Chapter Two: Part Eight

Richard. The "Blademaster". Quite possibly one of the greatest swordsmen Zelant had ever seen. Hero of the Falenan Civil War and a longtime member of the Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade. He had fought in Commander Wilhelm's direct unit, and when Wilhelm died his subordinate Mueller took command. Richard remained a subordinate in Mueller's unit until the latter himself died, after which Richard had retired. He had been seen as the perfect candidate as Mayor of Honigmilch, and he seemed to do an efficient job of it for the last several years.

And now he was there, facing down Astraea's group with his usual nonchalance. But they all knew to be guarded. Richard had his reputation for a reason.

Richard raised his hands, as though showing he was not a threat. "I came here to train my mind and body," Richard told them. "It's always important to stay sharp."

"You came here to train, Lord Richard?!" Sigrun exclaimed, standing up. "Who's overseeing Honigmilch?!"

Richard laughed softly. "Do you truly think that city will crumble without me there, Your Highness?"

Sigrun visibly Denzel held a guarded stance. "What do you know of what's going on, Lord Richard?"

"Oh, many things, Prince Denzel," Richard said lightly. "But it's none of my business."

The group stared at him blankly. "'None of your business'?" Astraea echoed.

"It doesn't affect me personally, does it?" Richard asked.

"You are aware of our situation, aren't you?" Sigrun asked in a guarded tone.

Richard shrugged. "What about it, Princess Sigrun?"

"We have been branded traitors, Lord Richard," Ferdinand said sternly.

Richard blinked in confusion. "…So?"

"'So'?!" The group echoed incredulously.

"These situations are not new with the Reiser Royal Family," Richard responded. "I remember when your grandfather was King, and—" he shook his head before continuing. "I care more about the impending war with the Bianca Alliance. Whatever is going on between His Majesty and you has nothing to do with me."

Astraea swallowed thickly and stepped forward. "Lord Richard," she said softly. "Do…Do you believe that I committed treason?"

"Did you, Princess Astraea?" Richard asked.

"No!" Astraea burst out.

"Then that's enough for me," Richard said, lowering his hands.

The group stared at him stunned. David coughed and stepped forward. "I have heard about you, Lord Richard," he said. "Not to be rude, but matters in the world seem to matter little to you. I heard that you participated in the final Sacred Games ever held in the Queendom of Falena simply because Sir Mueller suggested it to you."

"That's true," Richard said cheerfully. "I was drugged in my first round though, so I don't know how successful I would have been."

Astraea knew that the Sacred Games of Falena were originally a tournament that selected the husband of a Falenas princess. The final Sacred Games had been held for the Queendom's current monarch, Queen Lymsleia. Had Richard won the Sacred Games then he would have been crowned Prince Consort of Falena.

And he entered the Games on a whim?!

"If you believe my innocence," Astraea asked. "Could you help us?"

"Help you?" Richard tilted his head and his brow rose. "Is that man injured?"

"Seriously so, Lord Richard," Sigrun said, kneeling down beside Viktor once more. "Do you have any healing runes, or Medicines?"

"I only have my Swallow Rune," Richard said, but he moved forward towards the group. Ferdinand and Musashi were tense but no one made a move to stop Richard. He paused over Viktor's unconscious body and his eyes fell upon his right arm. "That doesn't look good," he said.

"His arm was bitten off by Bhayankar," Denzel said gravely.

"Then he is lucky it was just his arm," Richard said, kneeling down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle. Astraea was relieved to see that it was a Mega Medicine. "Could someone please wake him up?"

David knelt down on Viktor's left side and shook his shoulder. "Viktor?!" he shouted.

Viktor groggily stirred, his eyes opening partially. Then the pain undoubtedly overtook his body, because he let out a scream and sat. "A—AAAH!" he hollered. "What—"

Richard shoved the bottleneck into his mouth and tilted it. "Drink, sir."

