Dawn of Darkness

by Kran Sanon

  “What you are saying is very reasonable” Isabela replies.

  She then again remains silent for a while as she goes through what he said and then gives her decision.

  “Fine! Like I said, I completely understand what you are saying and yes, you are right. We may be in a greater war then this civil conflict and so must act quickly before it is too late. Therefore if I do not hear any news about my husband today, then I will allow the new king to take the Selux throne whoever he may be until my husband returns, if that ever happens. If it is Solas, then it will be him or if he does not want it then we will decide who is next in line or who deserves to take it. But that is not the decision to take today as that may not even be required at all if my husband returns today” said the Queen.

  Bernard thanks her for being so reasonable. His wife Emilia Carver is also standing to support her on such a day. Her other friend Janie Geoffrey is also there. They both say that they will surely find out something about King Solas today and that no matter what type of information that may be, they will always be there for her.

  Some moments later, one of their guards on top of the walls shouts that the search party is around. Upon learning that, the entire place is now filled with silence. Only the sounds of the wind can be heard. As they get closer to the gates, Isabela and everyone else waiting for them try to locate King Solas but are unsuccessful. What they do find out is an unlikely visit from the Elf King Samven. Eventually, when Amos does come to face with Isabela, he stays silent for a while.

  “If the news is something that I do not want to hear, then just tell me. It is okay. I have already prepared myself for this. I can take it” Queen Isabela tells him.

  Amos still stands there silently before smiling at her and then eventually giving her the news that he has brought.

  “He is alive, My Queen. My brother, your husband and Leliana’s father is alive” says Amos.

  The entire place is now suddenly filled with sounds of cheers and joy.

  “Where is he? Why can’t I locate his presence, then?” A delirious Isabela asks him.

  Amos tells her that is why the Elf King Samven is here.

  “I got this information from the Elf King Samven. That is the reason why he is here. He knows what happened to our King after that horrible night. He also knows where he is right now. So I ask you to invite him in” said Amos.

  Isabela, without any hesitation agrees and invites Samven into the castle.

  The men and women now make their way towards the Selux throne room. The Selux throne room is a little different from Arkhen. Not everyone is permitted inside the room except for the royal family, the royal guests, the advisors, and the people on whom the discussion may be about. The people are immediately informed of any decision outside. There are a 40 steps climb to get to the castle door. The King sits on the top front with his family while the people belonging to the castle sitting on his right and the royal guests sitting on the left. The people of the kingdom have to wait at the bottom of the steps for the decisions after any meetings. This is usually done by the King himself to reduce the chances of disparity that may arise in the minds of the people.

  Once they have made their way into the throne room, Isabela offers Samven refreshments and then asks him what he knows about her husband.

  “My lord, we have been waiting for the return of my husband ever since that horrible night occurred. We cannot take it anymore. Please tell us where he is. We are desperate to know. Please tell us why he has not come with you? Is he alright? When can I see him?” Isabela asks Samven.

  Samven tells her that she is giving her too many questions to answer at once and that he only needs to provide one response to answer them all which is that King Solas is completely safe and will be returning soon.

  “First of all, your husband is completely safe and you and everyone here will be seeing him soon. Secondly, he is in Arkhen at the moment” said Samven.

  “What is he doing in Arkhen? That place is beyond the West Sea. How did he manage to get there? Asks Isabela.

  Samven then tells him the story that King Cullen Rutherford told him to tell them.

  “After the attack at Wovia, King Solas managed to escape, but he was severely injured. One of the dragons found him at that state and flew him over to the Arkhen Kingdom where King Cullen Rutherford and his people treated him and took care of him” Samven continues to say.

  Isabela then asks him if he can arrange her to go to Arkhen and meet her husband for which Samven says no.

  “Forgive me, My Lady but you know this very well that no human is allowed at the Kingdom of Arkhen. You know why this rule was made. There are just too many magically powerful weapons there, and you know men are very easily seduced. They took in King Solas because he was severely injured and required immediate medical attention. This is something that I cannot do but you do not need to worry. You will see him really soon. That is the reason why I am here. I came to tell you that King Solas has recovered and will return here by either tomorrow afternoon or by nightfall. So you or anyone here do not need to worry. Your King will be here sitting on his throne by tomorrow nightfall” Samven tells everyone.

  Queen Isabela announces a ceremony for the return of the king in joy. As everyone is now joyously cheering, Isabela hugs her daughter Leliana in tears and tells her that her father is going to come home tomorrow while Samven takes his leave.

  Now the light on that day has passed and the night has come. This is not any other ordinary night as the place is filled with joyous atmosphere. Spills of wine and the dreadful voices of people singing can be heard all around the place personifying what the king really means to all the people in the kingdom.

  “How do you think he will make his entrance?” Emilia Carver asks Isabela.

  “What do you mean?” replies Isabela.

  “You know exactly what I mean. Is he coming like he usually does, with a horse or maybe this time on top of an elephant?” Emilia said.

  “It does not really matter because I just want him to return safely. Besides, he is your childhood friend you should know he does not like making a grand entrance” said Isabela.

