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"They are here! They are here! Hurry up! Is the table not finished?"

Noa grinned largely after hearing the voice through the thick wooden door they were now approaching. Their walk up the 6 flight of stairs was an interesting one. The walls were lined with historical items attached to strange stories. Noa told the stories for a few of them. He looked like enjoyed telling the stories as he tried to remember them. Stories he never heard in the South Continent. His favourite seemed to be the shield that belonged to the soldier that stood behind Archi in the battle of Ojan. There was the shirt of the guy who tried before Ard was able to remove the sword stuck in the great northern tree guarded by the giant serpent. It seems all the item stories were similar in ownership.

It was strange, but the entire Kingdom seemed to be a bit strange. He expected to see a large environment with people busy everywhere. Trades and crafts that aren't offered to those in villages. He was excited to see pets. Animals that lived alongside humans that he read about, and Stella confirmed. He only ever met Tenny, but he would have liked to play with one that didn't have such a sassy vocabulary. William explained that Kofka is unique and small, and animals are only taken care of in cities and kingdoms, so the excess food isn't wasted. Brass kingdom handles the animals for field work and transport for the villages around here. Jack could barely contain his curiosity about this Kingdom and why it was so different, the ominous words of Noa and Quinn brushed his mind.

The wooden door burst open. A man in his 30s with a thin body and braided black hair stood there with his arms outstretched. He had a dark complexion and orange-brown eyes, just like Jack's, and sweat dripping from his forehead. Jack could see the staff behind him rushing back and forth with large containers and the man consciously trying to obstruct their view while breathing heavily.

"Noa...Lamebrain...I...I was just." The man's face twisted as his arms flew to his stomach. "Entertain them! I will be right back!"

"That is King Meo. His stomach gets all wobbly when he is nervous. Or excited. Stressed too." Noa laughed. "Let's go. We can't time him."

The team walked into the large room to see a massive table at the centre already dressed with various foods of large proportions. Meats of all kinds were cut and steaming, almost placed alternating between four legged creatures and flying types, but the duck and the turkey ended up next to each other. Cheese and bread still fought with the strong fragrances to command their own attempt at watering mouths. Potatoes prepared in many ways and steamed, roasted, and raw veggies found their place next to an assortment of fruits. Finally was the large pitchers of what was probably wine with someone already a fair way down their own.

"This is Maio. She is the princess of Kofka. The king's sister." Noa took a seat at the table next to her. She looked to be younger than Meo but the resemblance was uncanny. Her brown-orange eyes were half glazed over when she looked at the company she was to receive. "You started without us Sis."

"Noa! You know it is a big day. My brother hasn't stopped talking about it. I mean when last have I celebrated anything. Sit down, sit down everyone."

"What are you talking about Sis? You celebrated yesterday and the day before. What was it the day before? Something about an order coming in, but I know for sure you celebrated yesterday because you didn't get a headache in the morning after drinking all night."

"Noa!" Maio blushed slightly. "Now, now, there is just more reason to celebrate. Quinn. Bring out my dessert. I am feeling for something sweet. You guys should dig in. The food will get cold."

"The king?" Stella said before her mentor took a bite of the turkey leg. His eyes pouted as he looked between Stella and the princess.

Maio bit down on her lip slightly. "The king. He isn't much for titles and etiquette anyway. You will be fine."

Ace didn't wait for her words to finish before he began to sample everything. Tenny on his lap grabbing everything after Ace got a bite in. William was right behind him. Tana took her time and showed delight in every bite and Luna was surprisingly slow at eating. She took few bites of what was near her but not fully finishing everything. The Runnel team all had their own ways of attacking the feast in front of them, and it was an accurate representation of their personalities.

"Princess! The latest grain shipment has been stuck in Ski village. The snow picked up and the horses can't make the journey back." A man burst into the room with a letter.

"Ah! I just started celebrating. I figured this could happen so go tell Rugs that he has to go collect the shipment. We already talked about what he has to do so just tell him and stay out of his way. Also tell Wall to organise some soldiers and trainees to clear the buildings of snow fall. We don't want any damages to the houses."

"Yes Princess. Right away." The man adjusted his helmet to its natural position as his panic did the same. A soft smile on his face as he walked through the doors.

