some post canon fluff, with minor spoilers, for tumblr user deer-of-light!
In small moments, Judal is reminded of why he chose Hakuryuu as his king.
He's powerful, yes, but he's far from the most powerful when it comes down to just raw magoi; Kouen and Sinbad are far superior in that regard. But it's more, more than he can quite put into words.
Hakuryuu, somehow, has the words to put him at ease when he's incoherently frustrated, lost in a new world that has no need for a violently powerful magi. Judal has built his worth around his ability to destroy, to rend the world in two with a wave of his hand, and he's directionless with no wars to fight. He's one step from slipping into a dark void of depravity, but he's got Hakuryuu pulling him back to focus on something else.
They're nestled away in a corner of Rakushou, disconnected from the royal palaces and the memories associated with them. Al Tharmen is gone but their influences and scars aren't, and neither of them want to live so close to them anymore.
Instead, Hakuryuu spins plants around injured children who come by, working life magic through cuts and scrapes before sending them on their way. It's different, to watch Hakuryuu mend when he used to destroy, and it aches knowing that Judal missed watching him change. But it's good, in a way, because he's patient with Judal, willing to work with him while he struggles to adapt, and Hakuryuu keeps it together for the both of them.
So it works, in its own way, even if it's not the future Judal dreamed of. Hakuryuu isn't on a throne, with them lording over the world together, but it works.