A Kings Legacy

A King's Legacy

Chapters 37 & 38:

A Little Solace / Rays of Hope

Aster could only look up at his father in stunned silence. His story? Aster averted his gaze, staring at the bountiful flowers surrounding him in that place as he tried to think of how he could even answer such a thing. The boy spoke a bit hesitantly, not wanting to upset his father now that they had finally been reunited.

"I- I don't know if I want to learn it... I'm sure that sounds odd, but everything that I gathered back at my place of birth, every single thing I learned only hurt me that much more. Every broken window, every splintered door, every home torn to shreds... every single one of them cut me so deeply, father. It isn't that I don't want to honor my people, it is simply more that there is no honoring them anymore. Whatever awful fate befell them, I cannot undo any of it, and having my heart carved out all over again just isn't something I think I can handle anoth-"

Aster froze suddenly, recalling a certain fuzzy memory at his choice of words, one that seemed more like a dream than a reality. Still, it was a dream that was making far too much sense to the boy now... The young king sat upright with a truly fearful look on his face. Calium could tell what the boy was thinking merely by the stunned expression he was wearing, and by the way he cradled his hand over where the sword had pierced his chest. The older king spoke cautiously.

"Solis... I know it seems scary, but you don't have anything to worry about here. This isn't your end, it is merely something you have to face. You can't let that panic set in though, or you won't ever be going back. Please, sit back down, it seems you're starting to wake up a little more, but it's hard not to be alarmed at the realization. I can explain this too, if you wish to hear me now... regardless, let me be the first to say... welcome to the afterworld, Solis."

Aster plopped back down, (more from his sudden shakiness than per his father's request,) and took a moment to accept the startling reality. The younger human looked down at his hands and flexed them a little in disbelief. He could still feel them here, even though he now recalled that the right one should be missing. He spoke in a tone of disbelief.

"I'm... dead aren't I? We are dead, right?" Calium only nodded once to his son, confirming as much. Aster let out a small huff, and spoke idly about the strange realization.

"Odd, I figured it would be a lot less... comfortable here. It's pretty nice, if I'm being honest. I thought it would be colder." Calium chuckled a little at the boy, answering with a warm smile, and a warmer tone.

"It isn't so bad, but a healthy mix of optimism and skepticism helps with that. I was glad to see you inherited those traits as well." Aster forced a small smile at that, and spoke a little more quietly in response.

"Well... It hasn't exactly been easy to remain on the positive side of things after everything lately." Calium answered, still holding his smile as his golden eyes took on a similar tenderness.

"Oh, trust me, I know all about getting buried waist deep in shit and still trying to help others out of their own messes, so believe me when I say I do understand how much of a chore it can be... but it is still a choice, and it's a choice you made through some tough times, my son. You don't always have to shine, but never let the ugliness corrupt that gold in you. You may have had some low points more recently, and you certainly had a right to be hurt by them, but even then, you stood by your knight, you pressed on, and you faced what seemed so terribly overwhelming all the same." Calium paused to sigh to himself with that same smile still seemingly stuck on his face. He continued proudly after, truly reminding Aster of a king in that moment.

"There is great importance in recognizing small victories like those. It is important to look at it all day by day sometimes, that the heartache will fade, and that you'll live to fight again when you are finished licking your wounds. When you can look back on your worst days and see what you survived, you'll be surprised at what you can find the courage to face going forward. You'll be amazed at how trivial it all seems, and you'll learn you can stare down even the most menacing and imposing opponents with a smile."

"You either fall victim to the darkness, or you stand up beside your most important people, and fight it with everything you have any and every time it comes for you, or for them. You fight back. If there should ever be no hope left for the ones you want to protect, then you choose to become that hope, for that is the kind of kings we are, my son." Aster went silent once more, letting his father finish before he squeaked out his honest opinion with his eyes to the dirt.

"I am not a king. I am not someone so important. I am no beacon of hope, and I am certainly far too weak to ever lead anyone." Calium was quick to dismiss the thought.

"No son of mine could ever be so weak. You have no idea of the people that will care for you. You have no idea of the people that will look to you as the greatest kind of ruler, a humble one that has seen his fair share of what living in this tiring world can really do to a soul. One that could relate to the struggles those that follow him have faced. A compassionate and empathetic king always leads his people far further than a conceited and self-serving one. You could be a king worthy of legends if you would only see that what this world truly needs is more people in power making choices to benefit those they lead. We need peacekeepers far more than we need more war-makers." Aster replied somberly, truly not seeing what his father was.

"How do you know that is who I am? How can you be so certain that I am such a chosen king and not some irrelevant human that got lucky and survived?" Calium's smile took on a playful hint. The king spoke it all rather cheerily.

"Well... because you are my son. You've never been irrelevant to me since before you were even born..." The king paused with a grin as Aster just groaned at that answer. Calium finished his statement after, hoping his son would take the bait.

"...And because no child of prophecy ever seems to be irrelevant, do they?" Aster quickly took the bait.

"Wait, what prophecy?"

===

Vengeful, red eyes gazed menacingly towards the panther standing before the demon, its maw still snarling wickedly as the creature sized up its meal. Cortist was frozen, still trying to understand what had happened to his brother, still trying to control his fear after such a shrieking roar from the shadow that remained. The demon tightened the grip of its right arm on the golden shield, and used its left one to slam its fist against the back of it, sending out a jarring wave of darkness that made the panther fall to his knees for an entirely different reason. The heartbeat used by his brother commanded one to kneel in effort to avoid conflict, but the shadowy one that rocked into Cortist commanded him to kneel in absolute fear.

The mage's eyes were wide, and his fur felt like it was crawling over his skin. His hands were trembling against the dusty cobblestones beneath him, and Cortist felt a rush of instincts insisting the young feline very much needed to run away from this monster. Even so, Cortist was held on his knees as the creature lunged.

The panther stared wide-eyed, frozen in place as that monster descended on him with its jaw open wide and the shield still trapped in its grip. Time seemed to slow for the mage, and Cortist absolutely realized how dead he was. He could never win against such a monster to begin with, and he just couldn't bring himself to act in a way that would harm Aster.

The creature fell upon him, mere inches away as the panther's mind went into overhaul. Corty was about to simply accept it, until he noticed something peculiar... Where the creature gripped the shield, a shadow had began to form, spreading like cracks in the celestial gold. His master's final warning rang in his mind at the sight.

`Survive. Stall your opponent as long as you can while me and my soldier do what we need to... However, should all the light fade, should it all be swallowed by the darkness, know that none of us are ever coming back. That is the very likely outcome that we both fail, that we lose it all on our gamble, and that we have been devoured by the consequences.' Cortist's own thoughts seemed to fall in place in that moment.

`Survive? Stall it? Does that mean there was a chance to fix this? Was he talking about the shadow growing on that shield? Can Aster turn back if the light prevails?' Cortist made his decision with clarity, just as those jagged teeth began closing around his skull. His brother's heart was still alive, he just knew it, but this thing was standing in the way of their reunion...

A pillar of stone shot up into the creature's midsection, commanded effortlessly by the panther in that defining moment. The monster was pushed away from the budding young demigod just before it managed to snag a sample of the mage's flavor. The stone pushed hard beneath the shadowy sword jutting out of the monster's chest, coming to an abrupt stop where it flung the demon back a ways as Cortist stood to face the creature at long last. The demon howled out as it's ribs popped back where they belonged, bearing its rancid teeth all while preparing for its next attack.

Cortist took a deep breath, feeling strangely calm, yet invigorated all of a sudden. Cortist was feeling like this wasn't a battle he would accept defeat in. The mage felt as if he wasn't fighting this battle on his own after all... Flames grew over his forearms in anticipation of the creature's next strike, and the young panther focused his attention on the opponent before him. The demon summoned the shield again, reared back its fist, and sent another wave of enslaving fear pulsing towards the panther. The demon followed up the attack by sprinting closely behind the pulse of darkness, hoping to capitalize on its stunning capability. Cortist waited for the last moment, threw his arms towards the ground, and shot the flames down, pushing himself over the charging creature just in time for it to run head first into the scorching fire where the panther had stood.

