Thirty minutes ago...

Saenna rode her white mare up the hill, this time, wearing an armoured gown with fiery colours, symbolising the flame of the rebellion. Fire-red silk ran down from her shoulders along her back, like the wings of a phoenix. Graham and Marlock rode beside her, the light of the rising moon glistening on their armour. Behind them marched twenty-thousand men carrying torches and banners of the Flames of Dawn. Their morale was high. They've won every battle, and freedom's grasp had never been so close. When Saenna reached the top of the hill, a giant metropolis stood proudly in the distance between thick forests. Three tall towers, hundreds of twinkling lights and a massive wall. There encircling the city. Even the field in front of the capital was lit up by burning fortifications. Spikes, trenches, effigies. But if they could see the capital, Areyn could see them.

Thousands of soldiers poured out the citadel gates, and hundreds of archers manned the battlements on the walls with flaming arrows. The soldiers kept marching through the gates, there didn't seem to be an end.

Marlock gawked at the devastating size of Areyn's army. "That's at least thirty-thousand footsoldiers, ten-thousand cavalry and twenty-thousands archers. That's thrice our men."

"Remember what we said," Saenna answered, swallowing visually.

"We'll die trying." Marlock nodded, turning around his horse to face Saenna's army, "Formations!"

His order echoed around by the other repeating commanders, and the entire army marched up in formation, ready to approach the opposing enemy.

"March!" With rhythmic steps, the twenty-thousand men strong army began marching down the hill with fluttering banners. Cavalry first, footsoldiers second, the bowmen third and then the siege weaponry at the back, escorted by a division of swordsmen.

The Queen fixated on the city determinedly while she led the entirety of the Flames of Dawn towards it. This was her moment. In only a few minutes or less, the final battle would ensue. She would finally face her uncle. Holding the reins tightly, her horse nickered while crunching the dirt beneath its hooves. Marlock then exclaimed another order.

"Drums and horns!"

And so began the drummers, playing a consistent low beat to assist the soldiers in keeping their marching rhythm. Then the war horns blazed, reverberating through the skies, definitely reaching the ears of Areyn's men. When both armies faced off in the field, Saenna raised her hand, forcing her men to halt. Once again, commanders shouting the order left and right. The sight surely was intimidating, with the entire horizon stretching with torch lights and bannermen. This fight wouldn't be easy.

There was an eerie silence. Saenna expected Areyn to send someone to negotiate, but minutes passed by and nobody came. Marlock carefully looked around the surroundings. "Your Grace, I don't think Areyn is willing to talk. I don't even see him."

"He's hiding in that tower of his," Saenna answered, "Is there any word about Kiera and Areiya at all?"

"No, Your Grace," Marlock muttered, putting on his helm.

"My spies are gone too. They're in trouble. Which means we have to take this city as soon as possible." Saenna added, "Fire the trebuchets."

"Trebuchets!" Marlock shouted. When his order repeated to the back, the trebuchets rolled forward, and boulders were drenched in oil and lit up before they were placed into the sling nets.

"My Queen," Marlock said, a cloud of his breath oozing through the holes of his helmet's mouth holes, "I think it's time for you to join with the back safely. It's about to get nasty."

Saenna looked towards the Citadel. "Not yet." she softly said before turning to her soldiers, staring in front of them with discipline.

"Warriors of the Flames of Dawn!" She exclaimed, pacing around the frontline on horseback. Every soldier grunted in unison to response to their Queen.

"For years the Lands of Trinity have been subject to cruel deeds by the hands of my own uncle! For years our people have suffered greatly. Men, women and children, treated like cattle. Like tools. Today marks the day we break their chains and free this land from a tyrant's grasp!"

Everyone released another grunt of war in unison. "We are outnumbered, it's true. But the difference is that they are afraid! We have the strength of twice as many men because we fight for the greater good! We have the flame radiating within us. And then I promise you, together, we will stand strong and defeat the enemy! We've threaded a long way, and the end is right there!" she aggressively pointed towards the White Tower. "Let us take it and free our people once and for all!"

The entire army cried out loud, plunging the back of their spears into the ground in rhythm, casting a smile on Saenna and Marlock's face. She turned to the Citadel, and with one word, she began the final battle. "Fire!"

