Lunaropolis-29/10/999-21:00 

Rumors had spread that Illa, the righteous and honorable, crown-princess of the Merarini empire, had not chosen a dancing partner for her debutante ball-likely because she was agitated due to the bombardment of requests-but she went to consult a certain someone, living within the royal palace…

ILLA: (Frustrated) “Greetings…”

ARQU: “Your royal highness, is something the matter?”

ILLA: “I don’t know what you’re talking about and don’t call me ‘your royal highness’!”

ARQU: “…”

ILLA: “Sorry! Please, I didn’t mean it, it’s just that-”

ARQU: “No, I understand, you're just annoyed because everyone is bugging you about your debutante partner.”

ILLA: “How did you know?”

ARQU: “You're not the first future empress… or emperor, I have encountered, a few before you were stuck in the situation you are in, but they eventually made up their minds by choice.”

ILLA: “So your saying that I have to-”

ILLA (continued): (Blushing)“What if I ask you to be my partner for the ball?”

ARQU: (Flustered) “I- I- I-”

ILLA: “Please, you’re the only person who I really trust with anything these days.”

ARQU: “I- I don’t know.”

ILLA: “I mean you don’t have to accept-”

ARQU: “No, I accept.”

ILLA: “Really?”

ARQU: “Yeah, I just don’-don’t know, it’s just that this is a controversial move.”

ILLA: “Who cares? You may be my squire but you're also my bestie!”

ARQU: “I just hope you’ll be alright.”

Standing to exit room;

ILLA: “Likewise, on a lighter note, how would you like it if we went on a tour of the city again?”

ARQU: “Sounds great, when will it be?”

ILLA: “An hour after the ball.”

ARQU: “Brilliant.”

ILLA: “Sorry but I’ve got to dash, empire doesn’t work itself.”

ARQU: “Bye!”

ILLA: “Bye!”

As the door gently closes, Arqu ponders in Raven’s nest.

Jùdiǎn-31/12/999-23:45

The day of collectivity approached closer and closer as time matched on, the people who remained tried to stand strong but as the walls started to fall one by one, the people went silent. But as foretold, a great power would end the war, favorably or not.

XIAN:  “We need to band together, to fight back!“

ORIQUA: “And then what, lose more lives than we already have, don’t you realize that we aren’t the first people to try?”

XIAN: “We can’t just do nothing, we can’t just run away again and ‘hope’ for ‘The great power’ to end the war.”

ORIQUA: “If we keep on fighting, there won’t be anyone left, Antarctica is the only place left!”

Ashwin enters the military camp tent.

ASHWIN THOMPSON: “Sir and madam, you need t-to come with me immediately.”

Ashwin gestures for them to follow and they comply.

Dashing outside and down the path of densely packed trees, through the rest of the camp and emerged into the grand city that is Jùdiǎn.

ASHWIN THOMPSON (continued): (fearful)”L-look over t-the second sec-section of the n-north wa-wall w-where the garden d-district is.”

As it was the coldest time of winter, a thick fog limited their vision but the panicking mass of people was not a positive omen of what was to come. In the distance, a thunderous metallic crash could be heard.

ORIQUA: “The communication lines! I told you should’ve used stronger materials.”

XIAN: “That didn’t sound like an ordinary collapse, that sounded like sabotage.”

Noticing his younger sister's gasp, he received no reply except…

ORIQUA: “Look up.”

ASHWIN THOMPSON: “Uhhh…”

XIAN: “Dear Etien…”

ARQU: “Looks like you couldn’t hide forever.”

And standing on top of the wall was…

ILLA: “What clever people you are…”

As a response to the sabotage accusation. A bell rang in the distance.

Jùdiǎn-1/1/1000-00:00

ARQU: “It’s the end of the road for you it seems.”

Arqu the Raven and princess Illa were sieging the last stronghold of the world together, Jùdiǎn for the Meyarini Empire, the world would be theirs soon…

…as a deep fog started to rise.

ORIQUA: “I told you we should have fled to Antarctica!”

XIAN: “Less arguing, more fighting!”

ILLA:  (taunting)“Aw, how cute, teh webels are twying to fwight back.”

XIAN: “One day, your hubris will end you and your freak boyfriend.”

ILLA: “Why you little-”

Ice pillars rose and tossed Xian further and further away as Ashwin tried to melt the ice. Meanwhile, Arqu engaged in combat with Oriqua as the wall began to crack and crumble. Collecting together the nuts and bolts of the surrounding area, she formed a defense. Going into the offensive, he bombarded her with boulders of stone from the pavement. Before launching her into the air. Fortunately, she managed to grab onto a ledge of a house and disappeared inside.

ARQU: “Come out madam, wherever you ar- ouch.”

Arqu feels a sting pain in the back of the neck and turns around to find the source.

ARQU (continued): “You have nerve, it’s just such a shame that all of it went to waste, you had so much potential that people could kill over yet you ran away and now we’re here, Ashwin.”

Arqu prepares to crush every nerve and vessel in his adversary’s body.

ARQU (continued): “Any last words, old friend.”

Mustering up as much courage as he he could, he said;

ASHWIN THOMPSON: “T-two, behind you.”

Why?e

Why?

XIAN: “Why is violence the only solution for you?”

ILLA: “Fear is stronger than trust, it’s a near unbeatable bond.”

