CHAPTER 2
EARLY MORNING at the cabinet room in the castle on Adral, a private meeting was held. Gathered in a rectangular mahogany table with fourteen chairs— six chairs on each side and one chair on both ends— the left side were occupied by Hakkeran, Gabin, Zassia, Xeke, Cira and Grath, while the right side were occupied by Treven, King Tirac of the Druids, King Ruther of the Dwarven Kingdom, Zio— Zassia's grandfather, Queen Morya of Harpies and Barrin, representing the Phoenix's race. And both ends were occupied by Queen Sollel and Queen Gatria.
"This meeting is all about our next step moving forward," said Hakkeran. "If you have any bright ideas and opinions, do not hesitate to share them. As this castle's lord, I will start." Hakkeran took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that has an air of importance that made Sollel very proud as she watched her man. "The plan was to rescue the two remaining Yther's Queens. Queen Aenwyn who's imprisoned in Nayale Archipelago and Queen Astrid who's caged in the Sky Castle of the Caelum Kingdom.
"As you know, I am a descendant of Sappher and I devoted my three lifetimes planning my queen's escape," Hakkeran looked at Sollel lovingly before he continued, "I investigated and mapped the best route to take to save Queen Astrid and Queen Aenwyn." As if on cue, Gabin placed two maps on the table. "It had been so many years since I made it, this map may not be as accurate as before, but it could serve as our guide. I've already spoken about this to Queen Sollel and Queen Gatria and they have decided to personally save the remaining two queens."
Gatria nodded at Hakkeran. "I will be going to the sky castle with Treven and Sollel will be going to Nayale Archipelago with Lord Hakkeran."
King Tirac raised his hand as if asking for permission to speak. Gatria nodded at him and only then did the King of Druids spoke.
"Your Highness," he was looking at Queen Gatria, "I dare not question Lord Treven's ability to protect you, but to infiltrate the sky castle with just the two of you..." King Tirac was worried. "Lord Treven specializes in defense. What will happen if there were too many moonrite stones that the cloak I enchanted could handle? Please reconsider, Your Highness. At least take someone who could easily take the offensive if a moonrite stone weakened you."
Treven nodded at that. "Agreed. I am incomparable when it comes to defense, no one could break my shield, but my offense sucks."
Gatria nodded at King Tirac as if telling him that she understood his worry. "That is why I'm taking Grath with me."
Grath, who was just silently sitting beside Cira, couldn't help his surprise. He was certain that he was going with her highness, Queen Sollel, so to hear this from Queen Gatria, Grath couldn't help looking at Queen Sollel to ask if he did something she didn't like. "D-did I do something wrong, Your Highness?"
Gatria couldn't help teasing Grath, seeing how panic he was. "You do not want to serve under me? As far as I can remember, demi-humans swore their fealty to me since they live in the forest I blessed."
Grath immediately stood up and bowed his head at Gatria. "Forgive me for my insolence, Your Highness! It was just that, I had been blessed by Her Highness, Queen Sollel."
Sollel pouted at Gatria. "You can stop teasing him now, Gatria."
Gatria chuckled. "Forgive me. I couldn't help it." Gatria's chuckle turned into a gentle smile. "I know that you're blessed by Sollel and that is the reason why Sollel wanted you to accompany me in my travel."
Sollel nodded. "With Grath's strength and flaming claw, you'll have a strong offense. I suggested to Gatria to take Zassia as well, but Hakkeran and I talked about it and decided that after what happened the other night, Zassia should stay here in Adral and help protect the town while we're away. I'm positive that she could pull it off."
Zassia grinned because she felt like she had earned her teacher's acknowledgment. "I will do my best, Teacher."
Sollel nodded. "You're getting stronger, little Zassia. While I'm away, you should practice and train your flame. Do not follow the footsteps of those puny flame sorcerers attacks. You should learn and make your own attack. When I return, I want to see your growth and improvement."
Zassia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Teacher!"
