The walls vibrate when the First Knight of the Syars slams the door open to the library. The sole woman in the grand room all but drops the books she’s sorting.

“First Knight Trinsi,” the curator greets, stepping out from behind the counter and curtsying.

As expected, the knight ignores the woman and stomps off to wherever she needs to in the library. Curator Ilis resumes her work.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, unexpectedly, Trinsi returns to the desk. She holds three books in her hands and drops them on the counter with a thick thump.

“Ilis, this can’t be all we have on the history of the Esters,” she asks more than states.

Ilis glances at the titles boredly and shrugs, “There isn’t a lot of history on them to have.” She pushes up her glasses before cracking open a large book on her desk. Flipping through it, she hums when she finds what she’s looking for. “We have some records of their ranked officers along with a couple of articles from the war. The bad news is that they are not in great condition, so we only have access to abridged copies of some of the text. The good news is that we can request for the actual copies to be pulled from the Tomb of Records if you can tell me exactly what you need.”

The knight nods taking this in, “Let me see the copy of the records for their officers for the year before the war… and any article on the aftermath of the war. If I need anything pulled from the Tomb I’ll let you know.”

The curator points to a nearby table, “Wait there, I’ll bring them to you.”

---

Trinsi runs her finger down a list of names on the twelfth page of the record. The task is taking longer than she had originally assumed it would, she hadn’t expected the record to be so large. She also didn’t know if Seis was using her real name, an abbreviation, or what her last name could be.

Her eyes tired, she decides to take a peek a couple pages ahead, and from the corner of her eyes catches an excerpt.

Annually, the top ten highest ranking officers are given new titles according to their placement that year. This year’s Dux Bellorum are:

Dux Bellorum Uno: Fantine Hoek

Dux Bellorum Dos: Sera Roche

Dux Bellorum Tres: Nina Hoek

Dux Bellorum Quattro: Elina Aumont

Dux Bellorum Cinco: Aurora Arkes

Dux Bellorum Seis: Judit Dale

Trinsi stops and flips to the back of a history book from earlier. Searching the index for the name, she finds a reference to an article titled The Exile of Judit Dale, and another reference to a photograph of the graduating class the year prior to the war.

“Ilis! Can you pull me the picture to the Bellorum graduating class of 34? Along with any articles you have on Judit Dale?”

Ilis takes 30 minutes to conjure up the material. In the meantime, Trinsi reads the summary of the article referenced.

The Exile of Judit Dale- Summer 1035

Judit Dale has been stripped of her title of Dux Bellorum after the events at Oakson that resulted in the fall of the Esters. Reports that her survival was a result of her abandoning her comrades during battle. Abandonment is punishable by death in the Syardom. Dale however, has fled, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.

The curator brings a thick bound book and a file with different sized articles.

Esters of the Terra Aeternam- Fall 1034

The Exile of Judit Dale - Summer 1035

The Truth of the Battle of Oakson - Summer 1036

The Search for Dux Bellorum Seis - Winter 1046

The Death of Dux Bellorum Seis - Winter 1121

The Last of the Esters - Summer 1185

The white haired knight starts with the thick book. She doesn’t want to read up on Judit Dale if it’s not Seis. A feeling in her gut makes her believe it is her, but a part of her still refuses to believe the woman is telling the truth. The thought of her being a fugitive sounds more like her character, but Trinsi can’t go around pointing fingers if she has the wrong information.

She flips it open and quickly shuffles to the back, finding the lithograph of the graduating class. She scans the description to see which of the faces in the picture belongs to Seis. The women in the picture all wear matching uniforms, serious expressions, and their hair pulled into a tight bun.

The Seis she knows isn’t as neat as any of the women pictured, but the facial structure on Judit Dale is similar to that of Seis’s. Her eyes however, even in the lithograph, give Trinsi the sensation of being pulled towards the earth. There is no doubt that it’s her. Trinsi slams the book shut, and turns her attention to the second article, The Truth of the Battle of Oakson.

A year ago today, the tragedy of the Esters brought the world to its knees. The Syardom scrambled to find the reason for the disaster, and was quick to smear the name of ex-Dux Bellorum Seis, also known as Judit Dale. A year later, a witness has stepped forward to share new information about the event. While the Syars stand by their decision to strip the woman of her title, an investigation has been opened by the Knights of the Syardom. Judit Dale has not been seen since the events at the Battle of Oakson.

Trinsi recalls Seis’s reaction to Lunetta back at the smithery. If what she is reading is true, the reaction was not completely uncalled for. She flips forward onto the next article.

The Search for Dux Bellorum Seis

After the results of an investigation by the KOTS, Judit Dale’s title as Dux Bellorum Seis has been reinstated. Some have even proposed that she should have the title Dux Bellorum Uno awarded after the misrepresentation the Syardom bestowed her after the fall of her comrades at the Battle of Oakson. Unfortunately she remains to be seen in the last ten years. Many speculate that she may no longer be part of our world, and has made an effort to be reunited with her sisters and comrades.

The article following the last is even more brief:

The Death of Dux Bellorum Seis

Over 85 years have passed since the disappearance of Dux Bellorum Seis. If alive, she would be 103 years old today. Chances are that the celebrated hero is now gone, a hero stone has been erected in her honor in the Field of Kings next to that of her sisters and mothers. With her end, comes the end of a legacy.

Trinsi is somewhat depressed that she has reached the last article. She is mollified by it being longer than the last at least.

The Last of the Esters

Ester History Expert, Duka Sean Alexi Desten, speculates that the Last Ester, Dux Bellorum Seis, may be alive but in a sort of comatose state. After years of research he found many instances in which the Esters used their connection with the ‘Terra Aeternum’ (Eternal Earth), to either pass on the legacy of the warriors, along with any ‘magical’ properties they possessed, or put each other in long periods of hibernation in a last attempt to preserve the lineage.

Esters are not able to put themselves into said hibernation, and the ritual is said to require a great sacrifice. Dux Bellorum Seis was originally accused of killing Dux Bellorum Uno at the Battle of Oakson. Duka Sean theorizes that it while it may have appeared that way, what spectators witnessed was the sacrifice of Dux Bellorum Uno to save her comrade. As the higher ranking officer, it would have been Dux Bellorum Uno’s responsibility to see that the lineage did not die that day even if their battle was not successful. 

Traditionally, Dux Bellorum Dos would be the one to put in hibernation, why Dux Bellorum Uno chose Dux Bellorum Seis is unknown. It may have been a matter of urgency.

That’s all there is to the last article. The knight struggles to decide how she feels about this. She reopens the bound book to the lithograph. Moments ago she was fuming, ready to expose this woman, and now she was second guessing herself.

Trinsi is stubborn, not irrational. She studies the faded face of Dux Bellorum Uno. The woman was older than Seis in the picture, mature, and confident. Compared to her, Seis looked like a child, granted, she was a child. She couldn’t be more than 18 in that picture.

She shuts the book with a hard sigh- a reluctant sigh. She knows what she has to do now, but she does not like it.