Vio knelt in the throne room of Castle Vilhold. Her liege, Queen Teysa Vilhold XXXVIII, sat upon the throne in the heart of the Tree of Ascension, listening to her report about the strange fighter she had dispatched hours earlier. Anad about the ragtag group of irregulars who had accompanied them, all of whom had been disarmed and were currently being held in a makeshift jail near the company barracks just outside the castle.

Most importantly was the ominous warning that came with the fighter’s last words. That killing them was ‘the only way’. The only thing she did not mention was the intelligence the fighter had somehow been able to gather about her battle capability, and the likelihood of spies within her court. Though she did request to speak with her privately about such topics later, in as circumspect a manner as she could.

She lowered her head and her gaze as she spoke, making sure to show absolute deference to her liege. Although she held numerous grudges against the nobility of Vilhold from their underhanded actions against her over the decades, those misgivings did not extend in the slightest to Her Majesty. Her Majesty, who had always been supportive of her, despite being born an orphan commoner, and a nephilim as well. And who had recently installed her as a viscountess for her meritorious service assisting Zethira and Lady Elissa atop the Goddesses’ Altar a week earlier, against no small resistance from said nobles.

“…And that concludes my report, Your Majesty.”

“We understand, Lady Monstadt. Please, rise.” Queen Vilhold said. “Guards, please leave us.”

A few murmurs that were certainly imperceptible to Her Majesty’s human ears faintly resonated in Vio’s own before the guards did as requested and vacated the throne room. Once the throne room was empty, Queen Vilhold beckoned her to continue.

“Your Majesty, I am concerned on two fronts. First, the masked fighter I dispatched seemed oddly aware of my combat capabilities. Not only was he aware that I possessed the ability to transform, but he knew my limit was seven minutes. Such information is only known to a select few commanding officers, as well as Your Majesty and Your Majesty’s most trusted retainers.”

“You believe there is a spy or a traitor among our ranks?”

“As chilling as I find the prospect, I believe it to be the most likely explanation. That much is not the only cause for concern, however. The fighter also knew that I possessed an Aetherial Shard. As far as I was made aware, that information shouldn’t have been in the hands of any but a very few guards and retainers serving Your Majesty directly.”

“Then we will spare no effort in identifying the culprit and apprehending them. Lady Monstadt, what would you like to do now?”

“I– I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. My loyalty is yours to command. If Your Majesty has a task that needs undertaking, you need only order me to do so and I will see my liege’s will carried out, no matter where or when that might lead me.”

Queen Vilhold stood up and beckoned Vio to approach. Vio did so, but not without a few moments of hesitation. Such an action, of royalty rising in the presence of one of her knights, felt unbecoming, and a breach of etiquette. It was an action which closed the distance in the relationship between knight and liege, and one which made Vio suffer no small amount of discomfort. But she obeyed, standing just in front of Her Majesty, with head held low to maintain that small fragment of decorum.

“Lady Monstadt. You have served our kingdom with honor and distinction for longer than most humans will ever live. For eighty years now, you have served us, and our mother and grandmother before us. Your service to the crown has been nothing short of exemplary, and we can only apologize that what we can give you cannot compare with the value your service has brought to us.”

“Your Majesty, your words are more than enough. You gave me a place to belong when I had none. You gave me an opportunity to pay back the people who took me in and raised me as one of their own. Your Majesty’s words and deeds thus far are more than sufficient payment for such services. It is an honor to serve Your Majesty and the Nation of Vilhold.”

“Please, Lady Monstadt. Dispense with such formalities. I would like to speak freely with you. Not as a queen and her knight, but as people, and as equals.”

“Your Majesty? I cannot assent. It would go against everything I have been taught over the past century.”

“Very well. Then, Vio Monstadt, your queen orders it so.”

“Your Majesty?”

Vio quaked and shuddered as the realization set in, and she began to shed numerous tears. They dropped down her cheek and onto her chin, where they dripped onto the floor, watering the Tree of Ascension’s trunk from within. As she wept further, Queen Vilhold caressed her cheek, wiping away the tears from her face and filling her entire body with a comforting warmth. A part of Vio wanted to take Queen Vilhold into a long embrace, and while another part resisted, the queen took the decision out of her hands, initiating the embrace herself.

“Vio. You have been a part of my life since before I was even born. In some ways, you were as much a mother to me as my own, and while I could never say as much around others, I have, over the years, come to love you as part of my family. And it is because of that love, that I must now make my final act as your liege. You are henceforth relieved of your duties to Vilhold.”

