Two doors adorned with fire and sun symbols, made out of stone, red crystals, and gold/bronze metal, start to open up. The king looks up as he opens one eye and wonders who comes to see him. As the door opens more, he sees Erathos, a young man formerly a scribe who, through his ability to communicate and good judgment when the king needed his opinion, was appointed as the king's personal counselor.

  “Sir, Commander Ivry has reported back after months of being in Kuzaru. She has new information. It’s something dealing with General Theia.”

  The King smacks his lips together. “What’s that crazy bastard up to now?”

  The king opens the letter and starts to read it, his eyes swaying from left to right as he keeps reading. He brings his hand down and crumples the letter while his facial expression goes from annoyance to disturbed and angered.

  The short man watches as the king sits on his throne, quiet for what seems a couple of minutes, wanting to leave but knowing he can’t until he hears the response from the king.

  “My lord—”

  “Mmm,” whispers the king.

  “Is my presence required any longer?”

  The king shakes his head. “Not quite, but I’d like you to inform our new friends that something came up, and we’ll have to have our discussion sooner than expected. Also, please inform the troops that we will be taking a longer stay within the walls of the Shade Province. Have everyone prepare defenses and make sure everyone is well equipped. We need every soldier, weapon, and magick user to be ready. It seems Theia has continued his endeavors even after he was told several times by the council that doing as much would anger the gods. So I must take things into my own hands. I can’t sit idle any longer. King AhKinta's pursuit of what’s beyond the great sea drove him mad and almost destroyed Gaia before it could become what it is now. It’s time we put an end to this stupid crusade. I won’t be remembered as the man that bathed in the blood of those that came before us.”

  The man bows down and takes out a piece of paper with a piece of coal and starts to write down notes.

  “I will make a notice and send it out to every battalion. And my Lord, your name will not be remembered as anything but great. I will personally make sure of that,” said the short young man as he walked out of the king’s throne room.

  “Thank you, Erathos. I must request something else of you.”

  Erathos stops writing. “Yes, my lord,” he says as his focus is on the king.

  “If our defense fails, I must ask that you leave with them at once and show them the truth of Gaia.”

  “My lord, don’t say such things. No one could ever take over the Shade Province. Its position makes it an impenetrable fortress.”

  “I saw Theia’s rise to power with my own eyes. He always was one step ahead of his enemies. Don’t underestimate him. His cunning, intelligence, and strength are nothing to write off. Not just that, but the moment my father appointed him as the commander of the Kuzaru forces, he gained a great deal of power thanks to their magitech advancements.”

  “You are right, my lord. My apologies for speaking out of turn. If I might ask, what is your intent with collaborating with their group? From the looks of it, they are all from Crimson Town. I doubt they would do much good to us.”

  “Ah, but that’s where you are wrong. See, I recognize one of them from years ago. They were an envoy from one of the seven native tribes of Gaia, just before my father declared war on them. Chak of the Sun Tribe. He was accompanied by another three, one of whom died during an altercation that triggered the ongoing war. Back then he looked different. For one, he had his legs and had the power to outrun any man, animal, or living being in the world. Something must’ve happened between then and now for him to not be with his tribe, and I think whatever happened is tied to that bastard.”

  The king stands up and makes his way toward the door. “Now, I believe it’s time for us to have our meeting.”

  The king walks past Erathos while he gives him a pat on the shoulders. “Let’s go, friends. I believe we have guests waiting.”

  Arryn wakes up with the sound of two voices ringing in his ear.

  “Check this one out. It uses the power from within the crystals to create illusions. They are pre-recorded, sadly.”

  “Let me see.”

  Arryn opens one eye and sees Tik peeking his nose while pointing the small device toward him.

  “The other way, Tok.”

  “Oh, right.”

  He turns the device around. “This is going to be hilarious,” he says as he grabs a booger and approaches Arryn. He gets close to Arryn, pointing the device in a way so that it grabs an image of him and Arryn. He slowly moves his hand close to Arryn’s mouth, and as he does, Arryn grabs his arm and pushes his finger with the booger into his mouth.

  “EW!”

  Tik starts to spit as Tok and Arryn start to laugh. He drops the small device. The device starts to play a holographic image of what had just transpired. Tok picks it up and replays Tik eating his own booger over and over.

  “Hey, when did you wake up!” says Tik while he is still spitting and cleaning his mouth.

  “Just now. You and Tok woke me up. That thing is pretty cool. What is it?” he asks as he points toward the circular device.

  “They are calling it a mirage projector. Pretty cool, right? I tinkered with it and was able to decipher how to build it if it breaks down. They have so many cool things here.”

  Tok gets close to Arryn and sits at the end of the bed while he plays with the projector.

  “Where are we?” Arryn asks as he gets up.

  “Oh, we are in the castle that we saw during the festival.”

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  “Oh.”

  Arryn looks around as he is mesmerized by all the food, weaponry, magitech, and just how clean everything looked. His head turns around quickly as it takes him a minute to process what Tok just said.

  “CASTLE? Like the King’s castle?!” He stands up and looks around the corners. “What the hell are we doing here?”