As Cortist was propelled out of the pulse's range and over the demon, the mage quickly followed up on his opportunity, dropping a quick bolt of lightning on the monster before landing behind it. The creature howled in pain, but the panther only turned to face it once again, holding firmly to his mission of saving his brother from such a fate at any cost. A ball of light began forming in his right hand, and the weak little kitten finally found himself not feeling so weak anymore. He launched the blast toward the demon without hesitation.

Cortist Venatus had always been too soft for battle, but perhaps his grandfather's guidance, encouragement, and preparation had hardened his resolve just enough after all...

===

Calium had quite a shit-eating grin on his face as he simply stared at his son for a moment. He spoke teasingly.

"Well, the prophecy kind of goes back to your own story again, and since you've chosen not to hear it..." Calium trailed off with a smirk. Aster just sighed before he answered flatly.

"Fine, tell me... I just don't want who I am to be changed anymore. I was getting comfortable with who I was becoming." Calium smiled far more sincerely at that answer, and returned his son's honesty.

"I know. I couldn't reach you for a long time, but I did watch you often. I saw you growing into a fine young man the last few weeks. Please understand that your past does not define you, it merely gives you some insight on how to find your way forward. Your story is riddled with tragedy, this is true, but what happens next for you doesn't have to be so hard." Aster just kept his eyes cast to the side, so Calium figured that was as much of an answer as he was getting. The king started speaking where he left off, leading up to his more personal experiences in time.

"It all started a little over thirty years ago..."

The sun goddess had been freed, and her mother's song had stopped reaching the garden altogether. In the absence of her soothing melody, three particularly tainted souls began to corrode and boil over in the long overdue manifestation of their new forms. It took another few years, but those three human souls bearing ties to the hearts of the slumbering gods finally emerged from their armored cocoons.

The sword demon, the bow demon, and the trident demon may have been born millennia after their time had passed, but their delayed emergence certainly hadn't hampered their power in the slightest. The ties binding them to their gifts had followed their souls even to their new forms, albeit in a more bastardized sense.

The pieces of the goddess's heart were swallowed by the spiky corruption as well, giving the creatures all the power they needed to fulfill their one desire; to find a soul that could take that power from them. The three demons were looking for heirs worthy of the very gods, for those with souls that aligned with the vessels themselves. They were seeking living souls that could soothe the tainted hearts of even the legendary beasts. They, more than anything, were seeking peaceful freedom in the afterworld.

Death kept a close eye on those demons for quite some time, and was a bit surprised when they mostly seemed to remain dormant, but the god would never truly understand the desires of such tortured souls until some time later, when a right hand to a human king would be met with the first trial. The sword demon had made a move, and the beast of the mountain began to stir.

It was so sudden. It was a peaceful time in Adamare, the harvest of that season had been bountiful, and all seemed to be just another day for the residents of the town and castle alike. Calium was reading to his oldest child, Lunai, enthusiastically. The fatherly king was certain to act it all out, even going so far to skulk around the room in a blanket cloak to reiterate exactly how ominous the villain of the tale had appeared to his daughter. The king spoke in his best falsetto of the wicked antagonist.

"...Now GROVEL before the great might of my demon army! Go, my children! Feast on flesh. Sate your hate and hunger with the breaking of bones. Consume this kingdom." Lunai giggled ecstatically in delight of such a grand performance, but before the young princess could get out another word, the sound of a war horn sounded across the courtyard of the castle. There was an attack.

Calium stood quickly, pacing over to the window in worry as he dropped his disguise altogether. The king gazed out over his garden, and saw quite an imposing looking foe before him. There was a jagged and bipedal demon standing before a dark scar, a portal carved through the air itself. This creature was bearing a shadowy sword the human king would grow to be all too familiar with in time. The creature was staring down the king's own right hand, interrupting the training session with his soldiers abruptly. A knight appeared at the doorway behind him, and Calium hastily spoke.

"Get the princess to her mother, and get both to safety. Stay away from the windows." Lunai tried to call out for her father, but Calium was already jumping out of the window onto his shield, forming one after another like stepping stones as the king ran across the air towards the intruder just as it lunged towards the human king's closest knight with a shadowy sword swinging wildly. The losses that day against that singular opponent were crippling for Adamare.

Over thirty young prospecting young recruits had been massacred within moments. Seven of Adamare's greatest were cut down that day as well, some even before they ever realized exactly what they were dealing with. It was through the combined efforts of King Calium and his most trusted knights that victory was even secured at all, however, even that had a steep price it would seem.

Fortix Cuso, the right hand of King Calium Aureus, drove his skilled blade into the heart of that monster just as the demon drove its blade through his own. The demon had been defeated, but the man that had cleared the trial set before him had died before he could ever inherit that gift.

"Death carried the remains of the sword demon's soul to the afterworld, but those remains wouldn't take long to find a new bearer." Aster chimed in, curious as to what happened after.

"So, who ended up inheriting it then?" Calium only shook his head as he answered with a hint of sadness.

"I'm getting there. It's a lot to tell, so bear with me." Calium continued on.

A cub would be born bearing the sun goddess's liberated gift, bearing a piece of the scattered heart tied to the sword. This was something foreseen by one particular onlooker... The moon was elated. Despite her heartless methods of madness, restoring her sister and family seemed to be the one goal she had that was clear to Death. The moon had meddled little in comparison up to that point, but her scheme launched forth from a singular belief; That the world would never be safe for the gods, (or anyone else for that matter,) as long as mankind stood. The mad moon made a few deals of her own, using her power to mirror her father's. It made for an excellent guise. She started by delivering a prophecy to one of the three human kings.

The shield that humans had hidden behind for so many generations was soon to meet its end at last. The final human to ever hold that power would be born, and he would die before ever passing that power down to another human. The next king of the beastmen would one day march on all of the neighboring countries, and the great conqueror would begin his reign of destruction. When the next beast king would eventually cross blades with the next shield bearer, the shield would fall, and all of man would fall into darkness alongside it.

The ruler of the human kingdom, Cadictum, panicked, just as the moon had expected him to. He desperately pleaded to the goddess, begging her for a solution to the problem approaching. The moon smiled so smugly as she only went silent in response. In truth, her words would certainly alter the course of things, but ultimately, it would only speed them along. The moon was getting what she needed regardless, so the aftermath seemed trivial.

The shield could fall with man, the sword soon to be reborn with a beast for a bearer would keep her sister alive until she could find a way to revive the rest of that heart. She didn't need to do anything else from that point, aside from answer when the deceived and desperate king tried to make a deal with her once more a few days later.

"Please... is there nothing we can do?" The goddess answered the foolish king with more deception, purposely leading him to the wrong conclusion.

"Well, I can't say for certain, but the next beast king is not destined to be the sole cub of the lions, it is destined to be one not even born yet. Perhaps you could make something of that " What she conveniently left out, was that the foreseen conqueror was not an heir of the Tonitrus family at all. What she had accomplished, was planting her ill intent inside of the human well disguised as the smallest shred of hope for their species. The humans of that kingdom began setting their plan in motion, and by the aid of the moon goddess, a deal was struck in blood magic, and the fate of man was sealed with the murder of Queen Talia Tonitrus of Alora.

"That king was the ruler of Cadictum, the first of the three human kingdoms that would be swallowed in the savagery of beast king Alocer's wrath." Aster interjected once again.

"Wait... So the moon goddess just LIED about an entire prophecy to turn the beasts against man?" Calium shook his head as he answered the expected question.

"Actually, she was telling the truth, partly anyway. She still misconstrued it all enough to manipulate them, but the next beast king really hadn't been born yet. He was, however, destined to be a tyrant. The beast would rise up through nobility, and eventually lead a coup to kill the reigning king and his family before seizing the crown of Alora. You were destined to be the last human shield bearer, my son, and you were fated to fall in your clash against the new ruler of Alora in time, however, the goddess manipulated it enough that it would all go about the same, just a little bit earlier than predicted. This is how our kingdom was pulled back into the fray mere weeks after fending off the sword demon." Aster pressed further.