"Heroes! Lunar Eclipse! It's really you guys, right? I can't believe this. I really can't believe this." King Meo rushed into the room. His words came with a slight bounce as if he was controlling himself from making full leaps of joy. This is the furthest idea of a king that Jack had. "Lamebrain said it was them, right Noa?"

"Yea Quinn and Darius were very sure it was them. I don't think their expressions could hide it."

"Lamebrain?" Jack questioned.

"Yes. That chubby baker man. The ones you guys defeated back in Nectar Village. We took him in after that. We took him in, even though he was a villain. That's how great I am, but I'm not as great as the guys who stopped him yet. I have to admit having him around was a great idea of mine. Having a villain walk around and serve the kingdom reminds the heroes that evil doesn't prosper. We are fighting for a cause. Anyway, eat. Eat. Eat and we can talk. We can talk while we eat. I am excited."

"Quinn does good work too. He has been organizing and sorting out all the tasks he has been given pretty well. That Darius has some talent too. They are a useful pair." Maio said before releasing a ferocious burp. Quinn entered the room with a cart of covered dishes. He quietly walked over to Maio with a tray.

"You have great timing, Quinn. Sister was just saying how you do good work." Noa laughed. His sincerity could be felt through his tone, but it might have come from innocence. Jack could tell Quinn didn't appreciate that sincerity one bit. He must have hated every moment of this.

"Thank you Princess. Praise from you is of the highest order. I am undeserving." Quinn opened a tray to reveal a large chocolate cake covered in frosting and fruits. Maio looked delighted as she dug into it right away. A thumbs up for the baker as he retreated to stand next to Darius in the corner of the room.

"No, she is right Lamebrain. You did good today. Look who has come to Kofka."

"Thank you, Sir," Quinn answered from the corner then quickly looking down. Jack felt uncomfortable looking at this. Quinn may have been an enemy, and just thinking about his despicable ideals and tone of voice made Jack upset again, but this feels like bullying. Bullying just felt brutal, even if the man was an evil and conniving elitest that couldn't tell right from wrong even if there was just one option. Ugh. Jack made himself angry again. Quinn deserves this. He looked over to Ace, that seemed unbothered by everything. William and Tenny seemed to be on the same wavelength. Tana looked visibly shocked, but Jack wondered if she ever used a bad word. Jack's eyes fell on Stella. She had the most reason to hate that man. He was 200% sure that Stella hated that man, but her eyes looked concerned as well. Damn.

"Why do you call him that, your highness?" Jack asked.

"Huh? Lamebrain? Weren't you paying attention? He is a villain. Anyone who chooses to be a villain must have something wrong with their brain." The playful nature in his voice cut to a flat chilling voice. "I would rather not talk about him, but if you want to, then tell me more about how you guys crushed his forces. Was that your first mission? Were you guys close before? How long have you guys known each other? Are these new members to your team?"

"Huh?" Wave mumbled with food stuff in his cheeks. He quickly chewed and eliminated the impairment to speech. "We aren't on their team. We met them a couple of hours ago. We have our own team. We need a name though."

"What are you guys doing here then?" Meo tone shifted back to a flat one. Everyone in the room became quiet. Jack saw Ace was about to say something. Probably lie his way out but Wave got to it first with his normal energetic voice.

"I heard this is a place for heroes. We are heroes too. We are on a mission for Linako Lates, the inventor." Everyone shifted their gaze to the king. All on edge to hear if that explanation would warrant the unexpected guests.

"I have heard of Lates, he is quite the inventor, but I wouldn't have anything to do with him. However, you guys must be good for him to ask for help, and to be hanging around Lunar Eclipse is enough for me. The more the merrier." The king laughed as he finally began to eat.

"Why do you hate Mr. Lates, your highness?" Mr. Gray calmly asked.

"Aren't you kind of old to be a hero? Shouldn't you be retired?" Meo asked. Mr. Gray looked shocked by the bluntness of the king. Jack wondered if all royalty was straightforward. Maybe no one could tell them if they are rude. Jack looked at Stella again. It can make sense, but she does have a really kind side. He needs more sample royalty.

"He is our mentor your highness. He is a sage," Rose answered.

