CHAPTER 7 EPILOGUE: A Civil War

Featuring:  Joshua, Ellis, Luna, Ademaro


https://www.reddit.com/r/Reddit_Emblem/comments/5m5jif/team_c_story_post_chapter_7_epilogue/

[1:47 AM] Amasuro: The sunlight above was a welcome, yet unfamiliar sight as Joshua finally walked through the front door himself after leading the rest of the team through. Shielding his eyes with his arm, Joshua squinted at the general vicinity the group had found themselves in once exiting their location. They stood high off the ground, on top of what appeared to be a building made out of sturdy metals. The building itself was shaped practically, and held no significant outer decor besides a few towers, a wooden wall surrounding the facility, and a couple unmarked doors of all sizes. Around them, Joshua could only see a single, stone path snaking away from the building, and a vast series of mountains to their left side. Past that, was nothing but an unremarkable, flat grassland. “I am glad to see you unharmed, Joshua,” a surprising voice came from the side. Joshua recognized the voice all too well, but this was not the place he ever expected to hear her. “Princess Ellis,” Joshua greeted, rushing over immediately to her feet and dropping to his knees. “Please, stand, my retainer. I do not need you to commit to such frivolous motions after the ordeal you just survived,” Ellis spoke, a hand moving to gesture Joshua upwards. The first thing Joshua noticed about his liege, was that her outfit was one he had never seen before. A black dress, full of lace and ribbons, cutting off above her chest and below her knees. Her straight, long, elbow length hair now had one large ponytail sticking out the back. Done up by a large, black coloured ribbon pressed against the back of her head. Along her left hand, was a single, lace glove reaching all the way past her elbow. Joshua shook his head. Her attire wasn’t the biggest problem about this entire meeting. He quickly wondered, why is she here instead of in the capital? “Princess, I apologize for my rudeness, but…” Joshua speaks immediately as he begins to stand, “but I have to ask. Why are you here?” “A change of plans,” Ellis spoke immediately, her answer rehearsed as if the question was expected, “my free time has raised quite a lot, and I was headed to Khlin when I heard that your group had been captured.” “Your...free time? Does that mean Queen Luna succeeded?” Ellis looks away, “I have no knowledge on the whereabouts of my sister. However, I do know that Gallaran has entered a civil war.” Joshua straightened his pose immediately, “a civil war?! ...Ah, ahem, pardon my outburst, but a civil war?” “Interesting, is it not? Perhaps the needless war declaration on their neighbour tipped them over,” Ellis shrugged, looking over across the vast fields below them. Along the sides of the building, Joshua could notice several other men and women, assisting his group that had just broken out of the prison. One large, black wyvern seemed to be crying very loudly as it thrashed around on the ground, before flying towards the group. “Yes, that is why I have the free time to punish those who threaten Freyzenwald, like here,” Ellis speaks again. “You mean Khlin?” Joshua asked. “The facility you have been inside is the largest, manmade jail on the entire continent. It was famous for being built to house the leaders of the last rebellion in Khlin,” Ellis spoke, running a hand along the door Joshua had just escaped from, “today, I learned that the people responsible for your imprisonment was none other than the leaders of the Khlinese nobility. The council.” “The leaders of Khlin themselves?” “Yes. In case you were unaware of Khlin and its structure of government, the country is run by four noble families residing in the capital of Intetsu,” Ellis began, pacing around the floor as she spoke. “They are called Bluefang, Flamewing, Paleclaw, and Sableshell. The representatives of each family lead the governing council of Khlin, as you so call it. However, they are greedy, and treat their citizens poorly. This is why a rebellion was formed long ago, and ever since then, these rebels have been fighting against the council of Khlin.” Ellis paused, taking a breath as she finished her short speech. “And it seems like they’ve finally won,” Joshua spoke, hanging his head down, “the rebels were destroyed by some kind of massive machine