The Blessings of the Mothers

The High Priestess of the Earth Goddess, Gaia, took a container of soil from the peaks of Mt. Theltion, where Norman the Conqueror first arrived to save the world. She rubbed the soil on her thumb and slid it across the prince's forehead.

"Good tidings to you, your majesty. I am High Priestess Belladonna of the Temple of Gaia, Goddess of Earth. I give unto you soil from the spot where the Champion of the Goddesses arrived on the holy mountain. With this blessing, the blades of darkness will never strike you down."

The High Priestess went on her knees and prayed. When she was done, she turned and left, making way for the High Priestess of the Water Goddess, Winnex. Joey bit his lip while his friend, Tristan, tried his best to look away. The High Priestess was scantily dressed in oriental clothing made of silver and cloth-of-gold colored blue and black.

She held an ewer of platinum in her hands and bowed her head.

"Beloved prince," she said, her voice rang like a cool and gentle river. "I baptize you with the waters from the Pool of Nerronax, the holy spring where the Goddesses bathe."

She poured the water over the prince's head. Surprisingly, the child remained calm.

"Aafi, Goddess of the Ocean, will forever be your guardian. From henceforth, you will sail on gentle seas under clear skies. The water will also keep you pure from the temptation of the shadows. Long may you live, O' precious child."

She kissed the baby's forehead, prayed, and walked down to make way for the High Priestess of the Fire Goddess.

She held up two red candles and asked her knight to light them. She then held them over the baby and prayed.

"Beloved Prince, thank you for banishing the greatest evil to plague our world since Zorc. The Goddess of Fire, Untolia, will form a flaming aegis around your soul. These holy flames will ward off the darkness and keep your heart burning bright and strong and sure. May the Flames of Untolia burn you a path to victory and prosperity. Goddesses be praised."

Next, came the High Priestess of Yanavon the Goddess of Wind. Like the others, she kissed the prince on his forehead then prayed before she blessed him.

"Greetings, my prince," she said. "I gift you with the fierce gale of Simorgh, Yanavon's most beloved servant. May his divine winds blow away the fell powers of the world and keep your mind as pure and strong as the mountains."

The High Priestess of the Light Goddess, Entuli, then came, bearing a lantern made of crystal and silver hanging from a gilded chain. She waved the lantern over the boy as she sang a song in Ancient Termnnian tongues that have been forgotten by all, save for the High Priestesses.

"A fine morning to thee, Prince Daveed," she said. "With the blessing of this lantern, you receive the Light of Entuli, which will shine for you a path to justice and radiance. A path that will lead you to those with lights in their hearts that are as bright as yours. There will be many dangers in the path you tread, but so long as you walk under her stars, you will find your way to a radiant and splendid future."

And then the Grand Priestess arrived. In her hands, she carried a case made of glass and gold, bearing three special cards inside. The Divine Beasts. Obelisk the Tormentor, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Slifer the Sky Dragon, the monster that the prince was rumored to have summoned to defeat Anubis.

Avenellia turned and held up the case for all to see. After a round of applause, she faced the prince and knelt.

"Prince Daveed of the House of Plantegrast. You now bear the great gift of Horakhty, the might of the Termnnian God Cards. May the fist of Obelisk the Tormentor vanquish those who challenge your birthright. May the flames of the Winged Dragon of Ra burn bright and incinerate those who curse you. And may the thundering roar of Slifer the Sky Dragon send waves of fear upon your enemies and those foolish enough to stand with them. Goddesses be Praised!"

"Goddesses be Praised!" everyone in the throne room said.

When the blessings were done, two Black Luster Soldiers donning beautiful white capes with dragon-shaped fastenings made of silver walked across the throne room. They bowed in respect for the prince, then stood on either side of him to guard him. Then two lines of Buster Bladers marched in.

They split as they got closer to the Diamond Throne and stand on either side of the red-carpeted path leading to it. When the security was set, it was time for the royal guests to come in and get their chance to see the hero.

The Elves had arrived first; they came traveling a long way from their hidden woodland cities to bring gifts for the baby. Mai, Téa, and Serenity watched in awe as the mightiest Elven lords from all over Keya and even the mystical continent of Almara entered the grand halls.

When the Elves were done with their blessings, the Dwarves of Greenton were next. They arrogantly marched towards the prince, hoping to outdo the Elves with their gifts to the prince.

Then, when their time was done, the kings and queens from all the kingdoms of Termnnia both grand and small arrived to shower the boy with gifts too, and the Mages from the Citadel came books, hoping that the prince's guardians would shower him with knowledge.

King Helmsley of Elleria proudly strolled into the room with his family. His wife, Sera, was pregnant which child due at any moment, and their little daughter, Princess Evelyn, happily walked beside them carrying a box of coins and Star Chips for the prince.