One by one, the line of trebuchets slung their blazing boulders towards the walls of the city. As soon as they flew overhead of the enemy, their thousands of cavalry riders began charging. Marlock saw it and raised his spear, his heart thumping in his chest. "Cavalry! Chaaaaarge!"

The boulders impacted, severely damaging the outer walls and blasting off small groups of archers that manned the battlements. And thus, two stampedes of mounted warriors charged at each other, leaving a trail of dust behind them. The closer the enemy got, the faster the adrenaline pumped through Marlock's veins. It was like a wall of horses and men approaching fast, the horses so loyal they would blindly follow their rider headfirst into a collision. It was a matter of twenty meters, down to fifteen and then ten before the commander screamed and crashed with his men into the enemy. It felt like riding right into a hard stone wall, the thousands of colliding thumps, screams of both horses and men. Marlock impaled someone with his spear before he was thrown off into the ground, the weight of his armour winding him on impact. A dead horse fell on top of him, he was unable to breathe. Desperately trying to push it off, his senses ran wild. He heard the sound of tearing flesh and breaking bones, and smelled blood, sweat and piss. But he saw nothing but darkness. Grunting loudly, he finally managed to free his torso while a body fell right beside him, one of his punctured lifeless eyes leaking fluids. Already completely covered in mud and blood, Marlock used the horse to further stand up. Other than his charging spear, he still had his sword, which he unsheathed from the casing and heard someone charging him on foot. Marlock spread his legs and prepared to deflect, but a horse on full speed wiped the soldier away from Marlock's line of sight. He was disorientated, not knowing which way was to the capital. Between the criss-cross of horses and dismounted men, Marlock ran towards an unsuspecting enemy soldier and plunged his sword through the back of his knee before snapping his neck. He couldn't react in time to the scream behind him when he felt a sword trying to puncture through his armour, but it only made a dent. He turned around and swung his steel, clashing with his opponent's, but then another horse crashed into Marlock instead, tossing him like a doll into the bloodied mud once again. Another volley of blazing boulders flew overhead, rumbling loudly and leaving embers that twirled down into the piles of bodies and fighting men. The explosions of impact overruled the sounds of battle. Marlock cluttered up once again, his voice cracking when he exclaimed. "Stay together! Wait for our infantry!"

His cries were heard. Several of his men joined him, their eyes shot with fear and their armours dented and bloodied. Panting and sweating, Marlock tried to regain his senses. "Stand your ground!"

He looked around to see whether the next wave of infantry joined the battle yet, but he couldn't. The enemies were retreating though, but Marlock knew it wasn't to flee. It was to regroup. His remaining men rendezvoused on him, some still on their horse, but most of them lost theirs. Then he finally heard the screams of reinforcements behind him. Thousands of swordsmen with shields following their commanders. Looking at the numbers of the enemy, Marlock realised the first charge made it seem like they barely decreased their numbers at all. He turned to the remaining riders on horseback. "Join the ranks of the shock cavalry, everyone not a horse, follow me! Let's kill these sons of bitches!" A bolt of lightning flashed the battlefield, followed by a loud clap of thunder and rain softly pouring down.

Meanwhile, within the White Tower, Kiera still sat bound to the pillar next to Areiya's pale body. She could hear the low rumbles of the explosions of the boulders from there, but other than that, it was silent. There was no one in the throne room. She almost managed to get bindings loose after fiddling with it for so long. And then a sense of eureka struck her when they finally broke, but it was still nothing compared to what she felt about losing Areiya. She rubbed her red wrists and walked over to Areiya with her brows pulled together. She untied her and gently laid her head down.

"Yu wagrenja rsi'oron." (Your fight is over.) She whispered. She jumped when the big doors of the throne room opened, and her eyes widened. She froze, not knowing what to do. She turned around to see two armoured men walking in, noticing her.

"Hey, stop right there!" one of them exclaimed, both rasping their swords out of their sheath. Kiera's heart started beating, and she looked around to see anything of us at all. But the only way out of the White Tower was past them, and she didn't have a weapon. She didn't have a choice.

"I'll do what you say. I surrender." She raised her hands. One of the guards chuckled while they approached her.

