Return to Aether

An End

Snarling in rage, Taurus ran forward, raising his axe aloft to bring it down upon Falco. Armed with his sword, Falco brought it to face the blade of his opponent's axe. Thus did the two blades meet, one made of stone, the other made of a metal that was not bronze. When all was over, the stone axe blade was broken.

Immediately, Taurus dove to grab the ram skull-tipped mace of the fallen Elephas. The moment the High Priest of the Earth Bull managed to grab it however, he only managed to get in one swing before Falco thrust his sword into Taurus' chest.

Just like that, the battle was over. It may have been somewhat anti-climatic, but that was life.

Afterwards, Falco and Rowena sat at the base of the steps in the throne room. Achilles was standing at the side, Merit sitting at his feet stroking Kenneth while Aedan lay in the middle of the throne room. Soon Pasiphae, sister to Taurus, entered with her young son Brutus, only three twelvemonths old. Holding onto her child, Pasiphae attempted a curtsy only for Rowena to say: "There is no need for that, Pasiphae."

Falco could only nod in agreement as he looked at Pasiphae's child. He did not look well. Finally, he asked: "Is your son alright?"

"He has been ill for a while, Falco." Pasiphae answered honestly. "I began to fear for his life, my brother was considering..." She need not say no more. Falco, Rowena and Achilles all understood what Taurus had been considering to do to his nephew.

Falco watched as Rowena stood up and approached Pasiphae. Smiling at the boy, she said: "Hello, Brutus! It has been a while." She then looked Pasiphae in the eye and uttered: "You will not have to worry about your brother anymore."

"I am glad." Stated Pasiphae. "Over the last three twelvemonths our relationship began to break down, especially in regards to my son."

"You can go into detail later." Said Falco. "For now, there is much to be done."

And there was. From sending for their friends and family on the mainland to overseeing various things that needed attending at the Palace, Falco and Rowena were quite busy. It took a while, but when everyone had returned and all was as it had been, the Divine Deucalion of Aether and his Queen took to ruling their people justly and raising their son well.

A month passed and Falco and Rowena sat together one evening, looking up at the night sky, Kenneth and his mate by their side. To say that any of them ever thought they would be back here again would be untrue and now that all was right again, it felt almost like a dream.

"Do you remember that evening those twelvemonths ago, Falco?" Rowena asked. "When that strange ka appeared to us?"

"I do." Falco answered, remembering well. It had been five twelvemonths prior and the ka of a man, four and forty twelvemonths old with a sagging stomach, broad hips, thin legs, thick thighs, a large, approaching delicate bosom, a thin, exaggeratedly long front, thin lips and an elongated head had appeared before them to warn them of the Earth Bull's coming escape from beneath the island. "I had no idea that a person could have looked like that."

"Who do you think that was?"

Falco was at a loss. How was he to know? The ka could have been any man long since passed on. Ultimately, Falco could only say: "I don't know, Rowena. It is one of those strange mysteries I suppose. All that I do know is that every thing is past, we are together, all of us, you, me, our son, our friends, everything is as it should..." Looking past Rowena, Falco rose to his feet, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "By all of my predecessors!"

Rowena followed her husband's gaze and by the light of the full moon, she saw a group of jade seated statues in the likeness of the ka they had seen. There were four of them, moving up a hillside by themselves, as if guided by some unseen hands.

Kenneth and his mate soon stood as well, their eyes wide and their black, tufted ears erect. What manner of oddity was this?

All four went forth to investigate and found that the statues had gone to a plain and organized themselves in a square with each statue ten feet apart. Seeing this, Rowena asked: "What is going on here?"

Falco knew not. He could merely stare as the ka from five twelvemonths ago appeared before them, bowed his head and then vanished as soon as he had appeared.

To say that Falco, Rowena and their caracal companions were puzzled would be to state the obvious. The Ka may have appeared and vanished so quickly, but the statues were still there. Was this actually a dream? A very strange one?

Alas, they knew not.

The Divine Deucalion of Aether, his Queen and their caracal companions all sat there in that field, wondering if something was going to happen to the statues. All night they waited until at long last, the statues faded away with the rising sun.

Life was strange and Falco and Rowena had no doubt they would be discussing this for twelvemonths to come.

Returning to the Palace, looking as it had during the reign of Falco's paterfamilias and predecessor Tigris, the two redheads and their caracal companions made their way to the royal apartments. The Palace was still quiet with barely anyone awake.

Once they had made their way to royal apartments, Falco and Rowena made their way into their son's bedchamber and there did they see a sight they never would have expected. Sitting upon the bed was Tigris, golden-skinned and with hair of lapis lazuli, with a hand upon the head of his sleeping grandson. By his side stood Oda, his wife, staring happily at Macbeth.

For a moment, Falco's parents turned their attention to their son and daughter-in-law. Then they smiled and faded away.

Smiling as well, Falco and Rowena walked over to their son's bed. Macbeth had one of Kenneth's kittens with him. Sitting down, Falco and Rowena both smiled at their slumbering scion. Kenneth them jumped upon the bed, his mate following after him. This only caused the kitten to wake up and start mewing, which in turn caused Macbeth to awaken.

Rubbing his eyes, the Young Prince found himself pulled into a hug by his father and mother. He didn't know everything that had happened in the twelvemonths before his birth or that had happened since, but some day he would know of his parents' adventures.