"Woah. A mentor travelling with his trainees. Risky. I like it. Well, Mr. Sage, you should understand this because of your enlightenment, but Lates has no morals. He obsessed with creating and doing new things that he doesn't hold back. We only get our stuff from Entro, because his Syng tools are all designed to better the lives of people. A lot of safety is made with his stuff. Lates isn't like that. His stuff causes problems, like for our friends over here."

"Us?" Stella questioned.

"Yea. You recently fought our cousin Lok. His equipment always came from Lates. He used to buy a lot, so I am sure you fought against some stuff."

"Lok was your cousin." Jack's eyes widened before the king and then shifted to the food in front of him. "I am sor—"

"Don't apologize. He was a troublemaker. We had no idea he was a villain. You did good stopping him." Meo stood up to reinforce his point.

"But I do remember him being very strong," Maio said after pouring more wine. Her cake was reduced to crumbs. "You guys are lucky he was disowned. You could have made some enemies really quickly."

"Stop it Maio. You are making it seem like they would have been wrong. They are heroes. Virgo is the one to blame, and he deserved it. Virgo is one of the greatest heroes of all time." Meo turned to Jack. "He would have been in my top three favourite heroes but he only serves creatures, so he isn't in my top ten."

He was royalty. That explains the massive support, but why would he attack creatures? Was it his hobby? Why try and take over Evergreen? Who was Lok?

"You really love heroes." William tried to cut the tension. "You must play a lot of Nocturne Knights."

"Not at all. Those are all made up stories with occasionally a real one. I have no time for someone's imagination." Meo waved away Williams claim with the fanning of his hand.

"Disowned?" Jack brought back the tension instantly.

"Yea. Our heritage is from Nocturne," Maio said. "We have family on the royal council. Lok's mom married one of our uncles. I wouldn't say it was anything special considering my uncle, but they were around for a while and that gets you a ticket for that lifestyle. We would visit the capital on occasions, and we liked Lok. When our uncle decided to cast away aunty Lyria, we even offered to take Lok in. He was a proud teenager that didn't want any part of royalty anymore, and I would understand, after the way uncle treated his mom, so he left. His brothers that carry royal blood still looked out for him a lot though, so he got away with a lot of stuff."

"I really did want him to come here too. Even as kids, he had a different drive. He became strong. I would have loved for him to train our students. I don't understand why he would pass up an opportunity to do something great here and become a villain instead."

"I understand. I understand him completely. Those assholes in the capital are all self-serving, and rather run from any problem they can. If Ors wasn't such a good emperor, then Sovalan would have failed a million times over already." Maio plopped her head onto the table after her outburst. Her finger drew circles on the table. "Lok wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Even we were sent here so they wouldn't have to look at us."

"That sounds like really evil people." Rose paused her eating. Her eyes locked on the princess.

"That sounds like royalty." Stella looked at her sister. Jack took a quick glance at the baker still standing off to the side. He seemed a bit happier than Jack thought he would be with the topic at hand.

"All of that really sucks. That Lok guy went through a lot," Rose continued.

"Oh! You guys should try again. Let him help run this kingdom. If he knows you all feel hurt by the royals too then—" Wave was out of his seat.

"Lok is dead." Jack was the first to say it. His eyes only on the food in front of him as he watched the potato on the end of his fork until it reached his mouth. His eyes looked cold behind the steam of the food. Wave sat down with after a quick acknowledgement of the situation.

"He got ahead of himself, that is all. No more having to play the game of life that those royals decided for us. We are still here in this castle. In this punishment. This wasn't even a castle. It was a military outpost. We had to fix everything before people started to come." Maio turned her circle drawing into a rhythmic tap.

"Stop it! I believe in this. They both don't see that we can do what we want. I see the potential in this place. That is why I am the king." Meo slammed his hands on the table. Maio raised her head in disdain as she tossed the drops of wine in her cup at her brother before filling up again. "Our grandfather got to look after this part of the empire because the emperor couldn't trust anyone else. It may not have been the best, but we can make it the best. That is what I am doing here. I am going to raise the best heroes of the empire from here! Kofka is going to be indispensable, and I am going to be the most famous mentor to exist."

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"Is that what those children are training for?" Tana spoke the collective mind.

