All That Ends Will Begin Anew

A group of people mysteriously sat around a round table. At each seat, one placed their crown.

"The final leader has joined our table. The meeting can now begin," announced a man, presumably the mediator of the group.

The typical and usual conversation topics started the meeting, but not a single one of the people present at the meeting was interested in what was being discussed. They each knew why they were there and were impatiently awaiting the arrival of the topic.

"Can we skip the formalities? We all know why we are gathered here," disrupted King Himaal of Samana.

"King Himaal, please do not interrupt the High Priest," replied King Ibram of Azaba.

"Old man Ibram, while I disagree with the disrupting of the High Priest, he does have a point," bellowed the young Queen Zaida of Jahar.

The High Priest slammed his staff onto the floor, silencing the room.

"I will now move onto the main topic of this meeting. The reason the kings and queens of Samana, Azaba, Jahar, Khaiwah, Sarisova, and Zeressu have gathered here is to discuss the rumored return of the Ra. Seeing as the leaders here were all directly responsible in the deposing of the Ra, I will ask of you to decide amongst yourselves how this child will be dealt with." The High Priest spoke calmly, yet with edge to his words.

"It is obvious what we must do, the boy must die," concluded Empress Azza of Sarisova. "I am scared of what the child might do to my nation. Out of all the nations represented here, Sarisova has the most Ra sympathizers left. If the rumors are proven true, my nation will crumble."

"I have a proposition for you Azza, my dear. Why not let our troops occupy Sarisova, just for a little while. I promise we'll give it back." The words of the King of Zeressu, Famir, were tipped with poison.

"You think me a fool, snake? You will take Sarisova over my dead body," snapped Azza.

"If nothing is done, that might just be the case. The boy provides threats to us all. But if the boy is not a true descendant of the Ra, we cannot unjustly execute a citizen of the Eastern Continent. Not every nation here is like that of Zeressu." added King Idris of Khaiwah.

"Are you calling my people liars, Idris? This conference is not a treaty by any means." Azza was simply too proud.

"Tread carefully, Azza. You are being disrespectful in the presence of the leaders of nations much mightier than yours. Your nation's high population of Ra sympathizers is a threat to us all. I believe it is in the right mind to destroy Sarisova before it grows in size. Azza can become a concubine or wife to one of us and we can gift the land Sarisova back to her so she can rule as a regent of it. Is this acceptable to you?" suggested Ibram.

"Like I would want to be wed to any of you swine. My land is not for taking." Azza grew furious now.

The other leaders are looked at each other and nodded.

"Are we all in agreement then?" Himaal croaked.

"Yes. I do think we are." replied Zaida.

"Agreement? What agreement?" Azza was both puzzled and angry.

"An agreement to destroy Sarisova. Seeing how Zeressu is the nation that shares the most borders with Sarisova, unless you wed with Idris, there is no other way." Ibram was cold in his response.

"So either I give up my pride or I give up my people?" lamented Azza.

"It would appear that way," responded the High Priest.

"War it is." retorted Azza. "This meeting is adjourned. The next time we meet, it will be in battle."

************************************************

Alaria, still unconscious, lay on Iman's bed. Iman's mother was in a panic, screaming and shouting out questions of what they should do and where they should go.

"Mother, this is your home, it always has been. You should stay here. You are still in your thirties, you should be going out and getting married to the man of your dreams, not harboring an enemy of the state." suggested Iman.

"Do not ever tell me to abandon you again, Iman. This was the goal trusted to me by the only person to ever care about me. You were her gift to me, and you living on is my gift to her. Wherever we go, we go together. If you stay, I stay. If you leave, I leave," professed Iman's mother, Aliya.

"Mother, I lo-"

Iman was cut off by a heavy knock at the door. Iman carefully retreated to his room and closed to the door. The closing of the door seemed to wake up Alaria.

"Im-Iman?"

"Quiet. Somebody is here." Iman sounded serious.

"What do you mean? Where is here? Why am I here?" questions flooded Alaria's head, before her head began to pulse with pain.

