The dawn cast a muted glow across the kingdom of Umbraxia, the first light falling on a city divided. In the heart of the empire, the royal palace stood tall, its spires piercing the sky. But within its walls, an empire was crumbling, piece by piece.
The great halls, once filled with laughter and wisdom, had turned cold. Marble floors echoed with the hushed murmurs of plotting ministers, and the grand tapestries that hung along the walls seemed to bear witness to the slow decay. Selen's execution still hung heavy in the air, like a wound too fresh to heal, and the kingdom, once bound together by loyalty, had begun to fracture.
The court gathered once again that morning, as they always did. But the atmosphere was different. The tension was so thick it felt as though the very air was pressing down on them. The king sat on his throne, his face drawn with exhaustion. His thoughts, heavy and burdened, were not on the day's discussions but on the life that grew within his queen. His unborn child—the future of Umbraxia—was the only thing he cared for now. The rest of the kingdom, he had left to his council.
But the council was far from unified. Since Selen's death, loyalties had begun to shift, alliances formed behind closed doors, and ambitions that had long been hidden in the shadows now surfaced, waiting for the right moment to strike.
In a corner of the grand hall, two ministers exchanged whispers.
"Lord Elric is gaining influence every day," Lord Cadros muttered under his breath, his eyes flicking toward the king's youngest brother. "The king is distracted. Now is the time to move, while his attention is elsewhere."
Lord Haldor, his face grim, nodded. "And what of the Aethryn? They grow restless outside the walls. Without Selen to keep them in line, they may soon become more of a threat than a benefit."
Cadros gave a slow nod. "Indeed. The king's reliance on them has weakened the trust of the people. We must prepare ourselves for what is to come."
And so the discussions continued, beneath the watchful eyes of the royal family and the silent portraits of kings long past. But no one dared speak openly, not yet. There was still much to plan.
In the bustling streets outside the palace, life in Umbraxia went on, as if nothing had changed. The market square thrummed with activity. Vendors shouted over each other, selling everything from fresh produce to fine silks, while children ran through the crowded streets, dodging carts and horses as they played.
To the average citizen, the tension within the palace was a distant concern. They were more focused on surviving the day, on earning their bread, on keeping their families fed. Yet, even in the midst of their everyday struggles, the division between humans and the Aethryn was ever-present.
The Aethryn—beings whose lives were tied to the royal family—lived beyond the city walls, in territories designated for their kind. Only the most loyal, the strongest of the Aethryn, were allowed to live within the capital, and even then, their presence was met with caution.
For years, the balance had been maintained: the Aethryn served the empire, bound by the ancient blood pact, while the humans relied on them for their strength and power. But now, with the protector of the royal family gone, that balance was beginning to tip.
Far from the political scheming, the queen sat in her chambers, her hand resting gently on her swollen belly. The child growing within her was the only thing that gave her peace in these uncertain times. She had felt the stirrings of rebellion in the court, sensed the ambitions of men who once claimed loyalty to her husband. But her thoughts did not linger on them for long. Her focus was on her unborn daughter—the future of Umbraxia.
Though she said nothing aloud, her mind raced with quiet fears. Would her child be safe in this crumbling empire? Would she grow up in a world torn apart by betrayal, where the creatures that once served the throne now sought to destroy it?
The queen had seen the way Selen had looked at his lover, the way their bond had defied the laws of the kingdom. Love was a dangerous thing in Umbraxia, especially when it crossed the lines between human and Aethryn. And yet, Selen had been loyal to the crown until the end. His execution had shaken her, more than she would ever admit.
As she sat in the quiet of her chambers, she could not shake the feeling that the execution had set something terrible in motion—something that could not be undone.
Back in the court, the plotting continued. Elric, the king's younger brother, had become a force to reckon with. Though he was often seen as a shadow to the king's light, he had slowly gathered allies among the court—men who were dissatisfied with the king's rule, who saw weakness where once there had been strength.
Elric leaned over the grand table, his voice low but firm as he addressed his closest supporters.
"The king is distracted," he said, his eyes flashing with ambition. "His focus is on the child, and he has lost control of the Aethryn. The time is coming for us to take action."
Lord Cadros nodded, his eyes dark with agreement. "The people are losing faith in the crown. Selen's death has left them uneasy, and without the Aethryn to protect them, they fear what lies beyond the walls."
Elric's lips curled into a thin smile. "Exactly. The king has failed to maintain the trust of the people. He has allowed his loyalty to the creatures to weaken his hold on the throne. It is only a matter of time before the people turn on him."
The ministers gathered around him murmured their agreement. They had waited long enough. The fall of Umbraxia, if it came, would not be from an outside force. It would come from within, from the very men who once swore to protect it.
"We must move carefully," Elric continued, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "The queen is with child, and she still holds influence in the court. But once the child is born, the throne will be vulnerable. That is when we strike."
As the political machinations unfolded within the palace walls, life beyond them continued in its uneasy rhythm. The Aethryn, once trusted allies of the crown, now found themselves on the edge of rebellion.
Outside the city, in the territories designated for their kind, the creatures lived separate lives, bound by ancient laws that no longer felt just. Many of them had served the royal family for generations, their very existence tied to the blood of the king. But with Selen gone, the pact that had held them together for so long began to fray.
In the taverns and marketplaces of the outer city, whispers of rebellion grew louder. The Aethryn spoke of the royal family with disdain, their loyalty wavering in the face of Selen's death. They had always been second-class citizens in a kingdom that relied on their strength, but now, they were beginning to realize the power they held.
"How long will we serve a family that fears us?" one Aethryn growled to another over a mug of ale. "We are the ones who protect this kingdom, yet they treat us like beasts."
His companion, a fierce creature with wings that shimmered in the dim light, nodded in agreement. "Selen was the only one who understood our worth, and they killed him for it. The king is weak, and without Selen, they have no one to control us. It's time we take what is ours."
The sentiment was spreading, from the outer villages to the heart of the city. The Aethryn were no longer content to serve in silence. They had tasted the bitterness of betrayal, and they were beginning to see their place in the kingdom not as servants, but as equals—or even rulers.
In a small, secluded cottage far from the capital, a woman sat in silence, her hand resting on her swollen belly. She had not been there to see her lover die, had not been able to hold him one last time before he was taken from her. But she had felt the moment of his death, as surely as if her own heart had been torn from her chest.
Selen was gone, and she was left alone with his child.
The world had changed since his execution. The kingdom that had once been a place of honor and loyalty had become a land of whispers and fear. The Aethryn no longer trusted the royal family, and the humans were too afraid to admit it.
As she sat in the dim light of her small home, her thoughts were not of revenge, but of survival. Her child, the child she had conceived with Selen, would be a symbol of everything the kingdom feared—a union between human and an Aethryn. But she did not care about the kingdom's laws or its politics. She cared only about keeping her child safe.
And so, in the quiet of her grief, she made a silent vow. She would raise her child far from the reach of the royal family, far from the dangers of a kingdom on the brink of collapse. She would protect her child, no matter the cost.
For now, the world could continue its slow descent into chaos. But in time, the legacy of Selen's love would rise again.