by Kran Sanon
“She will not let me meet her. Why would she? I betrayed her. I betrayed everyone at Selux. How will I even face her? I should have told her the truth a long time ago. I wanted to but I couldn’t. I was selfish. I chose my love for her over her trust in me. Now she will hate me for the rest of her life” said Cullen.
Samven reminds him that this is not the time to mourn for the past.
“This is not the time to get emotional. We have a war to fight. I am your best friend. I have always stood with you in the past and I will stand with you this time as well but we need the army of men. We are completely overpowered. You need to convince Isabela and her armies that right now, only this war matters” replied Samven.
Cullen thinks about it for a moment before eventually agreeing with him as they make their way for Selux.
As Cullen and Samven enter the kingdom, the silent atmosphere says it all. This time there is no celebration for the king’s return instead, everyone that he comes across just stands and stares at him. Some in anger and some in confusion not unwilling to accept that he is not their king. As he goes the gates of the palace, he is confronted by Isabela, Amos and most of the people belonging to the palace. For a moment, Cullen and Isabela look at each other before Isabela speaks.
“You are back. How did your mission go?” she asks.
Cullen does not say anything as Isabela continues to speak.
“While you were away, some Arkhenians came and said that you are not our king and that my Solas died years ago” she says.
Cullen still does not say anything but this time he bows his head down. Tears come in Isabela’s eyes now realising that all of it is true but she demands that she wants to hear it from him. After a moment Cullen just shifts from Solas’ form to his own form. Everyone present there are now in complete shock realising that it all was a lie. Cullen then finally speaks.
“I am not your king. My name is Cullen Rutherford, and I am the Arkhen King. Whatever you heard is correct. King Solas died after being ambushed at Wovia over two years ago” he says.
Isabela is now in more tears as most of the people present get tears in their eyes.
“Once Solas escaped the ambush, he was severely injured as one of the dragons found him near the West Mountains and brought him to us. We tried all we could but could not save him. Before dying, he asked me to promise him to protect his family and his realms. Once I read his mind, I found out that it was the Necros who attacked him, but it seemed someone else was behind it since that race was destroyed thousands of years ago. Your king was also the balance between the realms of men — the realms which my kind was made to protect. You were at a state of civil war. I had no other choice. I needed to protect what I was made to protect. I am sorry. I did not want to break your or anyone else’s trust but this was something which I needed to do” Cullen adds.
“Was it really necessary to betray my trust to do it” replied Isabela.
Cullen says that he never intended to break her trust but couldn’t tell her.
“I just wanted to solve those important problems and leave, but I never knew that it would take so much time and effort. As time passed, I felt more attached to everyone, especially Leliana whom I loved as if she really was my daughter. I also fell in love with you. You know my love for you was true” he said.
Isabela does not say anything but Bernard Carver responds angrily.
“How dare you talk about our queen like that, after what you have done” he said.
Amos though, tells him to calm down as Cullen was only doing what was right thing to do at that time.
“He was only trying to help. His methods might be questionable but deep down all of us know that he is a good man and I respect him as I respected my brother” he said.
“No” screams Isabela.
“He played with our feelings. I do not want him here” she added.
“You can hate me as much as you want. I deserve it” said Cullen.
“I will never show you my face again if you want but right now I need your army and the armies of all your allies. I need to take back the Arkhen throne from my brother or else it will be the end of everything that this palace stands for” he continued to say.
Isabela tells him that he is not going to get any help from here but he continues to persuade her.
“Andreas is no different than King Morrigan. He is even worse. You need to help me” he says.
Amos also asks her to listen to him. Leliana who was sneaking to listen to everything also says that her father is telling the truth and that he is a good man, but Isabela angrily shouts at her saying that he is not her father.
“He is not your father. He lied to all of us. Your father is gone” she shouts at her daughter.
“He did not lie to me. I knew the truth. He told me that he is also a dragon like Noxa a long time ago” Leliana replied.
“He is not one of us. He is a beast” Isabela shouts at her this time using a louder voice.
She then turns to Cullen and screams at him to leave the palace right now.
“Fine. I will go, but know that Andreas was behind everything which happened at Wovia meaning that it was he who was responsible for the death of your husband so when you join this war, you will not just be fighting for me but for the revenge of your king as well” Cullen responded.
Isabela tells him to take Noxa with him, but Cullen says that a dragon chooses his master himself. Noxa has chosen Leliana as his master so he cannot take him if Noxa chooses to stay. He then departs with Samven after saying goodbye to Leliana but without seeing Vallery as Isabela bends down to her knees crying.
Once they reach the elves seaport area at the west of the lands, Cullen says that they should let the night pass and attack when there is light. Samven suggests it might be better to attack without a warning so they should attack now but Cullen disagrees.
“I know my race better than anyone else. The night belongs to the Arkhenians. Only a fool would attack those lands during the night” he said.
Samven agrees.
As the sun barely rises, the ships are ready to depart equipped with swords and arrows made from Arak blade. Cullen for the last time takes a look to see if anyone from the realms of men is coming but he sees nothing. Samven comes over to speak to him.
