Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Fire

Chapter 3 The Fire Festival

It was now the day of the festival and a lot of people were gathered in the large plaza located in front of the gates that separated the castle from the rest of the capital. Above those same gates and on top of the wall was a podium where the queen will give her speech. People were laughing, dancing, and having a great time. Sol himself was hanging out in the crowd with his hood up again so no one would recognize him right away.

Next to him was Brook and the two of them were just casually eating meaty shish kabobs. "Aren't you supposed to be up there on that podium with your brother and sister soon?" Brook asked Sol. Sol looked up at the castle wall to see the podium. "Yeah, probably." Sol admitted. Brook just finished his shish kabob and tossed the stick away. "Well why are you here then?" "You know I don't like grabbing attention for myself. The people don't like me that much." Sol said to Brook. Brook patted Sol on the back. "Don't worry about it man, it'll all be over before you know it."

A couple of guards eventually noticed Sol and came over to him. "Well I guess that's my cue." Sol said. "Prince Sol, it's time for you to make your way to the podium, the king and queen are waiting." One guard said. Sol wanted to shrug him off but this one couldn't be avoided. "Yeah yeah lets get this over with." Sol said as he was escorted into the castle walls. A bunch of people eventually started staring at Sol and he tried his best not to look at everyone's gaze. Sol just kept his head down until he was on the other end of the doors. He eventually made his way up to the podium.

He was greeted by his father, King Willard, his mother, Queen Lisandra, his brother Marvin, and a couple more guards. Sol looked around a little more but couldn't see Crystal. "Where's Crystal?" Sol whispered to Marvin. "The guards are still looking for her. I'm surprised you showed up first." Marvin teased. "I expected to be here last too." Sol said.

The guards tapped both of their shoulders. "It's time." They both nodded and Sol stood next to the queen while Marvin stood next to the king. Willard made his way to the ledge. He needed to break the audience's chatter. "Silence!" He commanded them all. Immediately everyone started staring upwards. "I believe it's almost time. The sun is almost at sunset, soon Elgria will choose the next owner of the Shining Giant and possibly your next ruler! This doesn't happen very often so listen well!" Willard said.

The queen stepped up and held out her sword horizontally with it laying flat on both hands. Her palms were raised up in the air. "As you can see my own daughter, Princess Crystal isn't here yet and for that I'm terribly sorry. I however will still trust Elgria's judgement. My husband, Sir King Willard will even fetch her and bring her here!" Lisandra turned to Willard and they both nodded in understanding. Willard was soon seen leaving the podium with a couple of guards trailing behind him. It was just Marvin and Sol standing next to Lisandra.

Everyone waited until the sun met the horizon. "I believe it is now about time, we shall now pray to Elgria. She will now bless us with the next owner of the Shining Giant!" Everyone down below started cheering. Fireworks could be seen going off among the horizon in Sol's view, the same horizon where the sun was meant to set. All of the fireworks were a bright red and everyone watched in awe. Sol looked down below to see if he could see Brook but he was nowhere to be found. "He was supposed to be watching..." Sol said under his breath. He turned to look at his brother Marvin who was too fascinated by the glowing red fireworks. Lisandra also seemed to be fascinated.

Soon the sword started to levitate from Lisandra's hands and was now floating vertically above the crowd. What everyone was seeing was godly magic. Soon a flickering image of Elgria herself came into existence as if her whole body was made of light. She held the Shining Giant fondly and it was time for her to choose.

Everyone's attention was now on the goddess. Something seemed off to Sol and it wasn't just because there was a goddess that appeared before him. It was Elgria's expression that caught him off guard. Everyone's cheers seemed to be louder now but Sol noticed that Elgria herself didn't look all that happy. She seemed to be angry. "Oh great goddess Elgria! Whom of which will you choose!?" Lisandra pleaded. The sword floated a little bit away from the goddess. A shining light was emitting from the pommel which was shaped like a sun.