"Please, let me stay with my granddaughter too, and protect Adral." Said Zio.
Hakkeran nodded. "As a former General with immense experience in the battlefield, Zio's help to keep Adral safe while we're away will be much appreciated."
"Thank you, Lord Hakkeran." Zio bowed as he expressed his gratitude.
Meanwhile, Gabin couldn't help clearing his throat and looked at his lordship. "Your Excellency... are you taking me with you?" He was hoping the answer was 'yes', because honestly, he didn't want to stay.
Hakkeran shook his head. "No. You're staying here to manage Adral and our warriors."
"And also protect my little Zassia at all cost, Gabin." Sollel added as she narrowed her eyes on Gabin. "If something happened to Zassia, I will not take it kindly." Then Sollel flashed Gabin her innocent smile.
Gabin gulped and nodded. "Yes, Your Highness, Your Excellency."
"Well, if Warlord Hakkeran went together with Queen Sollel, there's nothing to worry about, Commander Gabin." King Ruther of the Dwarven Kingdom said. "They're match made in heaven in the battlefield."
That is not really what I'm worried about. Gabin thought before he amiably nodded at the King of Dwarves.
The Dwarven King spoke again. "As per my agreement with Warlord Hakkeran, I will stay in town to build a curtain wall around Adral. With the help of King Tirac, when Her Highnesses returned from their rescue mission, this town will be a fortress."
Queen Morya of Harpies spoke as well, her voice was melodious and gentle. "You can leave the air defense to us while Her Highnesses are away. We will spare no effort in protecting the town."
Hakkeran nodded at Queen Morya before saying, "and send a message to our spies to stay hidden until one of the queens showed up in the kingdom or town they were in." Then Hakkeran turned to Barrin, "I know I promised that I will let you return to your home once my krahika is free, but I want to implore you to stay in town for the time being. We need more people to protect the town and if you're here, our worries will lessen."
"I accept." Barrin bowed his head. "And as per Lord Hakkeran's request the other day, I already sent out a message to my kin working undercover in the three kingdoms to assist Her Highnesses if need be only. As Lord Hakkeran's plan, my kin will continue to work undercover until Her Highnesses destroyed those kingdoms."
Everyone looked at Hakkeran as if that plan was expected of him. Only Sollel smiled proudly at his man, while Gatria looked pleased at Hakkeran's plan.
"Then," Cira raised her hand to speak and when everyone gave her their attention, she spoke. "As much as I wanted to be with my queen," Cira glanced at Sollel longingly with unshed tears in her eyes, "I have an important mission to do. As you all know, Her Highnesses are weak to moonrite stone. Before coming here, I utilized the elders in the sacred forest to analyze the properties of the moonrite stone and if there was something that could negate its effect. Luckily, the was, but unfortunately, it was an unheard stone called Black Sunre. I don't know what it is and even Queen Gatria said that she had no idea where to look for it, but I will not give up my search. So I'm giving myself a mission to look for Black Sunre. I will scour the whole Azitera to find it!"
Xeke spoke after Cira's impassioned speech. "I will accompany Lady Cira."
"Of course," everyone muttered under their breath at Xeke's announcement. Everyone knew Xeke was smitten to the Elven Princess, Cira, so it was no shock to them that he will accompany her.
"Now that everyone's part is settled, we should proceed to talk about the possible danger that Her Highnesses might encounter," said King Ruther.
Gatria raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh?"
King Ruther immediately explained. "Of course, there's no danger that Her Highnesses couldn't pass, but we didn't want Her Highnesses to stand out or be known. The more expose Her Highnesses are as they travel, the more the kingdoms will tighten their security and gather more moonrite stone to impede Her Highnesses movement which we wanted to avoid."
King Tirac nodded at the Dwarven King's explanation. "I said I massed produced the cloak that could somehow absorb the moonrite stone effect for a limited time, but really, I could only make ten of them. It drains my essence faster than anything I've made and if I pushed further, I might perish. I could make more, but it'll take some time— which we don't have. So I implore on Her Highnesses to not stand out while traveling. This way, we could reserve the enchanted cloak to only be used in case of emergency."
