Chapter 1

"Sir, they –"

A guy laying down in his black uniform and covered by shadows looking through his sniper scope, says over his communicator as a female voice interrupts him in the middle of his sentence.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me ma'am, sergeant?"

"My apologies ma'am, the enemy is amassing on the horizon. You should see this with your own eyes to believe me."

"Why is that sergeant?"

The female answers slightly irritated. He sighs and shrugs before he answers.

"They brought a dragon and other creatures."

"They what?! You better not be pulling a prank on me again!"

No further communication was needed as he knew she'd be joining him any minute now. He kept looking through his scope in disbelief as he gets tapped on the shoulder by a pretty, young elven woman dressed in the uniform of a captain. He turns to face her and is now looking into the blue eyes of the silver blond-haired female.

"Ma'am."

He quickly salutes.

"Enough with the formalities sergeant. Show me what you meant with the dragon."

He steps aside and lets her look through the scope. She looks through it and scans the horizon. As she is doing this she can see the dragon and the other creatures all lined up in between human troops.

"They even brought Night Reapers, Werewolves, and other creatures."

"Can you see the person riding the dragon or what color the soldiers are wearing?"

She nods and takes a better look at the dragon and lets out a sigh of disbelief.

"The person on the dragon is wearing a crimson-colored armor with golden trims and a purple cape. The soldiers are wearing crimson uniforms."

The guy standing behind her says. She nods as her body shakes.

"It's worse than we thought. If that person is here those soldiers are from the Crimson Purge. The reports were true then, the ruler of Lythrania came with the troops."

"Do we know what their ruler is capable of ma'am?"

She shakes her head.

"We do not. We don't even know whether it's a male or female."

"So, we know that little."

He sighs and stares out over the open field towards the horizon. Crackling on the communicators pulled them out of their stare. Both reached for it, so they could listen to what whoever was trying to communicate had to say.

"Do you guys also see this?"

A worried voice of a man came through. She replies.

"Depends on what you see sir. Are you not on the other side of the city?"

"I am on the other side of the city and what I see is an army of Crimson Purge troops with a dragon and a figure clad in crimson armor with golden trims and a purple cloak riding it!"

Both look at each other stunned by this information.

"Sir, we see the same thing on this side of the city. How is that even possible?"

"You one hundred percent sure you see the exact same thing?"

"Yes, sir. What about the east and west sides of the city?"

"All report the same."

She lets out a sigh.

"This does not bode well either its an illusion or they have four dragons with three or four decoys on them. Not even speaking of the troops they have."

He shakes his head as he sits down and stares at the horizon.

"This war has been going on for how long now?"

"Too long Vaeril. First the Dwarfs and now us. We had been living here peacefully for thousands of years."

"I wish everything would just go back to normal, back to the training, back to the not having to worry to lose anyone to a stupid war."

Vaeril makes an angry fist. She lets out a sigh.

"It will most likely be all over soon."

"But at what cost Phyrra? At what cost? How many more have to die in this stupid war before their bastard ruler stops?"

"I do not know Vaeril."

She looks at him with pain in her eyes. As if they heard them talk the communicators crackled but the voice they heard come through it was deformed, so it was unrecognizable whether it was male or female.

"None of you have to die anymore. Lay down your arms and submit to having me as your ruler. You get one day to decide. If you do not comply blood will have to be spilled. You know what my Crimson Purge soldiers are capable of and then I have not even started on the Werewolves and Night Reapers or my Dragons."

He jolts up out of bed, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Phyrra comes storming into his room looking worried.

"What happened? We heard you shouting."

"Bad dream is all."

He sighs and tries to hide his heavy breath with a smile.

"Come downstairs and join us for breakfast."

"I'll be there in just a minute need to get dressed somewhat first."

She smiles, turns around, and walks out closing the door behind her. For a moment he stares blankly at a wall before starting to get dressed.

"Was it really just a dream? It felt so real."

He decides not to ponder over it any longer and heads downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Look who finally decided to join us."

His sister says with a smirk while looking at him. Phyrra giggles at her remark.

"I know I had to pull him out of his bed. Worst Boyfriend ever."

She sticks her tongue out at him.

"Yeah yeah, the one time I'm not the first one up I'm getting shit for it."

"Always Brother."

He sighs shaking his head while sitting down next to Phyrra.

"So, what are today's plans for you two lovebirds?"

His mother asks as she puts a pan with some delicious smelling bacon and eggs on the table.

"I wanted to stay inside but I know it's Valentine's day so I made other plans."

"Actually, had not thought about that yet."

