Epilogue

“Most unfortunate. I had hoped Stefan would’ve been able to keep things under control, but it appears things have escalated even beyond his own capabilities.”

“I wonder what caused him to fail…”

“That is not much of a surprise, I’m afraid. Neither he, nor myself had expected such evil power to be harbored in the west, and was wholly unprepared for it. Lokahn’s people never suspected a thing, either. Alas, a slipshod council of locals wouldn’t do for such a task.”

“Your majesty, what are we going to do? The western Lokahn is now in an open state of insurrection. Do we have any reinforcements to spare from the east?”

“That we do, as a matter of fact. A letter from General Gallie has arrived this morning. He is in the final stages of holding back the tides of monsters in the east. Soon, he and his elite legions will be ready to march out westward. And of course, we have yet to issue any sort of drafting orders, should things truly deteriorate in that direction.”

“But your majesty, we must hurry. That damned dragon cult will be at the gates of the Lokahnian Citadel in no time if we rest on our laurels for too long!”

The emperor arose from his silver throne. “Have no fear. I will write my response to Stefan and Agatha as soon as possible. In the meantime, could you fetch me a nice goblet of fresh water? My throat is a little parched.”

“Yes, your majesty!”

The messenger vanished past the royal guardsmen guarding the throne room. The emperor stared up towards the Justitian crest painted on the ceiling. The golden gavel, resting in its lavender-purple wreath of roses. The crest which had weathered through rebellions and wars for centuries. The crest which had seen civilisations rise and fall. But it still held on, after all this time. By the will of the emperor, it is destined to last until the end of time.