My brows furrowed.

“Should you not be asking Caligo instead?”

“I did and he referred me to you. Also, you are Adia’s mother and so your permission is the most important one.” Lham said.

“Mmm… what do you think, Astír?” I asked with a pained expression.

“I think being a Hand is one of the many paths the boys could take but…” Astír looked deep I my eyes for a moment before sighing.

“I feel as though the future we are working towards is a… bureaucratic one. One were things are decided not by fist and sword but by word and pen. That being said, I also think the boys should learn how to defend themselves.”

“Indeed.” Lham droned.

“I Agree with Astír. We could train them in the way of Hands, but instead of making them guardians and priests, we teach them to be leaders and scholars.”

“That sounds… reasonable.” Lham said although he looked a little disappointed.

I offered him my hand and he gently accepted it.

“Worry not. The time when they will have to leave the nest is still quite a ways away. So, use this as an opportunity to maximize what you can teach them.”

Lham nodded making me nod in return.

“Good. Oh, I have business will Luno, so you will have to excuse me.” I said before making my way to the teleportation platform outside where Sidus awaited me.

We then made our way to the royal palace where I requested an audience with Luno.

I was told by the servants to wait for him in the dining room and so did.

Sidus sighed rather loudly while looking out of the window.

“What?” I asked.

“I… no- its nothing. All will become clear after you speak with the King.” Sidus said and although his face was smiling, his eyes were not.

I nodded and Luno entered the room shortly after.

“Zuri!” The short king greeted while spreading his arms.

I stood up and gave him a hug before joining him in sitting down.

“Ugh, yesterday was nightmarish. I heard what happened in Serenumlatus and so I rushed to Agna to quell the fury of the Agnani. I then heard it was all an accident and that certainly made things easier.” Luno groaned.

“Indeed. Umm.. may I ask something?”

“Go ahead.” Luno said while picking and eating berries from a nearby fruit bowl.

“As you might know, I visited the Black Moons and-“

I stopped as Luno’s eyes flashed brightly white for a moment.

His eyes remained locked onto the bowl as he seemingly lost himself in thought.

“Thou seeks the entire truth, no?” He asked.

“Only if you feel comfortable sharing it.” I said.

Luno nodded before deeply sighing.

“Mmm… my father… fell ill on the day that we arrived on Edenton.” Luno growled and it seemed as though the world darkened a little.

“His body was sound but his mind… he kept yelling something about the end. A time when either the sky and soil would crumble to nothing or be saved by something he called The Ritual of Eight. Days passed as he yelled those words without rest or alteration. The Haneem helped us keep him alive since he would not would not eat or sleep and, after days and days, he eventually recovered. We asked him to shed light on the words he so desperately screamed but he simply smiled and told us that everything would be alright in the end. He spoke no further on the matter after. I, along with many others, suspected that my father had awakened his control over time magic but we could never confirm it. Years passed and- oh… there is something I have to tell you before I continue. Have you ever wondered where the Haneem are?” Luno asked.

“I have but- Sidus once told me a story that contained vague hints of a war. One which involved mankind and the Haneem.”

Luno glared at Sidus for a moment before returning his gaze to me.

“I see. Well, years before Arixo killed Adin and tool the throne, I had begun researching the Haneem. It was no secret that they were immortal beings and I wanted to know the secret behind their perpetuity. However, when I asked they turned me away, saying that they what they had was less of a blessing and more a curse. They said that they could no longer reproduce, eat or sleep but I did not care. I wanted to know the truth and so I gathered some men and visited one of the many Haneem temples. Back then, I discovered that they used to bury their dead in vases that contained the shattered remains of dead Haneem. Sidus, take us to the temple near the old house in Dahlia.” Luno said before offering me his hand.

I accepted it as we stood up and after a few flashes, we found ourselves in a large chamber.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It looked like it was carved entirely of stone and was lined with gargantuan pillars.

“Ferrum and I robbed this sacred place of the shattered remains of dead Haneem and took them to our laboratories above. We then put together and studied the Haneem corpses. This eventually led to the creation of the knights as you know them today. This series of actions, understandably, enraged the Haneem. They demanded that I destroy the knights and return what was taken, but at this point, I had just taken the throne and had an army of thousands of knights. I told the Haneem that I would apologize for desecrating their tombs but I would not destroy my legions of men and this led to a war. One that would remain unnamed.” Luno said. His voice echoed repeatedly in the hieroglyph lined walls.

Walls that were lit by the single orb of light that Sidus had created.

“We… slaughtered almost every Haneem on the continent but what choice did I have? Father had given so much land and manpower to my brothers that when Arixo took the throne, I was left with the small piece of land I was given. I had to fight for the kingdom’s sake, for my family’s sake. I-” Luno stooped as his eyes trembled.

He then took a deep breath before looking me in the eye.

“I will admit I that I did horrible things and I am ready to accept however thou treats me after this but I had no choice. I knew that Arixo was a good for nothing man and so I acted first. I planned, did research and acted accordingly all for the sake of my family and my people.” Luno said through gnashed teeth.

I…

I did not know what to say.

It is in the moment that I realized that the man I loved and his father were… mass murderers.

I always knew, especially when it came to Caligo but I always brushed it aside.

I willingly ignored the amount of blood that covered their hands.