"So, in their desperation to avoid a genocidal tyrant, they ended up creating another?" Calium sighed as he answered this as well.

"Fate has a way of trying to keep things in order. There is a balance to things, it's one of the reasons we had to be so careful where we intervened." Aster frowned as he quietly asked a question he didn't want the answer to.

"By we, you mean you and Death, right? I'll let you explain that first, but I need to know... where exactly did you and Death intervene? Was it in ways I couldn't see back in the land of the living?" Calium went silent, weighing how to proceed. He answered with his own whisper.

"No... You were pretty aware every time we stepped in." The older king bore a look of shame as he continued that statement. "I promise, I'll clarify, but I think it best I try to keep it all in order for you. If you don't understand my reasons, you won't understand my choices... You may judge whether or not I made the right decisions at the end, and I won't hold it against you either way, but just hear me out first, my son." Aster stared at his father in that humbled state for a while before he finally nodded. That seemed fair to the boy. Calium continued on.

"The moon goddess made a deal, the humans of Cadictum used blood magic to kill the queen of Alora before she could ever bear the foreseen tyrant, or so they had believed."

===

Radia was minding the smaller clinic rather absentmindedly on that slower day. The healer of the clinic was out on a house call at the time, so the smaller mouse was just tending to some of the odd cleaning jobs the little building needed as she let her mind linger on all manner of recent gossip around the smaller town of Cayne. She was keeping busy for the most part, humming her little tune as she went about her work, and all seemed like it would be just another day for the little rodent... That is, until a very large bull came barreling through the door with a cat over his shoulder, and a lion on his tail.

"WE NEED A HEALER!" Captain Rix was shouting loud enough to make the smaller mouse squeak out in surprise as she turned to meet the patients.

"Oh, my master is away right now, but she should be back so-" The bull cut her off swiftly.

"THE CAT KEEPS CONVULSING, AND SHE GROWS WEAKER BY THE SECOND, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT! FIND THE CRUSTY OLD BROAD AND GET HER BACK HERE!" Radia stepped back a little, feeling overwhelmed by such a large bull shouting so loudly. She started her reply meekly.

"She- She should be back any minute now... We can take your friend to one of the rooms for now, and-" The smaller mouse was cut off once more, this time by something much louder than even the captain.

A small explosion rocked into the front of the clinic, caving in the entry wall and sending debris flying around the room. Tyfin was knocked aside by the blast immediately, avoiding the worst of it in his position. Rix took a few flying bricks to the back of his head and body, likely sparing the life of the little mouse standing in front of him by sheer coincidence. Even the mighty Captain Rixator was knocked over from such an unexpected blow.

As the bull and the lion groaned while they struggled to regain their orientation, a loud and obnoxious voice came flowing into the clinic from right outside on the main street.

"WELL SHIT, I DIDN'T MEAN LEVEL THE WHOLE DAMNED PLACE! WE NEEDED TO BE SURE IT WAS THEM FIRST, YOU FUCKIN' IDIOT! We may have some freedom to cause some damage if needed, but we aren't trying to have the whole damned town coming after us with pitchforks and torches for trashing their homes!" A squawking voice answered shortly.

"YOU SAID WE NEEDED TO HIT THEM HARD AND FAST, BOSS! I-" The first voice, the one presumably belonging to the leader of the attackers, interrupted the mage partway through his own defense, and instead called out mockingly into the dusty remains of the structure.

"HEEEEEYYYY! YOU ALIVE IN THERE?" No answer came to the large boar, so the boss grumbled out to the crow beside him once again.

"Oh, that's just great... THE CLIENT WAS CLEAR HE WANTED THE PRINCE'S PELT! YOU'D BETTER HOPE YOU DIDN'T BURN IT ALL TO SHIT YOU FUCKIN' IDIO-" The crow never heard the rest of his boss's insult, he was instead wondering why the world was suddenly spinning around him... Then he saw the bull, the axe, and his own beheaded corpse below him as his head spiraled through the air to land on the ground with a thud. Captain Rix was never one to hesitate to take action against an enemy.

The boar stumbled away in surprise as the crow's corpse hit the ground. The seasoned bull knew taking out that mage was his first priority, and their bickering had given him all the distraction he needed to go on the offensive and do just that with his first strike. As the boar struggled to come to, the bull shouted out behind himself, bleeding from the back of his head all the while.

"NOW, GO!" Prince Tyfin jolted out of the ruined clinic behind the captain, running at full speed with Lady Alice on his back. Rix broke off after the lion, careful to keep the prince in his sights as they fled their attackers. Tyfin would press forward, keeping an eye on things ahead as he steered them, Rix would cover their rear, cleaving into any pursuer that got too close. It wasn't the most fail-proof plan, and it was forced to be made on the spot, but the pair was hoping it may be just enough to get them out of there.

Rix had underestimated exactly how many mercenaries were there for the prince. Those two would be chased halfway through that town, leaving behind a splotch of death in their wake whenever a sell-sword thought they were beast enough to step within range of a Rixator's axe.

===

Adamare had just began coping with their losses from the sword demon when it happened. It had barely been three weeks since the attack, but the little prince seemed determined to get a head-start into the world nearly two weeks early. While Queen Vera was quite occupied with her twelfth hour of labor, a guard came quietly into the room, and whispered something into King Calium's ear. The king went wide-eyed at the message, and took on even more of a grim expression. He turned to his wife, (who was, needless to say, not having a great time of things,) and spoke apologetically.

"My queen, I have to go... I will return to you as quickly as possible, but-" She never let him finish, answering between strained breathing.

"Go. You wouldn't leave if it wasn't important. The people need their king, now more than ever." Vera topped the statement off with a pained groan as another heavier contraction hit. Calium stared at his wife for a moment longer.

Her dark-red hair was matted to her brow, her face flustered and dripping with sweat. Her eyes looked swollen and tired, and she was shifting around in apparent discomfort as the nurses did their best to move the process along. Her lips were parted and dry, and her breathing was forced and measured between groans. Calium spoke softly before taking his leave, gently bringing a hand up to cup her face tenderly.

"Only you, my love, could ever look so beautiful, even here." The queen scoffed lightly, and rolled her eyes despite the pain. She answered in kind.

"Only you, my love, could ever see such beauty, even here." His lips met her own briefly before they were interrupted by another movement from the impatient prince on his way into the world. Calium pulled away as Vera groaned out once more, taking his leave with the knight. The moment they had made it five paces from the door of their bedroom, the king quickly turned to his soldier, and spoke in a lower, desperate tone.

"Please tell me I misheard you in there..."

There was a strange parcel left in the center of the road a good distance away from the kingdom, a longer box crudely nailed shut that was discovered by an elderly merchant traveling into Alora. The merchant was hoping it was some cargo that had been misplaced, but when he chanced opening the box, he was met with far more of a surprise than he had bargained for.

There were two human corpses sealed inside the makeshift coffin, two bodies left to rot beneath the sun's rays. The guard had been notified, and the box was moved to Adamare's castle. Calium was still holding on to some hope that this was all some mistake, and that this wasn't what he was told, but gazing upon that delivery from Alora's capital in his own courtyard all but confirmed as much.

Beast King Alocer had murdered both of Adamare's ambassadors currently serving in Alora, (along with the ambassadors to the other two human countries,) and he had sent their remains back where they had came from along with a message crudely written in the dried and crusty blood of their victims on the inside of the box's lid.

"All men shall fall!"

There was no mistaking it, King Alocer had declared war on humans, and King Calium trembled at the realization. He didn't even have time to finish accepting that disturbing reality before a nurse came running into the courtyard delivering another message.

"King Calium! Your son, HE IS HERE! We checked, and... HE HAS YOUR EYES! A new shield bearer has been born!" The king was drawn back to reality, and he rushed back to his queen hastily, suddenly more fearful for his children's future than ever before. The queen had rested for quite a while after the delivery, but when Vera awoke quite a few hours after the sun had set, the very first thing she laid eyes on was her husband holding their newborn son, sitting in a chair near the window. Calium was gazing out at the moonlight over the ocean absentmindedly. She spoke quietly, still not exactly feeling well rested.

