• tab Lit ever so dimly by the flames of twenty or so candles, the portrait stared down at my kneeling form. The man's gold eyes had held much warmth for me in the past, but now they portrayed only sorrow and regret. His facial features had a hint of royalty to them, but he did not act like the king he was, nor did he seem to me as such. A single coffin stood among the candles, empty, for there was no body to place inside it.
    tab The small shrine dedicated to the memory of my husband had many visitors, but myself and our daughter, Kyrana, were foremost among them. The Sartokians loved their king, and I loved my husband, who had shown me such kindness and compassion in the days of hardship, even long before he left to embark on the journey to the next realm.
    tab Zarek Draechenstan was a man of tall stature, a man born and raised within a royal family but laughed with beggars and wagered with thieves. He loved me, his wife, unconditionally. His other loves were his four children, Kyrana, Justinian, Dawn, and Nathan. Aside from being the perfect family man, he was a fierce soldier and a devoted commander of his people. It was in his desire to protect this land from evil and injustice that lay his demise. His supreme honor and commitment had drawn even the warriors of the Tyr Alt to cease fighting and mourn the loss of such a fine adversary.
    tab One by one the candles flickered and lost their blaze of life as I sent up a thousandth prayer, that I would not have to suffer alone for much longer. that I would soon avenge the life and soul of Zarek Arago Draechenstan. I would find his body, and he would be properly laid to rest within the crypts of the royal family.
    tab His memory would not be tainted by the indignation, the humility, of his body being lost to us. his legacy as the greatest man and monarch ever to exist in the whole of Rijavvid would live on for milennia to come.
    tab I would make sure of that.