“But you did not wage any more wars afterwards, right?” I asked. Hoping, praying that somewhere, behind the blood and soot was a good man.

Luno’s face twisted.

“I… did I wage wars in the following days? No. But believe thou hast heard about The Hunt for Death.”

I nodded.

“Yes. I also believe I told thee that countless of death magicians were killed during my search for the supposed cause of our mortality. Sons, daughters, men and women were all slaughtered and in vein.” Luno said.

My vision blurred.

“How… how many lives were lost?” I whimpered.

“T-thousands. If not more.” Luno whispered.

“I see.” I said before taking several deep breaths and standing upright.

“Could you please take me back to the prince’s palace?” I asked with a shaking voice.

Luno glanced at Sidus before nodding.

“Zuri.” Sidus called and I walked towards him.

The world flashed several times and we found ourselves in front of the royal bedchamber.

I reached out to open the door but hesitated.

I had ignored so much for so long that in the moment I felt sick.

My legs grew weak and I fell to my knees as my shaking hands gathered at my chest.

“Zuri!” Sidus cried while reaching out to help me but he stopped as my fearful eyes turned to face him.

My face twisted with dread as I looked at the face of a man who…

“S-Sidus, how many people have you killed?”

Sidus frowned.

He opened his mouth to speak only for Caligo to suddenly run up the stairs.

“What happened?” He asked and although he looked at me with concerned eyes, my gaze fell to his hands which still bore faint scars.

“King Luno told her the whole truth.” Sidus said flatly.

“Oh…” Caligo sounded before standing upright.

“Zuri, I… know I cannot undo what was done by me, my father or our armies…”

I expected him to say “but”, however…

Silence filled the palace and at this point, I felt so ill, it caused me pain.

I crawled onto my feet and stumbled into the bedroom.

I then, with Caligo and Sidus in tow, made my way to the boys’ room.

They were all studying silently but after noticing me, Adia wasted no time in rushing to my side.

“What’s wrong?” He asked but I simply spread my arms and without a word, the boy jumped into my embrace.

I led him back to the bedroom and after crawling onto the bed, I invited him into my arms and again, he accepted.

A moment passed.

Caligo and Sidus left the room and closed the door, leaving Adia and I in complete silence.

“Adia…” I called with eyes that could not focus on anything in particular.

“Yes?”

“Could you-“

I choked on my words but I gasped as Adia hugged me even tighter.

“What’s wrong? Just tell me. I know I won’t be able to help, but… it hurts even more when I see you sad… mom.”

My heart fell.

“What?” I whimpered.

“What did you just say?” I asked as my vision slowly returned.

Adia tore his head away from my bosom, revealing his teary eyes.

“You heard me, now tell me what’s wrong!” He cried.

“I… I fear we have been living alongside monsters… killers…” I said as Adia wept.

I wiped some of his tears as he looked down in thought.

“But… didn’t we already know this?” He asked with a sniffle.

“We… we did but-“

“Also, Uncle Sidus and the others may have done some bad things, but Uncle Lham told us that it was for the good of Lanceberg.” Adia said.

“Adia-“

“Most importantly, they didn’t exactly do anything bad to us, right?” He asked with a pained expression.

“Y-you are right, but…” I struggled to say.

“Also…” Adia brought his head closer to mine.

“We technically need them to get us back home, right? So, in the meantime, we could just act like normal until we can go back.”

My heart raced as Adia’s words entered my mind.

I hugged him again before ruffling his neck long hair.

“Alright.” I whispered.

We held each other for some time as the afternoon sun gently bathed us.

“Thank you so much. Is there anything you would like before I return to work?” I asked while slightly loosening my hold on my boy.

“Mmm… I… why didn’t you or dad say anything?” He asked making my eyes widened a little.

“I mean, I kinda feel like I always knew, but… if you had said something… then I wouldn’t have been so mean to you.” Adia said with lowered eyes.

“I… I do not know why exactly your father decided that we keep our relationship a secret. Maybe he didn’t want people to know that he had a child with me but one thing has and will always be certain. I love you. Even when all you saw me as was a simple maid, my love for never waned.”

Adia’s face grew even brighter with what I hoped was joy and he smiled bashfully before sitting up.

“I… I love you too.” He whispered.

“Thank you, sweetie. Now, go back and study.” I said with a smile.

Adia nodded before crawling off the bed.

He then exited prompting me to get up as well.

I then opened the front door to find Caligo and Cento standing silently.

I looked at Caligo, who’s eyes were low and I tightly clutched one shaking hand with the other.

I took several deep breaths before offering him my hand.

Caligo wasted no time in gently accepting it although his eyes remained low.

“Sidus, could you please take us to Luno.”

Sidus nodded and it was not long after that we found ourselves in what I assumed was Dahlia.

We were in a small town filled with cosy looking wooden homes but my attention was drawn to the centremost building.

It stood two storeys off the ground and sitting in front of it, by some stairs, was Luno, who’s body was being gently bathed the sun’s orange light.

I walked up to him and he did not respond as I sat by his side.

“We…” I said as Caligo sat next to me.

“…have much work to do. Caligo was right in saying that the past cannot be undone. However, for sake of our children and their children, I would like to focus on what we can do to ensure they live in a peaceful age although I cannot say if I will be able to look at you, both of you, the same again.”

Luno looked at me with dim eyes.

“I will be content with anything, so long as thee remains with us.”