“You and I have been through a lot, haven’t we?” he asks.
“That we have” replied Cullen.
“I know today will be hard for you to fight your own people” said Samven.
“Just know that when you get a chance to kill, do not hold back or hesitate. They are only loyal to Amulius Carver and Andreas. They will not hold back” he added.
“I know” said Cullen.
“They betrayed the throne, the kingdom and everything which we stand for. They are no longer my people. The only thing they deserve is death and death is what I will give them” he continues to say.
He then climbs on top of one of the ships which is still half on land and delivers a morale-boosting speech to the elf army.
“This is it. No one else is coming. I know I am not your king and you would think that this is not your war but it is. We are the only ones standing between freedom and tyranny. I have endangered the lives of all of us and everyone in these lands, but I promise that I will make sure that none of this will ever happen again if we win. The elves were to show men the right ways of life while the Arkhenians to protect them. Andreas seeks to abuse that power in order to build his tyrant world. That is something which we cannot allow. We have to win. We will win. There is no room for defeat — no second chances. We are outnumbered and overpowered but we have something that they do not, which is the will to do good no matter what it takes. We will win. We just have to believe” he says.
He raises his sword and shouts for peace and for glory after which the entire army repeat after him at the top of their voices.
“For peace and for glory” they all scream.
The army has now filled up the ships as they depart for Arkhen battle-ready. T
he Arkhen palace is on the west edge of the island so they will have to do a half-round of them around to get there. Andreas knows he has the advantage being on land and understands it will be effective to attack them while they are still at sea. He and his army patiently wait on the edges of the walls. Once he sees the sights of the ships, he says that it is time and commands the dragons to attack first. Cullen realises this and takes his dragon form, and so does the handful of Arkhenians who chose to stand with him. Samven’s two dragons which Cullen gifted him years ago also join them as they attack the approaching Andreas’ dragons in the skies. The elves on the ship also assist them by firing Arak blade arrows.
A great battle of fire erupts in the skies. Cullen is too powerful for the other dragons but they still manage to destroy many of the ships before they even reach ashore. As the others get close to the shores, the elves from the ships fire large rocks to break the walls and succeeding for most parts while Samven and his priests try to use magic in order to breach the gates. Arkhenians do not use bows and arrows as they are predators and attack once the elves land ashore.
It all becomes a chaotic mess as the elves and Arkhen predators collide. The Arkhenians prove to be too powerful for the elves as everyone expected. Samven and his priests try all they can using magic to assist them but it already looks like it is going to be a very short battle. Cullen realises that if he can stop Andreas then there might be a chance that the Arkhenians end this battle but he cannot get close to him. He has most of the Arkhenian army focused on stopping him. He takes the skies again and tries to burn everyone who gets close to him but there are just too many of them. Andreas stands in the distance and smiles to the sight. He knows that it is not long now before he wins this war and the Arkhen throne for good, but a loud horn from a far distance stops his daydreaming. They cannot see anything for once because of the fog but then Noxa rises up from it roaring and with him dozens of ships. It is queen Isabela and the Selux army assisted by most of its southern allies.
Cullen and the elf army are relieved to see them. Andreas commands his dragons to take them out but Cullen and his dragon’s burn almost all of them down before they even leave the land. Isabela and her armies join in the war raising the hope of victory. Isabela easily kills many of the Arkhenians who attack her before being confronted by Amulius Carver. They battle hard but Amulius has the upper hand. He holds her sword as she attacks him and cuts it to half-pieces using his predator claws. He then shoulder tackles her as she drops to the ground. He then toys with her as she tries to fight. Isabela tries to use all her combat skills but he is too powerful for her. Amulius trash talks by saying that she is just a primitive human who only deserves to clean his shoes. He then lifts her up by the neck.
“I am pretty sure that you have a last wish. That is how you humans are, aren’t you?” he asks her.
“You are right. I do have a wish. I wish to ask you how much will it hurt?” she replies.
Amulius gives a confused look not understanding what she means before Isabela hits him with a low-blow using her right leg. Amulius drops her because the hit was hard and he was in pain, she in that instance picks up her half-broken sword and stabs him penetrating it through his heart.
“It does not matter how powerful a predator you may be. If you are a male then that hurts, that really hurts” she tells him before he drops down to his death.
Cullen reaches to Andreas and asks him to stop this insanity right now.
“Look around brother” replied Andreas.
“Your whore’s army is still not enough. You are still losing” he added.
“We were not made for this brother. We were supposed to protect them” Cullen tells him.
“We are not supposed to protect them but to rule them. Look around again brother. There are no gods. We are the most powerful beings in the world. We are the gods and you want us to kill our race so that these wretched humans destroy this world. I will not let it happen” responded Andreas.
“I have tried to make you understand from the beginning” replied Cullen.
“I have given you so many chances but now you are beyond the point of reason. That is why you must die” he adds.