  He goes back to Tok as he looks worried.

  “Oh, we have been here for five days or so. After the whole assassination attempt, some short guy and a tall soldier came to find us. They have been giving us shelter and making sure our wounds heal the last couple days. The food here is so awesome. They have these things they give us with bread called kakao. It’s like a sweet dark drink that’s so good, especially if it’s cold.”

  “Tok, did you just say five days?”

  “Yes. For a minute we thought you weren’t going to wake up. Chak has been checking on you every day. He seemed worried.”

  Tok looks at Arryn as Arryn stands up and puts his shirt on, his arms now having the two distinct lines that extend their whole length through his arms and hands, going to the back of his head and connecting to his head markings.

  “Tok, what the hell is this? Did you guys use carbon to draw on my body while I was asleep?”

  Arryn tries to clean them, but they won’t come off.

  “No, you got those after you did the whole thing with fire and your arms. That was awesome, by the way!”

  “Markings? What is happening? I am so confused.”

  “That’s not even the only part you got them,” Tok says as he grabs the circle and rewinds the projector. Using his fingers, he taps the corners and the image starts to shuffle around. “See.”

  Arryn grabs the projector and sees the markings on his face. He starts to touch his face as he sees himself in the mirage.

  “You look like some warrior,” says Tok as he grabs the projector from Arryn.

  “Or like one of those guys that Radahn always beats up,” says Tik as he grabs a chair and sits down.

  From the corner, someone knocks on the wood.

  “Hey guys, it’s time to go.”

  Chak pushes his chair around the corner. As he sees Arryn sitting down, he pushes his chair faster and gets closer to him.

  “I imagine you have some questions,” he says to Arryn as he grabs his face. “I promise I will answer them later. You woke up just in time to meet the king. We were to meet with him. The guards will escort us to his throne room.”

  He hugs Arryn. Arryn looks at him, and tears start to slowly pour.

  “Dad… I was scared.”

  “I know, son. I know.” Chak starts to cry. “So were we.”

  Tik and Tok get close to them and start to cry.

  “We thought you had died. We thought we lost our little brother.”

  “Next time we’ll be there for you. I’ll get better at creating things to help you out when things go bad,” said Tok.

  “And I’ll train and train to be stronger so I can stand next to you when you are in trouble.”

  As they all hug and clear their tears, the tall soldier from earlier approaches their room.

  “Mhm,” he says as he clears his throat. “My apologies. The king is requesting your presence at once.”

  The four of them break off the hug and clear their tears away.

  “Right, my apologies. We are ready to go,” says Chak.

  “Great, please follow me. I’ll show you to the room.”

  The group all follow behind the soldier.

  “The Shade Province was established by working people. The castle itself was built on top of the entrance to the old mining ruins. The reason why the Shade Province is so rich is because of such mines. Did you know that?”

  “Of course you do. You guys were raised here after all. My apologies, I don’t get to talk to a lot of people, so once I do, I enjoy making conversation, especially about the history of Ashveil.”

  “The mines were abandoned once all the known phoenix cores in the location were excavated. Left behind was a hole in the ground stained with the blood of all those workers that lost their lives there. Lots of them worked horrible hours with horrible working conditions. They didn’t have a lot of the equipment we have now to make their jobs easier and safer. It doesn’t help that the king during their time had put a decree that all the people of Gaia were to donate one phoenix core per head each year. Those that didn’t contribute were sent to prison or to the mines.”

  “Why would he do that?” asks Arryn.

  “That’s a great question. Why do people do the things they do? Some say he was hungry for power. Some say he was enchanted by the phoenix cores themselves. Some say that he was just an evil king and that he didn’t need a reason to act the way he did.”

  “I personally think he meant good at first. He wanted to expand and see the world, search to see what’s beyond the horizon, bring wealth and happiness to his subjects. But the moment he saw the power of the phoenix cores, something changed within him.”

  “Greed,” said Radahn.

  “Something along those lines,” the soldier said as he opened the great hall doors.

  A simple throne sat in the middle of the room with light pouring on top of it from the ceiling. The throne was simple yet beautiful. It was clear, and it shined with the light projected on it.

  “Woah,” said the kids.

  “Sea prism stone, said to have been a gift given to King Jahral by the god of the sea Leviathan. It is said to capture the beauty of the sun and the calmness of the sea in it,” said the soldier as he offered entrance to the group. “The king will be with us momentarily, if you don’t mind taking a seat.”

  He closes the doors and approaches the throne. As he walks toward it, a short man opens a door from the side and approaches the throne, the soldier standing next to it, holding his stance.

  “Thank you for accepting our invitation,” said the short young man. “My apologies for the delay and for the theatrics. We had to make sure that the king was safe and had to take extra measures in order to make sure none of you were working with Theia. I present to you, King Ah-Ja.”

  The short man moves to the side of the throne and bows. The group takes to their knees as well, everyone but the kids, who didn’t really know what was happening, but followed soon after Cage moved his head and signaled them to do the same.