Even more tears flowed down Vio’s face like a stream, her magic subconsciously increasing the flow of water running down her cheek. Grief and sadness filled her entire being, and though what strands of conscious reasoning she could summon ordered her to remain steadfast, the torrent of emotions racing through her were too great, and she returned the embrace of her former liege, who had begun shedding tears alongside her.

Minutes passed in a cathartic hug, the only sounds being those of sobbing and sniffling, Vio attempting and failing to put on a brave face before Queen Vilhold. Her face was the red of watermelon and her muscles had gone weak as her brain struggled to process all the contradictory feelings she had. Despite her efforts to remain upright, she nearly collapsed upon her queen, who seemed only too happy to support her for a change, and the queen sat the two of them down upon the steps leading up to the throne’s dais.

“Your Majesty–” Vio said after what was probably the better part of half an hour.

“Please, Vio. It’s Teysa to you now. At least, when we’re away from stately eyes.”

“I– Queen Teysa?”

“Acceptable. Vio, if I may change the subject for a moment. You said that the Aetherial Shards wanted to be brought together, is that right?”

“That’s right. I felt the call when I absorbed the one you gave me five days ago. And the masked fighter from earlier mentioned the same during our battle.”

“I see. Vio, I have two requests for you.”

“Anything you desire, Your– um, Queen Teysa.”

“The first request is that I want you to go after these Aetherial Shards. There is no shortage of people who would use such power for wicked ends, and I trust no one more than you to collect them. And the second. I want you to explore the world, to see all of it with your own eyes and decide, with the power of these Shards, exactly what sort of world you wish to create.”

Queen Teysa paused for a moment, imparting a bit more comforting warmth through some sort of soul healing magic that Vio had no particular affinity for, despite her angelic ancestry.

“I cannot speak of my age or my mortality frankly with my retainers, but this is important for you to hear. I have been alive for nearly half a century, which, for me, as a human, represents more than half my life. My daughter will, in the coming years, take on my name and title and rule as the thirty-ninth Queen of Vilhold. And I, like my mother and grandmother before me, will eventually pass on.”

“Please, Queen Teysa. Do not speak of such things! You have many more years ahead of you!”

“But you have not just years, but centuries. Your birth has granted you a very long life, one which will extend long after my grandchildren’s grandchildren have passed. And recent circumstances have intertwined your life with the fate of the entire planet. No one person, not even the queen of one of the Five Great Nations, has the authority to command you as you embark on a mission given to you from… I would say Elana, but I believe this mission comes from an even higher authority than Elana or Raesha. Call it Fate, or Providence, if you will.

“I do not wish you to feel tied down here by duty, whether to me or to the Nation of Vilhold. I want you to see the entirety of the world and fulfill the destiny that you were put on this world to accomplish.”

“But–”

“Vio. Whatever the circumstances of your birth may be, I will not ask, as I sense you do not wish to speak on them. As far as I am concerned, Etria is your home, and you will be welcomed back here at any time. Upon Elana’s name, I swear that I will convey this to my daughter, and to her daughter, and ensure that you will always be welcome back here.”

“Thank you, Queen Teysa.” Vio had stopped crying, but her eyes remained red and her face puffy and swollen. “Though, I worry about the defense of Etria with my departure.”

“You have trained a number of capable fighters over the decades, and helped to reform our military and free it of the blight of corruption that has hindered it over the centuries. Your leadership these past forty years have instilled great discipline in most of our soldiers, if some small resentment among our less talented officers. I can only apologize that I was unable to do more to help you from behind the scenes.

“And I believe your departure will serve to bolster the security of Etria rather than hinder it. If what you have said is true, then, your staying here will only mean more Shard-wielders will find their way to our land, seeking those already in your possession.”

“You didn’t send me off because of that, did you?”

“No. As I said, my asking you to go off and collect the Shards was merely a request from a friend. If you choose to remain here in Etria, you are welcome to do so as a citizen of Vilhold, and I will ensure that the crown provides you with a pension worthy of your service. But, as you said, the Shards are calling to each other. They wish to be reunited. And so, I think we both know what decision you will make.”

Vio took a long breath. She had felt that pull within her, spurring her onward to collect the other Shards. She’d suppressed it to focus on her responsibilities, but the call to leave Etria never completely went away in the past week. And, after defeating the masked fighter, the collective pull of the Shards had grown that much stronger, a craving to seek more. One that, while certainly not justifying what Etria’s assailant had done, at least explained why they would have felt such a strong compulsion to throw their life away and ruin the lives of so many others in that lust for power.

“If I may, Queen Teysa. Etria has been my home for nearly a century. I would like to spend one last night here before I take flight.”

“Of course, Vio. I will endeavor to see you off in the morning.”