Epilogue:

In the months following the death of the tyrant King Julius of Falana, the kingdom seemed to somehow find some semblance of peace again. Under the reign of Queen Elissa, the campaigns against the Moonbloods were finally abolished for good, although unrest still existed in some areas north of the Blackmoor Mountains. To the south of the kingdom, however, peace flourished once again, as all who had ever been affected by decades of war at last had a chance to start rebuilding their lives.

The names of the heroes that had all played a part in saving Falana were known throughout the kingdom, as was what became of them following the peace talks:

Jarin had returned to his position as the Marquess of Ivydale, his entire family working closely with Queen Elissa to maintain the peace in their area. Many Moonbloods from Denham were offered positions in the Duke of Abadis' personal guard, and although Jarin was still a child at heart, word has it that he'd begun to lose his stuck-up attitude and was becoming ever more polite as the days went by.

Taka, Sanjin and Kim had all been granted knighthoods from Queen Elissa, and were now a part of her own closest group of knights. Taka never lost her adventurous spirit, or her silver tongue (or her quick fingers, according to some who had the misfortune of losing their lunches on several occasions), but she was certainly in a better place than thieving on the Sunrose Plains. Kim grew to become the best marksman in the Royal Army and was soon teaching new recruits the arts of using ranged weaponry. Sanjin, likewise, joined the ranks of the Royal Engineers, the first Moonblood in history to do so.

Ash continued to study her magic, and while she was too young for such responsibility at the time, Queen Elissa had offered her the position of Royal Mage as soon as she came of age. Ash, and all who knew her well, were overjoyed at the prospect. Until that day came, Ash dedicated herself to her craft, weaving spells from her magic tome and even adding to its pages, travelling across the kingdom to better the lives of those she could.

As for Ginger, Fidget and Dust? They returned to Aurora Village. The townsfolk rejoiced upon seeing their friends return alive (Dust got tackled again by Kalyn), but Dust refused any further honours in his name. The statue of him from fifteen years ago still stood in the town square, and that along with the Blade of Ahrah were reminder enough of his identity and who he was, and who he would continue to be for as long as Falana needed him.

"Overseers forbid it happens until you hit eighteen at least," Ginger huffed one morning as Dust voiced this over breakfast. "You've had more than enough world-saving for one lifetime."

"Two," Fidget snickered from the perch that Moska had made for her. Dust retaliated by lobbing a spoonful of porridge in her face. "HEY!"

"And no food fights at breakfast," Ginger chuckled. "You're cleaning that, Scamp." Dust also snickered in response before going back to his food.

"It's…kind of strange, actually," he said. "Life going back to the way it was…"

"Thought you were happy to go back to normal?" Fidget pointed out, wiping the last of the porridge from her face. Dust didn't deny that he was, but nonetheless admitted that he'd caught the bug for adventure.

"And more adventures await, Dust," Ahrah said. While it no longer followed Dust around everywhere he went, it still stayed close by and would always answer if Dust needed it to. "After all, you have your own knighthood to look forward to."

"Sir Dust," Fidget grinned. "Or Sir Mithrarin? Which one sounds better?"

"I think I'll go with 'Sir Dust'," the boy laughed. "I've had enough 'Sen-Mithrarin' to last me till the end of eternity." Ginger smiled softly — her son had been through a lot. The least anyone could do was let him be the child he was, at least for a little while longer.

"Well, wherever your adventures take you, know that you have a home to come back to," she said as she sipped on her tea.

"Thanks, Mom," Dust replied, his eyes shining with gratitude. "For everything." Ginger took his hand and gently patted it before glancing at the door.

"Now, hop along, Scamp," she urged. "You're supposed to be meeting Kalyn in a few minutes, right?"

"Ah! I'm late!" Dust exclaimed. "C'mon, Fidget!"

"AH!" Fidget flailed as she fell from her perch. "Gimme a sec!"

Ginger couldn't help but laugh at the two friends as they raced from the house and into the crowds of Aurora Village. She followed them to the door and watched after them for a few moments, waving as she spotted Tristan in the crowd coming up to the house for his physician training. Taking a moment to herself, Ginger smiled and gazed up at the summer sky, dotted with a few cotton clouds.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Help me keep an eye on him."

She could have sworn she saw two birds fly past — one deep blue and the other a dark, cool grey — as if answering her question. Smiling to herself, she let Tristan into the house before taking one last look at the world she called home.

This country used to be ravaged by war, with innocent blood spilled on both sides of the conflict.

I lived through this war, and while I lost a lot of people close to my heart, I was lucky enough to know the person who helped to end it. I raised him away from war, and although I never wanted the time for him to fight to come, I dreamed of the day he could finally live in peace.

Six months have passed since my son, Dust, helped to save an entire kingdom from destruction. This country is now rebuilding itself…regaining the glory it once had. Its people are no longer fading, and we're taking back what we once nearly lost.

Peace seems strange after so long at war, but we treasure it while it lasts.

Our home is a world worth saving.

The End.

I've recently posted an update on my profile that I will no longer be updating on this site. In light of that, I decided to post the final two chapters of this story on here, because for a long time I have completely forgotten to do so. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I didn't realise I had left this story unfinished on this site. For those who want to continue following my writing endeavours, I am mostly active over on deviantART (where I crossposted this story from), so head over there if you want to keep up with my future stories.

Thank you to all the readers who have stuck around for this story, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Keep reading and writing everyone, and I shall see you around.