Xian lands with a thud on the ground as Illa stops her attack, breaking his humerus. Giggling under her breath.

XIAN: “Then why did Ashwin leave your clique.”

Turning around, Arqu received a blow to the head knocking him unconscious. Before being dragged away…

Illa stops giggling.

ILLA: “None of your business.”

XIAN: “Hey you should probably-“

Xian groans in pain.

XIAN (continued): “Look behind you.”

Illa turns around and sees;

ILLA: “Dame Oriqua! I thought Arqu would have dealt with you by now.”

And it appears she was not alone, a mob was with her.

ORIQUA: “Turns out he was weak!”

All sorts of junk and arrows were being fired at the invading force as well as Illa.

ILLA: “Retreat!”

Rising up on a water jet, she says…

ILLA (continued): “This is not the end of it.”

…before disappearing away…

Lunaropolis-30/10/999-13:00

Arqu is decorating the banquet/debutante hall with flowers, untsels and covers for the tables, and lighting the chandeliers for the up-coming debutante ball for crown-princess Illa. 

Shortly before completion.

Illa enters.

Arqu prostrates himself, in his clothes fit for a peasant.

ARQU: “Your royal highness, due of honor, I am of service to you in your need.”

The day of Halloween was a fear for all but especially to those who opposed the Empire, the day of executions as it is known, the birthday of crown-princess Illa too fell on that day. Lunaropolis was the capital of the Meyarini Empire, home of the royal family and the crown-princess was to receive her family heirloom that very night, the wand, its exact origin has been lost to time but legends say that it was forged by the gods themselves and given to the first empress of the Meyarini Empire.

ILLA: “No need to worry, I’m just to see the progress…”

ILLA (continued): (speechless)“Woah.”

The room that had been designated, the old throne room, was redecorated white paint and golden rim finishings, two long tables sat perpendicular to the door with a stage for the orchestra in the left side, and the centerpiece of it all was a large space cleared presumably as a space for the dancing.

Jùdiǎn-1/1/1000-08:30

Arqu wakes up in a…

ARQU: “Ugh, not another containment cell.”

Sitting up, he tried to remove his gauntlet but, again, it seemed to be attached to him;

ARQU (continued): “This seems familiar.”

Commenting on his clothing of which he saw himself wearing in the mirror, a navy blue tunica, black belt overtop, greaves, poleyn, cuisses and a black cloak with white rims over all that. Looking behind him, he saw an open-top crown, frowning, he put it on. A light reflected on something shiny on the floor and on closer inspection, it was a wedding ring, his wedding ring, putting it on, he saw a thin, black tattoo run down the length of his arms.

ARQU (continued): “That’s new.”

Pushing the iron bars apart, he looks up and down the corridor.

ARQU (continued): “Huh, there’s no one here, I-”

He was tugged from behind and dragged across the corridor, up a flight of stairs, through several more corridors, passing many disgruntled people, a and finally to a doorway with no door where he was thrown into.

ORIQUA (Prosecution solicitor): “Sorry about the no-door situation, we’re running low on supplies.”

Arqu was startled a little by that voice and seemed puzzled at the room he was in.

DR. WILLIAM PRESTON (Judge): “Hopefully we can fix that soon, moving on, court-clerk.”

ASHWIN THOMPSON (Court clerk): “Y-yes sir, what is your name?”

ARQU (Defendant): “Arqu; contraction of Astræus.”

ASHWIN THOMPSON (Court clerk): “Astræus , nicknamed ‘The serpent king’, engaged to ‘Illa Chetaihau-Dägavon Umerennyy-Prazeodim’ at age fourteen, you are charged with aggravated assault, aiding and abetting, arson, bribery, burglary, conspiracy, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, homicide and involuntary manslaughter constituting to the ‘4th statute of felonies’ sections seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty seven and twenty eight, and that you, Astræus, throughout ‘The war of the quadruple entente’ together with Illa Chetaihau-Dägavon Umerennyy-Prazeodim and the royal cabinet, committed these felonies, how do you plead?”

ARQU (Defendant): “Guilty but before you sentence me, may a state my ‘victim impact statement’?”

XIAN (Witness): “Why should we trust you?”

ARQU (Defendant): “Look, if you don’t trust me then at least you can have preventative measures, does that sound fair?”

ORIQUA (Prosecution solicitor): “Go ahead.”

ARQU (Defendant): “The Meyarini tribes-”

I can’t believe I slipped up on that.

ORIQUA (Prosecution solicitor): “Empire.”

ARQU (Defendant): “The Meyarini empire is planning another attack at 13:00, it will be a bombardment followed by a rush into the city centre, if we-”

XIAN (Witness): “We? Not after you broke my arm.”

ARQU (Defendant): “If I can have a closer look at it then maybe I can fix it.”

The whole court erupted in laughter.

ARQU (Defendant) (continued): (Under his breath)“Ugh, not again.”

ARQU (Defendant) (continued): “Dr. William Preston, may I be allowed to demonstrate healing on witness Xian to prove that I can indeed be trusted with the information that I purposefully decided to not withhold from the court, if I can’t then you can kill me in any method you may wish, if I can then may I assist you and your fellow compatriots in reconvening, restructuring and rebuilding?”

DR. WILLIAM PRESTON (Judge): “Permission… granted.”

XIAN (Witness): “Why do I have to be the scapegoat?”

Arqu steps out from behind the stand and approaches the witness stand.