The Saijerian woman fell hard to the ground. Her hair tie slipped from her ponytail freeing her hair. “Why are you doing this?!” Her son was standing in the background hugging his younger sister tight in shock. Both whimpered as they watched their mother getting attacked.

“Where is he?! I see no man here in the house! Today isn’t a work day! I’m not going to say it again!” The Sagen soldier grabbed the woman by the arm and threw her outside of her front door. “I know you’re hiding him somewhere! You will tell him where Councilmen Fred is or I will kill you!” The soldier stretched his arm as far back as he could. As he began to thrust down, someone grabbed his hand mid air. He quickly turned around shocked and saw it was Iya who grabbed his arm. “Commander? Wait…” Before he could finish, Iya flung his arm back making him fly a few feet straight into a wall.

Iya extended her hand offering to help stand up the woman. She looked up at Iya’s hand and slowly took it as she stood up. “I don’t know where he is… I’m sorry.”

The Sagen Commander smirked at the mid aged women and replied, “I’m sorry too… Frederick died in the ambush last night. They recovered his body this morning along with the rest of his family, his other family.” Iya placed her hand on the women’s shoulder, “I suggest you lock yourselves in your home and don’t come out until it’s safe. I will not let the Colonies burn like Sage did…” The Saijerian woman ran back inside and quickly closed her curtains then locked her door. Iya could hear her trying to comfort her children and she wept with them.

Her attention turned the rest of her soldiers trying to do the same down the street. Iya ran up to the next soldier grabbing him by the armor, “Stand down! That’s an order!” She pushed the soldier back hard and he tumbled to the ground. “We are not murders or savages… we just killed all the savages! Stand up and tell the others I am here. Tell them all to stand down or face my wrath. Do you understand me, Jacob?”

“Yes Commander! We were only following the king, your father’s orders. He’s making us go home to home searching for any of the traitors. He promised us revenge for our families…” Jacob dropped once more to his feet looking down at Iya’s.

“Your revenge isn’t going to be as sweet as mine if anyone gets hurt in this raid. Now go and spread the word to stand down… Where is my father?” Iya followed the direction Jacob pointed. He pointed to the top of a large hill that was in the back of the town. She looked down and screamed, “Go!”

Kal walked up behind his commander placing a hand on her shoulder. Iya turned around and welcomed his presence. It was calming and relieving to know he was by her side, always… “I’ll go and tell the others to stand down while you look for you father.”

“No… I want you to come with me. I need you to come with me…”

“I don’t think your ‘talking him down’ plan is going to work with me around Iya. You have to focus on him…” Kal looked down and cupped Iya’s chin. She didn’t say anything back but instead gave him a look like she wasn’t changing her mind. Kal bit his lower lip then gently kissed Iya. He caressed the back of her neck while resting his forehead against hers. “I’ll come with you…”

Iya smiled and leaned in once more quickly before letting go. “Let’s finish this…”

The streets in the Saijerian colonies were narrow and smaller. Their communities were tight knit and closer together. The roads were made of brick and stone. The Saijerian Colonies were made up of different groups of refugees that stayed throughout the years. Their setup resembled villages then towns but all were connected in some way. The Colonies represented unity and equality, something Proctor and his followers were trying to take advantage of.

Many Saijerians fled the markets to rush back home running away from the Sagen soldiers. They had no where else to go but back to their homes and now that wasn’t safe anymore. People filled the streets running as quickly as they could in a panic. The commotion and chaos reminded Iya and Kal of what just happened in their own hometown. The trauma of Cashius’s betrayal scarred and stained Iya’s heart to the core. Even now there still was no peace for her. Instead of grieving and rebuilding with her people, a new problem surfaced. The one person she least expected to do anything of this magnitude was the same person who felt him suffered the most.