"I know that look all too well. How bad is it?" Calium never looked away from that window as he answered honestly.

"It's bad, and the more I tell you, the more it's going to break your heart." Queen Vera closed her eyes, and answered decidedly.

"There has been no shortage of misfortune for our people lately, I don't know that I want to taint the day my son was born with such a terrible reveal, not after we may finally have something to give us a little hope again." Calium nodded, answering her warmly.

"I don't think anything could ever damper the pride I feel right now, but I understand. Still, I could really use some wise council, so can we talk about it in the morning?" The queen nodded lightly in reply. Calium continued. "Thank you. So, how are you feeling, my love?" She responded softly once more.

"I'm still so very, very tired. Lunai didn't take near as much out of me, but I think I'll be alright. How is the baby?" Calium answered playfully

"As fussy as his mother." Queen Vera laughed lightly as she answered.

"Good, it sounds like someone needed to make sure you were handling things while I was resting, and I'm sure he was just the one for the task. Did he set you straight for me?" Calium chuckled along, returning the playful banter.

"He certainly did, I suppose it would be fair if he gets that from you, he got my eyes and hair, after all." Vera smiled playfully as she corrected him.

"You mean he got your shield?" Calium gazed down at his son, and only smiled at the sight of the sleeping infant, relishing the most sensational feeling of fluttering in his stomach. The king gently ran his thumb over the child's brow, and smirked lightly when the baby decided he didn't much care for the gesture. As the child shifted lightly in his father's arms in protest, his mother spoke once more.

"So, now that you've met him, have you decided on a name?" Calium smiled sheepishly at his wife, and confessed the truth.

"Not at all... Sorry, I've been trying, but nothing seems right..." Queen Vera laughed lightly for a moment before she stopped and groaned, gently holding her hand to her stomach as the pain passed. She let out a sigh, and resumed where she had left off.

"Well, it's a good thing I know his father is really good at procrastinating..." Calium looked to his wife in confusion before he realized what she meant. He flashed that dazzling smile of his before he pried a little further.

"...You've already chosen one, haven't you?" She only kept on smiling in response at first. When she did answer, it was with a hint of slyness.

"We have a daughter named after the moon, so why not a son after the sun? It is where you draw your strength from, and where he one day will as well." Calium leaned into her suggestion happily.

"So, you have come up with something after all?" Vera answered her king thoughtfully.

"Solis, Solis Aureus, the next king of Adamare. I think our people would welcome "a little solace," right now, don't you think?" Calium was grinning ear to ear when he heard the suggestion. It was perfect.

"I just knew she had picked the right name." Calium spoke warmly of his wife in the garden. Aster was listening so very closely, feeling rather humbled by his father's story. Humbled to finally know his mother's name. The boy spoke somberly.

"It's a good name, the one she gave me... Some have even called it a strong name. I'm glad I was able to learn who it was that gave it to me. I am happy to know my parents really loved each other. How did mother handle the news about the war though?" Calium gazed off towards the river flowing through the garden of life, and answered his son in a raw voice, one that was overflowing with remorse.

"She didn't. She passed in her sleep that night. Something was wrong after the birth, but nobody ever realized it until after I awoke to find her the following morning. In retrospect, I am thankful I didn't soil her last night on this earth, nor your first, with the news." Aster sucked in a sharp breath and lingered heavily on those words for a moment. He answered his father in respect.

"So... your best friend was killed by the sword demon, you discovered King Alocer had declared war on our people just as I was being born, and you lost my mother, all in such a short time?" Calium nodded once in confirmation before answering.

"It almost broke me, I almost let it break me... but I had two children to ensure would have a future in such an uncertain world. Giving up was never even an option for me at that point. I found something that gave me the strength I needed to keep fighting back. I realized the severity of what was heading towards us, so I went to go seek a little advice from an old friend of mine. As it turned out, he had already been looking into his own ways to intervene." The king continued on, working up to the next part of his story with a sense of dread. He just knew Solis wasn't going to like this...

===

Cortist was eyeing down the monster carefully, they had been repeating their little dance for a while, but the prodigal mage was starting to lose his patience. He hit this thing hard time and time again, but it just never seemed to stay down no matter what. Cortist figured he couldn't pierce its heart without killing his brother, considering his master had simply told him to stall it, but Cortist was starting to worry he had this all wrong.

The creature was growing impatient as well it seemed, that, or it was finally starting to take Cortist seriously. Either way, the monster would keep trying to capture its taste of flesh in any way it could manage. Cortist was almost appalled by what the opponent did next.

An unsettling, armored hand reached behind the monster's own back, the claws wrapping slowly around the hilt of the shadowy blade through its chest as it began to slowly slide the corrupted weapon free from its new hilt. When the tip had pulled free, and as the blade had exited the larger gash in its own back, more writhing and shifting started occurring around the hole left in the creature's center.

Two blackened wings shot out from between the demon's shoulders, giving the creature all it needed to try a different approach. The dark creature brandished the sword in its right hand, the shield in its left, and rose into the air with a powerful flap. It dived towards its dinner at unbelievable speed. Luckily, Cortist didn't hesitate to shoot a spear of light through its mouth. The demon crashed to the ground briefly, it's head already working on reforming itself. Cortist took the opportunity, and burned the demon again, stalling its regrowth. Cortist was almost starting to get a little too comfortable, and was quickly caught in the next attack.

Before the panther could react, the headless body plunged the sword into the stone below surprising the mage as the shockwaves began to rock through the throne room of King Calium. Dust fell from the cracks all around him as the dormant castle was rattled by the force of the impact, and Cortist was barely able to raise a wall of stone to divert the blast in time. Obscuring his own vision was almost his downfall. Cortist barely managed to look up in time to avoid the creature's sword cleaving him in half on the landing, but a shielded fist stole the mage's breath away immediately after as the monster launched its follow-up.

Cortist was almost certain it should have killed him. It was like somebody had fired a large cannon right into his gut. He almost even lost consciousness as his body was sent flying by the mighty impact. Cortist landed with a roll, feeling like he really had to use the restroom all of a sudden. He had no idea what that thing was actually packing, the kind of damage it could do with a single strike. Cortist was starting to feel afraid again, and the demon knew it. The mage could've sworn it was smiling ever so slightly as it lunged towards him, propelled faster than ever before by blackened wingbeats.

Cortist knew he still had quite the battle ahead of him, but more and more of the shield's golden light was slowly being swallowed up by the craggy darkness consuming it. The mage furrowed his brow in concentration. He would NOT fall here, and he was NOT going let Aster fall here either. That's what self-proclaimed, expert big brothers such as Cortist Venatus were for, after all.

The panther calmed his troubled mind, latched on to what mattered in that moment, and inhaled sharply. Before he even considered what he was doing, Cortist Venatus exhaled. A breathe of freezing air passed over his maw to meet the demon head on. Cortist Venatus had finally unlocked the power of both ice, and wind, and the result was a demon seemingly trapped in ice, still only inches away from its mark.

Cortist stood proudly, well aware the icy mass of shadow was already being rumbled apart by the squirming monster inside of it. It wouldn't hold him for long, but it was alright, the panther would keep fighting as long as it took, because that is what Aster would do for him in this situation, he would keep fighting for his brother. Cortist was learning what was most important to him in this world. Cortist was one step closer to discovering the true source of his own celestial power.

===

Calium was alone in his quarters, the curtains drawn and the lanterns shaded. He had made his order quite clear; nobody was to disturb him. The king was sitting in the same chair as before, only this time, he was staring at the empty bed his wife had always kept so warm before, the very same one she had died in. Calium sighed heavily, really weighing his options in that moment one final time, hoping to see something he hadn't before.

