Arrival

Epilogue: Part 1; Kirinae- How Time has changed things

May, 1104 A.D.

Mafrien-rather, father-brought a letter to me early on in the month. He walked in from the letter station, where messenger hawks were taken care of, and he held the letter out to me. It was from my mother.

She informed me that she'd gotten pregnant just before I'd left with father, and had already delivered the child-children-in the time that I'd been gone. I was surprised that this had happened, but even more surprised that I had actually been gone that long.

I learned that I had two brothers, one strangely Kelose's and one Dragon's, but once she explained it to me, it made...at least a bit more sense.

Father was amused by it. He was outright giddy. He told me that he'd sensed her pregnancy just before we'd left, but decided to let her find out on her own, without him telling her.

Mother's letter also informed us that she and Coal had gotten married, and father and I couldn't have been happier for her.

Father and I began to sort through all of the Dahrahm who would or would not join the cause for the new world. All those that refused to reform and change their evil ways were killed immediately.

Father reiterated my mother's wishes, repeating that he would not tolerate evil for as long as he could extinguish it.

A surprising number of Darkelves did, however, choose to reform and many even returned to their original homelands.

Together, my mother and father worked to integrate the Dark Realm with the Light Realm, trying to not keep them divided, but rather unite and conquer, creating balance.

Father trained me on how to be a ruler, how to get things done.

And soon, I was well on my way to becoming the queen.... or at least, that is what he told me.

He told me that I reminded him of mother, bold and blunt, straightforward and to the point. I didn't hold anything back.

And it made me feel good when he sounded proud to say it.

Mother came to visit after a few weeks.

Coal had brought her, Dragon, and the two children.

They were small, of course. As you might expect infants to look. One had Dragon's hair and eyes, and with the other, it was reversed.

They really did match both of them. Lucian and Adrian, my mother had called them. Both boys. Two brothers, I had mused aloud.

"Actually," father went to inform me. "You have three brothers."

Everyone had jolted, shocked.

"Three?" Mother asked. "I don't see another."

My father looked away, his eyes looking far off into the distance, his mind somewhere else. "I impregnated a human woman in another country after I first put you in the dungeon with Manwen," he informed us. At their gapes of horror, he sighed. "I know that it is wrong. And I had intended to go and fetch the boy. I know that it was a boy, I could sense it. But I don't know if she survived, or if he survived. And she wouldn't even recognize me now. I was a Dahrahm back then."

"As long as you are sure to get that child and bring him-and his mother-here, then it shouldn't be a problem," Dragon had tried to think positively.

Once mother and her group had left days later, my father had set out to continue his mission, bringing destruction to anyone who would not accept the minimal law changes that my mother was trying to get enforced.

And, for the most part, especially with my father's frightening display when mother had been injured by Ekabat, everyone seemed to be willing to cooperate without the use of force.

I was very excited when my boyfriend from Lykra, a Wraith of noble blood, Luka, was allowed to move to Barrenwilds, and he and I began to grow very close in many ways.

My father wasn't fond of him right away, but he began warming up to him a bit after a while.

Everything seemed to be winding down.

That is, until, the fight for the future....my future, really began....

For it was only months later that we learned of a new threat that could destroy us all, and the fate of the world could be changed forever...and everything that my mother and father had done could be for naught.

Part 2: Dragon- New threats

We had arrived back to Celestial Peak from Barrenwilds, and Kysael and I walked together to lay the children down in the nursery that had been made in the chambers beside of ours.

"That was a good visit," Kysael said softly. "It was good to see Kirinae after so much time."

I smiled. "Yes, she certainly has grown, hasn't she?"

She nodded. "Yes." She held Lucian in her arms, as I laid Adrian down in his cradle. She came to stand beside of me, looking at Adrian. Then we walked out of the room, down to the catacombs to see Kelose. Coal met us in the hallway.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her on the way.

She sighed. "Still recovering from everything. My body is still tender." When we reached the catacombs, she walked to stand at Kelose's feet at the bottom of the pillar of ice, and looked up at him a moment before looking back down at their son. "He looks just like him," she said sadly.

