The dome controls glowed lavender with the general's magic. I surveyed the scene, watching Uncle work. I felt like a child again, sneaking around as he did his job. This time he was working for me.
He flicked both of his wrists, and the projected holographic image of the dome started encircling the kingdom. I smiled when he showed me the footage of the outside. The dome's slender shield covered us up.
"We have some wiggle room now," Uncle said.
"Thank you," I said. He smiled down at me.
There was a moment of silence as we stared at the dome's layer glistening through the brume projector. The footage broke apart at times, but the protection was recognizable from a mile away. King Rasmus would be delighted to know that he had another thing to worry about to get to us once again.
"What will you do once this is all over?" He asked.
I stared at the clips of my kingdom in ruins. A vast amount of dust collected everywhere. People would have to wear masks to protect themselves from it, if we were to come out of here alive.
"I don't want to fill myself with false hope. I am simply focusing on the now and going from there."
He nodded before a tiny smile made its way to his face. "Your mother is in that brain of yours too."
I bit down on my lip. Thinking back on Mother was a pain, but I tried to remember the good times. It always made me miss her terribly.
When I lost Mother and Father, I thought I had experienced true pain. Turns out that was just the beginning of a long, tragic tale that only seemed to squeeze in more affliction.
"I also fetched some footage you might want to see," Uncle said.
He waved his wrist and a brume projector turned on. A hologram showed ruins. I thought he was showing me what was outside of our palace gates, but then he showed me a crumbled palace.
"Validus Fulgur," he said, answering my silent question. "The bomb you threw back."
"Oh goodness." I sat down, looking at what used to be Adonis' home. It was all in ruins, just like my kingdom.
Caeleste was suffering at the hands of greedy kings. I wanted to stop it before we all lost our home.
"Your Majesty," I heard Philip call out as he entered the room. "General." He nodded towards Uncle, who greeted him with a smile. "A message has arrived from the troops."
The roll in his hands caught my attention. It wasn't fancy nor carefully wrapped like many messages were. In fact, I think the scarlet splotch on one side was blood. My breath caught as Philip handed the roll towards the general.
Uncle took it in his hands and unrolled it. The splotch of red spread further onto the page. A metallic scent lingered as he read its contents.
He let out a shaky breath and sat down, one hand putting pressure on his forehead, the other still holding the scroll.
"What does it say?" I asked.
He handed it to me. I accidentally touched the scarlet splotch, getting it all over my fingers. I grimaced, but decided to not mind it and paid attention to the actual contents.
General Feulune,
It is with great sadness I announce that most of our troops have fallen. We only have a few left, but they are all afraid of their inevitable death. The other side has way too many soldiers, advanced weapons, and are magic resistant. We are no match against them.
We will continue fighting until we all fall. We owe our kingdom that.
Please, tell my wife and children I love them.
Thank you for your guidance and mentorship. It was an honor to serve with you.
Until we see each other in the light,
Lieutenant Stellaile
I rolled the message again, tears welling up in my eyes for the millionth time. I gave it back to Uncle. Looking down on the palms of my hands, I watched the blood slowly travel the lines of my skin, creating small trails.
My people's blood was spilt.
"Um," I cleared my throat, "I am going to the library." Both Philip and Uncle gave me a weird look. "Much about this war started in our old times. It seems that everything is hidden. I need to uncover the truth to find what can save us all."
They said nothing else, to which I was grateful for. I knew that Philip was questioning my credibility, like he mostly did, but if Gaia was right, then there must be an old book in there with the true answers.
The answers that could end the war.
The thought brought me chills. I could end the war without having to fight immensely.
Well, that was a lie, King Rasmus would only get madder if I uncovered the truth and make him look like the idiot he was. He'd assassinate me himself.
I had much to learn, much to discover, and only a little over a day left.
—
The library was dark when I got there. I searched for a switch to turn on the light fixtures, but I couldn't find any. I snapped my fingers after getting nowhere, and the whole place beamed with luminescence.