  Emilia says Isabela is completely right about that, but as they are talking suddenly, they hear a thunderous roar. A type of roar that many people there have never heard. The entire place in a matter of seconds got filled with complete silence. A dragon rises in the shadow of the moon. Everyone present at the place is left completely baffled as only a handful of them have ever seen a dragon. Their hearts now filled with fear as they slowly start moving backward preparing to run, but then suddenly one of them shouts about what he sees.

  “It is King Solas! He is back!” the man shouts.

  Everyone looks up to watch their king return not knowing that it is King Cullen Rutherford in the disguise of King Solas.

  Emilia Carver then whispers something in Isabela’s ears.

  “We were wrong. Your husband really knows how to make a grand entrance” said Emilia.

  Isabela only smiles in shyness. Once the dragon lands and King Solas gets off it, she runs to her husband and hugs him with all her strength. She then kisses him in delirium as eventually their daughter to runs and hugs him. Cullen read Solas’ mind before he died, so he knows how to react with every one of them. He knows that King Solas loved his daughter the most so he lifts Leliana up and carries her in his arms as he meets with his brother and all his friends.

  “Since when did you learn to fly a dragon?” Amos asks him.

  “Two weeks is a long-time brother, and you know me. I can master anything in a matter of moments if I want to” replies Solas.

  “That you can, brother” said Amos.

  King Solas then introduces them to the dragon.

  “This dragon’s name is Dexa. King Cullen Rutherford of the Arkhen Kingdom offered him to me as a gift. Dexa is a good friend of mine and from now on will be a good friend to this kingdom” he says.

  He then tells them that he has an anno
uncement to make and asks then to excuse him. He hands Leliana to Isabela then walks his way up the 40 stairs to the top of the castle entrance like King Solas always did before making an announcement. He raises his right hand, and the place at once goes to absolute silence once again. He tells everyone that the rumours about the return of the Necros are completely false. This is obviously to avoid panic. Amos and Robin were also present on that night and knew what they fought. But they also know King Solas really well so they understand why he is claiming it to be false. They do not say anything and continue to hear him speak.

  “My people, first I need to apologise to you for not being here for the past two weeks. I wasbadly injured after the battle at Wovia. I really need to tell you the truth that all those rumours going on about the Necros returning is completely false. Yes, we were ambushed by something that we had never fought before, but it was not the Necros. After Amos and Robin helped me escape, one of them followed me to the South West Mountains, but I managed to kill him. When I checked him after, I found that it was not any one of the Necros but someone trying to impersonate them. Like I said before, I was badly injured so I could not return here, but fortunately one of the dragons found me and took me to Arkhen where those people helped me heal. While at Arkhen, I was also reminded of the importance of our own Selux Kingdom. We all know the stories of the Arkhen Wars that took place thousands of years ago but what we do not give importance to is what happened after that. After the Arkhenians left the realms of men, our kingdom was chosen to lead the entire kingdoms of men to keep peace intact, but I chose a different path when I became King, a better path. I decided to let every other kingdom to rule themselves so that tyranny is lost forever. The kingdoms have only prospered ever since. The northern kingdoms though, have abused the power that was bestowed upon them. Led by King Morrigan Pentaghost of the Vrailan Kingdom, they stand for everything against it. King Morrigan wants to dictate everything and take the world back to its tyrant beginnings. That is something that I cannot allow. That is something that we cannot allow. We are the people of Selux. We were not only chosen to keep peace. We were made to keep peace between all men. I will make another effort to make truce with King Morrigan but this time we will be ready for another treacherous ambush from him. If King Morrigan choose war then we will give him war. We will do anything to keep the freedom of this kingdom and every other kingdom. We are in these together. We will fight together, we will win together and we will always stand together!” King Solas said in a very loud and commanding voice.

  He then again tells everyone to continue enjoying the night.

  “That was some speech” Isabela says to her husband.

  “I really enjoy those kinds of moments, love” replied Solas.

  Isabela asks him if he is really fully recovered from the injuries he sustained from the ambush, but both of them are interrupted by Amos, Robin and Bernard.

  Amos asks for their forgiveness but they really need to talk to King Solas about something.

  “We wanted to ask if the story that you said about one of the Necros following you to the South West Mountains was true. You also said that you killed him and it turned to be a person trying to impersonate that race. Was it true?” asks Amos.

  King Solas tells them that none of that is true and that he made that all up to avoid a panic throughout the realms.

  “I had to lie. You know we are at a civil war, so the people do not need to know something like that right now. But that does not mean that I do not doubt King Morrigan. He is someone that can pull something like that, but right now I do not have the evidence” said Solas.

  Bernard then asks what they should do know.

  “We do what I said we’ll do during the announcement. We try to end this conflict. By the time this civil war ends no matter how that would be, we will find out if King Morrigan had any part to play for what happened at Wovia. If he did not have anything to do about it, then we will concentrate on finding the truth after we finish this civil war” King Solas said.

  Isabela then laughs to herself for which all of them ask “What was that for?”

