The Dawn of Dawn (Featherfall)

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Year 484

Viddlesea

♪Legends Never Die♪

⚔The Beginning of the End⚔

There was great excitement and confusion in Viddlesea. Everyone rushed from place to place, and the news reached everyone's ears like a deluge.

Lord Louhpes was the most agitated of them all. He had stopped all preparations for war and sent word to those on the front lines.

It was no different in the other kingdom. While the war was still raging, both kingdoms were making preparations to go to the Empire.

While these preparations were in full swing, the lord's little daughter, unaware of everything, was looking at herself in the mirror. In her blue dress with small flowers pinned to her chest; she was running from place to place, sometimes coming and looking at herself.

Despite all the commotion in the castle or in the kingdom, the little girl had no worries.

As she came down the stairs in all her joy, she saw her father, all dressed up. He was as stern as ever, but when he saw her, his gaze softened and he took the little girl in his arms. The little girl wondered why her father was dressed like that. He usually dressed like this when he went to war. Or was he going again?

"Daddy," she said. "Are you going again?

"No," said the Lord. "This time we're going together."

- - -

Zelain

My father.

He was the one who loved me more than anything, who cared for me as much as my brother, even though I was a girl. He would smell me and kiss me and never let me leave his side.

He would always say to me, "I sense something different about you than your brother." He never said what it was, but I always understood what he was trying to imply.

I wondered if he could hear what I was feeling right now. If not, did he at least feel it?

I couldn't get such questions out of my mind, and even if I did, I knew in my heart that I had the same doubts. He was my most precious possession. For as long as I can remember...

And so it remained. In this unknown time, when I needed him the most, he passed from this world. But that has never changed. My father, Lord Louhpes, who is now in the ground. He was once a lord of House Neveth.

We lost him and my brother in the war with the Kingdom of Nivin. The scholars of the dynasty predicted that he would lose power in the war, but my father, being the reckless man he was, rejected their predictions, joined the battle and led the army. He fought so hard and won the war, but before he could enjoy the happiness of it, he lost the battle of his life. According to those in the army, his last words were, "Take care of my daughter."

Yes, that was me. I was that girl. I was the last wish of the most respected Lord of the Empire. He had built his life on me, and he had built his death on me.

And it was my fault that my father is not with me now, but in the ground. I couldn't protect him, I couldn't keep him alive, one sword stroke had taken him from me. My father, whom I had reunited with after struggling with all the difficulties, was again taken away from me by fate. Life was very cruel and continued to be so.

My father's death was like a turning point in my life. It was as if I had died with him. But only my heart was beating. What was a heart anyway? It beats non-stop for 60-70 years, then suddenly it stops and never beats again.

We are just like the hearts we have, we know that one day we will stop, and yet we keep working, breathing, moving. But there is something that separates speed from our heart.

It is our soul.

Our body dies, but not our soul. Our eyes close, but your soul never does.

Even after we mortals die, after our flesh is separated from our bones, after our skull rots and disappears into the earth, our soul would continue to live. This was not my divine belief; it was my sincere, personal conviction, a feeling I experienced with my senses. And I continued to feel it right now, next to my father's grave.

He was alive, but in spirit.

He was with me, I could feel him, walking with me, talking with me.

And most importantly,

He still loved me.

I believed that more than anything else.

...

I sat down and put the flowers in my hand on the ground. I dug a little in the dry soil with my hand and planted the flowers in it. They were my father's favorites. Magnolia and jasmine. He had loved these flowers for as long as I could remember. They were not available in Viddlesea, so he had them brought from distant kingdoms. He would decorate the castle garden with them and the palace was always decorated with them. He was a stern but loving man. He was uncompromising in his courage and bravery, but he also knew how to speak his soul. Everything I saw, smelled, heard reminded me of him. His pure emotions... His love, even his anger...

I got up. As much as I didn't feel ready, I had to do it. I had to go. Away. Hundreds of miles away from here. As much as I didn't want to leave my father here, I had to go, thinking that he was always with me. I think that's what he would have wanted.

I was in danger here, I could be assassinated at any moment. The Disthalthea region was perfect for this. Quiet, peaceful, but a little too secluded, it was just empty enough to set the stage for you to kill someone.

I knew I couldn't stay here, I knew I had to leave, I knew that too, but where? I couldn't stay in this area, yes. But where would I stay? If I was identified, they wouldn't let me live. So I couldn't stay anywhere. I had to go to my own kingdom, but it was hard to do without my father's men. And they had been captured by Nivin. I had to make a decision, and that decision would change the course of my life.

The sun was setting. I had to leave before it got dark. I didn't have much time to think.

I was going home.

It was the most logical decision. The war hadn't been this fierce for years. This war between Viddlesea and Nivin has been going on since I was a child. But in all that time, neither I, nor those in my kingdom, had ever seen a war where people fought to the death like this, where the fighting had become so brutal, so savage. The people had grown desperate. They were determined to win. Even at the cost of death.

Dae was taken to a horse market not far from where they buried my father. They were going to train him for war, then sell him to an officer.

If I was going to set out, I had to find her first. I put the small sack I had brought with me on my back, tied the empty dagger belt around my waist, and who knows, maybe I'd be able to get a dagger from somewhere.

The horse market was a bit far away, so I was going to take the first caravan I found on the road.

...

I quickly put on my cloak and hat and waited for the caravan to arrive. They must have seen me because they hesitated, but soon they continued on.

When they finally came near me, they reined in their horses. For a moment I thought they would all get off, but only an old man in a navy blue cloak dismounted.

"Young lady," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"The caravan I was traveling in has been besieged by bandits," I said. "I am the only survivor. May I continue my journey with you?"

"Of course." he said happily. "Where are you traveling to?"

"Viddlesea," I said. "To the Neveth region."

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