"Girl, we've been sent to kill you, I'm afraid."

Kiera stepped back, and her hands began shaking. This was bad. She kept keeping distance between them until she hit the wall with her back. The guards approached and smirked. "Don't worry; it'll be all over soon."

One of them raised his sword, but then dropped it and grabbed at his own throat, choking. So did the other, grunting and desperately gasping for air. Kiera was so confused about what was happening, still keeping a cautious stance. When they both dropped to the floor, someone stood behind them, holding arm forward and his hand spread out, looking intensely. Kiera couldn't believe it. There, stood an athletic young-adult man with short black hair, and eyes radiating with bright indigo colour. A purple smoke oozed around his hand.

"Aidan?" Kiera asked, gazing at him with an open mouth. The indigo in his eyes faded to amber, just like Kiera's, and the swirling smoke around his hand dissipated. He wore boiled black leather armour, adorned with several strands of silk and bearing the symbol of a rose on his chest.

"Hello, Kiera." his smooth, soft voice said, smiling.

Kiera froze, but her heart began feeling overwhelmed with a sense of joy. It radiated from her toes to the top of her head. She really couldn't believe it. And then her body took over as she ran towards him with tears shot in her eyes and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug as she cried on his shoulder. She clasped on the silk on his back and didn't want to let go. For a moment, she felt the most vulnerable.

"I thought I lost everything." Kiera sobbed, her words barely intelligible between her cries.

"Shh, I'm here now, sister," Aidan said, softly cradling her.

"What about mother and father?" Kiera asked.

"They're gone." Aidan muttered, "They died to save me, even though I told them not to."

Kiera was always prepared to hear this, but for some reason, it still got to her. Deep inside, she always hoped there was the tiniest chance for them to survive all of this. But they didn't. Kiera stopped hugging and looked at her brother with red eyes, who seemed strong and confident. "How is Saenna's siege going?"

Aidan shrugged, "From what I've seen, they're still fighting outside the walls."

Kiera was confused. "You didn't come with her?"

Aidan sighed and shook his head. "It's hard to explain. I'm with...a cult."

"A cult?" Kiera puzzled.

"I can't tell you much about it, but I needed saving a second time, and they were there when I needed them. I learned their magic and all that goes with it." Aidan answered before turning to the throne room entrance. "We can't stay for too long. Areyn might shelter here when the Flames of Dawn breach the city. And then it won't be just him."

"I can't!" Kiera said, standing her ground when Aidan wanted to pull her with him. "What?"

"I'm waiting here. Areiya's final wish is that Areyn pays for what he's done. Tearing thousands of families apart, destroying thousands of innocent lives." Kiera turned around and picked up a sword from one of the fallen guards, and inspected it. "I'm going to kill Areyn." She turned around, looking back to her brother. "Aidan...Areyn has to die."

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Aidan looked towards the windows, seeing rain pour outside, pondering. "What if he returns with an army? I might be strong, but I'm nowhere near as good as my masters."

"He won't," Kiera said, tightening the grip on her sword, "There's no reason for him to have guards up here. They'll be waiting for Saenna all the way downstairs."

Aidan turned to the entrance tensely and nodded. "If he's alone, it'll work. I won't let anything happen to you, Kiera. I promise."

"Thank you, brother," Kiera answered, "Now all we can do is wait for Marlock to push through the walls."

Aidan swallowed. "I guess you're right."

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The pouring rain washed away the dirt and blood on Marlock's dented armour when he pulled his sword out of a fresh corpse. A peal of thunder rumbled the skies when he looked around. Piles of bodies, dismembered and pale, his men struggling to fight. Their numbers were too high. After the short pause, he heard someone charging at him with a scream. He turned and held up his sword to block the attack before turning his body and slamming the man in his helmet with his elbow. Having dazed the man, Marlock grabbed him and threw him into the bloody mud. He crawled on top and raised his sword, but something stopped him from plunging it right into the man's stomach. His eyes. The fearful eyes inside that battered helmet. The man held out his shaking hand, and Marlock hesitated.

"Why?" his voice cracked.

"We had no c-choice..." the man stuttered.