Phyrra lets out a nervous laugh.

"It's funny how we still celebrate things they only had on Lythrania before all the elves and dwarfs left it."

"Were you ever there, mom?"

"No, I wasn't your great great great grandfather, was though he was one of the last elves to leave it. It's been almost a thousand years since the last elf left that place to never return. The dwarfs were gone way faster and ever since they've been telling us to get our beacon out of near orbit to Lythrania and no one of the remaining elves would come. They were afraid of the humans following us here since they were the reason we left."

She sighs and looks down.

"All the horrible stuff you hear about them, not all is true but most of it is. Their constant wars for newly found resources, their constant hate of other races even in their own race they hate one another because someone looks a bit different."

All of them are looking at her with great interest as she was telling this.

"Let's change the subject. Maybe you could take Phyrra to the movies Vaeril or maybe out for dinner."

"Sounds like a good plan mom although I might have a better idea. I can't say anything about it cause it's a secret."

He looks at Phyrra who was listening closely to what he was saying. Her face turned into a frown as soon as he said that.

"Dammit, I never get you to spill secrets when I'm not supposed to know yet or at all."

He sticks his tongue out at her.

"That's what secrets are for. How come you seem to know exactly what my plan is, mom?"

He looks at his mom who is shaking her head while smiling.

"I'm supposed to know is why and it's kind of obvious."

"Really?"

"Yep, definitely that obvious."

His sister says with the biggest smirk on her face. They all finish their breakfast and help clean up.

"Some things I wish would never change. Even though we have the means to have robots do this for us we still choose to do it ourselves most of the time."

His mother looks out of the kitchen window looking out over a beautiful landscape with a big city in the background that has a constant coming and going of shuttles from other cities.

"I'm going to get ready for what I've got planned. You better do so as well."

"I've only brought some normal clothes though I didn't bring anything fancy or super pretty."

"That's fine, cutey."

Phyrra turns bright red when he calls her that.

"Stop it! You better not walk in while I'm getting changed."

She gets up and rushes to his room.

"Wait I still need to -"

She slams the door shut before he can finish his sentence. He sits back down with a sigh.

"So, can we see the ring now that she is not here? That is what you have in mind right?"

"I put it up here and yes I do."

He gets up and reaches above the kitchen cupboard where he grabs a small cardboard box. His sister and mother paying close attention to him.

"Here it is but please don't make too much of a fuss about it or she might hear you guys and figure it out."

He opens the box and inside is a small black box. He opens that one and there is a silver ring with a diamond on it inside. Both his sister and mother put their hands to their mouth in awe.

"It looks beautiful, I'm sure she'll say yes big bro."

"Indeed it is beautiful."

He closes the box and puts it back in the other box before putting it back on the cupboard.

"I just need to make sure I don't forget it when we leave."

"Forget what?"

He quickly turns around and sees Phyrra standing there.

"You looking so beautiful."

She turns bright red at his remark.

"You better hurry getting ready or I'll leave without you."

She sticks her tongue out at him.

"I'm going I'm going."

He heads to his room and closes the door behind him.

"So, what is his plan for us today?"

"I'm not telling you, sweety. He told it to us in confidence we would not ruin the surprise."

His sister nods in agreement.

"That's a first I've seen you agree to something like that."

"Well I know it's special for him so I'll give him this once."

She sighs and sits down waiting for Vaeril.

"Come on get your shit together. You've been together with her for three years."

Vaeril says as he looks into the mirror doing his hair and trimming his beard. A few minutes later he walks out of the bathroom and back downstairs.

"I did not know you could dress up that nice brother."

"Mom, could we lend the car please?"

"You can for today."

She hands him the keys.

"Alright then we are ready to go I think."

Phyrra nods and they head to the car. He opens the car and checks all his pockets to make sure he has everything he needs with him.

"Dammit, I forgot my wallet inside imma go get it quickly you wait here."

He rushes inside.

"Forgot something?"

"This."

He grabs the small black box he put back on the cupboard and rushes back out to the car.

"Would you mind if she became part of the family?"

"Well, she kind of already is thanks to the amount of time they spend together."

"True."

He reaches the car and gets in making sure to have his wallet in his hand.

"There we go now we can go to our secret thing I planned."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough."

The drive takes about half an hour before they get out and go watch a movie after which they got back into the car and drove for about three hours before they arrive at their final stop. Phyrra kept trying to guess where they were going the whole way. He stops the car right outside of a forest.

"Here we are. I'm going to have to blindfold you to make the surprise all the better."

