Chapter 2: As Fate Would Have It Prepared
Queen Maze's royal court echoed with hushed whispers, quiet bouts of analysis and arguments circling the events surrounding the mysterious demise of the late king. However, the loudest of all was the silence, the absence of her father. Tucked away in her private study, Maze tore her gaze from the delicate embroidery on her attire to peek at the congregation of the Council of Kings attending the emergency meeting.
"The Dralkon are not to be feared! They have come to us, seeking aid!" King Farid of Mesipol argued, but King Romulan of Dell Hurst, stood up, stabbing his finger at the other king.
"Tell that to villages that are in ashes now! Tell that to the dead!" Romulan growled and then turned to look back at the other two kings, and Queen Maze. "I have seen the lizard-like creatures, and they try to get inside your head! These creatures are no friends of ours!"
Maze had heard the same from the rumors circulating around her kingdom, but with them also can reports of them acting friendly. This all had happened only a month ago, but her father's death had only been a few days ago. All of this had come as a great shock to Maze, a Princess who had been preparing to take her father's place, but not for many years to come. Also not before she was married, but her father had never promised her hand to anyone.
Suddenly, assuming the throne after her father's death was a responsibility far heavier than she had ever dreamt. As she watched the members of the court squabble among themselves, she yearned for the wisdom of her departed father.
Meanwhile, miles away in a different world and time, Reinhart Glast was trapped in a different kind of tumult. Sitting alone in his cramped apartment, he stared at a plate filled with a gloomy serving of instant dinner. The words of his doctor echoed in his heart, "Parkinson's disease...we are sorry, Mr. Glast." That diagnosis had put a full stop to his otherwise ordinary life.
His life had spiraled downwards since then: loss of work, homelessness, and abandonment by friends and family. The world had gone on, leaving him behind. His life was reduced to a state of existential dread, constantly looming over his instant dinners and thoughts of ending his premature misery.
Unknown to both Maze and Reinhart, their woeful circumstances were being observed by a being of immense power and wisdom, Bocchi. As Maze sat with her confusion, and Reinhart with his despair, Bocchi watched their lives with a sense of empathy and resolve.
Hit with a bout of shakes, Reinhart drops his plate, and it crashes to the ground. His food, like his life, was ruined, and Reinhart was tired of it.
"Why? Why keep pushing? What is the point of even waking up anymore?" Reinhart growled, trying to grab his wrist to stop the shaking, but he knew it was pointless.
Everything was now.
For Reinhart, his life was his hands, and his ability to create things with him. That was why he had worked so hard and learned so many things with his work, but now he couldn't even hold his plate.
Reinhart found his shaky hands, the ones that once built skyscrapers and homes now unreliable. He stumbled back onto his worn-out couch, his heart heavy and mind clouded with desperation. The world outside his window ignored his plight, moving at its chaotic pace.
"Maybe it would all be...just easier if I..." His voice trailed off as he stared blankly at the apartment door, a mere specter of the formerly vibrant, energetic man.
In Fallenia, tragedy struck too. In a blink of an eye, a sudden flurry of activity disrupted Queen Maze's careful scheming. She overheard one of the guards yelling about an assassination attempt on King Randle of Carlyon.
"Randle's been assassinated!" One of the guards bellowed, his face pale. "By magic! And Romulan too!"
Queen Maze was stunned. It was not just her father's death that needed vengeance now. Her world spun out of control as her chance at peace exploded in a flurry of chaos and bloody conflict.
Before she could react, the guard's eyes went big, and then blood started to pour out of his mouth. Maze watched in horror as a bleeding King Arlin of Talgoff pushed the guard over, stumbling into the room.
"What is going on?!" Maze nearly screamed, but Arlin put up his hand to stop her.
"You need to get out of here! Farid has betrayed us all! You must return to your kingdom at once! The world seems to be changing faster than anyone could have predicted!" Arlin wheezed and then winced as he put a hand over his side that had been burned.
A sense of suffocation gripped Maze as Arlin spoke. Survival. It all came down to survival now. Her kingdom was at stake, her people in danger, and she was their beacon of hope.
"But... What about you?" she found herself asking Arlin, who merely offered a grim smile. "I have lived a long life, your Highness. It is the future of Grammel that matters now. "
"Future? There is none that will include either of you," Farid said darkly as he entered Maze's chambers with a handful of Capital Guards. " I had hoped that you would see things my way, Maze. I have always found you to be radiant above all other princesses. Sad that I will have to kill you now. That is unless you wish to take my hand in marriage?"
Farid reached his hand toward Maze, but she gave him a disgusted look. Farid was a well-built man, handsome, and was said to be the strongest in all kingdoms before the Mana had arrived.
"I would rather die than ally myself with treachery," Maze spat defiantly, shrinking away from Farid's outstretched hand. As he pulled it back, trying to maintain his dignity, Arlin acted as the distraction Maze needed.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone