Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Negotiations were hard when the other rulers were as apathic as dead fishes, but it was her work to keep on trying, not for nothing she was now called Queen Alexandra of Itorunt.
Things had been bad since the betrayal of Itorunt’s former ally, the realm of Caligus, but at least the war hadn’t gone worse. It seemed like an eternal conflict as things were at the moment: Caligus couldn’t directly attack Itorunt or Perdan would send troops against Ibladesh, new best friends with Caligus, so things would continue like that for years.
Alexandra sighted at her new letter trying to convince Perdan to take a more proactive stance and ordered a messenger to deliver it. Then asked for a cup of tea and read a few of the non-official letters she received everyday from the commoners.

After a few minutes, a letter from one of the monster hunters of the realm caught her attention. She had made a part of her realm politics a fair treatment to that kind of adventurers, mostly for influence of her sister Elzebeth, and as a result she seemed to be loved by them, so the first lines were not very impressive, just the word of how much the adventurer would appreciate the attention of Her Royal Majesty and his thanks for the former help to those of his kind.
Then the letter went stranger. Page after page, the adventurer started to describe the possible existence of a sacred item of great power, created by the Titans who shaped the world and that was used in an ancient and forgotten war against the Daimons.

The whole story seemed like madness; however, the adventurer cited several ancient texts, some of them available only for priests and royalty. Other texts were so obscure that she had only heard of them thanks to her lost brother’s life long research on the occult and the fantastic.

Queen Alexandra met the adventurer and after that she passed weeks working with a close group of trustworthy scholars, requesting hard to find texts and looking for clues on folk stories and seldom mentioned legends. Then the truth was clear. The item was real, but if the research was right, it was hidden and protected by no less than divine powers, and its search would probably shatter the faith and test the mental endurance of anyone.

In secret, Alexandra prepared a travel to find the item. After all, her mind was strong, a proof of that was her royal status. And for shattered faith, she couldn’t care less, since she was respectful of all beliefs but adept to none; religion wasn’t really a part of her being, so there was nothing to be lost.

But when Alexandra announced her travel to the unknown to Elzebeth, asking her to take the throne in her absence, she found that her little sister was more resourceful than she ever thought.
“My Queen,” said Elzebeth with a relaxed but firm voice, “you might think that secrecy in the castle goes a long way, but nothing escapes the sight of one who got used to make of her perception a way of life and means for survival. I know everything about your quest and I won’t be left behind.”
“Elzebeth, I’m ordering you to stay,” replied Alexandra, feeling a little silly about her order.
“And I’m telling you that I’m coming with you. It was me who entered Hobo’s Mouth and saw the Daimons face to face. It was me who walked in the supernatural ridden ruins of Sheja after those beings destroyed it in one single night. It was me who believed Terrence from the beginning and helped him in his research even when we were separated by a whole ocean. So, in this room we have a queen and an expert on the supernatural, and forgotten items crafted by Titans definitely fall under the sphere of knowledge of guess who of them.”
“It’s a risky quest that I’m taking because I couldn’t think on anyone else to…”
“Then I just saved you that thinking. I am the one. You can even stay here and I’ll go and fetch that object if it exists at all.”
The eyes of Elzebeth seemed to be blazing. She was ready. It was as if she had prepared her whole life for that quest and Alexandra felt it, deep and certain. She still wanted to deny her sister the risk, but it seemed impossible, and she also wanted to go herself, to probe that she was really the hero and knight the songs talked about, to bring hope in the form of power to destroy all evil and end all wars.
So that’s exactly what she said. Elzebeth would go with her.

The next days were full of work, preparing everything for the travel. Then Alexandra suddenly announced that she would step down the throne to go in a holy quest and a few days later she put down the crown and the new Queen Morgana was elected.

Alexandra and Elzebeth started their travel the morning after. They passed to Itorunt City and said their goodbyes in the family house and then continued their travel, to the North, disappearing in the early mists of a the forest as the children and servants in the House D’Jera whispered about all the possible endings for that quest.
Would the sisters find or not the sacred item? Would they return one day? Or would they be gone with the mist forever?

The war continued, the sisters traveled far, far away from the battles, and then…