Viktor choked and spat up some of the Mega Medicine, but Astraea saw the color return to his face. But then Viktor's eyes fell to his right arm, and his eyes went unbelievably wide. He grabbed the stump with his left hand and let out a stream of swear words. Veins were popping out of face, and he was seething so violently that his mouth was frothing.

David became emotional again. "Viktor, I—"

"I'll kill it," Viktor rasped at the end of his tirade. His eyes darted around. "Where is it?! I'll KILL THAT BLASTED THING!"

"Good, stay angry," Ferdinand said. "It'll help you stay alive."

"Actually his anger is not ideal at the moment," Richard said, looking around. "We're about five hours away from Honigmilch on foot. We can take him to see Dr. Tieling there—she's the best doctor in the city. But we're going to have to travel both quickly and slowly."

"'Quickly and slowly'?" Astraea asked.

"If we move too quickly he'll go into shock," Musashi said bluntly. "But if we don't move quickly enough then he will die."

"I will fight in your active party," Richard said, standing up. "But two people are going to need to help this man move."

"Astraea and David," Sigrun said quickly, looking at them. "Both of you put Viktor's arms around your shoulders and help him walk. Viktor, can you walk?"

"I'm not dying because a damned crocodile took a bite out of me!" Viktor growled. He struggled to sit up more fully and Astraea and David help up fully.

"Bhayankar is actually a Sarcosuchus," Denzel corrected him.

"I don't give a damn what that thing is!" Viktor snapped. "It took my arm and took my sword! That sword was the oldest thing I owned! I'm going to pull its stomach out of its damn mouth the next time I see it!"

"Don't yell at the Prince," Musashi snapped.

"It's fine, let's just go," Denzel said, waving a hand. "Astraea, David, will you be all right to carry him?"

"Yes, absolutely," David said.

"Yes," Astraea said.

"Here, Astraea," Sigrun said, handing her the cloak she had discarded. "I grabbed this for you at the beach."

"Thank you."

"Then I'll lead the way," Richard said, unsheathing his sword. "I'll make sure nothing happens to any of you."

"Thank you, Lord Richard," Sigrun said.

"Well, this breaks the monotony of my training," Richard said with another soft laugh.

"…Training is monotonous?" Ferdinand asked with genuine confusion.

The trek out of Zwielichtshain was anything but easy. Richard proved to be a valuable ally in battle, and he handedly took down any foes they faced. Astraea wished that she could help, but she knew she needed to focus on Viktor. Viktor was heavy and sweaty, and he kept swearing under his breath in pain. Despite being known for having an easygoing disposition, Astraea wasn't surprised to see the man act out of character. When she had broken her back, it had been indescribably painful. She knew the pain he was in had to be unbelievable.

Please…let us get him out of here alive!

Astraea guided Viktor on his left side and David on his right. David had a difficult time keeping hold on Viktor with his injured arm, and they frequently stumbled over overgrown roots, their own feet, and even Viktor's weight.

But they held their own against the monsters of the forest. Thankfully with how close the branches were together they didn't face many aerial monsters. But they still had plenty of run-ins with Banshees, Tarantulas, and Demon Wolves.

"Here," Denzel said after a period, running to Astraea's side. "You fight, I'll carry him."

"Thank you, Brother," Astraea said to him. The enemies were tougher than what Astraea was used to, but she was glad for the experience, the Potch, and the items she got from the encounters.

But it still took them awhile to get out of the forest. By the time they were finally after to leave the trees of Zwielichtshain and enter the open plain, Astraea could see from the position of the Sun in the sky that it was early afternoon.

"I would recommend that we stop and rest and give further first aid to this gentleman," Richard said, motioning to Viktor.

"Shouldn't we keep going?" David asked.

"We just spent all morning fighting our way out of the forest," Sigrun reminded. "And that was after our encounter with Bhayankar."

"But—"

"Slowly but quickly, remember?" Richard reminded him. "We also need to rest."

"D—Do you have any more Mega Medicines?" Viktor asked groggily, his head bent forward.

"I-I got one," Astraea said, hurrying over to him.

