Epilogue.

Four Years Later

Alice stood at the window, looking over Agersdene City. The Radiant temple was still in ruins, and it would be a long time before it was repaired. Not that it mattered. There were only a handful of Riders that would have occupied it anyway, and they currently resided in the palace instead, and while it had also suffered its share of damage, it was in better state than the temple. She had been surprised that they had found any Riders at all that weren’t part of the Dark Faction, but a number had come out of hiding over the last few years, and they had seemed genuine.

As they had already known would be the case, the Kingdom of Avaraline was still in a complete mess. For the average citizen outside of the major settlements and cities it wasn’t too bad, but the core of the kingdom was at war with itself, and corruption was still prevalent. The rot had spread even deeper than they had realised, and while at first everything still sort of ticked along, once the dark factions realised that they would eventually be targetted they had started to play up, trying to regain the control that they were losing. They wouldn’t succeed, but it was taking a lot of time and effort to deal with. The Guilds were barely functional, and the kingdom had only just avoided going broke. Their military forces were almost non-existent, but they had managed to placate the neighbouring kingdoms for now. To top it all of, demons still wandered the lands.

It could be a lot worse.

That is true.

She had hoped to go back to her exploration and experiments with Laphir and Shino once the fight with the Demon King had ended, but instead she had been appointed overseer along with Arnold. Then the following year she had been made Queen, and Arnold the Chief Advisor. She hadn’t wanted the position, but she had had little say in it. It was just a facade in the end for the benefit of the kingdom, as she did not have the royal blessing. Katherine was still at large, and the land still recognized her as the true heir. None of the other kingdoms were owning up to having granted her asylum however, so her current location was unknown.

For better or worse, we were the best choice.

At least she still had Laphir and Shino with her. She wouldn’t have survived this long without their support. Speculation floated around if she would marry either of them, but she just ignored that.

We’ve been to busy for that, but who knows what the future holds.

Heh. I don’t think that it’s in either of us.

The Cult of Dark Light was still present, some of the citizens still retaining the magic that the Demon Kings corruption of the capital had granted them. They were officially recognized, as that was the best way to keep them under control and prevent a reoccurrence of the initial riots that had followed the ‘death’ of Zorthac, as they realized that the source of their power was now gone and many of them had lost their power just as quickly as they had initially gained it. But a new one had started to emerge in the last last year or so, the Cult of the Morning Light. It appeared that Velvet’s purification had also had side effects, and many of those that had lost the dark magic had instead gained the light counterpart. It had just taken a lot longer to awaken in them. What that meant was that only a few of the capitals citizens were now without magic, but the two factions did not like each other at all. The Cult of the Dark Light still revered the Night Crown, though their perception of who that actually was fortunately did not match the reality, and to those of the Cult of the Morning Light, the Dawn Angel was their Goddess. How they had found out about her was still a mystery, but in the end she was just the source and a figure of adoration to most of them.

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Speaking of Velvet, the purification had exacted a heavy toll, much more so than anyone had expected, and she was still asleep. Apparently Velvet had been awake when Myne had finally made it down to the Demon King’s throne room, but after a short conversation between them, and probably a final feed for Myne, Velvet had fallen into a deep slumber, her body wrapping itself in her magic like it had done once before. Over time the magic had become more solid, and currently had the form of a crystalline statue of her. It was absolutely stunning, Velvet looking more beautiful than ever, but the area was also out of bounds to everyone except for Myne and her daughters. They knew that Velvet was still alive as both of her dragons were still in existence. Light just slept at Velvet’s feet, while Ashling kept company with Myne. A way of giving her some comfort and reassurance that Velvet would wake again she guessed. Understandably Myne had not taken it well at first, but she seemed to be accepting of it at the moment. It turned out that she was also able to use her magic to put herself into a form of hibernation for stretches of time, so she had spent most of the past four years sleeping as well, sitting upon the Demon King’s former throne, waiting for her lover to wake, and it was likely that she would continue to do so.

She will have a child though. Different from her daughters.

They’d seen a vision of that, but where it would come from, or what it meant they did not know. That had left them both quite confused.

They were also certain that it was unlikely that either would involve themselves in the affairs of the world again. They had both paid excessive prices for doing so the first time round, a position that circumstance had put them in, not one that they had sought out themselves.

We can’t blame them for that either.

The bond between Ruby, Cammine and Myne was still strong, more so than it had been when they had changed, and even when Myne slept. At one point the two Dragon Ferals had been referred to as Myne’s daughters, and it had stuck. They were currently hunting down the Demons that remained in the kingdom, as well as dealing with any rogue Riders that surfaced, deciding what to do with them on a case by case basis. Ruby could use a small measure of Myne’s flames, which made her one of the best demon hunters around, and Kyla had somehow arranged a magitech flying mount for her from Odinsphere, filling in the space left by the death of her dragon. Ruby had taken the job as she felt some responsibility for what had happened. Alice suspected that she was also hoping to find some close companions that she had lost. What she would do with them once she found them was another story, but there was no guarantee that were still alive or in the kingdom. Eventually she would go looking outside of the kingdom, feeling that she had done all that she could here.

That time is soon approaching I think. But she may not like what she finds.

I just hope that she is strong enough to face and overcome it.

Myne’s power flows through her. She will be.

They also hadn’t heard anything more about Lady Knight Sylph, but that was a work in progress. Kyla and Melody were searching for both her and Queen Katherine, while also exploring the world in general, and enjoying themselves immensely. Melody was even more famous now than she had ever been, her music welcome wherever they went, both in the Innerlands and Outerlands. There was so much about the world that they didn’t know, but bit by bit they were learning more. Kyla and Melody were also dealing with any demons that cropped up outside the kingdom. There had only been a handful over the years, but as soon as they had found out about them they had made short work of them. Fang had originally been designed as an anti demon weapon, and he fulfilled that role perfectly.

There is much that Kyla keeps to herself. Probably wise though.

Alice sighed to herself. Her time was approaching as well. It was becoming harder and harder to tell herself apart. It was inevitable, and not necessarily a bad thing. They’d be both, and yet neither. But she would need a new name.

Alysia seemed like a fitting choice.

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Queen Katherine sat, watching the fire’s embers die down, lost deep in thought as her young son tore around the room. The power was strong. It coursed through them both. She could feel it growing stronger by the day too, and not only the power, but the knowledge and memories that came with it as well. It was getting harder to keep it in check, but that was a minor concern.

“Preparations are complete. Water is waiting outside.”

Katherine smiled. Byron was as reliable as ever. She really needed to learn Water’s name at some point though.

Picking up her son, she left the room.

Soon it would be time to act again.

END OF BOOK 1.