in Kranhai.” “I did hear about that, which brings me to my next point. I believe that Gallaran gave this technology to the nobles to end the rebellion once and for all.” “Impossible! What do they have to gain?” Joshua yelled suddenly, startling Ellis. Upon noticing her face, he backs down quickly, “I, uhh, I’m sorry again for my outburst. Its just...what I saw in Kranhai. It was inhumane.” “The unfortunate side effects of war. But, then I assume you saw what this...machine is capable of then?” Ellis asked, eyeing Joshua curiously. “I do. It brings nothing but destruction.” “The nobles and Gallaran used to be allies once. It makes sense that in exchange for using this technology to snuff out the rebels forever, they would use it again to turn on our country once they are finished. In that case, even if Gallaran was busy with their war, Khlin now poses a threat. We cannot let this remain, and is why I had to come here today.” “Its dangerous here, princess. You should have just sent a messenger,” Joshua said quickly. “I can handle myself just fine. And besides, it is thankful that I arrived here, as it seems like my sister is absent. Off to Concordia, as Mana told me.” “Mana is alive?!” “Why, yes, she is doing just fine. A little frantic, as she seemed to be running around the facility trying to rescue my nephews, but fine otherwise. There is...negative news in that department as well…” Ellis’ voice trailed off. “What do you mean by that?” “We could...only find one of the children. Solrin. Pasach...I speculate might have been brought to Intetsu as a hostage.” “Ridiculous! He isn’t even a year old!” “And that is why I have made plans with the leaders of the rebellion already. Luckily, we caught a break here. One of the council’s leaders, Bluefang, was killed in the destruction of this prison. His death may be the disruption the rebels needed to take Intetsu once and for all.” “But...the rebels were killed in-” Joshua cut his words off quickly, upon remembering where another group of rebels laid. “Yes, you remember? Intetsu has been under siege for a few months now. While Kranhai might have been destroyed, those who fight under the rebellions main army still live. I will have you speak to their commander shortly, and we will push for the city in three days.” “And we intend to take the city?” “We intend to kill the remaining three leaders of the council, yes. Taking over Khlin is necessary for our survival, Joshua. I will make sure to outfit the members of your group with additional gold to fund some new gear. And, I will be assisting you in this battle. I hope you do not let me down,” Ellis looked at him, smiling sweetly. It almost seemed...unnerving. “I will not fail you, princess,” Joshua saluted, giving a final bow. In the back of his head, he had many questions. Many leads that didn’t seem to make sense. The line where Ellis mentioned that she would involve herself in the battle most of all. When did Ellis become so confident as to involve her in battle? But if the princess willed it, who was he to argue? Every member of the group has earned 2000 gold. Three days earlier. Concordia was a pretty nice city, I guess. I think father had taken me here once or twice when I was a kid. I can’t really remember. Sister always enjoyed those artsy stuff like architecture more than me, anyway. And that’s if I arrived here for a vacation. I’m definitely not on vacation today. And after making my way to the centerpiece of the city, I was escorted quickly for an audience with the governing council of Concordia. The famed neutral peacekeepers of the region of Amia, I was thankful to have finally reached the city to save my country. I was eventually guided through numerous, white coloured marble pillars before eventually reaching a large, circular room. In the center, a floor, caved downwards, overlooked by a set of tall desks where six older men sat behind, staring down into the room. Really, those were some nicely constructed desks, I’m not gonna lie. Quite a bit more refreshing than the spasm of white marble the city apparently loves using. “Queen Lunarea Rurijisa,” one of the men began to speak, “I read here that you have gathered the council because of a...request for...peace?” I nodded quickly at the man, feeling dwarfed quickly by the six council members sitting in a position so much higher than me. What an intimidating feeling!

