CHAPTER 98 – A NEW DAWN
The doors began to open. Anilithyistad and Adyana waited inside the Citadel along with Commander Cel’a. The giant Citadel doors opened fully and there standing in the light was King Axion, Mitakahn, and the rest of the group that went up against the Dark Lord. Adyana ran over to her sons and greeted both of them with tears of joy. She could not be more proud of them overcoming overwhelming odds and saving the kingdom. She tried not to focus on the fact that Mitakahn looked like he just been dragged through the nethers. She hugged them both, a son in each arm, and they embraced her back. It felt good to be back in their mother’s arms, both of them, a much needed reprieve. The queen’s boys were exhausted. They had seen true horror this day. Yes, the kingdom was saved, but at great cost.
The sacrifice was enormous. The casualties were piled high, starting with: Galastad and the Governor Demeter, and ending with thousands more. Kunezar was paralyzed from the waist down and might never walk again. Mitakahn was also visibly different. He looked like he had aged a decade in a day. His hair now had streaks of white along the sides and in the beard. He was also quieter, more introspective.
Beyond that, the Serengeti was speckled with horrors and some small towns that made it through everything untarnished. The true miracle. There were only three of them.. Zepathorum City was a mess. The city was host to a mass cemetery above the ground, rioting fires burning all throughout the shattered city streets. Buildings were crumbled and the entire east wall was demolished. But nothing could surmount the destruction of Port Caliber. The port city would have to be rebuilt brick by brick. It would take a long time for the nation to rebuild. After this war, the Lion Kingdom would never be the same.
They were all in the circle before the citadel now. Axion stood next to his uncle, caressing his FireSword while Eberlyn floated beside him. Chronis, along with the Chrome Face Condors left Zepathorum, flying into the air, heading back to their home in Legacy City. Mitakahn watched his bird fly off once again, wondering if he would ever return, knowing in his heart the answer was yes.
Jericho and Paxikahn made their way down the Citadel after they started feeling better. They met the returning warriors at the circle of the courtyard where the townsfolk were beginning to shuffle out of the Citadel basement shelter. They all greeted Jericho in smiles, especially Mortikahn. Mitakahn looked around. Everyone coming out of the shelter not only greeted the sun but greeted their new king. Axion saved the people of the Pride.
They all greeted and praised him as their savior. And the King reflected that praise right back onto Mitakahn with his eyes, knowing full well none of his would have been possible without him. The war was over. They could begin to rebuild. First they needed to ensure the enemy’s defeat. The rest of the day was spent searching the two cities for survivors and rogue darksiders, until finally they could rest knowing the kingdom was once again safe. That night they slept under the stars for the first time in weeks. Everyone needed a good night’s sleep, but after recent events everyone also had trouble relaxing in darkness. Eventually, it would come back to them.
One day later, the sun stood center in the sky. Axion’s time had come. All of the surviving citizens came out to see the new king take the throne. In the Lion Kingdom, a long standing tradition took place every time a new king was appointed. And now, in the first light of a kingdom’s rebirth, Axion knew tradition was needed most.
Crimson Boulevard was filled not with senators and ambassadors, but the survivors and townsfolk of the Pride. From way up top, Adyána reached under the throne’s armrest and triggered the other switch. The spiraling staircase leading up the Citadel began to straighten out and part the Citadel down the middle, and in doing so, opened it up. The Citadel opened in front of the courtyard and before the citizens of the Pride, all in attendance.
The crowd separated in half down the middle. Commander Cel’a accompanied Axion while they walked to the stairs. Down Crimson Boulevard, the society of the Lion Kingdom cleared the way for their new king to take the throne. Axion walked down the lines of mixed company: ragged and dirty villagers from the Serengeti, tarnished and homeless sailors and merchants from Port Caliber, the familiar faces of Zepathorum, the few resilient soldiers of the Royal Guard, the militia, and the remaining reinforcements from Metuchen and the Serengeti.