Then, with one forceful thrust and showing his teeth, Marlock plunged his sword through the weak part of the steel armour, into the man's gut. He gurgled and coughed up blood before letting out his final breath.

"We always have a choice," he muttered before turning back to the frontline. Areyn's forces began overwhelming everyone. They couldn't breach through their defences. He had to do something, or this entire war might be lost. A group of shock cavalry ran past the commander, charging towards the enemy. He needed a horse and looking around the battlefield, the ones that didn't die were either fleeing in panic or freezing in place out of fear. He went for one that froze and tried to calm it down. Another volley of blazing boulders rumbled overhead, hitting Areyn's men this time. It took out quite big groups as it continued rolling over people and crushing them. The horse trusted him, and he mounted. With one whip, he and the horse galloped towards the frontline.

"Archers! With me!" Marlock kept repeating. Most archers ran and regrouped with Marlock. Hundreds of them, ready to do what they were told.

"Fire on my command! I need a perfect volley! Nock!"

Another peal of thunder reverberated through the sky.

"Draw!"

Every single archer aimed their bow towards the skies and drew the string tightly.

"Loose!"

What followed, was a rain of arrows heading straight towards the enemy. He couldn't see how many they took out, but he was confident they didn't expect it. When he looked to his right, he saw a group of enemy cavalry charging at him and the archers. Hoping his own shock cavalry would've noticed it, he ignored it and turned back to the Citadel, putting his faith into his men.

"Nock!"

"Draw!"

"Loose!"

Hundreds of arrows made their way through the skies once again to rain down upon the heads of the enemy. He looked to his right again and saw the enemy chargers were intercepted by friendly cavalry, fighting each other. Not only that, but the arrow volleys created windows for his footmen to push further.

"Yes!" Marlock exclaimed. But then, ear-deafening explosions caught his men off-guard. Did it sound within the walls of the Citadel? It stopped raining, and Marlock looked towards the skies, only to notice a full moon shining brightly. A scream of one of his men snapped him out of it. "Commander! Our flanks!"

He darted around his head, and his heart jumped into his throat. His entire world crumbled into pieces. What he saw were more than a few thousand cavalry riders bearing Rethian falcon banners charging Marlock. Areyn's reinforcements from Vraleth. It was over. They were all going to be slaughtered. After everything, could it all have been for nothing? But then something struck Marlock from within. They weren't going to take prisoners.

"They're going to slaughter Saenna..." he muttered to himself, "They're going to slaughter the Queen." His eyes widened, and he whipped his destrier to run on full speed, abandoning all of his men. It was as if everything went slow-motion. He looked back and saw the impending doom approaching closer and closer. He saw her standing there, protected by her personal division. He forced his horse to stop in front of her, pushing aside a few soldiers and offered his hand. Saenna could see the panic in his eyes. "Marlock! What's happening?"

"Just jump on! We lost, and I'm not going to let you die!" he screamed. Hesitantly, the Queen grabbed Marlock's hand as he pulled her up on the saddle behind him. And off they went, abandoning everything. Abandoning the entire lost rebellion. But everywhere Marlock looked, he saw an orange glow in the horizon. The light of thousands of torches.

"We're surrounded!" Marlock shouted, looking around in a panic, panting, his heart pounding in his throat. "Fuck it!" he rode towards a pair of large rocks and jumped off, helping Saenna off as well. "We'll hide. Here, cover yourself with mud and we'll hide between these rocks."

Saenna was so incredibly confused. He was scaring her. "Marlock, I-I don't know what-"

"Just do it!" Marlock snapped, "If you want to live, do it!"

With her hands shaking, Saenna grabbed a handful of mud and started rubbing it all over her and her gorgeous jewelled gown, ruining it entirely. Marlock noticed she was sobbing and grabbed her wrist.

"My Queen, look at me. We will be okay, you hear me?"

Saenna's wet and red eyes looked at Marlock. Her face was covered in mud. She felt so helpless and scared.

"I don't want to die," Saenna stuttered, staying low.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Your Grace. I promise." Marlock reassured her, hearing something in the distance. He perked up his head. "Horns..."

"What?" Saenna asked. And then she heard it too. Dozens of horns blazed in the distance, coming from every direction. But Marlock knew those weren't just typical war horns. He heard these before.

