knight's words.
"The Seraphim! She has returned to the castle and seeks an audience with you!"
Her expression grew sour and her eyes turned malicious.
"Gather the 12 Beyond Knights and tell them to guard the castle but do not attack unless they are attacked. Stay vigilant and calm as I get there."
"As you wish!"
The sunlight shone through her radiant white hair, exposing it as it glowed brightly.
"Just what is that Seraphim planning..."
With those words, she made her way towards the castle, traversing through the soft blades of grass.