"We'll get him to Honigmilch and then we'll figure out our next move," Sigrun said.

"Oh, right," Richard said. "The lot of you can't stay in the city for long. If the Royal Army doesn't invade the city looking for you, one of the Mercenary Brigades will turn you all in."

Astraea sucked in a sharp breath as Viktor drank the Mega Medicine. "Let's stop for a few hours," Denzel said, glowering at Richard. "Then we'll move again before nightfall. Sound good?"

No one had any complaints, but Astraea's throat was tight.

The group rested and took turns taking care of Viktor. The older man used every bit of willpower to stay conscious, but he grunted with pain with every shift of his body. He did not appear to be going into shock, but the persistent pain was evident.

Astraea looked around the makeshift camp. At the faces she saw. Her chest tightened with her throat. "I—I'm going for a walk," she announced.

"Don't go far, Astraea," Sigrun said over her shoulder. "Dusk is approaching and we'll be heading for Honigmilch soon."

Astraea only nodded and she turned and walked away. She waited until she was out of sight of the camp and took off running. She held her tears at bay but she couldn't contain the pain inside of her. She stopped on a hilly patch of grass and pulled off her cloak. She buried her face into the furs and let out a prolonged scream. The sound was muffled by her cloak. The scream lasted until her voice gave out and she collapsed to her knees. She hugged her cloak to her face and rocked back and forth, wondering once again how her life ended up like this.

Why? Why is this happening?! Sigrun and Denzel's had their lives destroyed because they defended me! And Viktor…I just know that Bhayankar had been after me! But he took Viktor's arm and now…oh God, what are we going to do?! We tried to leave but couldn't! We're stuck here! We're STUCK HERE!

"Your Highness?"

Astraea's head snapped up and she looked over her shoulders. Her vision blurred with tears that she refused to shed, but she saw David standing there. David had his hands raised as he slowly approached. "I'm just here to check on you," he said calmly. "I'm not going to ask if you're okay. But you helped me when I was about to break down, so I…I thought I should return the favor."

Astraea looked away from him. She debated if she should tell him to go away, open up to him, or keep silent. After a few moments she swallowed thickly and lowered her cloak away from her face, resting it in her lap. "My father hates me," she whispered.

David said nothing but sat down beside her on the grass. "He—tried to kill me," Astraea continued, staring absently at the plains in front of them. "He kill my brothers. My sister. They were his children, and he killed them. All for power. All to—get his hands on a True Rune."

Astraea looked down at the back of her right hand. "The True Wind Rune saved my life. More than once. I just know my father wants it for himself. Because of that he turned my family—my country—against me. And so many people have been hurt because they've known me."

"If power is what your father wants," David said, drawing his knees to his chest. "Then everything that has happened has been inevitable. If it didn't happen to you, then it would have happened to someone else. Civilizations have been destroyed because of the desire for the power of a True Rune. You said that I shouldn't blame myself because this was all your fault. Well…you were wrong about that, too. It's not your fault. You have the power; he doesn't. That puts a target on your back, but the target is there because of him."

Astraea blinked, and two teardrops spilled out. She wiped them away angrily. "I know he chose me for his twisted plan because he hates me," she said. "I wish that he didn't hate me. I wish that he didn't vie for power so much! He's already King! He already defeated Brendan and Sigrun in Royal Combat! Denzel wasn't interested in Royal Combat, and I heard that Kion wasn't interested either! And Philomena, she—Father loves her the most of us and she would never do anything to make Father turn against her! The only person who could have threatened his position was Vahan! I just—I don't know why he could do all of this! He started a war with another country based on lies, and has people hunting me based on these lies! I feel like I've never known the person who is my father!"

A long and painful stretch of silence followed her words. It took Astraea awhile to compose herself, but she did not say anything more. Once she had calmed down she looked at David. The young man had his head tilted back and he was looking up at the sky. Astraea looked up and saw the sky turning pink with the approaching sunset.

