Stronger

10 - Thirty Years Ago

It happened about 30 years ago.

The people of the continent ruled by the Demon King Astor decided that they had had enough and sent warriors to the central plains to try and overthrow the tyrant's rule.
There were originally 6 of them, from the 6 major kingdoms that made up the continent. They sent their best warriors and their strongest armies, praying that they would be enough to stop the Demon King, but it was only four years later that they actually saw a glimmer of hope.

He came in the form of a boy clad in golden armor.

A child of 12 years who carried a bastard sword as if it was merely a wooden toy.

He was a farmer's son with hair of gold and honey brown eyes, and the armor he wore which was too big for him, was merely taken from fallen knights he passed along his way towards the central plains.

He had the strength of a hundred men and magic equal to none, and his arrival was the start of the Demon King's demise.

It took 5 years for the Golden Hero and his six companions to decimate the Demon King's army.

As the end of the war neared, the Golden Hero, together with Prince Jonas, his sister Ann from the kingdom of Maralict, and several other warriors, were finally able to kill the Demon King Astor.
After the battle, Prince Jonas Maralict was crowned Emperor and united the continent as the Holy Maralict Empire. His sister Princess Ann got the title of 1st Imperial Princess, and was engaged to the Golden Hero.

Simon turned the page of the book he was reading and was disappointed to see that the passage ended there. He placed the book down on the table and sipped his tea that had already turned tepid.

"Your Highness, are you still busy reading?"

Simon looked up and saw High Priest Roshan smiling down at him as he caressed his long beard.

"Your Reverence, I didn't notice you enter the library..."

"Are you still reading about the War of Liberation?" asked the old priest as he sat on a chair beside the young prince. "May I ask what makes you so interested to know about the previous war?"

"I was hoping to read about the legendary Golden Hero, but it seems that there are hardly any written accounts about him."

"Ahh, that is due to the royal degree from the emperor himself," said the priest. "After that Hero's betrayal, all mention of his name was removed from all texts and history books. It was the empire's way to make the people forget about his traitorous acts."

"But how could they do that to the person who single-handedly killed the Demon King? How could they just erase him from the empire's history?!"

The priest looked at Simon, his white furry brows rising slightly as a smile played on his wrinkled lips.

"And where, pray tell, did you hear about such things? When all the empire knows that it was no other than the young Emperor Jonas and his sister Princess Ann who overthrew the Demon king's dark reign? Some even say that Emperor Jonas himself was the Golden Hero."

"I..." Simon was hesitant. "I heard it from my nanny!" he finally admitted. "She was the lady-in-waiting of one of the Demon King's concubines, and she was there when the Golden Hero and his companions took siege of the Dark Realm and killed the Demon King!"

"And I am guessing that she has already told you not to tell others about such stories?"

Simon lowered his head and went silent.

"I guess you have noticed it too," the priest continued, "the books here in the Stone Temple still have details about the Golden Hero, though it is very minimal."