  Their heads bowed as they waited for the king’s entrance, but heard no doors, no footsteps, no rumbling or rustling of any kind.

  “Seems like he’s late,” said Arryn.

  “Shh,” said Radahn.

  “You may raise your heads,” a familiar voice said coming from the throne’s direction.

  They look up and see the soldier sitting down on the throne. He takes his helmet off, and underneath it is the face of a young adult, beautiful by all means of the word. His face chiseled, he had long, luscious black hair with light brown eyes that reflect the sunlight as it hit his pupil. His skin was the same complexion as Arryn’s and Chak’s, slightly lighter but keeping the same brown tone.

  “I must ask for your forgiveness, my new friends. I hope you understand that this was all for my safety.”

  “My old friend, Chak. You must not remember me, but I remember you clearly and dearly.”

  He grabs a dagger that was given to him by the young man next to him.

  Arryn responds out of nature, fearing that he was going to attempt something against his father.

  “You touch my father and you’ll suffer the consequences.”

  “Touch your father? My dear child, why would I hurt someone that saved my life? This was a gift given to me by him and by his companions when I was younger.”

  He grabs the knife. It was a knife made out of pure phoenix crystals, a knife that was used during one of the passings for the Sun Tribe. Such an artifact had never seen the outside.

  At that point Chak knew who he was.

  “THE LITTLE PRINCE!?”

  He started laughing. “Oh my god, you have grown so much. I would’ve never recognized you. If I remember correctly, you were a bit more plump when you were younger. Son, bring me to him.”

  Arryn looked confused but followed his dad’s command. They both approached the king.

  “My lord,” said the young man.

  “It’s ok, Erathos. I trust this man with my life. I did once when I was younger and would again.”

  He approaches Chak.

  “My dear friend, may the sun shine on you.”

  Chak stops for a minute as he hadn’t heard those words in years, a tear slightly escaping his eyes.

  “I accept your light.”

  “What horrible human has done this to you?” The king kneels down and touches Chak’s leg. “And what’s this I hear? Father? Son?”

  “It’s a long story, a long and painful story.” Chak grabs the king's hand. “As far as Arryn, that also is a long story. But yes, he’s my dear son.”

  “Arryn,” Ah-Jah says. “Arryn…”

  He puts his hand on his jaw.

  “Arryn, like those two brothers from before?”

  “Like those two indeed, Arn and Rin. He is Arn’s son. Arn and Mai’s.”

  Arryn looked confused. He had heard of his father’s and mother’s names, but he had never heard of Rin.

  “How do you know of my parents?” he asked the king.

  “They are friends from long ago. When I was but a child, younger than you, they saved my life then, and I always held a great debt and respect to them. Where are they now?”

  Arryn stayed quiet, his face now turning to Chak, who shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, Chak. I’m sorry, Arryn…”

  “They were great warriors. Your mother was the bravest and the strongest person I have ever seen in my life, and your father, a kind soul fit to be a king, even more than I.”

  “A King?” Arryn says, surprised as he looks at Chak and the rest of the group. “My father was a King?”

  Chak approaches him slowly.

  “Arryn—”

  “Why didn't you tell me this?” Arryn says as he moves his shoulder away from Chak's hand. “What else have you been hiding from me? First these weird powers—”

  “Arryn, please—”

  “No! Tell me the truth! I have always heard you and Uncle Radahn speaking, saying how right now is not the time for me to know—”

  “Arryn, I promise I’ll tell you everything—”

  “When! I am no longer a small child, Dad. I killed someone and I don’t know what’s happening right now. I’m afraid and I can’t even trust the one person I thought would protect me no matter what.”

  Arryn’s words start to cut off as he starts to tear up, his hands shaking and his fists tightening.

  “I hate—”

  His words get cut off by the sudden feeling of a heavy hand slapping his face.

  “Shut up before you say something you regret.”

  Radahn had stood up and walked toward Arryn slowly. He had stopped him before saying that dreaded sentence.

  “I’m sorry, son,” Chak said.

  Arryn turned around and didn’t say a word. He took a seat and wiped his tears.

  The king stood there waiting for everything to end. He waited patiently until everyone took a seat, then walked toward the throne.

  “Listen, everyone. I know this is all confusing, and we all have questions about what’s happening, some more than others. However, before answering questions, we must take action.”

  “What does that mean exactly?” said Radahn.

  “It means that Ashveil as we know it might be at risk of changing forever.”

  Everyone but Arryn and Chak looked confused. Arryn tilted his head up a bit but didn’t do much else. As for Chak, he was stationary and wouldn’t move, his head in the same position as before.

  “Because of this, I must ask a favor from your party, something that I think will bring answers to all of us.”

  He stood up and approached Erathos.

  “I would like all of you to provide security to Erathos and accompany him on his journey to the capitol grounds.”

  “And why would we do that? Do you not have your military? I’m sure you have personal guards that could do that.”

  “You are correct, dear Chak. I do. But none of my guards have what you and your son have. None of my guards need the answers that you seek.”

  Arryn’s head lifts up.

  “And what are those answers exactly?”

  “Who you are.”