"You know, Your Highness," David said finally, and Astraea looked at him again. "You were wrong about one thing."

"…What?" Astraea asked numbly.

David looked at her. "You said Prince Vahan was the only person who could challenge the King in Royal Combat, but that's not true. You can challenge him, too."

A spike of shock shook her body and her mouth dropped open. But before she could speak, a white light suddenly enveloped the in front of them. Both jumped and turned forward. There was a ball of light that grew bigger and bigger. After a few moments, a woman clad in white emerged from the light and set down on the ground before them. The ball of light dissipated, but a white aura continued to surround the woman. Her long black hair swooshed around her, though the white hood was pulled up on her head. Her eyes were closed and there was a red, oval-shaped Rune in the center of her forehead. Astraea found herself staring at the rune, her brow furrowing. She didn't recognize the rune.

The woman shifted slightly, tilting her head to the side. "Keeper of the True Rune. Your destiny has been guided to the path of the stars."

"W…What?" Astraea breathed, her eyes wide.

The woman smiled, but it looked like a painful smile. A blend of joy…and pain. "The True Wind Rune. It has been a long time since I have sensed its power. I knew the previous holder well. I am glad to see the True Wind Rune with a Tenkai Star."

"T…Tenkai Star?"

"This is very curious," the woman continued. "I have known many Tenkai Stars, but you are the first female Tenkai Star in a very long time."

"Oh my God," David breathed, straightening. He pointed to the woman with a trembling hand. "My cousin told me about you. You're Lady Leknaat! The legendary seer!"

Leknaat? Astraea looked at David and then looked at the woman, Leknaat. "You are a seer?"

"I am," Leknaat responded. "And though I cannot see with my eyes, I can see with my powers. You have a great destiny ahead of you, Miss."

"Destiny?" Astraea's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? What is my destiny?"

"If you're here, Lady Leknaat," David said. "Does that mean—the 108 Stars of Destiny are assembling again?!"

Astraea looked between them, feeling beyond confused. Leknaat then gestured to her, and Astraea looked at her again. "New bearer of the True Wind Rune. What is your name?"

"A…Astraea. Astraea Reiser."

"Please take great care, Astraea Reiser," Leknaat said. "Of the 108 stars in the sky, the Tenkai Star is the most important one. The Tenkai Star guides the other stars. Many are guided by the Tenkai Star, and now you will be guided by it."

"Guided…to do what?" Astraea asked her.

"The 108 Stars of Destiny rise to fight tyranny," Leknaat said. "They are the dharma that will fight chaos. You will assemble the 108 Stars of Destiny and be the dharma against chaos."

Dharma…Chaos…

Astraea shuddered and rubbed at her arms as she remembered the dream she had not too long ago. It felt like eons ago. "Is this was Luc meant?" she wondered aloud.

Leknaat's brow furrowed. "You spoke to Luc? How is that feat possible?"

The shock in her serene voice startled Astraea. "Ah…he told me he is bound to this Rune." Though she had just met Leknaat, she felt that she could not lie to him. "He said…even in the beyond the True Wind Rune can…call him back."

"Call him back," Leknaat breathed. "I have felt nothing through the Back Gate Rune. Perhaps his subconscious in his spiritual body is tied to the True Rune?"

"But I was right, Your Highness," David said. "You can take a stand against the King! He is the chaos and you are the dharma! It is your destiny!"

She had too many questions and she felt beyond confused. It almost sounded like everything she had been through was…guided by fate. Like her suffering was supposed to build to a greatness. She didn't know how to feel about it.

"I was once guided as a Star of Destiny," Leknaat said, her expression relaxing. "However, I will not be able to provide the same help this time. My fate is not tied to yours, Astraea Reiser. But we will meet again. And I will ensure that someone will come to you who can give you help in my stead."

Light began to envelope her once more. "W—What a minute!" Astraea exclaimed, standing up. "There's still a lot that I don't understand!"

"You will understand in time," Leknaat said. "As you fulfill your destiny…you will understand."