"The tribes," Marlock muttered, squinting towards the horizon. And there was the sound — the intimidating beats of thousands and thousands of horses. The trees in the forests ahead were moving left and right before a whole horde of tribal riders breached out, shrieking and charging towards the Citadel. They kept pouring out the woods, and there didn't seem to be any stop. It must've been tens of thousands. Not only that, but they were accompanied by hundreds of militia carrying improvised banners of a flaming phoenix. More explosions caught Marlock's attention towards the docks this time when Areyn's fleet was under attack by a whole armada of pirate ships. Saenna and Marlock were speechless. Did word really spread? Did their plan to turn the entire realm against Areyn actually work? Marlock offered his hand to Saenna. "Come!"

She grabbed his hand, and they both ran out of hiding, watching the tribal horde cut through the Rethian army like butter. The sight of the Citadel falling cast a smile upon Marlock's face. Saenna still watched the fires with awe. She still couldn't believe it. Marlock turned to her and hugged her tightly. "We did it! We fucking did it!"

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In the top of the White Tower, Kiera watched the carnage from the skies. She saw the citizens inside the capital revolting and attacking guards. They were too many, and the guards were quickly overrun. Barracks and stables were set ablaze, and the naval battle with the pirates and Areyn's fleet sounded faint.

"Saenna won," Kiera said, turning around to Aidan, who sat against a pillar. He nodded and pulled himself up. "That's good. We better prepare then." But right when he said it, the doors of the entrance barged open, revealing Areyn and a few royal guards. He seemed to be in a panic, but he didn't notice the siblings yet.

"Guard the door and don't let ANYONE in!" he growled, "I'm taking my shit, and I'm leaving."

When he turned around, he finally saw them, standing next to each other. Areyn's guards unsheathed their sword and ran towards Aidan, who threw his arms forward and sent them flying against the wall, so hard the impact broke a few bricks. Aidan stared at the Emperor intensely while Areyn stepped back. The door slammed closed behind him, including the bars locking it, and he sighed. "Seems like you weren't alone after all, Kiera."

"It's over, Areyn!" Kiera exclaimed.

"Eight continents," he said, "This realm has eight continents to offer for men to conquer. Erye, Volaria, Etheon, Vraleth...my conquest was far from finished."

"And now it ends," Kiera glared, taking steps forward with the steel sword in her hand. Her gripping hand flushed white by the force of which she held it.

"Unfortunately, yes. It is." Areyn's black cloak brushed over the ground. His long and black curly hair wet with sweat. "You know, when I heard a slave called Kiera Bloodcrest escaped captivity and joined the rebellion in Jiron, I could care less. Slaves escape all the time, rebellions form all the time, but they usually don't last long. But then it got to me." He started walking towards her very slowly.

"You're a Bloodcrest, and so is your brother. The one House that served House Valquen since the Dawn of Men. Do you know that?"

"Don't listen to him, Kiera. Let's end him right now." Aidan said, his hand filling with his magic.

"It's true, whether you believe me or not. When I knew, I wanted to find you. It was never my intention to kill you. Everybody thought the Bloodcrests were gone. But it turned out there were remainders. Like your mother and father."

"My mother told me different stories," Kiera said.

"Why do you think? Your family served the House that was enslaving people since you were born. No parent wants their child to become like us." Areyn said, his slow and soft footsteps echoing.

Kiera shook her head. "My parents never lie to me."

"Oh, you naive child." Areyn sighed, "You see, Whitehollow was built a long time ago by my ancestors. The White Throne is meant for House Valquen. But there was one House that contributed to its construction. Have a look for yourself." Areyn said, pointing to one of the six pillars supporting the roof of the throne room. Kiera looked to his brother, who nodded. She sceptically furrowed her brows while walking to the column, brushing off some dust. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw what it was.

The pillar had two symbols etched in. An eagle and a rose. The rose is the famous symbol for House Bloodcrest. "No.." Kiera shook her head, taking steps back.

"Not everything is what it seems, Kiera. What about your brother? Did he know?" Areyn asked.

Kiera looked at Aidan again. He had this guilty look. It already told her enough. "You're kidding."