Iya knew her father felt like a failure and she knew he would take the blame of the ambush in his kingdom. Her father, the king, was a proud strong man. Accepting defeat or betrayal to this level was something he could not fathom. Iya wasn’t going up against her father, she was going against a man in the worse agony possible. She had to stop him, for her sake, for her family’s sake. For his sake… Everything they had all been through, this was the last thing the Sagen people needed. Their king couldn’t go rouge…

Just before reaching the gigantic hill in the center of the market, Iya heard the king shouting orders at her soldiers. “Don’t leave any house unchecked! Close off all remaining ports to the outside no one leaves this rock!”

A soldier pulled a Councilmen from a house nearby and shouted, “I found one my king!”

King Jaron quickly turned around in the soldier’s direction and ran to the other side. When he approached them, he was shocked to see who it was. “Bernard? All this time… you were one of them?” The king walked up slowly to the Councilmen sitting on the ground and grabbed his collar forcefully. The dark- skinned older man shook from side to side. His hair was all white with patches of gray and his eyes were droopy from age. “You stupid little weasel! I would tell you everything and this whole time you were stabbing me and your people in the back!” This crushed the king deeply. There were very few individuals Jaron believed he could trust. At times, he believed the only one he could trust was Bernard. Once again, in Jaron’s mind his world had crumbled. The lines blurred between reality and possible lies he had been told. He let Councilmen Bernard go pushing him to the ground. The king slowly pulled his sword from his sleeve and let it hang by his side. The tip of the long thick silver sword touched the ground making a clinging noise on the stone road.

The Councilmen snuffed and wiped his nose before speaking. He knew his words meant nothing but he wanted to his king to know he wasn’t coward. “You brought this upon yourself Jaron… We were inevitable. Sagen’s strict laws and always having follow traditions is why we decided to change things for ourselves. Proctor and others tried many times throughout the years to try to convince you to see things another way. Any other way then the old way! How long were we supposed to keep doing the same things, same traditions, following the Star Lord? Kissing the Star Council’s ass! Fuck that! I don’t regret anything my king!” Councilmen Bernard looked pass King Jaron and saw Artemis running up from behind.

“My king, wait! Please! Don’t do this!” Artemis starred down at Bernard and looked the Councilmen in the eyes. Bernard gave his old colleague a stare urging him to do something but it was too late. Jaron quickly lifted his sword and drove it down into Bernard’s chest. Instead of pulling it out quickly, he slowly pushed the sword further as deep as it could go. The Councilmen screamed out from the pain and watched as blood gushed from his body. “Jaron no!” Artemis ran from behind and tried grabbing the sword. “You can’t do this! Iya and others are here telling the soldiers to stand down.”

“Get off of me! Iya has no authority over me…” said Jaron as he brushed Artemis off his shoulder. Artemis didn’t try too hard to save the Councilmen. He watched as the life faded from his body. Bernard actually believed Artemis would save him. He gave the Councilmen a blank stare, Artemis needed him to die to keep his secret safe… “This is for my son, you bastard!” After enjoying twisting and turning his steel blade within the Councilmen, the king pulled his sword from his chest. More blood poured out of his body. It began to pool surrounding him, slowly creeping towards the king’s feet. He lifted the sword high as he prepared his final blow to end the traitor’s life.

“Father!” Iya screamed at the end of the street. She looked shocked at what she just witnessed. “Stand down! This isn’t you…”

King Jaron stopped mid way when he heard his daughter’s voice. He looked over his shoulder starring back at Iya then turned back to the Councilmen. The look in the king’s eyes was fierce and dark, he was blood drunk… He knew what he was doing, he didn’t care. He wanted his revenge… “You can’t stop me! I am your father! This has to be done… Sage will be pure again! If we don’t get them all this will keep happening.”

Iya continued walking down the street. Walking in a straight line through market. As she approached her father, her soldiers gathered behind her and along the sides. They didn’t know who to follow at the moment. “The Star Council are on their way. You need to stand down, Da. You aren’t the only one in pain. Don’t make me this… We have to get back home, to help bury our dead. Why don’t you trust that I will take care of this?” The king threw his sword on the ground near the Councilmen’s body. He walked towards her meeting Iya half way. He stopped just before getting to her, standing still while starring his daughter in the eyes. “Please Da, don’t make me this…” She pleaded with her father once more.