Her ebony hair went down to her shoulders in pretty curls and she had a rose sprinkled with gold dust tucked into the left part of her hair. A large red bow was also perched there with a galaxy-cut ruby in the center, mostly there as a way for her parents to show off their riches to the other noble guests.

"Princess Evelyn," said Mai. "How do you do?"

"I am well, My Lady," Evelyn said doing a curtsy. "Pleased to see you."

Mai smiled and squealed delightfully as she looked at Helmsley and Sera. "You're daughter has grown into quite the lady, Your Grace. You must be very proud."

Helmsley scoffed. "Proud is not what I would use to describe her. The girl has a long way to go when learning how to greet the Heir to the Throne. How dare you march ahead of us young lady?"

Evelyn squeaked and went red in the face. "I'm sorry, papa."

"Don't be so hard on her, Helmsley!" Yami said after quickly taking Yugi's place. He said this as he walked out from behind Joey and Tristan. "High King Antar told me you weren't any better as a child. You wet your pants on purpose if you weren't served enough capon from what I recall."

Everyone in the throne room laughed. Yami had no remorse for the king's humiliation. Time and time again he had seen him be rough with little Evelyn, and it wasn't out of love.

To see him act this way with her, even on a joyous day such as this, had crossed the line for Yugi. He leered when he saw Helmsley go red as the laughter slowly died down to a few chuckles before the ceremony went quiet again.

"Humph!" Helmsley grumbled.

Mai let out a stealthy snicker as she watched the king get put in his place. She noticed a timid youth hiding behind the dress of Queen Sera. "Oh, and who is this strapping young fellow?" she asked.

Helmsley looked at the boy and gave another scoff. He grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and pulled him out so he could face Mai.

He leaned toward his ear and whispered sternly, telling him to behave.

"This is Dancer of House Firewing, a cadet branch of my House. Excuse the lad. He begged and begged me to take him to the capital of the Land of the Kings because he wanted to see Prince Yuri and all the knights. But, he's a bit shy. Spineless coward."

"That's not very kind," said Mai.

"He's also my future husband," Evelyn said, to which the crowd laughed.

"Is that so?" Mai asked. "Now how did that come to pass?"

"I beat him in a Duel, my lady," Evelyn boasted, placing her hands behind her back and moving her shoulders back and forth. "If he won the Duel, he could have the Buster Blader deck Master Yugi gave me. But if he lost, then he would agree to marry me. And I won!"

The guests — even Maester Seymour and the Priestesses — laughed even louder upon hearing her say that. Dancer's face turned so red, Mai thought it was going to burst. She slowly approached him and held out her hand. "It's good to meet you, Dancer," said Mai. "Come now. Don't be shy."

Dancer whimpered and hid behind Sera's gown. Mai was just so beautiful and shined brightly in her gilded, glimmering gown.

She looked like the Arva, an extinct race of winged people. Everyone in the throne room laughed again at his timidness. Sera chuckled and tugged her dress away from his clutches. "Forgive him, Lady Mai. He is star-struck. Master Yugi is somewhat of a hero to him."

"Is that so?" said Yami. "Come young one, you can sit with me in the tourney celebrating the new ruler of our lands."

"Re-really?" Dancer asked. Yami held out his hand. Dancer shook it, feeling a sensation of relief overtake him when he touched the hand of his idol. "Wow, this is the best day of my life! I'd be honored, sir!"

Yami

When the ceremony was over, Yami and his friends took the prince to the main plaza of the city. The plaza was closed off days earlier and made into an arena for the twenty-day jousting tournament being held in honor of the prince. Yami and the others climbed all the way up the six floors of the central viewing tower to a shaded balcony, which was reserved for only the highest nobility in Rassay.

Beneath them, the other seats were quickly filling up with lords and ladies, rich townsfolk, and scores of knights who were not participating in the first day of the games. The honor of fighting on the first day went to champions, knights of high birth and renown, or acquaintances to the prince. Across from them another row of tall viewing stands was being filled up. Just before he sat down, a guard approached Yugi and told him there was urgent business at the bottom of the sand.

"Excuse me, everyone," Yami said following him out of the viewing box. Having missed breakfast, Joey dashed downstairs to the kitchen to order himself a tray of fried bread, Niwatori eggs, burnt bacon, and hashed browns, and a tankard of black beer to wash it down. He ate noisily right next to the prince, causing Serenity to look at him in disgust.

"Ugh, Joey! You're a knight! Set an example for Daveed, will you?"

Joey —who seemed to have lost all his senses when he ate — continued to scarf down his meal, his chin was stained with crumbs and his lips shined with grease.