"Is that why you invite heroes?" Gray followed up.

"Yea! Bro has an obsession with them. He wants to make strong heroes really badly," Noa chipperly answered. He sat back in his chair and rub his stomach, fully satisfied with tonight's meal.

"We are working hard. The training program has been running for around 15 years, but we haven't been able to create heroes that made a meaningful impact in the world. They often come back here and work, or some turn into soldiers. That is the outcome I hate the most. If I wanted them to become soldiers, then I would have gotten captains or maybe a general to come and teach them. I just can't figure it out."

"That is why you guys are special. There aren't much famous heroes around these days, especially those that aren't soldiers," Noa said in his playful tone.

"Thinking about it...They are right. We don't know the stories of your adventures, but we did hear about you. We heard that you were trouble in two different situations. It made me jealous," Bruce joined the conversation.

"We are in a time of peace. That has a lot to do with it. The times are not in search of heroes," Gray answered.

"That is where the magic is...um...are you the mentor?" Meo asked.

"Not to those ones. That would be Mr. Ace over there." Gray pointed out to the moustache that was still eating with his companion tearing into the same large piece of steak.

"Oh...Well as I was saying. That is the magic I am searching for. Your pupil already said it. They have done it twice, in a peaceful time. It is normal for a hero that do something then disappear, but how have they done something twice, in two different places? Is it meant for them? Are they creating the trouble themselves? Is it something that can be taught, or are they only heroes because they have the ability in them? Mr. Ace. I want you to teach us. Teach us what you taught them. Teach us what it means to be a hero. I can make it worth your wild."

"Ummm...I am sorry to tell you this Sir, but I am not close to a hero. These guys are the heart and soul of the stories you heard. I just teach them to be strong. Brown hair is the leader, all questions should be directed to him, please and thank you."

"Sir?" Meo was a bit shocked. His eyes turned to Jack that grinned awkwardly. "Leader, will you stay a while and teach them?"

"I have a few questions if that is okay, your highness?" Jack waited for the nod before starting his interrogation. "What kind of heroes do you want to create?"

"That is an easy one. Any kind of hero that is recognised. They can save animals, people, or even pick up trash, but I want stories to be told about them. People should want to be like them. We work on theory here. Morals. Heroics of the past. We try our best in giving them any information they could need. I hope a hero as smart as Dyse could come out of Kofka. We have Wall training them, and he is very strong. Noa helps out too. Imagine if I could create a hero as strong as Clark. That would be amazing right. They say all of his punches were terror punches."

"This is what happens when you get him started on heroes." Maio sighed.

"Yea, you all really done it now," Noa said.

"What are terror punches? Was that his special?" Stella asked. All the other pupils looked confused as well. Meo had terror written on his face.

"How could you not tell them? What kind of mentor are you?" The king gasped.

"I would have when it became relevant. I am surprised that you don't know about it, Stella." Ace scratched his head. "Oh, so you remember the method for being able to feel attacks?"

"Yea, it sucks. I don't like it," Stella said. The other team looked even more confused.

"Ace makes us meditate in different places to get a feel of the wisps around. I am sure you get a slight feeling of moving when a spell is being cast. It feels like the wisps are collecting somewhere. I feel it a bit better than Stella, so she hates it, but the idea is that when we use mana to reinforce our body, the mana that is not used to call wisps has the tendency to repel them. We can feel them shift away from the person, but it is basically impossible to tell if someone is drawing wisps behind you or repelling them in front of you."

"Got it," Bruce answered. He was thoroughly engaged. The thought of an edge in a fight seemed to light up his imagination.

"Naturally, the more wisps collecting or the faster they flow to a spot, the easier it is felt if you are aware of it." Ace locked eyes with Bruce. His focus shifting around to Stella and Jack. "The thing is...everyone feels a terror punch. When that much mana is drawn to the fist, like class one or zero level mana, then it feels like the whole world is running away. Terror."

"It is quite uncommon, for many reasons," Gray took over. "It takes some time to charge. When charging, everyone is often alert of your position. Everyone also knows that you focused a large amount of mana to your fist, so you can't be strengthening your body."

"They say it has a lot of advantages too. First it is scary and super cool. Umm second would be...its really cool." Meo looked at Ace for any support.