Jaron looked behind Iya and make eye contact with Kal before returning his attention to Iya. “When Cashius told me and your mother about your affair with Kalvanius, I knew he was telling the truth. Everything started making more sense about why he wanted you alone and the things he was willing to do just to have you. The love that man had for you broke him. Out of all people, you were the last one I’d ever thought would break your own rules.” He looked up again at Kal standing behind Iya. “It seemed everyone around me thought they could whatever they wanted. Like I was nothing! Like the laws and traditions were nothing.”

A low rumble of thunder filled the sky just above everyone’s head. Rain began to sprinkled down making the tan stone floor turn brown. The Sagen soldiers were eager to find out what was going to happen. The tension the air could be sliced with a knife. Iya knew in order for to his listen, she would have to confess to her own imperfections. “Yes, it’s true Da I love Kalvanius… I am having an affair with my captain and I am breaking my own laws. Yes…” Their were a few gasps in the crowd among the soldiers and one whispered to another ‘I knew it!’. Iya looked in the soldier’s direction and smirked. “The truth overall is none of us are pure father. There is always room for change and change is what we must do to prevent this from ever happening again. You have it wrong Da, killing the traitors will do nothing but create more traitors. The cycle will continue… Sage has to focus on unity and rebuilding with the allies.”

“Change? We must go back to the old traditions and stricter laws. That’s how all of this got out of control in the first place. If I only would have kept a closer eye on our council. I believed my son could do it but it was Proctor that made it impossible.” King Jaron put in his hand over his eyes and shook his head. He rubbed his face hard, holding on to this chin before letting it go. “I just… I just want the betrayal to be over. For years we had been trying to break their underground regime to their outcome to be this. I mean they turned our own Star Lord against us! How were we ever supposed to defeat that?” The tormented king dropped to his knees and began to sob. “What have I done? Now I’m any better than they are… savages.”

Iya walked over and placed her hand on her father’s shoulder. “That’s why we had to stop you Da… we are not like the savages we just eliminated. We are not perfect but we can make moves being the best we can be. We can’t do this without you Da, you are our king. None of this was your fault, Jaron Jr.’s death was not your fault. Sage needs you, father… It’s time to go home. The dead need our guidance to our ancestors.”

The king stood his feet and looked down at his wise and brave daughter. “Iya, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t” replied Iya, “We will rebuild the Saijerian Colonies better than before. They need us too… The Star Council will be here tomorrow. It will be our chance to rebuild Sage for the better. Out of ash from destruction always come new life.” Iya embraced her father strong and held him tight. “I love you Da, always.”

“I love you more my daughter…” He looked up at her captain Kal and nodded his head with approval. “You’re right, let’s go home…”

As the Sagens began to walk back towards their transport. An elderly man stepped forth anger and upset, rightfully so. “Hey! You can’t just come up here and destroy everything we worked so hard to build! You’re just going to leave us like this?!”

Iya stopped walking and turned towards the old man, “No… we will come back and help rebuild the Colonies and it better for everyone. I promise…” The Sagen Commander gave the old man a nod then continued walking.

The trip back to Sage was short but yet quiet. Iya and her soldiers walked off the carrier side by side. They made it back to their families and were greeted with open arms. Iya’s mother was the most ecstatic to see her husband in one piece. She ran up to her king and embraced him fully. King Jaron returned affection equally happy to be saved from himself. By the end of the second day, the Sagens had gathered all their dead and was ready for the mass burial ceremonial.

There were so many lost, it was hard to look at the numbers. In Sagen traditions, two gold coins were placed over their eyes. They were the tokens needed to reach their ancestors in the world beyond. Since there were so many lost the night of the ambush, the king had to open his vault. He had to emphasize to make sure every body had two coins over their eyes. The Sagens believed they had three days to help guide their deceased loved ones to the ancestors otherwise their souls would be lost forever.