Gatria understood the plan. "I understand. I haven't been out and about for centuries and I'm sure Sollel didn't have the chance to roam around Azitera before going to the Hallowed Valley to rescue me, so do tell us what to expect in our travel."
Hakkeran nodded at King Ruther. The Dwarven King nodded back before he spoke. "Other than beasts and monsters which Her Highnesses and her companions could deal with, the possible danger that Queen Gatria might encounter is the Theocracy."
"Theocracy?" Gatria hadn't heard of them and they didn't exist in their time. "What of it?"
"Well, the Theocracy is like a human kingdom filled with God of Salvation believer."
"God of Salvation?" Sollel frowned. "Who's that?"
King Ruther shrugged. "We have no idea. A few decades after the ruination of Yther, the Theocracy rose in the west of Azitera. They believed in the God of Salvation and their dogma goes something like this— 'humans are superior than any other race. Halflings, demi-humans and other races were nothing but filth born from darkness and should be cleansed and purged."
Gatria sighed heavily. "The audacity of these human beings..."
"And for Queen Sollel who will be traveling to Nayale Archipelago, I have no worries since Lord Hakkeran is with you, but be careful with Ignis Kingdom."
Sollel's forehead furrowed hearing the name of her temple. "What's that?"
"It's a kingdom that believed in the Goddess of flame and their dogma is..." King Ruther hesitated.
But Sollel pressed him to continue. "Say it, Ruther!"
"Well," King Ruther took a deep breath, "their dogma is, the Mistress of Flame, Queen Sollel is the evil that doomed Azitera and the reason why the deity of flame hadn't shown herself. You are their arched enemy."
Scorching pressure emitted from Sollel's body as her anger rose. "Those bastards! Using the deities for their convenience!"
"Sollel, calm down." Gatria pacified Sollel's anger. "Our objective is to rescue the two remaining imprisoned queens. We will deal with those puny kingdoms after we rescue Aenwyn and Astrid. Make sure not to cause any ruckus."
Sollel grumbled, but nodded eventually. "I won't."
King Ruther continued. "Her Highnesses will pass a lot of kingdoms in their travel. It may not be as powerful as the four kingdoms that rules the human race, but they are as prosperous and as problematic. Please, be careful."
"That's why we also need to add more allies to our forces." Hakkeran spoke after King Ruther. "Gabin," he looked at his trusted aide, "can I trust this with you?"
Gabin nodded. "I will work on it immediately."
Hakkeran nodded before he faced everyone. "We are few in numbers, so if you have someone in mind that could be an ally and could be trusted, do not hesitate to invite them to our side."
Everyone nodded except for the two queens who were overwhelmed by the support of everyone in the room. They never thought that while they were in prison, they still have allies who would stand by their side.
The meeting proceeded to talk about the plans for Adral while the queens were away. The plan to once again build the queen's temple. It may not be the same from before, but it will be an abode that they could call home once they got back.
After that, other issues were raised about other races and ex-slaves taking refuge inside Adral after.
At the end of the meeting, all the responsibilities fell on Gabin's shoulder since he'll be the one overseeing Adral while the lord of the land, Hakkeran 'Hakken' Adral accompany his queen, the Mistress of Flame.
As everyone exited the cabinet room where the private meeting was held, Sollel was planning to spend her precious time in Hakkeran's room when Gatria got a hold of her.
"What?" Sollel asked while slightly pouting.
Gatria narrowed her eyes on Sollel. "How many times have you copulate with that warlord already. Still not satiated?"
"How could I be satiated?" It was a genuine question of Sollel to Gatria.
Gatria sighed. "You really are young. I pity Hakkeran if Astrid found out."
Sollel stilled in fear. "Oh, deities! I really need to reach Aenwyn fast!"
Gatria nodded as she guided Sollel towards the castle's door. "Come on, fly me to the town's gate. I have to check on something."