"For those who are inexperienced, it is a nightmare to overcome. Since wisps are everywhere and them moving makes it feel like everything is moving around you, then imagine what it feels like when the whole world is running away and you are stuck there. It is like trying to catch your breath while falling. I hope we find someone strong enough to do it someday to prepare you guys."

"You are unable to do it Ace? As their mentor?" Meo asked. Gray and Ace shook their head. Jack was sure Ace could have done it if he had mana, but he was surprised Gray couldn't. It must be reserved for truly fearsome warriors.

"Your highness, how long would we have to stay?" Jack returned to the original point.

"I wouldn't dream of taking you away for long. You are young and have a lot to do I imagine. If you can allow us a month. I would be very grateful."

Jack looked to Ace, who shrugged his shoulders. He should have known. His eyes shifted to Stella, who gave the same response. He gets it. Leaders are there to lead. "Sure, I can give a month, but in return, can you get us Null Metal."

Jack took all their gazes. Surprise filled the faces of everyone besides Tana and Stella. One wore the expression of confusion while the other showed an agreeing grin. Meo looked towards his sister, as she took a long stare into the ceiling. A subtle nod signalled a big smile on the king's face.

"It is a done deal." Meo walked over to take Jack's hand. "Now, as the pitchers are full, let's hear some stories!"

"Umm...your highness. I am not much of a fighter or anything close to a hero, so if it is okay, may I help distribute these leftovers? What do you normally do with them?" Tana grinned.

"Normally we leave it here. The staff eats it. I guess they will be waiting a while if we begin story telling. Lamebrain! You and the staff can take this to the kitchen and begin dining. I will send Noa if I need anything."

"Right away sir." Quinn shuffled out of the room.

"I'll give him a hand sir. If that is okay." Ace, with Tenny on his shoulder, stood up and followed Quinn with a tray before he had time to hear an answer.

"We will have this out of your way in no time." Tana grabbed a tray and followed.

They table was cleared, but those three only returned to the table after most of the stories and bragging had finished. Pitchers were drained and night was filled with merriment. Jack loved the energy of Wave and Rose and how they would collide. Bruce's stoic nature didn't lend to the hyper attitude of his peers, but he was always there to support by paying attention and aiding anyone stuck on point for too long. Gray seemed to enjoy the overall energy of youth, while probably reminiscing in his mind.

Everyone watched the amount of alcohol they consumed besides the king and princess. Stella and Wave were able to keep up with them, but they didn't show the slightest signs of intoxication. The night was joyous, but it didn't last close to as long as the king was talking about. Royalty was taken to their rooms with their eyes rolled back by Noa and a guard. Guards instructing Quinn to take everyone to their rooms.

Quinn quickly scurried in front of the group, causing the pace to speed up. Everyone was wondering the reason they needed to hurry to bed.

"Now is the time to have your questions answered. We can visit the people of the kingdom." Quinn turned to face Jack. His beady eyes strayed away to Ace.

"What are you talking about Quinn? We are going to be here for a month. There will be plenty of time for us to visit everyone," Jack responded.

"Boy! Listen to me." Quinn grabbed onto Jack's shirt and locked his eyes. "The princess won't let you leave this castle. Tonight is the best chance to move around. You will regret not seeing it for yourself."

Jack hesitated for a minute. What could Quinn have to show him? It couldn't be a trap. Ace was here, and Quinn knows better than that. He must truly believe there is something that Jack would want to see.

"Let's go."

***

Quinn came to a sudden halt after the guards opened the front gate. The crew waited behind him in the dark shadows of the night. All of them wearing Kofka armour that Quinn insisted on. The only exceptions belonged to himself and Darius.

"What are the students doing out?" Quinn looked at kids moving on the roofs.

"The princess ordered them to be out tonight," Rose said. "She didn't want the snow to damage any roof."

"Damnit. That means that Wall will be around. We have to be quick." Quinn walked ahead. The crew followed as he smoothly ducked into an alleyway on his left. They ran between a fair amount of houses before running around a building and rushing in. Gray illuminated the house with his palm raised. Quinn quickly lit a small lamp and signalled for Gray to cut it out.