“Well, let me introduce myself first. You may call me Ademaro Ecclenza,” the speaking man said, nodding towards me.

“Lunarea. Ah, Lunarea Rurijisa, Queen of Freyzenwald,” I responded. The air in the room almost stifling my speech, as I struggled to speak...properly. “I am confused. Is this related in any way to prince Dmitri of Ossolkef’s request?” Ademaro asked, fanning through the papers in his hand.

...Who? Am I supposed to know who that is? It sounds kinda familiar, but…

“No, sir. Unless prince Dmitri came here with concerns about Gallaran.” “Hmm...not that I know of, no. It just seemed like it, considering he arrived here with a small group about three weeks ago. So then, Queen Lunarea, what is your enquiry?”

For real, old man? Are you senile? What other war did I come to talk about?!

I coughed into my fist, “our war with Gallaran. A month ago, Gallaran declared war on my nation. I have arrived here in hopes that your nation could broker some sort of peace with them. My country has been ravaged by a separate incident and I was hoping to spare the loss of life from this war.” “Yes...my deepest condolences for the destruction of Amaterasu. But…” Ademaro’s voice trails off, as the other five members of the council begin talking quietly with each other. The concerns on their face making my heart skip a beat. Something was very, very off. ...Wait, Amaterasu wasn’t destroyed. I...I got the shield up! We lost the outside, but I saved the castle. He shouldn’t call that a destruction! “Let me ask you another question, Queen Lunarea,” Ademaro spoke up again, as the other members of the council ceased their chatter, “how did you find out about this...declaration of war from Gallaran?” “My scouts received a letter from their nation, indicating a formal declaration of war.” “And you received this letter with your own hands?” “No sir. I received this letter from my sister.” “Princess Ellis of Freyzenwald?” “Yes,” I nodded at his statement. What was he trying to suggest? The entire line of questioning confused me. My sister wouldn’t lie to me like that. But, then again, we were locked in that castle for a while according to Mana. How did sister manage to get...one of her scouts...all the way from Scathath to Amaterasu when she told me she...had no idea of the state of the rest of the...country… “Well, see here, Queen Lunarea,” Ademaro began, “our records show that there is currently no war between Gallaran and Freyzenwald. More significantly, Gallaran is currently in a civil war due to the death of their king. I do not believe they could afford to declare war after such an event.” D-death of their king? Wait, what? What?! My palms began to feel sweaty, as the open room felt like it started to constrict around my neck. This wasn’t happening. How...what did...this couldn’t… “Are you...okay, Queen Lunarea?” Another council member asked me. I could barely speak, but I swallowed the thoughts crashing through my head and tried to make a sound with my voice again. “Fine. Now, please. Can you tell me more about Gallaran? What about their king?” Ademaro shuffled the papers in his hand, “King Ethan Bertram was murdered in his castle about a month ago. The nation currently believes that prince Niko Bertram, his heir, was responsible for his death. However, a faction within the nation believes that prince Niko is innocent, and is still the rightful heir to the throne.” A month ago? That was during our election! He’s right, they couldn’t declare war on Freyzenwald like that. I nodded, “I see. My apologies, I had no idea about these events.” “That is understandable, you have been trying to defend your own nation,” Ademaro smiled at me, “I am terribly sorry for your loss.” “Yeah, ah, that was the other thing I wanted to ask. Tesamaaru Castle still stands, I do not believe I could consider that destroyed.” Ademaro blinked, setting down the papers in his hands. The other members of the council began holding their heads down in turn. My heart began beating again. If it wasn’t considered rude, or if I was still concerned about my own image, I would have screamed. Screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping this dream would end, and I would wake up in my castle once again. My husband wrapping me in his arms. “Tesamaaru Castle was destroyed three days ago. To an...unknown invasion.” Ademaro seemed like he was about to say more, and I was going to as well, but a voice coming from elsewhere snapped the conversation. A chilling, inhuman voice, that almost seemed to be sounding from the ceiling. “AnD nOW, yOu CAn enJoY tHe pAIN Of AmAteRasU FoR yOurSeLVeS!” The white marble surrounding me immediately changed from the warm, white colour to a light, purple hue, as the light outside the window began to change colours...