Iman could only hear the low voice of a man and the distinct voice of his mother. Iman, wanting to see for himself what was happening and listen in, he creaked open the door and peaked his eye out. At the front door was a man, near 2 meters tall with broad shoulders and a crescent moon mask on. Iman knew who the man was. He remembered men in the same outfit take away the nice family down the street, the ones who ran a bakery. It was the inquisitors of the Cult of Moon, a subgroup of the Church of Day who specialized in finding and eliminating Ra sympathizers across the nation. Iman knew why they were here. It was for him.

"No. I do not know the boy. Now please, leave my house." Aliya began to grow angrier.

"Do not try to lie. We know the boy is here. Just give him to us and we will leave you alone." The inquisitor responded, with a sharp edge to his voice.

As Aliya began to mouth the words "no", the inquisitor began to draw her sword, freezing her in her tracks. As soon as Iman saw the shine of the blade, he slammed open the door and tackled the man. Alaria, confused and dazed, mindlessly followed after him as Iman ran away to escape. All the nearby inquisitors saw them run away and pursued after them.

"Alaria! Why are you following me?" Iman shouted.

"I finally remember what happened. I am in completely in your debt. You saved my life, this is a feat that is not quickly forgotten. In my home country, a debt is to be always fulfilled. This is our code. The code all knights take." Alaria confidently stated. Iman knew he had no chance to convince her otherwise.

"Fine, but you must realize your life is over now, right?"

"I am a foreigner in this land, my life here never began in the first place." Alaria showed a gentle smile.

Seeing this warmed and reassured Iman of her loyalty and intentions. He found himself okay with Alaria as a helpful partner.

The two continued to run. Inquisitors seemingly appeared on the rooftops of nearby buildings and fired down arrows on the two. Alaria, with her unrivaled speed, moved Iman out of the way.

Just as another volley was about to come down, the unmistakable sound of war drums began to beat in the distance. From the sky, waves of catapult fire began to rain down on the city, throwing the entire city into a state of confusion and disarray. Using this confusion to their advantage, Alaria and Iman ran away, escaping the grasp of the inquisitors for the time being.

"We should get Rola, as a dark elf he will be a great asset to our party. What you want to do after we escape is up to you, but for the time being we should escape and gage our situation." Alaria reviewed.

Footsteps came in the distance could be heard.

"Who's there?" exclaimed Iman.

To his surprise, the person standing there was his own mother, Aliya.

"Like I said, Iman. Where you go, I go." Aliya affectionately stated.

The two shared reaffirming smiles and began to move to the Academy dorms.

Catapult fire continued to rain down the city, slowing their movement. Soon enough, the inquisitors caught up to the three of them and pursued. As they approached the Academy, Rola was already there waiting for them.

"Rola, use your bow! Behind us!" shouted Iman.

Rola instantly analyzed the situation and fired three arrows that whizzed past Iman and his two companions, killing their pursuers instantly.

"Rola, why are you already there? I mean, it is very lucky that you were there, though." asked Iman.

"Luck has nothing to do with it. I knew that you would come to me, your best friend, THE Fel Rola, and ask me for help," Arrogance shone through Rola's eyes as he puffed out his chest.

"Your ego surprises me to no end, Rola." Iman replied, shaking his head. "We need to get out of the city and quickly, do you know the fastest way out?"

"Yes, I do. But you are not going to like it," responded Rola.

Iman wondered why. He asked no further questions, however, and followed Rola attentively. He would then find out why as he approached the entrance to the sewers.

"Really?" Iman queried.

"You have a better idea?" Rola retorted.

"I suppose not. But I have to say, this is gross." Iman stated. Alaria and Aliya shook their heads in agreement.

The sound of shrieking interrupted the party.

"What was that? Who is in there?" shouted Alaria.

"Alaria...Is that...Is that you?" responded the mysterious individual.

As he approached, the figure became increasingly more recognizable. It was Elizar.

"Why are you there?" asked Iman.

"My mother told me to escape. She said that the city will be taken in the next week or so. Are you escaping as well? Please take me with you!" Elizar sounded panicked.

Rola, Alaria, and Iman all looked at each other, each looking for the other to come up with a decision.