Duke Devlin, another friend of theirs, could not ignore the savory aroma of Joey's meal and went downstairs to the kitchen to get one of his own.

Yami chuckled at their squabbling and went down the creaky wooden steps until he reached the supports holding up the box.

Jaime, the Blast Luster Soldier from Karad-Antha was leaning against one of the supports. His armor was different now. One half was black and the other was white, both sides were beautifully accented in gold. For his actions in the battle, Jaime was promoted to the Guard of Evening Twilight, an elite fighting force of Black Luster Soldiers.

"Jaime," Yami said. "That armor suits you."

"But it will never hide the scars Anubis inflicted on me," he said.

"Cheer up, young one," Yami said. "You have been named a member of the Kingsbrand. The top guard in the Spire of the Kings. You should be honored."

"I failed to defend my friends," said Jaime. "There is no honor in this promotion."

The Red Sparrow soon joined them. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh," he said. "Ser Jaime."

"Jaime, this is Azaki Kakihara. He's of the Emboldorian House of Intelligence."

"Well met, Azaki," said Jaime.

"Well met. Master Yugi, I have to keep this brief." He leaned forward and whispered. "It's about those two men I captured."

"What did you find out?"

Azaki shook his head. "Not much. They're tough, sir, I'll give them that. But they mentioned something about warriors coming to kill the little prince. Shall I send word to send more protection for him?"

"Yes, but do so discreetly. We don't want to cause a panic. Have the Black Luster Soldiers form a perimeter around the stadium. No cloaks, no hoods, no weapons."

"Yes, sir," Azaki said. He bowed and walked away.

"By the way," Yami said. "How is your son doing?"

Azaki turned and smiled. "He's already started fighting. Ha! He'll make a fine soldier one day."

"What was it you named him again?"

Azaki smiled. "Ren. After his grandfather." He nodded and walked off.

"I'll stay down here and watch the entrance," said Jaime. "I promise no one will get past me. I owe the kid everything."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jaime. When all is said and done, we'll get our revenge." He patted Jaimie on the pauldron and walked back upstairs to join the others.

"What was that all about?" Serenity asked as he returned.

"Nothing to be concerned about, Serenity," Yami said with a smile. "Just some issue going on with a drunk."

"I'll imagine there's going to be more of that as the day goes by," said Mai.

Being blessed as the godmother (A benediction given to her on the day Rose discovered she was pregnant), she held onto the baby prince tightly, never letting him go. Téa and Serenity never left his side either; for the three of them had a powerful bond of friendship with his mother, Luthia Noctiva Androsa.

They called her Rose; for they first met her while studying Light monsters underneath a rose bush at Duelist Academy decades ago. Because of this bond, the three young women felt it was their duty to protect their friend's child and care for him.

Mai tickled the boy's belly to make him giggle. She was so glad to finally give the child fresh air after being stuck inside that throne room for so long.

"You are most definitely your mother's son, little one," she said with a graceful laugh. The baby cooed and grabbed her diamond flower necklace hanging over her chest. Téa had one, as did Serenity. It was a symbol of their bond, one they claimed not even death could break.

"He has such a liking to you," Téa said gleefully. She wore a green gown with gold floral patterns that exposed her shoulders. Over her right breast was a silver pin, crafted in the shape of a turtledove, the sigil of her House.

"Makes sense that he would," said Mai. "I am his godmother after all." She nuzzled the baby's stomach to raise another giggle out of him. She kissed his cheeks three times and held him close.

Having finished his meal, Joey wiped his chin, got up, and marched to the boy. "Hey, there's the little guy!" called out Joey Wheeler, the newly appointed Lord Commander of the Kingsbrand.

It was an honor given to him for his bravery in the Battle of Karad-Antha. He was ready for his tilt against his opponent and friend, Ser Tristan. He kept his helmet tucked under his arm, so as not to frighten the child (He accidentally greeted the baby with his helmet earlier that morning, and it gave him a fright).

His black cape with red on the underside was strapped over his breastplate with a brooch in the shape of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon's head. He had on a surcoat that parted over his legs. One side had his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the other showed a Black Skull Dragon, which was a powerful symbol of his friendship with Yugi.

"You're looking handsome, Joey," Mai said, placing a hand on the back of the baby's head as she held him close to her chest.

"And yer looking beautiful," Joey bowed. "Aw man, dey don't call ya the Delight of Termnnia fer nothin', Mai."

"You're a real charmer Joey," Mai said with a tease.

Serenity stared at her beloved brother in his armor, reminiscing her days growing up in the Kingdom of Gardenrealm. They were not pleasant memories. Seeing the baby boy being loved and cared for made her envy him. It was a love that she was denied when she was little. Flashbacks started coming back to her from long-ago violent days.