"Kiera, I didn't tell you because it didn't matter anymore," Aidan said.

"Didn't matter anymore? Mother and father lied to me all this time, but told you the truth?" she said, her tone changing to anger.

"Yes, we supported House Valquen, but we stopped supporting them as soon as they began practising slavery," Aidan said.

"I can't believe this." Kiera said, tightening her grip on the sword and looking to Areyn, "All these innocent people, you always saw them as tools. Not human."

She walked closer to and closer to Areyn. "You ripped me from my home...from my family...and you put me in a ship. I was supposed to spend the remains of my days in agony and pain. But you didn't know Jiron was only recently taken by the Flames of Dawn. That is where I was set free. That is where you made your first mistake. Setting me free."

Areyn took steps back and dug into his cloak. He took out a strange purple stone and threw it on the ground before Aidan. "Jai rii mat!" A peculiar sort of magic surrounded Aidan and crippled him. His entire body cramped up, and it seemed like his own magic was turning against him. Kiera looked behind her. "Aidan!"

But then she sensed movement behind her, and immediately turned around, blocking Areyn's swing of his sword just in time. Sparks shot off their swords. This was it — the final battle.

Areyn kept swinging his sword at Kiera, who blocked it each time. Areyn took another swing, but Kiera led him to a pillar, making his sword hack into the stone. Then, Kiera took a swing for him, but he jumped aside.

"I will NOT give up everything I have fought for!" Areyn shouted, a peal of thunder striking at the same time. He swung his sword, striking against Kiera's again. Areyn then suddenly grabbed her by the collar and threw her against a pillar. Some chunks flew off of it. For a moment, Kiera was winded, but she could step aside just in time as Areyn hacked into the pillar again.

Kiera kicked Areyn, and followed it up with a swing, this time cutting his arm.

"Now we're talking," he growled, attacking her with even more viciousness. He hacked and slashed at Kiera, she only had time to block his attacks, but she was getting tired. She stepped back into a wall, panting. Areyn's sword once again clashed with hers and kept them in position. He looked her straight in the eyes.

"This is...your END!" he growled.

Kiera shook her head. "No...it's YOURS!" on her final word, she swept his feet, unbalancing him and making him fall on the ground. Without hesitation, she raised her sword and brought it down with a scream, impaling Areyn. He grasped onto the sword, gurgling as blood sputtered out of his mouth. Kiera left the sword stuck in his stomach and walked in front of him. Her posture loomed over him.

"Your reign is over...and a new era has begun." she pulled out the sword and stuck it through his throat again, killing him instantly. And then, she stood there. Her sword covered in blood — Areyn lifeless on the ground in his own throne room. The stone's magic faded, releasing Aidan from its grasp. The sun began to rise. It was over.

She dropped her sword, the metal clinging on the ground. A puddle of blood expanding underneath Areyn. Then she heard Aidan's voice.

"Kiera?"

She looked to him, tears of joy rolling down her cheek. "It's over."

Aidan carefully stood up and walked up to her, hugging her tightly. "Let's head downstairs, shall we?"

Minutes later, Kiera and Aidan left the tower, carrying Areiya's body. Everyone was waiting for them — Saenna, Graham, Marlock, captain Harper, tribal chief Merronir and all the militia commanders. Saenna walked up to Kiera, her face washed up, but her dress still dirty from the mud.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Is he dead?" she asked.

Kiera nodded. "He is."

Saenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay." She turned to Marlock. "Marlock, gather all the lords of the Lands of Trinity. We need to restore the damage my uncle has done."

He nodded, "Of course, my queen." and left.

"Thank you for everything, Kiera," Saenna added.

"Her sacrifice was not in vain," Kiera said, hiding her pain.

"It wasn't." Saenna smiled, "It will take a while to cleanse my family name. In the meantime, I will provide whatever is necessary to rebuild your homes."

"We don't have a home anymore." Kiera said, "I'd like to stay in the capital if that's okay."

"I can arrange a house for you to live in. It's the least I can do for everything you've done for this cause."

Saenna left with her guards. The fight was over; the struggle was over. Oryn once again found peace and prosperity. With blood, sweat and tears. But most importantly, with the fires that burned within them. The fire of the Flames of Dawn.