"Fine. We need an errand boy anyway." Alaria concluded. She clearly disliked the idea of traveling with Elizar.

The five of them then moved down the sewage system, with Rola leading the rest.

"We should be out once we turn this corner." Rola triumphantly stated.

"Finally! I can't stand this sewer anymore!" Aliya shouted. She then sprinted past the corner.

"Mother, wai-"

Before Iman could finish, he could hear the sound a whizzing arrow piercing its target. Iman instantly knew what had happened.

"No. No. No. NO!" Iman went into a grieving panic and sprinted around the corner. Before he could be skewered with arrows as well, he was pulled back by Alaria.

"Rola! Is there another way out, a way the inquisitors would not know!" Alaria screamed.

"Yes, just this way! Follow me!"

The party ran past the exit to the sewer system to another nearby sewer, dodging arrows along the way. The inquisitors pursued after them. Rola knew his way around the sewers too well, however, and the group eventually lost them and exited the sewage system. They turned around and saw the city being besieged by an army holding the banners of all the other nations on the Eastern Continent.

"Why?" Elizar began to cry. "Why have they done this to us?"

"It is simple. They grew tired of the Ra sympathizers planning rebellions in Sarisova." Rola's usual energy was gone.

Iman went into a fury. Grief began to control him.

"I'm going to slaughter them! They will all die!" Iman's words were controlled by a power other than him. In his palms, two suns began to form. A powerful magical aura seemed to grip the hearts of Elizar and Rola. They were frozen by shock.

Alaria managed to fight it and attempted to calm Iman down.

"Iman, you have to control it, control yourself!" Alaria was desperate.

The suns began to grow in power and size, creating a heat setting the nearby foliage aflame.

"Iman! Please! If not for us, but for her! Please control it!" Alaria noticed the tears streaming down Iman's face.

She planted her feet and used all her power to dash towards Iman. However, instead of attacking him, she hugged him.

"I know it hurts, Iman. I know. Losing somebody you love always does. I have seen so many close to me die, but I am not willing to see anyone else die in my arms. You will tear yourself apart if you do not control yourself. Please, I am begging you, Iman."

Hearing Alaria's words seemed to finally calm Iman down, and the suns in his palms began to dissipate into nothingness. Iman then hugged Alaria back, sobbing in her arms.

Hours later, the group had not moved from their spot, still recovering from the events that had just occurred and making sure they were not still being followed by the cult inquisitors.

Finally, Iman stood up and prepared to leave.

"I know what I must do, what I was born to do." Iman looked to the setting sun. "Starting here in Sarisova, I will rebuild the Eastern Continent. I will unite the fractured pieces under my name. I am going to become the King Under the Sun. I will become the Ra."

Iman then shifted his gaze to his companions.

"The road ahead will be long and it will be dangerous. I cannot guarantee your safety. But if you aid me in my quest, I will assure you that we will fix this broken world. Peace is already disrupted. We will adapt or we will fail. Will you stand with me?"

"O King of Morning Sun, I will be your sword until death grips me as pay for my debt." Alaria bowed down to Iman.

"Like you even had to ask! I will be your bow, now and forevermore." Rola also bowed.

"If you can save my people, I will be whatever you want me to be." Elizar fell to his knees.

Iman, with a newfound resolve glaring from his eyes, told his new allies to rise.

"Where should we go?" asked Rola.

"If we are to stop this invasion and save Sarisova, we must gather an army. We will travel to your home. Rola. We will head to the easternmost border of Sarisova, to the province of Al-Reyla, home of the dark elves. The dark elves are all that remains of the once divine race of elves, and they will be most useful allies. We will Al-Reyla as the staging ground for our coming war. I will announce myself as Ra there, and we shall watch the thousands of Ra sympathizers gather under my name. Then, finally, we will go to war." Iman's voice no longer had the tone of a child, but a man.

Iman and his party turned and began traveling eastward towards their destiny.

And thus began the journey of a boy who called himself king and his struggles to learn what it that truly means. This is a world of demons and dragons, of gods and angels, of dungeons and spirits, of kings and saints.