Serenity and her family lived in an island community in the center of Lake Maria, the largest lake in Gardenrealm. Her father was a mercenary working for the Red Scale Company, an infamous band of sellswords known mostly for racketeering, raping, and pillaging.

He was a horrid Eldori. Long greasy hair matted his face ruined with acne scars, and he reeked of rum. Serenity's mother, on the other hand, was a loving woman who made her living running a laundromat in the alley.

While she was seen as a mistake, her brother, Joey, was her father's pride and joy, and for a good reason. Joey was already making easy money winning Duel Monsters tournaments held in the town square, and he was enlisting in the Emboldorian Army to fight off Orcs sailing into Termnnia to cause their mischief.

Serenity made her money selling flowers from her garden in the backyard of their shack. The people loved her for her kindness and beauty and paid her well, but her father spited her for being the weak runt of the family.

Mrs. Wheeler had a miscarriage many years after Joey's birth; the child could have been the Wheeler family's second son. Mrs. Wheeler was with child again many seasons later, and out came Serenity, much to Mr. Wheeler's chagrin. He once told Serenity that he wished it would have been the other way around. That she had died, and the son had lived.

But he never refused the money she brought home from selling her flowers. Some days she wouldn't make enough, and Mr. Wheeler would rip off her clothes and then smacked her back and buttocks with a wooden board, which left splinters on her flesh that got filled with gooey puss. Mrs. Wheeler would clean her after every beating, wiping her backside with the caring love only a mother could give, and she would sing her songs of knights saving princesses from giants and dragons to soothe her of the pain and, hopefully, fill her with confidence and inspire her to be stronger in this cruel world.

Those moments when her mother healed her beaten butt were the only fond and happy memories she had as a child. Most of her life had been hell. Often she would wonder if she was a spirit wandering the Shadow Realm. She never pondered this more than that terrible night when her father brought her into the tavern for her birthday.

She thought that she finally going to have a birthday party the night she had turned sixteen and bloomed into adulthood. Her mother and all her friends from the tailor's district made her a beautiful pink dress with sashes of white silk. It was to be a night for her to remember. But when she entered the tavern, no celebration would be found that night.

Serenity's father took his knife and cut the dress off Serenity and showed her naked body to his mercenary companions. She could still hear herself screaming, begging for her father to save her as he sat outside, counting the money he made. The money made off her flesh and misery.

After the party, he sold her to the House of Flowers and got the infamous rose of Dalklia tattooed on her. Sold. Sold like a trinket for 10,000 Star Chips. After ten years of slavery and abuse, Serenity was rescued by the Eyar named Gabriel the Black when he saw her being beaten by her keeper. With a powerful bolt of lightning, he turned the vile man into a pile of ash.

"I know your face," the Eyar said to Serenity. "Your brother's been looking for you. Come, let me take you home."

Serenity gazed at the child for many minutes before her friends began to grow worried about her.

"Serenity, anybody home?" Téa asked, snapping her fingers in front of Serenity's face.

"Huh?" Serenity gasped.

"You looked out of it, hun," Mai said.

Serenity made a wan smile and brushed her hair back with her fingertips. "Sorry, I had a lot on my mind."

Joey picked up the boy from Mai's arms and asked if he and the baby looked identical. "Well, what do you think?"

He held the baby prince up to his face so the girls could compare. They jokingly said no, of course, and Joey didn't take it kindly, but then, he was slow to catch a joke.

Joey gave the baby back to Mai.

"Whatever," he said. "Yer all just mad he's gonna like me more when he grows up. Just watch! I'm gonna make him da best jouster da world has ever seen. Well, not betta dan me of course. I'll even give him some tips on how to be a good Duelist like me."

"I think Yugi has that taken care of," said Mai. "We need the King of Games to teach the prince, not the king of lame."

"What! Why I oughtta!"

Téa laughed, slowly falling down in her seat. "Gonna teach him how to be mean to women now, Joey? That's not the kind of role model he needs."

"Yeah, well, at least he's not twenty-seventh in line for his throne," Joey countered.

"SHUT UP!"

Mai leaned her head to the right and said: "Joey, your tilt is about to begin. Make us proud."

Joey slammed his fist over his chest. The armor clanked and the chainmail cocooning his wrist in mithril jingled.

"Yeah, you bet!" he said contemptuously. "I'm gonna kick Tristan's butt!" He looked at the prince, who was smiling at him in Mai's arms. "Dat's right, little man! Yer gonna see a real knight in action. Watch and learn, kid."

He put on his helmet then marched away and disappeared into the underbelly of the arena.