I came to be beside of her, taking her in my arms as her tears spilled down her cheeks. "I know."

Coal stood there, letting us just be close for a minute.

He knew that we still loved one another, but he knew that she loved him, too. He was comfortable with our feelings for one another, and knew that I wouldn't betray him or his friendship, and that she wouldn't betray him or their marriage. It was a comfortable thing, now, lacking the jealousy that Kelose had always held.

"This is your father, Lucian. He couldn't be here to meet you...or to watch you grow," she choked up as she looked upon the child. "But he would have adored you." She looked up at Kelose. "This is your son. I remembered the name that you had chosen, all those years ago. And I gave him the name that you had wanted so long ago. This is your son, Lucian. And though when you are released from this ice prison, you will have no memories...your son will know who you are, even if you have no knowledge of him. I will raise him to respect his new father, but he will always know you."

"Kysael," I whispered softly. "We should go." My heart ripped in two for her.

She looked back at me, her eyes full of sadness yet joy all at once. "Let us go back."

We left the catacombs and went to lay Lucian down in his cradle next to Adrian's in the nursery, and looked at them both for a few moments.

Coal led her out of the room and to their bed chambers, and I heard her crying from down the hall.

It was so surreal, to think that only about a year ago, it had been I who was comforting her, and then Kelose. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, and Kysael struggled to keep up. I couldn't imagine how out of sorts it must have made her; it certainly was hard for me to keep up with myself.

But I couldn't have been happier for her. All I wanted was her happiness.

She was much shyer, now. Her confidence had been cut in two, destroyed. Her heart was softer, weaker. She was easier to upset, now.

She was easier to hurt.

Losing Kelose, seeing him transform into a Darkelf and then losing him forever by him being turned into a human who would have no recollection of her, had completely killed her spirit.

She didn't want to fight anymore.

She was tired.

But she continued to do what she must. She was just much more reserved and private, much more morose than before.

She stayed sullen.

But she smiled at me often, albeit a bit sadly. And she stayed cuddled up to her wyvern husband, finding solace in him and the comfort that he offered her.

She fought to be a good wife to him. She would do things for him, and he would do things for her.

He kissed her gently and loved her softly.

And she smiled warmly at him as they loved each other.

And she slowly grew to open to him, over time. She tried to be happy and joyous, and we all watched over the children together.

Her eyes would linger sadly on Lucian, watching him with bitter sweet eyes that were always filled with tears that she would never allow to fall.

It was strangely easier to love her than it had ever been before, because she was so much softer, not so brash and angry. And it was so much easier to be happy for her to fall in love with someone else, as well.

He was good for her, and made her strong.

He was physically more powerful than I was, than Kelose had been. He was a beast.

Literally.

And it was good to see Kysael grow to love him...

But it was also so much easier to damage her, and we had to be careful what we said around her.

Things were peaceful, though. And I performed my duties to the letter to make sure that things stayed that way around the kingdom, so that she could live in peace. She had earned as much.

And we always escorted her, every week, to see Kelose's frozen form in the enchanted ice below the city in the catacombs.

And she would always smile bitter smiles and keep sad but happy tears from falling as she would tell Lucian stories about his father, and we watched Adrian and Lucian grow to love us and love one another as time continued to move forward, ever so slowly.

Soon, their first birthdays had rolled around, and it was May of 1105 A.D.

Kysael finally allowed herself to cry again, for the first time in nearly a year. ****

It was a few months later that rumors started spreading. Rumors that the humans were developing weapons that could kill elves, and other races were teaming up with them. I got word from the Nae King, Emron, that several of the Woodelves had been attacked and killed with the firearms that Kysael had brought him the schematics for. The Yahrayne, the Mountain elves, were getting hit by this approaching storm even harder than Havengrove.

War was brewing once again.

Overtime, Sahyeen, the Skyelves, would start being hunted down, and we would know that things had gotten serious.

In order to protect and preserve Kysael, there was only one thing that could be done.

I would end up arranging a private meeting with Coal to discuss what actions needed to be taken, and when.

But then, you'll have to read all about that in the next novels; Beloved, and Awakening, coming soon!