Sollel grumbled when they exited the castle and Gatria made a swing made of vines and decorated with beautiful flower because she knew what it meant. Gatria will ride the swings while she carried it and fly.
Gatria smiled at Sollel. "You're strong, right?"
Sollel pouted at Gatria.
Gatria chuckled at Sollel's childish gesture. "Come on. The faster you fly me to the town's gate, the faster you can go back to Hakkeran."
Sollel's face immediately lit up and she summoned her flaming wings. Then she let the vines wrapped around her hands and wrist so she could carry Gatria with ease. "Okay. Come on. I want to go see my Hakkeran."
Sollel flapped her flaming wings and she sore to the air, easily carrying the swing made of vines and flowers while Gatria was sitting pretty on the swing seat. The physical strength of the queens of Yther was not to scoff at so carrying Gatria like this was nothing to Sollel.
The one who landed first outside the town's gate was Gatria, followed by Sollel. And with a flick of Gatria's hand, the swing disappeared as if it was nothing, bur illusion.
Meanwhile, the appearance of the two queens of Yther made the guards at the gate agitated that they sent word to the castle.
Sollel and Gatria didn't heed the commotion behind them.
"What are you going to check?" Sollel asked while looking at the wide barren land in front of Adral.
It had become barren after the battle a few nights ago. The pungent smell of blood still lingered in the air and the cracks in the dead soil had tripled. The drought was caused by Sollel's fiery flame that's why back in the day, she was not allowed to use her flame because the destruction it causes was to immense.
"Gatria...?" Sollel blinked at Gatria who kneeled on the ground on one knee, her palm pressing against the dead soil.
Sollel didn't know what Gatria was doing until she saw the cracks in the soil closing, as if it was a wound and someone was healing it.
Immediately, Sollel realized what Gatria was up to so she remained where she was and just watch in amazement as the barren land slowly came back to life.
Green grass covered the land, one after another vegetation appeared, slightly swaying from the soft breeze. From trees to flowers, it bloomed without limit, and the guards at the gate and the people who saw the scene were all flabbergasted, their mouths hanging open at the miracle they witnessed.
And Sollel was one of those people. As a being who only knew how to destroy things, to see the beautiful birth of nature from a barren land was mesmerizing. She would even argue that it looked like a miracle.
Though to Gatria, it was no miracle. It was just imbuing her essence to the soil, blessing it until the barren soil had become a beautiful grassland.
"There," Gatria muttered under her breath as she stood up. "Finished."
Still mesmerized, Sollel pounced at Gatria and wrapped her arms around her. "You're really amazing, Gatria!"
Gatria just smiled at Sollel before she looked at her surroundings. There was no sign that it was a barren land just a few minutes ago.
"The reason why I wanted to travel on foot was to check the soil, the vegetations and the forests," said Gatria to Sollel who was still clinging on to her. "It had been a long time since I tended to my responsibility as the overseer of Azitera."
"I'm sure you can do it," Sollel had always believed in Gatria. "Unlike me who only knows how to destroy things."
Gatria gently smiled and patted Sollel's head. "We have our own roles to play in Azitera, Sollel. Do not compare yourself to me. Your responsibility is to subjugate anyone who wants to bring harm to Azitera and its citizens."
"Hmm. I know."
Gatria and Sollel remained in their positions for a couple more minutes, just watching the grassland, before they decided to head back to the castle.
Both of them landed on the castle's terrace, overlooking the whole town of Adral and almost immediately, Sollel went running to Hakkeran whom she could sense through her Solaris.
Gatria just shook her head at how Sollel had become so smitten to Hakkeran. It was like Sollel didn't want to be apart from Hakkeran.
Just like the 'me' before. I also didn't want to be away from him, but now... there was only one emotion she could feel when it comes to that man whom she had loved with all her heart.
Hatred — Hatred for the betrayal that broke her heart and damned her people.
CECELIB | C.C.