"Quinn? I figured you would have been busy since the heroes arrived." A figure arose from heap of blankets laid out on the ground. A man in his late 30s or early 40s was rubbing his eyes. "Guards? You brought guards?"

"Guards!" Another figure from the blankets jumped up.

"Everyone, gather around for a moment. Take off the helmets," Quinn instructed. "These are the heroes from earlier."

"No way. Heroes are here! Wake the kids! They have to see this."

When everyone gathered around the lamp, there turned out to be 3 grown men, all around the same age. 5 children or varying ages with the oldest being 10. One old lady that Jack remembered seeing in the crowd earlier joined them. All of them had a similar gaunt look.

"This is one large family." Jack smiled at the kids gathered around him.

"I brought some food for the children. Mr. Quinn told us we would be coming before he told you guys." Tana took sandwiches out of a bag. Jack looked as the small frame children had fright on their faces as his friend tried to give it to them.

"We couldn't—" One of the men started.

"Oh shut up. If they are heroes that you regard so highly then you should accept it gracefully." The old lady swung a cane at the speaking gentleman. Jack couldn't help smiling as he thought of Miss Nevadere. Old ladies love hitting with their canes.

"We can? Thank you granny!" The children all grabbed at the sandwiches. Tana took enough for everyone in the room. They all sat around the lamp in the small open quarters. The entire house was tiny. Jack wondered how a family of 9 made it work.

"They aren't a family, Jack. Not in the way you meant it. They have no blood relation," Quinn said. Jack looked to the men for confirmation.

"Yea, it is like Mr. Quinn says. We all live here and formed a family that way. The entire kingdom is like this." A man with a thin reddish beard spoke. Jack didn't pay much attention due to the dim light of the lamp, but he could now tell that they all barely resembled.

"Why have so many of you decided to stay in a small house?" Wave asked.

"This is how it works. There isn't much space, so we all share houses. It is a small sacrifice for the housing of the trainees," A man with a thicker blonde beard said. Jack could tell which children belonged to each man as their hair colour matched the beards of their dads. The reddish had the 10-year-old son. The blonde gentleman had a daughter around 6 and a son around 3. The last two seemed to be twin girls with black hair around 6 years old as well.

"Do all of you share the dream of having heroes from Kofka?" Jack asked.

"Of course. King Meo and King Milan before all used to share stories of the heroes. Every week we would gather in the pathway to the castle like today and we will get to hear a story of another adventure or hero," Blonde beard said.

"We have been hearing the great adventures of you guys recently and it was amazing. We can't believe you will be here to teach our children as well. Like how your mentor, umm...they never said your name in the articles," Black beard stated.

"Ace," Stella and Jack said at the same time.

"Oh woah! Ace, Ice Queen, and Jack. You guys are like the face cards. Do you guys play cards? You are just missing the King," Red beard said.

"I am the King. The King of the media. All of the stories you have read were mine." William proudly puffed his chest and put his hand on his hips.

"Shut up. You are the king of talking when no one wants you too." Tana pulled William backwards.

"Ha. I am not much of a card player, but I grew up with guys that played a lot of Fours. That is how I got the name Ace. They said I was their Ace after some time." The moustache seemed to trail off. Jack felt like he was off all night. They weren't used to him being so quiet. "Do you guys play?"

"What's wrong?" Stella blurted out before anyone could answer. "You have been off all night."

"I noticed it too. It had me worried, so that's why we stayed back in the kitchen for so long," Tana said.

"I was keeping an eye on him all night as well," Tenny said. His quietness was also noticed by the crew. The unsuspecting was quickly calmed down by Quinn as normal. They figured that new grand heroes would have a Mystical Creature as a friend.

"Sorry, I just felt really uncomfortable around royalty. I didn't expect it to affect me that much, but I will be normal soon. Sorry again. Back to you guys. Do you play?"

"Yea! We are great at cards. We don't have much other things we can do, so we are really good at it," Red beard said.

"What about work?" Rose said.

"No one outside the castle works. Kofka takes care of everything for everyone," Black beard said.

"What about ledgers? How do you know who takes what?" Jack asked.

"They stopped that over a decade ago," Blonde Beard said.