It had only been two weeks since the message was delivered to the human kingdoms, but there was rumor the beast king was already marching a few smaller battalions towards Cadictum. Adamare had heard nothing back from that particular kingdom, (just as they heard little back from ANY other,) but the smaller kingdom of Peuforet had made a request for unified defenses. They had lost their second princess when the ambassadors were slain, after all. Calium was happy to accept the unification, but it would still be far from enough to survive. They still needed something more. The king sighed to himself one last time, let his weary head fall back against his chair, closed his eyes, and spoke a bit begrudgingly.

"I wish to make a deal with the gods. I wish to deal with Death." Calium waited in the silence, wondering if the old god would even reply. A familiar, darker voice answered the king.

`Ah, I was wondering how long it would take you. It has been a while, shield bearer.' King Calium shuddered at the sound. The human answered rather plainly.

"It's been a good while since I passed my trial, but still not long enough for me to ever get used to hearing that creepy, scratching sound you call a voice." The god chuckled in amusement. His voice seemed more purposely hollow as he countered playfully.

`Unless I'm mistaken, you're the one that called upon me here. Besides, you all end up quite happy to hear my voice at the end. Just imagine if I wasn't there to guide you back. You only THINK your realm has an issue with lost spirits as things are...' Calium let out another sigh, and answered as if he were bored of it all.

"Yeah, well, I suppose that's what I get for jumping right into a pissing contest with a deity. I remembered you having a better sense of humor, you know?" The deity answered with his own tired words.

`You'll have to excuse me, knowing it's all about to finally end may just have me a little riled up for once.' Calium swore his heart skipped a beat. The god of death always was one to drop absolute shattering truths in such casual conversation. The king tightened his fist, and answered through clenched teeth.

"So then... humanity is going to lose? No matter what? Me and my son both fall by the end of this?" The god answered truthfully.

`You'll both be dead within the year, along with the rest of your kind, no matter where you try to flee to. Those idiots to the west really pissed that beast king off when they killed his queen, a pain I'm certain you're recently more familiar with.' The king knew the deity wasn't one to pull many punches, but even Calium snapped at that remark.

"You know, I can't imagine why neither of your daughters have tried to make contact with you the last few centuries." Death grew silent in his own anger, and the two sat there for a moment like a pair of children sulking over a petty argument. Calium started first.

"Sorry. It's been a rough few weeks, as you clearly know." Death acted like it never bothered him at all.

`Well, it's going to get a lot more rough... Before I get into that, you should know, your queen made it to the other side, and she crossed the river. My vessel personally carried her through the last of it. She chose to rest while she waits for you.' Calium felt his throat tighten up at the words, and the king shifted his head a little as he responded quietly.

"Thank you. I know that is pretty well within your usual responsibilities, but I appreciate knowing she is at peace." Death scoffed just a little, already shifting back to his more usual doom and gloom spirits as he brushed off the gratitude.

`Don't worry, unless I have some massive breakthrough pretty soon, we will both be joining her in that rest soon enough.' It was Calium's turn to finally chuckle a bit. He responded with the slightest hint of smugness.

"Yeah, must be exhausting still having your life tied to mortal ones after all this time. I'm a bit surprised it took this long for us humans to reach this point again. Really amazed we managed to keep from getting killed off before now, but hey, at least we're selfish enough to inadvertently take the god of death down with us in the end. The fact the afterworld will be left unattended really is just the cherry on top here. I wonder what it's going to feel like, when all of us just eventually turn to fiends, trapped in the mortal realm. Do demons even feel?"

"WAIT!" Aster wasn't holding this question in, no matter what. The words flowed from the boy before he ever even thought twice, immediately interrupting his father. He spoke a bit frantically.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ALL TURN TO FIENDS? And if the shield falls, Death falls?!? Does... does that mean Death is dead too right now? Can that even happen?" Calium was surprised it took his son that long to finally blow his lid and shout the questions burning at the back of his throat. Calium answered him in both honesty, and remorse.

"The shield is linked to the vessel of Death. If the shield falls, Death himself will fall into a slumber, just as the deities of the sky, the ocean, and the earth have. You don't have to worry too much just yet, as you aren't quite dead. Death isn't completely defenseless in his own domain, after all. He's slowed your passing, both barely keeping you tethered to the realm of the living, and keeping him awake, but even that has its limits. There's another slight issue with your body back in the mortal realm, but we have someone trustworthy working on that for us." The king paused to be sure his son was still following, and continued somberly.

"More so, the sun goddess possesses only the smallest sliver of her heart in the living world now, and it isn't enough to keep her vessel alive for much longer. The piece forging the shield that managed stay alive all this time has supplemented her life-force enough so far, but if the shield falls before another piece of her heart can be restored, she will likely die as well..." Calium let out a heavy sigh, and summarized it once more for his confused looking son.

"The sun itself will die, our world will grow cold, and every life on our planet will be snuffed out almost instantaneously. Their souls will rot in place in the wake of Death's dormancy, and even his vessel, which will be mostly lost without its master, will eventually realize there is no more rebirth possible for any soul. Every spirit will be trapped in the mortal realm, every soul will eventually be lost in eternal darkness, hatred, loneliness, anger, and resentment, and every being there ever was will eventually become a fiend; a monster cursed to wander a dead and dark world for eternity."

As Calium finished, Aster could only stare wide-eyed in pure and unfiltered shock. The king spoke softly, hoping his next words would soothe some of that understandably overwhelming worry growing on his son's face.

"So you see? You may actually be the most important person alive right now. You were never irrelevant, and as heavy as it may be to accept, you are a chosen king. Fate tells a dark joke, my son, but as much as you've been running around trying to protect people with that shield, it has always been YOU that did need to be protected. However, it was never because you were weak, but because in the end, you're one of the few rays of hope this world has left, and we certainly can't let all of our hope go running off to get killed, now can we?"

Calium reached a hand forward, and placed it on his son's shoulder. The king stared into the stolen prince's eyes as he leveled with the boy for a moment.

"I know, you always hated feeling you needed to be protected in that way... but you need to understand that you can't go getting yourself killed trying to throw a one-time save to an ally, because that does nobody any good. You did it when the sword demon attacked the arena, choosing to hold him in place, even as fiends lunged at you. You did it again in the caves, preparing to throw yourself to the next enemy so the lion and the fox could escape. You did it yet again at the battle alongside the orcs, and it was only your brother's enchantment over your armor that spared you from those exploding runes when you saved the hare and the beast prince instead of yourself." Aster sighed heavily, feeling berated in that moment. Then it occurred to him what his father had just said.

"Wait, you saw all of that? You saw the battle?" Calium answered with a small laugh.

"I told you, I've watched for a long time, that includes recent events too. You did well, aside from the part where you tried to sacrifice yourself, that is. Regrettably, I'm sure you see how unfair that is to those around you now, after the rabbit did the same. Getting yourself killed doesn't ever really help anyone out, it just leaves them to deal with the aftermath in your wake... Not that I have much room to speak on that matter... While the rabbit may have been a hero that saved everyone in that moment, I know you could feel how empty so many felt after his loss. His choice was an honorable one, but it is something you cannot afford to do."

"You need to start building your own allies up, you need to start acting like a king, and you need to start awakening the other bearers of the legendary bloodskills. If you fall before then... well... It's only the end of the world, my son." Calium flashed a playful smile to his heir, and moved the conversation along before the boy had another chance to ask for more clarifications.

"Now, where were we before I was distracted and went on a whole spill?" Calium remembered a moment later, picking back up where he had left off.

"Oh, right. So, I had talked with Death about trying to survive the beast king..."

===

(Pup Bayou here, sorry to interrupt your reading, but as an author that tries to respect consent, I wanted to take a moment to offer a trigger warning here. There is an instance of nonconsensual sexual assault, [fingering and threats,] in the below passage. This instance touches up on the fear and anxiety the individual is feeling, and may be upsetting to you if you are sensitive to situations like this. Feel free to move on to the next division of equal signs if you fall in this category of people. If you are OK with reading, continue below. For those skipping, I will be summarizing what happens in the author's note at the end, so you won't miss much. I never try to fetishize sexual assault, so I try to be respectful of how I handle these things should they come up. Sorry to interrupt, just felt this was the right thing to do.)

