I took a sip of tea made from the delicious leaves of the Forest Afor while sitting opposite a visibly distressed Mpole.

We were in her home in Kimbilio.

It was near the centre of the city and was close to the school she worked as a teacher.

She was not a Shangazi or even a Blessed Sister but taught basic maths and language skills to children that ranged from five to seven years.

She was almost sixty years old and time was clearly writ across her face in deep wrinkles.

But, she was still beautiful.

All of them were.

Every microbe, every humanoid and every dragon.

I must have unconsciously smiled because Mpole’s expression twisted further.

“Ahem! As I was saying, she rarely, if ever, speaks. Now that I’ve explained her circumstances what do you, as a parent, suggest that I do?” I asked candidly and it’s here that Mpole’s face relaxed a little as she looked up in thought.

“I think… she probably just needs some time.” She weakly smiled.

“Is that so?” I asked even though I had already considered what she said.

I had considered almost everything and yet silent the little girl remained.

Tal would often find a spot in whatever space she was in and observe everything from a distance.

I wanted her to interact with the people and things around her in some greater capacity but I also knew forcing her to do anything was out of the question.

I had been forced to do so much during my own childhood.

I wasn’t going to take away my children’s ability to choose.

“How was it? Raising Akili, I mean.”

Mpole’s eyes lowered a bit.

“He was always chasing after his father.” She muttered before taking a sip of tea and sighing.

“From birth, he wanted to be at Thabiti’s side… even if it meant that one day he would throw himself into a storm to fulfil the wishes of someone else. All I could ever do was pray for his safety as he studied, as he trained-“

Mpole gasped as the door suddenly opened revealing the man in question himself.

Akili entered the house and stared at me for a complete minute before walking up to the chair next to mine and dropping onto it.

He wore his usual dark leather coat and dark clothes which, along with his many scars, added to his intense air.

He let out a deep growl before closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly.

“Good morning, My Lady.”

“Good morning, child.” I greeted with a warm smile.

Akili raised his head and looked into my eyes.

He, unlike many others, looked at me with confidence and even defiance.

“Thank you for putting an end to the war. Although I must confess that my heart still thirsts for revenge.” He said with a stiff expression.

“If I may ask, how did you do it? How did you destroy that monster?” He asked with eyes that flashed temporarily red.

Cute.

The boy was trying to size me up.

I decided to play along.

“Ua was my most gifted child, magically speaking. So trust me when I say that fighting her wasn’t easy.” I said as my eyes started glowing white but I knew this wouldn’t be enough to intimate the boy and so I reduced the light that washed over all of Kimbilio making the entire city a lot darker even though the sun was out.

Mpole was obviously freaked out by my passing match with her son but I was far too amused to stop at this point.

“Is that so? Then how, My Lady, do you think I would have faired against her… or you-“

My eyes widened to their limits and this was enough to make the young man flinch.

I then giggled a little while covering my mouth with my hand.

At this point, my eyes were glowing brightly but none of their light threatened to blind Mpole or Akili.

I wanted to tease the young man a little more but it seemed as though Mpole was at her wit’s end and so she spoke.

“Akili!”

The young man turned to his mother and his face immediately relaxed.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Oh- sorry, Mom.” He apologized sincerely but Mpole shook her head.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” She whimpered making Akili return his gaze to mine.

“My deepest apologies, My Lady.” He bowed and it’s here that I returned the sunlight to normal.

“It’s alright.” I smiled.

“Also, I’m not so arrogant so as to think that I am infallible. Knowing one’s own strengths and weaknesses is very important although, to answer your question, you are nowhere near as strong as Ua was.” I explained making the young man’s eyes widen.

“S-so if you hadn’t intervened… would we have lost?” He stuttered through clenched jaws.

“I cannot say. While she had a massive single force, you had a diverse and united resistance. If I had allowed it to go on, the war could have raged for years and until both sides had lost far more than they could have hoped to gain.” I explained and Akili nodded.

I nodded back before turning my gaze to a panicked Mpole.

“Thank you for the delicious tea, my dear.”

“Oh- you don’t have to thank me! Feel free to come for tea any time.” Mpole said and. at this point, I thought she had been tormented enough so I stood up and left the house to find Musa and Tal standing outside hand in hand although Musa had a certain Diamond spear in his other hand.

It had been recovered after Ua and I blew the top half of Mount Kupumzika to bits and was given to Musa who accepted it.

Musa and Tal were staring at other children who were playing across the street and it was here that I realized that neither of them had many friends before their rebirth but it would be counterintuitive to grab a few children and force them to play together.

No, what I needed to do was put them in environments where they were more likely to interact with children in their age group.

However, Musa had been tutored by several Shangazi and so would only be held back if I put him in an ordinary school.

Mmm…

Tal was also going to need an environment which wasn’t too stressful.

Children could be cruel at times and even if she was reborn as a Mal’akh, she was still a little girl.