Everyone who remained all took part in creating a beautiful and somehow elegant setup for the ceremony. They burned the bodies so the soul would be released, free from the dead vessel. The Sagens had to neatly pile and bunch many of the bodies together. Soldiers dug a deep long hole into the ground and surrounded the bodies with straw and hay. The hole was the largest any Sagen every had to dig. When all of their dead laid the burial hole, King Jaron stood before his people and made his final speech. There wasn’t a single family that came out of the attack whole. Everyone had lost someone that night. That night will never be forgotten, that night will forever be known as the Night of the Ambush. Those who survived will tell the story of how Sage fought back. How the Stars rewarded their bravery by giving the powers of the Star Lords to their Commander in order to finish the war. It was a night no one will forget for generations…

***

A year would go by when Sage was able to get back on it’s feet fully. When the Star Council arrived, they had much sympathy for what happened and order their home planets to come help rebuild. King Jaron became open to the idea of change and allowing others to visit his planet versus being isolated. Slowly but in baby steps the people Sage started to change from it’s old strict traditions to creating new ones. Before it was taboo to the idea of opening their doors to anyone, ally or foe alike. Now they understood the importance of keeping allies close. Their unity helped to strengthen everyone. The Sagen ports opened their trading posts within the kingdom, new laws were made where everyone was allowed to travel in and out if they wanted. The benefits would be overwhelming to where Sage become one of the best places to live and thrive among the ally planets.

The king along side his queen and council made new laws that also allowed the members of the Sagen military to marry. King Jaron signed into law the Fourth borns were allowed to have the same rights as the rest of their siblings. This allowed Iya and Kal to have a proper ceremony celebrating their union. Their wedding ceremony would be the biggest celebration of the year. It was a happy occasion everyone needed to recharge their spirits. Their union would become the symbol for change… Jayce and Surra, of course quickly got married as soon as the law passed. Patrisha was named the next ruler in line to take the throne along side her husband Rex. He will maintain the farming on the moon Ospice as usual. Jayce maintained his role in technology. Coming up with new ideas to help improve their way of life. His role was very important in the rebuilding the kingdom in the aftermath of the war.

Iya spoke with the Stars regularly as well as the Star Council to keep them informed. It was still her responsible to maintain peace throughout the other planets until the next Star Lord was chosen. A responsibility she was happy to have. The Star Council saw Iya as a great addition to the Council, it was a breath of fresh air to them knowing she was going to do things the right way. Her worked slowed down drastically but from time to time would run into a would-be clan causing trouble.

Everything seemed good. Everything seemed great and getting back to normal even with the new upgrades. Everyone seemed to be satisfied… Only two traitors escaped from the Sagens that night, Derek and Anthony. King Jaron dismantled the Council for the time being since there were only a few members who remained alive. He had all the final decisions for everyone and still respected the roles. Eventually, if necessary, the Council could return but not under Jaron’s rule… For him that was not an option. Lastly, the Warrior’s Solstice changed to the celebration of that night. The anniversary of the Night of the Ambush would be the night they partied in honor to those who died. It was a night to dance and sing, celebrate and still make love. That night also had a different meaning, a new meaning for those who survived… The ambush didn’t break them, it only made the attendance larger from all over the planet. Sage was reborn…

*

*

*

Artemis stood by the window starring his large sun room window. A maid came from behind and handed him a small envelope. “A letter came for you sir.” Said the maid. He turned half way and grabbed the letter with two fingers. He nodded thanks as the maid turned around to leave the room. The white envelope had no address or name written it. Artemis pulled open a card from the envelope and opened the flip upward. Inside the card were four words, ‘well done my son’. Artemis closed his eyes in disbelieved. He was lucky no one really found out his secret. It seemed time would tell…

The End.