Tyfin was breathing heavily as he ran, Lady Alice still securely on his back. Part of the young lion worried this may be causing her too much discomfort in her condition, but it seemed far more safe than simply leaving her behind. Besides, the prince had plenty else to worry about.

A larger rhino wearing the same dark attire as the rest of the mercenary band stepped forth into the center of the busy street, eyeing down the prince with a devious grin as he blocked the lion's path. Tyfin bolted to the left, shooting for a more seemingly clear looking alley with the Captain right on his tail. The lion passed a quick glance back at the bull, and turned his attention back forward, making a mental promise the bovine would be getting a well earned promotion if they made it out of this.

Something whistled past Tyfin's head from the rooftops above, and the lion felt a very sharp pain in his left ear as the arrow sliced the tip of the cartilage open. Tyfin grunted and lowered his head as the young prince simply kept on running. He was almost to the end of the alley before he felt a strong arm on his shoulder snatch him to an abrupt halt.

Another bolt landed right where the prince was about to step. Before Tyfin could even realized what had happened, Captain Rix shoved him forward again, jumping right back into their sprint with two other beasts hot on their trail, one being the aforementioned, larger rhino. Tyfin and Rix came barreling out into a smaller square, one set back a short ways from the main road. This area seemed mostly empty of residents, but both the lion and the bull came to a sudden halt as they turned the corner to nearly twelve mercenaries waiting on their arrival, the boss boar from before was standing in the center with a content smirk. They had been herded quite easily.

Just as Rix turned to clear their way back through the alley, another arrow flew through the air. The bolt of the crossbow found its mark this time.

The great Captain Rixator hit a knee, the tendons and muscles just above his right hoof had been sliced in half by the steel of the arrowhead. The bovine wouldn't even be standing for a while, never mind running away anymore. Rix understood this, and tried his best to make one final opening for his king to escape.

The axe of the great Captain was thrown through the air at alarming speed, sinking itself into the chest of the mercenary blocking the exit beside the rhino. Captain Rix was shouting before his last-gasp attack ever even landed.

"GO!" Tyfin hesitated, not wanting to abandon the bull, but took off anyway. The rhino snatched a hold of the prince before he ever made it through. Another mercenary quickly stepped up behind Rix, and knocked him in the skull with a wooden club. The wounds on the back of his head were split open even further, and as Captain Rixator weakly caught himself on unstable arms, his own blood peppered the dirt around him, only making that dizzy feeling all the more intense.

As Tyfin screamed out the bull's name in abject shock, the rhinoceros tightened his grip, wrapping his thick digits around the smaller lion's throat. The larger beast squeezed a little until he had forced the prince on his knees, choking the air out of him all the while. Lady Alice fell limply off of the lion's shoulders and to the side. The brute spoke forebodingly to the prince with a smile and voice that sent shivers of fear down his spine.

"You really are a pretty little kitty, aren't you?" The boss called out to the rhino in warning.

"Hey, don't fuck up the pelt! Sir Logos will have your own hide if you do!" Tyfin's eyes grew even wider at the reveal. His thoughts ran rampant.

`Logos the hyena is the one that hired these beasts? But why? My father made him a regent... He raised the commoner through the ranks, giving him promotion after promotion for his successes. Why?' The rhino answered his boss with a darker chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't fuck up the outside, can't promise the same about his insides though...." The menacing beast's smile grew even larger as the prince realized what he was implying. The rhino leaned down into the choking feline's ear, and whispered erotically to the young prince.

"Never rutted around in a king before, but if you be good for daddy, I might even let you finish one last time before I send you off to the afterworld... You're going to have to beg though... By the GODS, am I going to make you beg..." Tyfin's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. His blood felt like it was going to freeze in his veins, and his ears, eyes, and stomach were all feeling pressured by the most panicked and inflammatory feeling of overwhelming fear the young lion had ever known. He tried so vainly to claw his way out, to even manage to scream, but the beast only slammed him roughly to the ground in response, briefly releasing him.

Tyfin scrambled to escape, rolling over to stand up and make a run for it, but one of the beast's burly arms quickly shoved the lion's chest back into the dirt. Tyfin felt his pants being tugged down, and buried his claws in the dirt trying to dig his way away from this monster to no avail. The rhino tightened his hold on the lion's scruff, and easily snatched the clothes down passed the royal beast's knees. A sharp impact landed on his rear, and Tyfin screamed out in pain as the rhino slapped his ass so hard, that the lion was certain he had nearly broken his hip. The beast chuckled as he leaned over the pinned feline, and whispered darkly down at him.

"Yeah, you just scream for daddy all you want, make sure you cry a little too, that always makes me REALLY hard..." Tyfin felt the other larger hand placed beneath his shirt before it was trailed down his back, smoothing over the beast king's elegant, golden fur gently as his hand slid lower and lower, and lower...

"NO! PLEASE, JUST STOP, PLEASE, I DON'T-" The rhino roared loudly down at the begging beast prince, smiling as he shouted out in pure delight.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! FUCKING BEG ME! DADDY IS GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN WITH YOU, LITTLE PRETTY KITTY." Tyfin screamed out in pain and humiliation as the beast forced a thick digit into his entrance, pushing it in dry all the way passed the second knuckle. Rix tried to stand once more at such a disheartening cry for help, but was simply bashed over the head yet again. Just as the great Captain finally accepted that he had failed everyone, just as his vision had blurred, and his eyelids slowly closed, just as the large bull fell forward in his shameful defeat, Rix saw the strangest shadow dart into his field of fading vision. It almost looked like it was descending from the rooftops to the bull. Captain Carcer Rixator collapsed into the dirt with a heavy thud.

===

`We are all dead.' It was inescapable, a thought so complete that returned to Calium time and time again. It intruded everywhere, no matter what he was doing. The thought was persistent, and quite effective at carving away his hope little by little.

It had been nearly a month's time since the king had spoken with the god, but Calium had heard plenty enough to rattle him. Not even Death had found a way out of this mess yet. The king hid his worry as he knelt down beside his daughter's bed, and gently pulled her covers up as he tucked her in for the night. The young princess looked at her father, and frowned. She asked a question in her more sleepier voice.

"Father, are we going to be alright?" Calium answered her tenderly.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Lunai yawned loudly before she answered.

"I've heard stuff around the castle, and I know you've been preparing our soldiers for a war." Calium felt his heart sink a little, his daughter always was observant, but the king held his mask together expertly. He lied so sweetly to the young princess.

"There is nothing to worry about, You're going to be just fine. You're going to live a long life, my daughter, and you're going to grow into a fine young woman. I would bet that your beauty will someday be as formidable as that mind of yours. You're going to have to be there for your little brother, after all. If he ends up anything like me, he will need a strong, bigger sibling like you." Lunai blinked her tired eyes wearily, but pressed a little further anyway.

"Are you leaving us too then? Like mother?" Calium forced himself to smile as his heart fell into his stomach. He quickly reassured his daughter.

"I would never leave either of you without guidance. I know you may hear things are bad, but believe me when I say that I will never let anything happen to you." Lunai smiled, and nodded at her father in acceptance of that answer. Calium smiled back warmly, leaned forward, and kissed his daughter goodnight. He spoke lovingly as he stepped through her door and pulled it to behind himself.

"Goodnight, my moonlight." Lunai answered quietly.

"Goodbye till sunrise." Calium closed her door softly, turned down the hall, and quietly made his way to his own quarters. He locked his doors, went and sat in the same chair he had been sleeping in since the night his wife had died, and simply stared at the empty bed for a moment longer until everything finally came crashing down on the king. The harrowing thought flashed across his mind once more in that moment, nearly driving him to madness.

`We are all dead.' He wept... He wept, and he screamed, and he flipped the very bed where his wife had died as he cursed every god there ever was in his moment of anguish. The king bashed his shielded fists into the walls, the furniture, and everything else inside that room as his daughter's words broke what remained of his spirit. His false promise to her felt more like acid as he spewed such tender lies from his lips... He could not protect anyone, he could only coddle them and promise it would all be alright. Calium knew better than that.