I traveled down the aisles, feeling every shelf with my fingers. I created small paths due to all the accumulated dust, but I didn't care. It reminded me of my silly adventures as a child.
Father and I would run around here like crazy. He would creep up on me, scare me, and chase me everywhere. He pretended to be the Cinnamon Man in search of the child who ate too much of it. I, of course, adored cinnamon, so I would always run away in pretend fear. This library was filled with joyous squeals and weird gurgling monster sounds. Those were the dear times when Father wasn't too busy with his king duties.
Once I grew up, I became the Cinnamon Man and chased little Orpheus around as Theodora cleaned. She kept this place in top shape. Always a lover of books and the importance of literacy.
A tear rolled down my cheek and splattered on the marble tile, startling me. I hadn't realized I was crying.
I shook my head. I needed to put focus on what was important. This war. I needed to find out what could help us win, no matter what.
I went into a random row. I stared at the names of the books, but none stood out about any history of the land. Much less the origin of it all. I needed to find the ancient texts.
Running through the library, I tried to find any section with old texts. Most of the books in display were newer pieces, carefully crafted and designed to fit royal standards. I rolled my eyes.
Always trying to fit in a box rather than truly exploring, which is what creating was all about.
I threw my hands in the air as I made it back to the middle of the library. I groaned, falling on my knees.
I needed answers. Desperately.
"Gracious, please show your light," I pleaded into the sky.
The sound of a door slamming open made me yelp. I turned to see the old doors at the back, wide open, a bright light coming from within.
"The Inlustris," I whispered. I stood up, as the glowing light shone brighter. "Gracious, thank you for your guidance."
I ran inside, making sure to close the doors behind me, and looked at the object that started the war. The origin of this land and the reason for the fall of Potentia Flamber.
The orb glowed magnificently on top of its indestructible stand. Its insides swirled about. I was afraid to go any closer in case I did something wrong and paid the price.
The glowing halo around it seemed to start turning from a white to a light blue. A blue similar to my own flame. I narrowed my eyes at it.
A deep desire in my gut wanted me to produce a flame, but I could hear Philip's nagging voice telling me dark magic was destruction, something the Inlustris would not be fond of. I could potentially end up like my parents.
Fisting both my hands, I looked around the room. All the walls were covered in shelves of books. They curved, forming a circle into the high ceilings. Everything filled with books from top to bottom.
Books with ancient lettering.
Thank the light in Gracious!
I ran to the nearest book and pulled it out. The cover was rough around the edges, worn down from all the years. I ran my fingers through the top, feeling every engraved letter and detail. It glowed silver against the old brown leather.
The Rise of Potentia Flamber.
My curiosity got the best of me, and I opened it up. The first few sentences introduced my great grandfather, King Timotheus Feulune. It talked about his earnest ruling and desire to create a union of people that brought peace and worked hard together. Photographs of the old Potentia Flamber stared back at me. I could barely recognize it. Some aspects remained unchanged to a certain extent, like the location of some important landmarks, such as the palace and the center of the kingdom.
I closed the book as tears stung my eyes again. I had to keep moving.
Plucking out book after book, I couldn't find anything that remotely sounded like anything magic. Nothing proved Gaia's words.
I stomped my foot like a toddler, feeling the panic rise inside my chest.
There wasn't enough time.
Gracious, please...
A whooshing sound engulfed the room. I turned to the Inlustris to see it glowing bluer around the rims. Its center was as white as ever. A floating book hovered over it. My eyes widened at the presentation.
I really have to pray more.
Studying its cover, I realized this was the most tattered book I've ever laid my eyes on. It was almost destroyed, but not quite. It flickered every once in a while and I wondered if this was a trick of my desperate imagination.
I reached out, careful not to touch the Inlustris, and the book joined me in the middle. When I pulled it close to my body, its glow extinguished, but the Inlustris swirled with eager light. It urged me to open the decaying book.
Plopping down in front of the Inlustris, like a child would, I laid the book on the floor and opened it. The ground rumbled around me. I only had time to bend over the book, in an attempt to protect it, when everything turned dark.