I let out a sigh and this made both of my children turn to me.

My children…

I had unthinkingly thought of them as such ever since their rebirth and I wondered what they thought of me.

Regardless, I walked up to them and took both of their hands.

We then made our way to our ship in complete silence.

Everyone we passed parted ways, allowing us to walk freely to our destination.

“Can we pass by the border, near the Crystal Lands, please? I received word that General Modo is refusing to return to the capital and he stands to pose quite the threat for any efforts of peace.” Musa requested as we slipped into the pearly aircraft.

“Alright. Although, depending on the situation, I may not offer any assistance.” I said as I sat next to Tal.

Musa nodded while sitting opposite to me.

I then flew the ship over to the border to Modo’s Encampment just south of the Crystal Lands.

We landed a few hundred meters away from the camp and while I wanted to hold Musa’s hand as he dealt with the situation, I also knew that smothering him could potentially be harmful.

The boy gave me another nod before slipping out of the ship just as several warriors, Fire Breakers all, rushed to our location.

The afternoon sun brightly illuminated the vast stretch of Savanah we found ourselves in and it made Musa’s spear shine like a star in the night sky.

The warriors eventually surrounded him and asked what he wanted and he told them that he wanted to speak with Modo.

I could tell by his racing heart that he was nervous but my brave boy stood valiantly before those before him and tapped his spear on the ground once to cement his presence.

One of the warriors rushed back to the camp and eventually returned, stating that Modo had granted Musa permission to enter.

Musa nodded and began walking towards the camp with twenty warriors behind him.

He ignored all of their snarls and glares and eventually made it to Modo’s tent where the Iron Breaker himself awaited.

Modo stood behind a table atop which sat a map of Hatua.

Musa walked up to the table and whatever bravery he had displayed was quickly replaced by fear as Modo’s sharp grey eyes locked onto him.

“Greetings, once again… your highness.” Modo wheezed.

His voice was obviously stained since he was bound to armor which contained his huge frame.

“W-Why are you refusing to return to the capital?” Musa stuttered.

“Mmm… the war may have supposedly ended but we are still warriors and we are dutifully defending this new… border for the sake of our people.”

“But you were given clear orders to return. Aren’t good warriors supposed to be loyal to their leaders?”

“Yes, and we have yet to receive an order from our Queen.”

Musa bit his teeth.

“Well, this is an order from her son: go back to the capital… now.”

Modo stood upright and although he could see Musa’s eyes because of the blindfold, he stared right at exactly where they were.

“No.”

Musa’s eyes flashed white and it seemed, for a moment, that he was going to do something Soul related but he snapped himself out of it.

“Dammit, Modo! Don’t make me do this. What is there to be gained by being so stubborn?” Musa cried but the warrior remained unmoved.

“I truly am sorry, little prince, but we have our orders and we will see to it that they are carried out,” Modo said with a weak smile.

Musa clicked his tongue and stormed out of the tent.

He then made his way back to our ship where he sat in front of me with crossed arms and a twisted brow.

I allowed him a moment of silence and he eventually looked at me with a pleading expression.

“C-could… is there any way you could change his mind?”

I remained silent.

Could I have persuaded Modo to back down?

Perhaps but I really didn’t want to intervene unless the situation was catastrophic and so silent I remained.

Musa’s eyes fell.

“A-alright. Could you take us to Temple Kupumzika?” He requested.

I nodded before taking our ship to the mountain at the center of Hatua and we landed on our designated landing pad.

A large and semicircular building was being constructed at the foot of the Temple and it was from here that Hatua would be governed.

However, while it and the city around it were being rebuilt, Saidia and her fellow Shangazi would be ruling from within tents one of which we entered to find the most senior Shangazi praying in front of a statue of me which stood on the right side of her table. She, as the highest of Shangazi in rank, wore a pure white head wrap.

She quickly noticed me and bowed.

“Good afternoon, My Lady. Is there anything you’d like me to do for you?” She asked and I looked at Musa in response.

The boy took a deep breath before taking a sip forward.

“General Modo has refused to move away from the border and so I suggest that…” Musa glanced at me questioningly but again, I didn’t respond.

He needed to do this by himself because what would he do if I wasn’t at his side?

“I…” He paused while turning back to face a weary-eyed Saidia.

“What do you think the best solution would be?” He asked and this was acceptable as well.

There was nothing wrong with not deciding especially since he harboured so many doubts and fears.

There was also nothing wrong with getting an expert’s opinion.

“Mmm… May I speak freely?” Saidia asked and we all nodded.

“Our Lady, she who created us and has come to bless us, is here and her presence alone makes me feel as though we are on the cusp of a new and glorious age. Modo seeks to resist the changes necessary to bring about said age and so I think he should be killed without question.”

Musa’s eyes widened.

But it seemed as though he knew that would have been Saidia’s answer and so he nodded.

“It seems as though for the coming age to begin, the Age of the Fire Breakers must end.”