It was quite some time before he finally sat back down in that damned chair, and blankly stared at the room around him that looked more like a battlefield than a bedroom in that moment. Calium blankly gazed off into the distance, weighing which of the impossible options was the most merciful one... A hollow voice interrupted his brooding, speaking from nowhere.

`I think I found a way to fulfill your terms...' Calium never missed a beat to answer.

"Took you long enough. What do we do?" Death lightly chuckled, and answered mockingly.

`You're not going to like it...' Calium retorted firmly.

"I've been sitting over here debating the most merciful way for my children to die... I don't care what it is, if the deal I asked you for is somehow possible, I pay the price and accept the terms." The god answered in understanding.

`So be it... Your children should survive, but we will need to get to work, we are already short on time. I will do as much as you asked as I am able to, but the price it'll cost you by the end is a steep one. I can promise almost nothing as a guarantee, and I'll be adding a few things to the terms that will likely be useful for us later. As a courtesy for an old friend, I would rather we actually hash out some smaller details first, because this will be no light pact for either of us.' Calium stood slowly, and answered without hesitation.

"We had better get to it then. As you said, time grows short." A claim was made, and a deal was struck. The king was left with little choice but to trust the god of death, but Calium truly welcomed the possibility that some salvation may yet still remain for his children. The king hit the ground running the following morning, calling a meeting of his remaining, closer knights to send word to their few, trusted allies. It was a list that seemed to grow shorter by the day. Aster had another question while his father was still at a stopping point.

"So, If you made the deal to spare us both, and I managed to survive by living with the beasts, then... does my sister still live also?" Calium barely finished nodding before Aster quickly assaulted him with a barrage of new questions desperately seeking answers.

"I'M NOT THE LAST HUMAN? Where has she been all this time? Will I get to meet her? Does she remember me? Wait... are... ARE THERE OTHERS?!?" Calium held his hands up in effort to calm his son down, but the king couldn't hold back his dazzling smile at the boy's excitement if he had wanted to. The fallen king answered his son joyfully.

"Slow down! No, you are not the only survivor of your kind, my son, and your sister is counted among those survivors. As for the rest of your questions, well... I don't think I need to answer them just yet." Aster felt a little taken aback by that reply, and was quick to state his aggravation at such a stance.

"So you can tell me everything else, but you can't tell me where my people are?" Calium let out a sigh, feeling his son wouldn't quite understand his reasoning yet.

"I'm trying to make sure you know as much as you can, my son. If I just skip around too much, I may miss something important. I won't exactly be around to give you such guidance for much longer." Aster accepted that he needed to just be patient, but the last of that statement made him worry.

"Are you moving on then? To where my mother went? Death said it was across the river here, right?" Calium shook his head firmly as he replied.

"No, I won't be going just yet. I am going to have to rest for a while after this, but not with her. It takes a lot of strength to keep myself in the living realm." Aster was even more confused by such words.

"Does it? I figured as long as Death didn't bring you here, you'd be fine?" Calium looked away for a while before he answered quietly.

"I have... complications. It isn't quite so simple in my case." Calium looked to the ground for a moment, and Aster was left feeling a little guilty for even asking the question. The boy spoke reassuringly to his father.

"I'm sorry. I know you think I won't understand things, but I really can't imagine that I'd had done anything differently in your situation, so far at least. Tell me your story how you want to, I think you've waited plenty long enough to deserve that. Please don't believe my questions are meant to hurt you, I only want to be sure I really comprehend what you've been telling me. I want you to finish the story, but I at least want to say now... Thank you, for keeping me alive long enough to find out I am not alone." Calium forced a smile to form where tears wanted to instead, and answered his son softly.

"Well... That isn't exactly true, considering you're more dead than alive at the moment, but thank you, Solis. Hearing that means a lot, but I can't accept that as your answer until you know the rest." Calium stared at the flowers for a while longer before he lifted his head, and caught his son's eyes once more with his own. The king continued in an almost whisper.

"The first condition was that both of my children would survive..." The king quietly picked back up, pushing on no matter how afraid he was of Solis rejecting him in the end. The boy had been guided here to learn, after all...

Calium was standing on the wall surrounding his castle before the sunlight ever started to cast itself over the horizon. It was early, but they would have to move early as well. It had been nearly three weeks since Death had made contact, but the reports coming in of the fate of Cadictum were even worse than expected. There were multiple descriptions of the same exact scene: piles of rubble and charred wood where a large city stood mere days prior. The smoke could be seen on the horizon for miles, carrying with it the scent of war and burning flesh as it spiraled into the clouds. It didn't take a god to confirm that those people were already very much dead.

The king was simply staring out over the ocean as he waited the last hour or so for the peak of the low tide. A voice pulled the king's attention away from the ever stirring waves for a moment. The person speaking was the third princess of Peuforet: Lady Arcella Le'gere.

Calium had called for the royals of Peuforet weeks earlier to hear out his plan, but Lady Arcella was already preparing for her trip back home by that point. Only around two-hundred humans could be saved by their efforts, but she was determined to ensure her nephew would receive the spot reserved for him. Arcella was always such a vibrant soul, but the recent events had soured even her high spirited tone.

"It's always so peaceful here. Our forest is nice, but your little spot nestled between the mountains and the ocean just has a certain calming air about it, to me anyway. It almost doesn't feel so gloomy." Calium answered her with a steady voice.

"Oh, this place has a tendency to get loud sometimes, but the ocean tends to drown out most of the noise, if you stop and listen to it every so often." Lady Arcella took a moment to finally answer, but only changed the subject when she did.

"I'm departing soon, to speak with my sister and her husband about all of this. I don't think I would dare risk anyone intercepting the message." Calium nodded, agreeing with the caution. He replied in a whisper.

"Just remember, as hard as it may be, don't let yourself get too sidetracked. Peuforet barely has weeks..." Arcella scoffed a little at the warning.

"Aren't I going to die as well anyway? As long as Flose makes it here, I have to be alright with the outcome..." Arcella paused shortly before picking back up. "I really do have to thank you again. I know the spaces are already limited, so the fact you would offer one to our little bloom..." Calium answered her with two words.

"Twenty-two." Arcella responded in question.

"Pardon?" Calium repeated himself as he explained.

"Twenty-Two... I sent twenty-two letters out asking for aid, coalition, or even refuge for our children from our neighbors, allies, and even the orcs. I received only one back in return that wanted to get anywhere near this mess, and it was yours. Adamare does not turn it's back on her allies, we have far too few of them as it is in such trying times. Your country deserves to have their prince spared, it isn't like either of us were to blame for this mess in the first place." Arcella couldn't really think of anything more to say, so the youngest princess of Peuforet simply curtsied once more in gratitude, and set off to her carriage.

Calium turned back to the ocean, and closed his eyes for a moment as he reached out mentally.

`You there?' Death answered in kind.

`I'm never as far as you mortals may think I am.' Calium sighed, not really feeling in the mood for the god's ominous bullshit that morning. The king opted instead to just ask what he wanted to know.

`We still on the path? Everything seem to be in line for your plan to work?' Death answered with a hint of both boredom, and exasperation.

`Your children should both survive. The rise of the destined conqueror will be stopped considering the balance of fate should be sated enough with the fall of man. Fate won't try to raise another one in his stead if the current beast king just gets it over with now. Surviving his reign after all of this is over will be the easy part. Your children will be loved by the ones that raise them, given this all works.' Calium answered coldly, speaking out loudly in indignation.

"It had better damn well work after all of this..." Death let out a small chuckle, answering honestly.

`I can do my best to manipulate the situation, but I can't dictate what actions the many pieces actually take when they are faced with their own decisions after your deal is executed. I can disturb the ant mound you call the mortal realm, and I can bait it, but I can't keep them from scattering or attacking if they get spooked. I told you, I can guarantee little. This is a delicate thing, and I'm doing it on a very large scale here. There's a LOT of room for things to go wrong... but this is the only chance I've seen we have got. Assume what you may, but I obviously want to avoid losing both shield bearers for reasons that are no secret to you.' Calium didn't answer the god for a while. When he finally did, his tone was a little less aggressive.

