Some time later...

In the sunlit imperial capital, in the city of Izmir, within the central palace.

The Emperor stood upon a small dais, about to step out onto the balcony and face his people. Besides His Majesty and the servants dressing and adorning him, a few others were present in the room.

Two of them sat at a nearby table: Karl Ast Noro, a veteran of the Empire, and Stella Benjamin Dan Rossi, lord of the Empire’s most bountiful eastern province.

A third stood by the door with a spear in hand—clad in iron plate bearing the imperial crest on his chest and a cloak down his back. He was a guard.

Karl Ast Noro wore a uniform coat, but the medals on his chest were hard to count. One look at his imposing, challenging bearing told anyone who he was though beside a Stella and the Emperor himself, such displays were, to put it mildly, superfluous.

They sat in silence.
Karl grew a little self-conscious and reached up to scratch his gray beard. His hair was cropped short and silver, with thick sideburns ten years gray already.

Suddenly, the Emperor addressed them.

“Benjamin, Karl… I have decided. Enemies have multiplied in our Empire… and their number grows. The recent events are proof enough. I have thought carefully about your words, Benjamin.” His voice was steady and even. He didn’t step out from behind the screen where the attendants dressed him. “I have two orders for you. I want you to begin at once.”

Benjamin and Karl exchanged a glance before answering. “We are listening,” they said in unison.

“Benjamin… I want you to assemble an anti-terror unit from the best people you have, and—discreetly—undertake the investigation of these… recent events.

“And you, Karl… gather those who can be trusted, and vet every last aristocrat in the capital—whoever they are. Something like this could not have been done without considerable backing.

“Theo was an irreplaceable pillar to us… I still can’t believe he was taken so soon.”

“It will be done, Your Majesty.” Benjamin and Karl bowed their heads in respect.

Both men could scarcely believe their fortune, His Majesty would address the crowd before the palace in a matter of minutes.

Below, from every street in the city, the citizens gathered. Some came on foot, strolling leisurely through the beautiful capital. Some arrived by private carriage.
The truly wealthy, however, came in the newly invented self-propelled carriages briefly called “Cars”.

It seemed a group of scholars from Cameroon, led by the gifted mage and alchemist Oliver Wyn, had labored to bring them forth.

But the people, by and large, were of one mind: they wished to hear the Emperor’s address. Even so, some brought placards with provocative slogans “Lawlessness in the North,” or “The Empire Destroyed the Von Lavrelio.”

Each of them was free to think as they wished. From time to time, however, uniformed officers approached those with such placards and compelled them to come along…

At last, a loud voice rang out: the Emperor’s advisor. He stood on a different balcony, and only the blond head and his hand holding the speaking wand could be seen. The advisor announced that His Majesty would speak shortly and urged the people to remain calm and await the address.

A bright figure appeared on the main balcony. The crowd below fell silent at once, and the advisor stepped aside…

His Majesty, Emperor Tallem Las Lightwood.
He stepped onto the balcony and stood before the whole capital.

In his presence, the sun seemed to shine brighter, and the grass seemed greener. The Emperor wore a red imperial mantle, a long, ornamented garment that emphasized his grandeur and rank. Beneath it gleamed bright gold attire, and in his hand he held a golden scepter nearly as tall as he was.

From all sides, the crowd roared its greeting to the Emperor. He lifted his palm slightly signaling the masses to quiet.

His golden curls stirred in the wind, and his emerald eyes reflected the contours of the capital.

Then His Majesty, Tallem Las Lightwood, spoke.

“My people...

Today I stand before you to tell you what wounds us all to speak of the tragedy that has wrapped our world in darkness and grief. What happened at the Von Lavrelio estate is not merely rare. In our history nothing like it has ever occurred. A family that was a symbol of loyalty to the Empire, a family that stood guard over its welfare, suffered a blow we could not answer."

“I say this with pain in my heart: those who came in the darkness of that night appearing as if from thin air left nothing but ash behind. No trace. No hint of their faces, of their aim. Like shadows that vanish at dawn.

“I ask you do not let fear or hatred take root in your hearts. I, your Sun, will stand with you in this hard hour… and we will endure this infamous moment together!

“The Empire was built on a will to live the very will the Von Lavrelio possessed. And though their guiding star in the sky has gone dark, we will remember them forever.

“Let your faith in the Empire be strong, as my faith in you is strong. Let the light of the Empire illuminate your path, like the sun that rises over our land…”

The Emperor concluded his long address, turned, and, at the moment when no one could see him any longer, covered his face with his hand—for heavy, scarce tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Below, the crowd called after the departing Emperor, begging for clarity pleading for any further word.

“Are the Von Lavrelio completely destroyed?! Your Majesty?… Was the Stella killed?… How have the other nine Stellas responded?” Reporters lingered below for some time, hoping to catch anything that might help them with their next headline. Soon enough, the Imperial Guard dispersed them.

The news spread through the Empire at once. As time passed, the people, and, officially, the imperial court as well came to call the event “the Lavrelian Massacre.” There were no losses on the attackers’ side. No traces. They simply appeared from thin air, killed everyone present, and vanished before the patrol arrived…

Everything the government knew was recorded in a single copy and hidden away sealed with the mark of Imperial Secret.
The Emperor, the Empire’s Highest Sun, addressed the capital for some time thereafter. He urged all to put this behind them and live on…

Everyone hurt especially because no one was brought to account. Those who opposed imperial authority used the incident as fuel for agitation.

Yet all loved and respected the Von Lavrelio family deeply for their contributions to society and their periodic donations to small villages that lacked funding or anything else they needed.

In the capital, in Lavrelio Park, a monument to the entire family was raised. A memorial stood beside it for all who died that night.

Later, December seventeenth was declared a day of tragedy and mourning.
Every year thereafter, people gathered in that park, bringing white roses to remember all who had been in that manor. That was how important the Von Lavrelio were to society…

On that day, far away in the center of a temple surrounded by ten eternal flames…

One of the flames went out.

Or rather… that’s what everyone thought.