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He owed each and every one of them a lifetime of thanks. He would dedicate his reign as king to paying them back for their sacrifices. When they reached the end of their walk Axion turned around and thanked Commander Cel’a for her service to the kingdom. The path up to the staircase started with Anilithyìstad, his sons, Jericho, and Paxikahn standing at the base. Anilithyìstad smiled and Jericho nodded his head, pushing Axion forward. At last, Axion arrived at the staircase.
There waiting for him was his beloved, Eberlyn, dressed in a beautiful golden gown. She said softly to him, after a kiss on the cheek, “I’m here to take you the rest of the way.”
Eberlyn put out her hand, and Axion took it. Together, they began the last steps to the throne and the rule of the Lion Kingdom. Axion journeyed to the top of the stairs as Eberlyn floated beside him. Mitakahn, Queen Adyána, and House Casterosi waited at the top of the citadel stairs. They arrived at the top and the crowd below them cheered. Adyána anointed her firstborn son with the Crimson Cloak of Kings. Mercinestor held the Scepter of Zenothorus and stood before him and the throne.
Axion hugged his mother and continued forward. Mercinestor presented him with the Staff of the Nation. And Axion stood before his kingdom, finally atop the throne. He sat on the throne and the crowd bowed down before him. From the crowd Anilithyìstad called out, “ALL HAIL AXION! PRIDE LORD AND HERO KING OF ZEPATHORUM!”
King Axion stood up, along with his kingdom, and raised the Sword of Heroes in the air proudly. The King charged his firepower, and the ruby gem vents on the sword fired off high into the sky in exploding red flares and orchestral flames. Down below, the entire Pride sang and danced in jubilation. They celebrated the birth of a new era. Mitakahn watched it all and smiled, biting back tears of pride and honestly... utter relief.
For the momentous events that have passed unlocked a window of tangents and prophetic covenants in the world of MagnaThora. And these two brothers would find themselves at the center of it all. Axion now sat in his kingdom as King, and Mitakahn was beginning to realize his own fate as a godwalker. Without any of them knowing it, the Dark Lord Malinor had actually succeeded and began the chain of events that would eventually lead to the Age of Solstice, and greater MagnaThora’s complete undoing.
They would spend a great deal of time rebuilding the damage caused from the war. And the dead that gave their lives to save the kingdom would always be remembered and honored. But for now, the kingdom would come together in harmony and celebrate in a well-deserved time of peace.
They danced and sang in revelries below. Eberlyn joined them and danced with her flaming wings swaying along with her hips, enhancing her enchanting dance moves. Adyana watched her, reminiscent of their time in Ashtown, at the festival. The royal family and Mitakahn’s company celebrated on the several levels of the Citadel. Mitakahn and Cipher shared drinks with King Axion and the ordinary townsfolk, now invited to the top of the Citadel, in the throne room, on the opened balconies. King Axion sat on his throne, in his royal apparel, showing his subjects and brethren the view from the top.
“We got here together. Let us never forget it.”
Axion fit well in his new position. The crown sat comfortably on his head, as it was always going to. Given all his reluctance and reasons to refuse the throne, in the end it only furthered his inherent claim to the throne. Axion was worried he wasn’t good enough and in that self-doubt and self-awareness he found his worth.
When the time came he did what was right and what needed to be done to protect his kingdom. Axion gave his all. The throne and crown was now his, along with its new addition. At the center of the golden crown with crimson trim there was a new jewel. The royal family agreed with the combined wisdom of the kingdom and its allies that the gem prison would be welded onto Axion’s crown. As much as Mercinestor wanted to continue being the cor’s guardian. He would have to settle for being the crown’s guardian instead, a fitting job. It looked like a ruby gemstone, but it was not. Now the oval-shaped gem was cut and refined in perfection. The Cor Incapsulate decorated the crown, holding its prisoner in plain sight: the Dark Lord Malinor stuck in the NetherRealm for all eternity.