9th Blue Sea Moon, Imperial Year 1183

Black Temple in Darkling Woods, Magvel

"Where… Where did I go wrong?"

These were Lyon's last words before he perished along with his summoned monster.

Fomortiis gave a long, deathly howl as it slowly disintegrated and turned to dust, its mouth opening wide to scream at the twin lords who had killed it. Fomortiis was not a dragon like others who bore the title, 'demon'. It was a true demon, a planar outsider who bore wings and fangs out of folklore and a crown of bone that ended in tipped horns. Its long, sinister array of teeth below an orange gem that gleamed like an eye. It was this gem that was last to fade, and before it did, it unleashed an attack of biblical power. Purple demon light burst through the ceiling of the old temple like a geyser and pierced the heavens, blasting the cloud layers apart as the light descended once more into the nearby Sea of Ghosts.

Eirika and Ephraim buried Lyon back in his home of Grado alongside his father. The disastrous landslide Lyon had foreseen occurred two months later…

20th Red Wolf Moon, Imperial Year 1184

Renais Castle, Magvel

King Ephraim awoke in a cold sweat on his throne. He had fallen asleep there not long ago after checking the papers on the reconstruction efforts. General Duessel was rebuilding the country well enough, even with his side project of locating the last member of the Grado Royal Family.

However, the aqua-haired teen king was not at ease. He knew that Fomortiis, the demon that had turned his best friend into a monster had done something before his imprisonment in the last of the Sacred Stones. They had all seen it. He, his twin sister Eirika, her husband and leading knight Seth. Even the royals of Rausten and Frelia saw the demon king retaliate one last time.

Seth, Eirika's captain of the guard, a mounted knight with red hair and a stern expression. He enters the room, "Another nightmare, my king?"

Ephraim sighs, "You see right through me as always, Sir Seth."

Seth nods, "If it would ease your mind, I have the reports from Frelia and Rausten. King Innes and Queen L'Arachel have finished the last touches on uniting their kingdoms. The Theocracy of Frelia is now our neighbor."

Ephraim smiles at this, Innes, the gray-green haired older brother of his wife, Tana, finally managed to get all the paperwork done. He knew his friend well, and knew that Innes had likely chafed under all that boring paperwork. L'Arachel wasn't much better, that hyperactive green-haired priestess was likely off with her bodyguards exploring Frelia rather than uniting it with Rausten.

"Good to hear, that does lift my spirits somewhat. What about Jehanna? How do they fare?" Ephraim asks.

Jehanna, a desert kingdom led by a gambler and a Grado priestess. Joshua, the red-haired swordsman with a penchant for placing bets on coin flips. And Natasha, the blonde-haired priestess who had warned Eirika of Lyon's madness.

Seth speaks up, "About as well as can be expected for a kingdom adapting to a new ruler. King Joshua does not necessarily… Inspire the same confidence in his people as you do, King Ephraim."

Ephraim appreciates the compliment and gets to work on the papers that Seth brought him, showing Renais's support for both neighboring royals. Then the demon king's smile entered his memory once again, and his pen rips through the pages as he drops both.

"My King!" Seth rushes over as Ephraim begins to sweat once more.

In steps Tana, former princess of Frelia and current Queen of Renais. Her long dark blue hair tied in a ponytail as she joins Seth and Ephraim, easing her love out of his panic.

Ephraim had not been getting much sleep, not since the day he fought the Demon King with all the bravery he could. He kept that stone sealing it away in the deepest, darkest pits of the Renais royal vault, and even then, the image of that demonic creature of hell haunts him.

Ephraim takes shaky and shallow breaths but eventually regains himself enough to breathe deeper and recover, "I'll… I'll be fine… I need time, and I'll overcome this…"

Tana and Seth look at one another with concern before returning their gazes to Ephraim.

Tana speaks first, "My love, perhaps you should go to bed, I can see the bags under your eyes, and I know you have not slept well."

Ephraim nods, "I… I should at least try, you're right."

As Tana takes Ephraim to the bedroom, Seth cleans up the paperwork and begins writing a letter to a friend. The leader of a mercenary band that had aided the war effort against Grado. Gerik, a blonde-haired swordsman of incredible skill. Under him was Tethys, a dancer with such grace that it could inspire troops to work twice as hard, her little brother Ewan, a talented mage in his own right, Cormag, a wyvern rider who had once served Grado, and Ross, a young lumberjack who had become a talented and expert axe-user.

Seth hoped that these mercenaries could brave the Sea of Ghosts where Fomortiis's light fell, and dissuade his king's night terrors once and for all.

24th Red Wolf Moon, Imperial Year 1184

Jehanna Port, Magvel

Gerik looks at his crew. Ross, Cormag, Tethys, Ewan. Marisa, his purple-haired rival, had left the group some time ago and Saleh, Ewan's magic teacher, had retired to safeguard a manakete named Myrrh. He didn't have nearly enough manpower to make this voyage, but he had accepted it out of respect for King Ephraim.

"Alright team, I need ideas. What can we do to get enough manpower to see this job done?" Gerik asks.

Tethys, bless her beautiful heart, has no ideas on the matter. Ross and Ewan are similarly stuck on what they should do next.

Cormag however, thinks he knows what was needed, "Well, the strongest weapons in case of danger are in royal hands… Perhaps asking Duessel, Innes, L'Arachel, Joshua and Natasha to join in would make this an international effort."

Gerik wants to dispute this, but Cormag made a point. It has been a year since the war and reconstruction was going well. This was a dangerous voyage, but having the strongest warriors on the continent would certainly make it much more feasible, "Alright, sold. Ross and Cormag will head to Frelia. Tethys and Ewan, you two head for Renais and see if Tana and Eirika will join. I'll stay in Jehanna and see if Joshua will cooperate for one last adventure."

The group grabs some ale and heads their separate ways to recruit for the voyage. Gerik promises himself then and there that they'd find whatever Fomortiis had done in its dying gasp and save King Ephraim. Gerik owed him that much.

28th Pegasus Moon, Imperial Year 1184

Jehanna Port, Magvel

Things had… Not gone as well as planned. During the journey to Renais, young Ewan had been injured by bandits on the border and had to stay behind with his older sister to recover. However, losing two allies did come with gaining five more for the trip. It wasn't a great investigating party, but it would have to do.

Gerik looks at his crew. Cormag, Ross, Queen L'Arachel, King Innes, King Joshua, Regent Duessel and the princess of Renais, dressed in royal red and with hair that matched her older brother's, Eirika. Each of them held sacred weapons that would prove invaluable. Best of all, most had sailing experience on the Sea of Ghosts due to the war with Grado.

Duessel, though, has his own motivations for joining. Due to recent archived logs in Grado being found, he now knows that the lost brother of Lyon and his mother had been lost in the Sea of Ghosts years prior.

Gerik nods as the group prepares to board, "Alright everyone, Thank you for this. Today, we do what few dared and venture into the Sea of Ghosts. What we're looking for is proof that Fomortiis's light died with it, a last gasp of a defeated creature. We aim to help the ailing King who led us all through the harshest war in Magvelian history. Our leader, our ally, and indeed, our friend and family. We owe much to King Ephraim, and today, we pay it back with this act. Are you with me?!"

The group cheers and begins loading the ship.

The next day, the first day of the last month of the year, they would begin their journey. Across the Sea of Ghosts. They would not be prepared for what they would find…

To Be Continued...