"Stop with the vague back and forth. I will tell them the damn story. You all are pretending you don't know how the world works. For the kids? Huh." The old lady made more space for herself using the cane. She took a seat and a sip of water that one of the kids brought to her. Jack panicked a bit since her white hair didn't identify her family.

"This kingdom was never meant to be a kingdom. For whatever reason, the royal family took over an old military base and began ruling from here. Supplies from neighbouring villages were shared and they lived comfortably. Most know how society works already, so many people came, and they opened the walls. Small houses were built but Kofka was just small. Time passed and more people came, but it was never unimaginable. Then some odd years ago there was the tragedy. A massive snowstorm passed, and rations became extremely limited.

"King Milan and Queen Astral held their best. They tried everything they could and really took care of the people. Their strength held Kofka through a dark period, but it turned out to be all their strength at the time. The queen passed and Milan fell sick for the remainder of his time here. During those periods, no one could work on anything. Energy was low and the conditions were bad, but after it all, Kofka told us that we don't have to work. Take our time. The rations became larger and stable. Two times a day we are delivered meals. It will sound dumb, but it is basically you all that got us here.

"During those times. Milan and Astral would tell us stories. Stories of what heroes of old would do. Heroes of the empire. It seemed he told these stories to Meo and Maio as well, because the tradition lived on. Meo came up with the idea to train people from Kofka to be their own heroes of the empire. It raised everyone's spirits to a new height. Now we all believe that someday, Kofka could be a grand kingdom in the empire, and we would all live comfortably."

"It would be so grand. I have a son in the program. We don't know much about it because once you enter the castle then you don't leave. Mr. Quinn secretly comes and tells us things," Red beard said. Jack had a strange feeling about this all. Why would Quinn care about this program? A grudge against heroes. Jack thought back to the Quinn of Nectar village. The Quinn that told him about his meddling, and no concern for others. Something isn't right.

"We both have wives in the castle. We haven't seen them in ages," Blonde beard said as he pointed to Black beard. The blonde kids running to their dad as he stumbled on some breaths. It must be difficult talking about it. "I am really grateful for Mr. Quinn for giving us information. It really brought us a new light recently. We were just like other families that were full of faith but always wondering about it in the back of our minds."

"It is the heroic sacrifice we must make for our heroes," Black beard took over. They all talked the same and had a part to say. It felt like they spent a lot of time together talking about these same topics. "Everyone in Kofka aims for this one goal. Even the king and princess live with rations so the heroes can get the best. It helps us knowing that many heroes of the stories struggled in similar ways before becoming so grand."

"Rations? Quinn is—" Jack started.

"Stop it. It is not the time. You understand it now. This is Kofka and they all believe they need a hero. The problem is that they don't know how badly they do. What are you going to do boy?"

"Ace! What do we need to do? How do we fix this?" Jack turned.

"We can talk to them. Figure out if there is a way to convince them of other methods," Ace said.

"That would be gre—" Tana started.

"They wouldn't listen. This is their master plan. It has been this way for years. You think that they will change for a bit of sympathy," Quinn said.

"Then what do we do. How do you fight a kingdom? It is impossible," Jack said.

"Ace?" Stella asked. He released a deep breath. He must be really off.

"Mr. Red beard. What is the strongest card in Fours? The card game," Ace asked.

"The Ace."

"Woah, no way. I thought it was the King." Ace placed his hands on his cheeks. "I am sorry, I didn't expect to be complimented so upfront. I am going to need a minute. Sheesh. I must be glowing red right now."

Stella smashed her fist to the back of his head. "Get on with it."

"Capture the king," Jack said calmly and staring blankly at Ace. "If we catch the king, then we have the kingdom, right?"

"Yup."

"The princess is the one really in charge. She wouldn't stand for it. She would probably jump at the opportunity to be granted the title, Queen of Kofka," Quinn said.

"We would have to capture her as well then," Jack said.

"Then what?" Quinn asked.

"We rebuild the kingdom. What else?"

"Are we going to stay and take over Kofka?" Tana asked. Jack looked at her. He never been to a kingdom before. Do they need a king? Can there be an official from the empire instead? Would that make it a village? Taking on a kingdom was beginning to sound like the easy part.

"Boy! Hear me," Quinn said. All eyes drawn to him. "Make me the king."