  She says what Solas said sounds almost exactly to what Bernard told her yesterday. King Solas then looks at Bernard and asks him if he really expected him to be dead.

  Bernard tells him that he did not expect him to be dead but only wanted this kingdom to be ready for what is about to come before King Solas interrupts him and says he was only teasing him. He continues to say that he knows Bernard only wants what is best for the kingdom, and both trusts him and respects him. His right Robin then asks if he can immediately go to work to arrange a meeting with King Morrigan for which King Solas says no.

  “Tonight, we celebrate. From tomorrow our quest begins. We will end this conflict and bring peace back again. After that we can try to find the truth for what really happened at Wovia but remember this, we need to keep this between ourselves. Only the four of us, well Samven also knows so that makes it five. You cannot tell anyone else — neither your families nor your friends. The kingdoms are already in a state of panic because of the ongoing civil war that is why we cannot escalate matters. It is important that we end this war quickly and then begin to concentrate on the Necros if they really returned.” Solas tells them.

  At the end of the celebrations, King Solas and Isabela make their way to their room. Leliana has asked to sleep with them tonight since she has not been with her father for weeks. Leliana sings her a lullaby as she goes to sleep then makes her way towards her husband who is standing near the window. She holds him from behind, wrapping her arms around him. Solas feels uncomfortable knowing he does not have the right to any of those things but does not say a word to avoid Isabela having suspicions about him. She then tries to find his wounds but is unsuccessful.

  “There are no wounds. Amos and Robin said you were stabbed by a sword, but I cannot find any wounds. How is that possible?” she asks him.

  Solas tells her that is the work of the Arkhenians.

  “You do understand that the Arkhenians know magic, right? I did not understand it myself. When I wake up my wounds were gone. I was still feeling some pain but it quickly healed with time and then I made my way here” he tells her.

  Isabela asks him if he really will go to war if King Morrigan does not agree to his terms for which Solas says yes.

  “I do not want a war, but if it comes down to it then I will show no remorse. I have worked so hard over the years to create this peace and freedom. He wants to take it all away. I will not allow it. Not a single bit” Solas continues to say.

  He then also adds that they might be against something bigger if the Necros are part of this but if whatever happened at Wovia was King Morrigan’s doing then the only thing waiting for him is death!

  END OF CHAPTER 2.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Meeting of Kings

  It has been weeks since King Solas has returned. Ever since he has returned, he has created a temporal peace between all of the southern kingdoms. There is just an improved trust in the minds of the people towards the throne. Robin has been busy these past weeks trying to arrange a meeting with the Vrailan Kingdom. He has met with King Herman Melton of the Cerid Kingdom since he has some friends at the northern kingdoms. King Herman is no longer respected at the northern territories because he chose to stand with King Solas during this war but stands a better chance of going to the northern kingdoms and returning with his life. He took his youngest son Markus Melton with him who is also his right hand. Once they return, they make their way towards the Selux Kingdom where there is supposed to be a meeting taking place regarding this issue. Every king from the southern kingdoms are currently present there but have to wait the night as King Solas has still not returned from his western visit. As everyone else was trying to arrange a meeting with King Morrigan, King Solas took this opportunity to inspect the ruined kingdom of Wovia himself. His efforts were to go in vain as he did not find anything new to what he already knew.

 
As Solas returns in the morning, he is greeted by his brother Amos.

  “Welcome back brother. You are only a day late” Amos says.

  Solas tells him he got caught up in something at Wovia when in reality he also went to meet his Samven. Amos then asks him if he found out anything new for which Solas says no. Solas then tells him that he is really tired and needs to rest. He also asks him to arrange the meeting in the afternoon but Amos does not agree.

  “All of your guests are waiting for you since sunlight. The meeting was supposed to take place yesterday, but you were not here so they stayed and waited. That is not how you respect guests. You should know this better than anyone” Amos said.

  “But I am really tired” Solas tells him not realising he is getting out of character.

  “This is so not you, brother. Tell me, did the Arkhenians used magic only on your wounds or did they do something to your brain as well” said Amos.

  “Ha! Ha! Fine. Let’s finish this meeting first” replies Cullen now realising he is acting more like himself and not King Solas.

  Both the brothers then laughingly make their way towards the Selux throne room where King Solas is greeted by all the kings of the southern kingdoms. As King Solas takes his throne, King Herman Melton walks to the middle and gives everyone the news that he received from Vrailan.

  “Your highness, first I would like to deliver the news that King Morrigan has agreed to a meeting. However, he has laid some terms for that to happen” said Herman Melton.

  “What terms?” asks Isabela who is also present there sitting beside her husband.

  “The first term he has laid is that this time he will bring all his allies and not just his Vrailan army. He said this is to avoid another ambush as he blames you for what happened at Wovia.” replied Herman.

  “That might be because he wants to cover up his sins by blaming it to you, my king. He might have thought that you died but since you have returned, he cannot afford to let his allies know that he created such a cheap act” said King Solas’ right hand Robin Geoffrey.