"Alright I'll play along but only this once."

He gets out of the car and walks over to Phyrra's side and opens the door for her.

"My lady."

He offers his hand to help her out of the car. She takes it and gets out.

"I hope it's not too far."

"It won't be."

He blindfolds her and firmly grabs her hand before leading her further. They head into the forest and after a couple of minutes, they arrive at a small lake where there is a restaurant build next to it. Everything was set up just as he arranged with the owners of the place. They were the only people there apart from the staff. He stops her and grabs the small black box before kneeling on one knee in front of her.

"You can take the blindfold off now."

She does. All the staff members had gathered around them just before he asked.

"Phyrra Lunala, we've been together for three years now and I'd like to make that forever. Will you marry me?"

He opens the small box.

"Y-Yes."

She stutters out while crying with happiness before hugging and kissing him. The staff broke out in clapping and cheering for them. A few minutes pass before Phyrra calms down a bit and wipes the tears from her eyes. Vaeril looks at her smiling.

"You like the surprise, my love?"

"Of course I do. How did you even arrange all this without me knowing?"

"Remember that job I had? That was here for the most part and then as a parting gift from here, I asked the owners If I'd maybe be able to rent it out like this for one day. It will be just us two and the staff here today."

A waiter walks up to them and whispers Vaeril something in his ear.

"Shall we go to our table?"

She nods still a bit shaken from the proposal.

"If you'd follow me I'll lead you to your table and bring you some menus."

He leads them to the terrace where there is one table put ready with two seats overlooking the lake. A couple of hours pass as they have their dinner.

"Did you have fun so far?"

"Of course I did."

"I'm glad. We'll let's go to our next and last stop we don't want to miss it."

"Where to next?"

"First paying this bill. Then it's a surprise."

He gets up and helps her up out of her chair before walking to the counter and paying the bill. They then head back to the car and get in.

"We still have about an hour before we miss the next thing on our to-do list today."

"How long is the drive? Are we going to make it?"

"The drive is only half an hour but I need to refuel the car along the way so it might stretch a bit longer."

She nods and they start driving. They drive about fifteen minutes before stopping to fill up the car which does not take long and they continue on their way. They arrive at a big lake where there are a lot of people standing near the edge of it. He parks the car in one of the parking spots.

"We've got about twenty minutes to find us a great spot for this."

They get out and walk towards the lake while looking around to find a good spot. They find one after a bit of searching.

"Why is it so busy here?"

"Well it is Valentine's day and a lot of people still celebrate it."

"So they all decided to come here? But why though?"

"You'll see in about five minutes."

"Alright."

After five minutes a beautiful firework show starts which lasts about fifteen minutes. When the show ends Phyrra kisses vaeril.

"Thank you for the amazing day today."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

He smiles.

"I'm tired can we go home please?"

He nods and they head back to the car.

"You can take a nap while driving home my love it will be a long ride anyway."

She nods and they get into the car. The drive home takes about four hours. When they arrive there is some flickering visible inside from the tv his sister and mom are most likely watching. They head inside. As they walk in his sister screams loudly.

"Sheesh, it's just us no need to be so afraid. What are you doing watching a horror movie at this hour?"

"Thank god it's just you guys. I thought it was the killer from this movie coming for me."

Vaeril and Phyrra break out in laughter.

"Yeah, we are definitely here to kill you. Anyway, have fun watching the rest of the movie sis. We're exhausted and are heading to bed."

"So, how did it go? Am I getting a sister?"

"Yes, you are."

Phyrra shows her hand with the ring on to her.

"I'm glad you said yes. I like you too much not have you as a sister."

"I'm glad you think of me that way. Well, we are off to bed now."

They head to Vaeril's room and go sleep. A couple of months passed in which they did all the planning for their wedding. Phyrra is sitting in a room getting her make-up done.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous to be honest."

"I'll help you through all of it today. I'm sure Vaeril is nervous as well."

"Yeah, he most likely is. Thank you for wanting to do this. Too bad my mother isn't here anymore."

"She'd have been proud of you I'm sure of it."

Phyrra smiles. Vaeril is putting on his suit while standing in front of a mirror.

"I wish dad could have been here to see this."

"At least you remember him."

"Yeah, I'd have been great to have him here."

"Cheer up bro you are marrying one of the prettiest girls out there. Besides, I'm here to make sure you look proper when the ceremony starts."

"As if I'd actually need your help with that. Thank you for helping me with this though."

He finishes up putting his suit on.

"So, what do you think?"