Cullen takes his dragon form and attacks while Andreas also does the same as the both of them collide. Cullen has the upper hand. Andreas in pain knowing that he cannot defeat his brother on his own cries for help. He is assisted by five of the Arkhenians who take their dragon form and attack Cullen. Andreas now gains the upper hand. Cullen tries to fight them off but there are just too many of them. They slam him to the ground as he returns to his human form being severely injured. Andreas walks closer to him and says that he should have listened to him.
“I never wanted to do this. I stood with you during the Arkhen Wars against the brother who raised me. I called you my king from day one but the only thing that you have done for the past three thousand years is disappointing. Disappoint our family and disappoint our race. Now I have realised that our brother was right all along. Humans do not deserve to be protected. They deserve only to be ruled” said Andreas.
He then holds his head and makes him look at the battle area.
“Look brother. All your allies, elves and the men are slowly dying. They never stood a chance. I am going to win this war. After I am done here, I will go to Selux and kill your child” Andreas continued to say.
Cullen angrily screams that he cannot hurt his child and tries to fight him off but again there are five other Arkhenians to stop him. Andreas tells him to accept his defeat and he might just spare his life.
“I do not think so” A voice says from behind.
They turn around to see Isabela with a bow together with Samven. She quickly strikes three of them down with the Arak arrows while Samven takes care of the other two.
“You all will never learn, won’t you?” asked Andreas in anger.
He then attacks Samven as Isabela gets to Cullen.
“So, you did come after all” said Cullen.
“Do not get too excited. I only came to protect my realms” she replied.
Cullen tells her that she is a really bad liar. Isabela then smiles before kissing him.
“And also because I love you” she said.
Cullen then looks around again and tells her that they will not win this war like this. He says that he needs the Ark of Arkhen.
“You forget that this is my first time here. I really do not know what that is” said Isabela.
“It is my crown but not just any crown. It is the most powerful weapon in the world. It is the only chance left to us in order to win this war. I have sensed it. It is in the palace but I cannot leave you and everyone in battle” replied Cullen.
Isabela says that she and Samven will hold off Samven until he returns and asks him to go. Cullen retakes his dragon form and flies towards the palace as fast as he can. Isabela picks up a sword from one of the fallen men and joins Samven in the battle with Andreas. Andreas knocks down Samven and makes his way towards Isabela but he is not going to get any easy match. She is the best sword fighter in the realms of men for a reason. As she frustrates Andreas, he calls for help again but Samven stops any form of assistance using some of his magical spells. Isabela knocks Andreas towards the edge of the wall as Samven uses magic to lift him up and drops him all the way down to the floor.
“We should go to battle more, me and you” Isabela tells Samven.
“We make a great team” she added.
“An unbeatable pair” replied Samven.
Then Andreas rises again in his dragon form.
“Both of you have really impressed me, but your efforts will go in vain. I will burn you down to ashes” said Andreas.
As he is about to breed fire, he and everyone hear a huge dragon roar. The clouds turn grey as darkness, winds and lightning take over. Cullen returns with the Ark of Arkhen and his full strength as he takes Andreas down. He retakes his human form as dozens of Arkhenians attack him but this time they are no match for h
im. He easily slices them all open with his claws and quick speed. He then stands and slowly raises both hands as the lightning strikes the Arkhenians down burning them to ashes. Just like that, the battle was all but over. Andreas though, makes a last gasp attack by using his dragon fire trying to burn Cullen burn it does not affect him. He is then shot by an arrow by Samven and crashes on top of the wall returning again to his human form. A handful of his loyal survivors try to help him but they are taken care of by Isabela and her men. Cullen gets close to Andreas as he tries to defend himself. Cullen blocks his punches and cuts his hands off as Andreas screams in agony. He begs for his life saying that he only did what he believed was right.
“I never wanted to betray you but I had no choice. I only did what I thought was right. Please forgive me brother” Andreas screams in pain.
“You did not betray me. You betrayed this family and everything which we stand for” replied Cullen.
Cullen lifts him up, holding his neck with his left hand and uses his right hand to penetrate his skin ripping his heart out.
“Freedom wins, tyranny loses!” he said in a commanding voice.
Now everyone who survived celebrates the hard-earned victory. Andreas is dead. Cullen has finished solving his mystery and Isabela, and Selux have had the revenge for the death of King Solas. Cullen and Isabela just stand at a distance and look at each other not knowing what to do now. Cullen knows that being with her now will only betray the trust of his people as she also understands that the realms of men will not accept it either. Both of them though, tell themselves that whatever the consequence, they will not give up on their love for each other.
As Cullen tries to get to her so that he can tell her how much he loves her, he feels the pain of something getting through him. He then notices the change in emotion on Isabela’s face as it changes from happiness to terror. As he looks down, he sees a sword end coming out of his heart and then pulled back. Once he turns around, he finds that it is his best friend Samven who has stabbed him. The elf army then manages to do the same to most of the southern army who just didn’t anticipate it. The elves seem to have already been drilled for this moment.