"I know... This isn't your fault, but I can still be pissed about the whole situation, can't I?" Death chuckled hollowly as he countered.

`You're going to have plenty of anger to deal with after you make the offering. Of all the things that could go wrong here, you not being strong enough to bear that added weight at the end is what is most likely to set us back. That's a lot of suffering to keep your sanity through, even with your cynicism and devotion to your children in mind, and if you buckle... I don't know if anyone could stop what would remain. My daughter may be able to, but it isn't very likely she will have much strength left at that point of the battle, and she could very well lose. If she did... Are you certain you want to persist on that aspect of the exchange here? It seems like more trouble than it is worth risking to me." Calium replied decidedly.

"Yes, as we discussed. They are innocent, and if they must die, then they should at least be given the chance for rebirth. I have to try, I can't just leave their souls to rot in vengeance after being so brutally massacred." Death tried to sway the king one final time.

`You do realize that means you have to be the last to fall into my domain, right? You'll have to outlive every single citizen and soldier under your rule destined to die that night, and you're going to look like a coward doing it. Can you accept the shame of being remembered as a cowardly king till the end?' It was Calium who laughed then.

"Who is going to remember me as a coward when all of my people are dead? The beasts that are about to massacre us? Yeah, fuck what they perceive, let them call me a coward, a mongrel, a weakling, or whatever else they may sing to themselves to justify their war. Their king can take my crown from my corpse, but in the end, it will be I who actually served my people in a way that mattered. I cannot protect them this time... but I can still spare them from a fate worse than death. The deal and terms stand, as is." Death sighed in acceptance, agreeing to honor even that uncertain side of it all. Calium spoke a final time that day as he started walking towards the stairs to make for the beach as the tide fell low.

"Keep me updated if anything starts shifting. I'm going to go play in the dirt for a few days now. Us ants have to keep busy in our mound, so maybe keep an eye on things while the worker ants work." Death chuckled as he countered one final time that day.

`I suppose I may just look forward to having a little soldier ant of my own... You only hold the power here until you make that cut, so maybe ease up on throwing your weight around, before I decide taking a nap while you and your son rot isn't such a bad a choice after all.' The god left the mortal to his task, still not certain if he could pull all of this off, still undecided if he even really wanted to stay awake any more...

Calium paused his story, and gestured towards his son, giving him his chance. Aster was feeling a little uneasy by that point, but that didn't sway him from asking what he needed.

"So, you give me a big talk about not sacrificing myself, and it turns out that's exactly what you did?" Calium didn't hesitate.

"I was dead at that point either way, so it isn't entirely the same. Besides, I already had an heir that inherited the shield's power, my death was accounted for by then. It didn't mean the apocalypse if I fell anymore." Aster realized something he had overlooked in that moment, and inquired a little more.

"Wait, if the shield falls, Death falls... so what was the moon hoping to accomplish here?" Calium answered to the best of his knowledge.

"We suspect she would mimic his power when he fell, and simply take over his role to keep the world working. Maybe she wanted him out of the way for some big plan she didn't want him catching on to. There is a chance the earth goddess would revive with the sword bearer as well, so perhaps that was her goal. It's hard to gauge her motives without knowing how she broke herself." Aster looked off a ways before he asked his next question.

"Alright, so, what was so significant about the low tide?" Calium grinned a little at that one, quite fond of Death's solution for at least that part of it all. He worked up to his explanation as usual.

"Adamare was founded where it is for a number of reasons, the major one being the natural defenses. The circle of mountains around us aid in defense, and offer a good degree of protection from ambushes. The ocean at our northern border is just as useful, however. In high tides, you can port out, sailing north into the deeper ocean with no difficulty at all. In low tides, this becomes impossible. Our shores are littered with jagged rocks that jut out at such times, aiding in our defenses, but those rocks aren't the only secret revealed with the lower tides."

"There is a cave on our shores that many of our own people never even knew existed, more so considering you can't access the port while it is visible. The entrance is narrow, and only above water for three hours around sunrise before the tides obscure it along with the jagged teeth of our shores. That cave led higher into the mountain a short ways. The interior remained above sea level, but certainly not far enough to make the stronghold the survivors would need."

"The people of Adamare began mining that cave, adding ventilation, support beams, and widening out different sections as they began making their final preparations for the fate of their children. Death may have been condescending when he made the comparison, but the ant hill analogy wasn't far off in truth." Aster was a little surprised to hear it, but was actually impressed by the design.

"So, our people survived in a cave then?" Calium expanded on that as he answered.

"Yes, all I had to do was ensure the beasts didn't advance on us from the western mountains, and the cave would remain hidden from view. We put all of the time we had into stocking, prepping, and ensuring everything our children would need would be secured inside of that cavern. I had experts to every aspect of our culture collude to ensure our knowledge was passed down as well. I outlined and consolidated the basics to one day rebuilding our home inside of a book, and entrusted that book to your sister mere days before our kingdom fell. That volume contains everything you need to know about being a king, my son. It was the last gift I gave your sister, and it was a duty that almost got her killed when our kingdom fell."

Aster listened on as his father moved to the final part of his story; the fall of Adamare, and the fall of man...

===

I'm going to start by briefly covering the section that had the trigger warning attached.

"Tyfin and Rix run through the town, and eventually find themselves cornered by the mercenaries. Rix is downed by an arrow to his leg, and is beat unconscious by a wooden club as a different mercenary tries to force himself onto the prince. As Rix fades out, he is almost certain he notices a shadow dropping from the rooftop above both the prince and the attacking beast. Scene cuts away."

Sorry for having to include it at all, but as much as I hate giving major spoilers, that's as far as Tyfin will have to endure it. This personal experience plays a crucial decision maker for the young prince later down the line, so as much as I need to go take a shower after writing that, I feel it is the right call. I personally hate using stuff like that for shock value, or for smut value, so hopefully you don't mind trusting me until I reveal why it was something I needed to at least include here for plot value. Moving on.

I expected these chapters to cover twice as much as they did, so... sorry to cut off even more that you'll have to wait on the next chapters for, but it felt forced if I tried to cut back the talks between Aster and his father, and honestly, I think they deserve this moment to not be rushed. The good news is, the next chapter probably won't be a double chapter, but at this point, I can't promise shit. The story is writing itself this late in the game. I have general ideas, but even I'm surprised by the way some of it hits the paper.

Hope y'all ready to see the prologue revisited from different angles along with the last of my big reveals for this book. (We still have probably like 6ish chapters to go... don't quote that number yet. Lol. :D )

My brain is frying so hard right now, so may back off for like a week or so. The most confusing shit is behind us though, so hopefully y'all got what I was trying to say.

If you have questions or want clarifications on something I may have forgotten to swing back to, I greatly encourage you to drop them so I can ensure I include an explanation, or at least work it into my final edit. I try to keep plot holes tightly wrapped up, but some will always slip by I suppose. Sometimes, I just have so much hitting the paper, that I have to push off what I've planned to reveal now for the next chapter. I'm learning that just seems to be part of my process, so if I don't clarify, its likely because an explanation is already planned with the next chapters anyways. Still, I appreciate the help.

My goal is to publish as close to Christmas day as possible, considering that will mark a year since I first returned to writing, and started finally jotting down the prologue. The story coming back to that point now seems appropriate, and a tad ironic considering how rusty my grammar and punctuation were at that point. I suppose Aster won't be the only one looking back on their journey as we tie up this first book. Its so weird. I remember my chapter count when it was just in the single digits, and now it is my remaining count that dwindles so low. I can't believe I've actually almost fucking done it... anyway, I'm only rambling in excitement now.

Thank you so much for reading, and I really do hope you enjoy what comes next. The final bombshell revealed is pretty fucked up, and that's coming from me, but the drama is about as juicy as the Alice/Jagón/Cortist story line, so I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers y'all, -Pup Bayou.

Pup Bayou