"Looks good. Your hair is also still looking good so you are ready for the wedding. Maybe you should go meet everyone that's come to it. While I go check on my soon to be sister."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

He walks out and goes to where all the guests are gathered. She goes to where Phyrra and her mother are getting ready. She knocks on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's just me, mom."

"Alright, you can come in but make sure your brother does not sneak in with you."

"I send him to meet the guests."

She walks in and lets out a gasp.

"You look extremely pretty in that dress."

Phyrra turns slightly red.

"You really think so? I just hope Vaeril likes it."

"I really do and I'm sure he will or else you can just marry me instead cause I still want a sister."

She says jokingly making Phyrra and her mother laugh.

"You definitely make sure people are less nervous and if he doesn't like my look I just might take you up on that offer."

About ten minutes pass of them talking and making jokes when someone knocks on the door.

"Who is there?"

"It's me Aedris, Phyrra's dad."

"You can come in."

He comes in making sure no one gets to look in and closes the door behind him.

"You look just like your mother at our wedding."

He wipes away a tear.

"Thanks, dad."

"She'd be so proud if she was here. Oh, right I almost forgot It's almost time for the ceremony. Are you all ready?"

"We should be."

They all nod in agreement

"Good, I will let someone know so they can let the guests and the lucky man know."

"It's normal for me to get nervous right now right?"

"It sure is."

She lets out a sigh of relief and smiles. Her dad walks to the door goes out of it for a minute and comes back in.

"There that's arranged in about five minutes we should hear whether everyone has taken a seat or not yet."

The five minutes seem to take hours for Phyrra. When they are finally over and a knock on the door is heard she lets out a sigh.

"Yes?"

"Everyone is seated we can begin the ceremony. Just give us the word."

"I'm ready to start."

Phyrra answers. The ceremony starts only a minute later. Her father walks her to the altar where Vaeril is waiting. The moment Vaeril sees her his jaw almost drops to the floor. She's wearing a white silk dress, which gives the impression she is floating. Once at the altar the ceremony fully begins and it takes around twenty minutes.

"Do you Vaeril Aewenys take Phyrra Lunala as your wife till death do you part?"

"I do."

"Do you Phyrra Lunala take Vaeril Aewnys as your husband till death do you part?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Vaeril pulls Phyrra a bit closer and kisses her. Everyone attending starts clapping. Moments later Vaeril picks up Phyrra like a princess and walks outside to the car waiting for them. As they reach the car Vaeril looks Phyrra in her eyes.

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect you."

She smiles as he puts her down on her feet again. He then opens the door to the back seats for her and lets her step in first before getting in himself.

"Today feels so much like a dream come true."

"Indeed it does."

Vaeril lets out a sigh of relief. The car starts driving them to the place they are holding their reception at. The ride takes twenty minutes. They are the first ones to arrive. Shortly after everyone else starts to trickle in first their family then their close friends and so on.

"I wish today could last forever."

"Same my love."

Phyrra kisses Vaeril on his cheek. They walk inside after everyone else has entered. The Reception lasts till deep in the night. People are dancing, eating, congratulating the newlyweds, and drinking. Towards the end of the night, people start to leave one by one something a group of a few people leaves at once. When everyone has left just Vearil and Phyrra are still on the dance floor.

"Today was amazing."

Phyrra smiles and looks Vaeril in the eyes.

"I don't think I could ever bear to lose you Vaeril. Please never do anything stupid."

"Why would I do anything stupid?"

"I just have a gut feeling you might one day do something that will cost you your life."

Vaeril hugs her tightly.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid."

A couple of months go by. They have since moved into their own home. One night they are watching tv when what they are watching switches to an emergency broadcast. A hysterical news reporter who is visibly shaking appears on the screen.

"This is an Emergency broadcast to tell you what just happened. The city of Mogkihm was just erased from the face of the planet by unidentified spaceships. So far all tries of communication have failed."

Vaeril immediately jumps and rushes to grab his phone when he hears the name of the city. He tries to call his mother. It goes immediately over to voicemail, he then tries his sister's phone. He lets out a sigh of relief when she picks up.

"Renna? What happened? Where is mom?"

"S-slow d-down p-please."

Her voice trembling from her crying. She takes a few deep breaths before answering.

"M-mom w-went t-to the m-mall."

She breaks down into crying. Vaeril holds his hand to his mouth shaking his head in disbelief.

"She is dead Vaeril, dead! She was in the mall when the city was vaporized."

Vaeril sinks to his knees and Phyrra comes over to him. She can tell from the look on his face what happened and hugs him tightly.