Just as quickly as she had appeared, Leknaat was gone. David gasped harshly and clutched at her chest. "I saw her. I-I can't believe I finally met Lady Leknaat!"

Astraea looked at him. "What was she talking about? Tenkai Star? The 108 Stars of Destiny?!"

"I heard about it from Caesar and notes I found from my cousin Mathiu," David said. "You've heard plenty about the Gate Rune War, Dunan Unification War, and Falenan Civil War recently, right? Well, those wars like many wars across time are guided by fate." David pointed towards the sky. "There's 108 stars in the heavens above. Those stars guide us. In all of these conflicts, all 108 stars touched upon specific people who could bring an end to conflict. Lady Leknaat said that the Tenkai Star was the most important star in the sky and that's true. The Tenkai Star leads the other stars. And now?" He pointed to Astraea. "Lady Leknaat says that you are a Tenkai Star. You are a destined leader who will lead 107 specific people to victory."

Astraea pressed a hand over her heart. She didn't know what to say or how to feel about all this.

"So it's as I said before, Your Highness," David told her. "I suggested that you challenge your father to Royal Combat, and now we know that you must do it. You must do it. Your father's actions shown that he must be stopped, and you are the one who can stop him."

Royal Combat. She hadn't considered it before. She hadn't even thought about it before. She had always thought her siblings would win Royal Combat, and one of them would either be King or Queen. Since Brendan and Sigrun had lost, Astraea didn't know how well she would fare.

But…Royal Combat might be the only way I can save all of us. Even without my "destiny" thrown in.

"Of course you could always run," David said when she didn't respond out loud. "You were trying to flee into exile anyway. That is an option open to you. But you don't have a lot of options right now, Your Highness. Only these two." He rested his hands on his hips and looked at her closely. "So. Are you going to flee Zelant…or challenge the King in Royal Combat?"

Astraea looked at him. She knew that this decision was vital and would change her life forever. David was right; those were here only options. But she knew which one was the right answer.

"We should head out now, Your Highnesses," Richard said. Ferdinand helped Viktor to his feet.

"Where's Astraea?" Denzel wondered, looking around.

"That boy is gone, too," Sigrun said. Her tone had a dangerous edge to it. Denzel visibly bristled as well.

"He's a good kid," Viktor said. The color had returned to his face but he was clearly still in a bad way.

"There they are," Musashi said, pointing south. The group collectively relaxed when they saw Astraea and David running towards them. Denzel however was frowning as he advanced upon them. He kept his glare on David. "Why were you alone with my sister?!"

"Denzel, it's fine," Astraea said, inserting herself between Denzel and David. "I know what needs to be done."

"Eh?" Denzel's brow rose in confusion. Sigrun quickly approached. "Astraea, what do you mean?"

Astraea lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. "When we get to Honigmilch, I'm going to make it official."

"Official?"

Astraea smiled. It was the first true smile she had worn in a long time. "I'm going to declare Royal Combat against the King."

I knew she would come back.

Windy wore an amused smile as she observed the royals from a distance away. Stroking her ponytail, she hummed to herself and looked at the approaching twilight. "So, Little Sister," she mused. "Are you going to throw your hand in combat again? Or be a spectator like you always are?" She chuckled softly. "Or like I am presently."

The situation seemed amusing to her. It was so—sloppy and chaotic. It had been amazing seeing a prehistoric Sarcosuchus suddenly disappear into thin air, and she had felt the power in her right hand. But now the "traitors" were running amok and Leknaat then appears to speak to the Princess?

Another war of the fates it is, then.

"Hmm." Windy swayed slightly back and forth, her smile turning sinister. "I wonder what Yuber would think of all this? Perhaps he should also leave his mark on this war?"

She contemplated this for a moment before she shook her head. "Perhaps not," she decided. "I'll leave it up to…them if Yuber will be involved. In the meantime, though…" her gaze fell upon Princess Astraea, who was running back to her comrades. "I will see you later, Princess."

And just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone.

End of Chapter Two