Ariella

Epilogue

Ariella I ruled for thirty more years. During that time Centaurii's Golden Age reached its zenith. Under Ariella, industry and manufacturing flourished, a standard currency, the eekak, was minted, and the fine arts were encouraged, provided they did not criticize her reign. She never married and had no children, but she did form a strong bond with her niece, Naiella, who would later become empress in her own right. She died peacefully in her sleep, having guided the country safely through one of the most turbulent times in its history. She was eighty-seven years old.

Hellaina's family were later Raised to nobility for their service to her family. Ariella never took another handmaiden.

Liannon drank herself to death at the age of twenty-seven.

Valarys escaped her husband, thanks to a divorce law Ariella co-authored. She never resumed her affairs with either Lyris Andelion or the High Lord Cielaré. It is rumored, but has never been proven, that she and Ariella reconciled in their later years. She died at the age of eighty-nine, exactly a month after Ariella.

Miriel's killer was never found. Speculations and conspiracy theories abound, however. Although her ghost has allegedly been sighted at Lyria, most everyone agrees it is a hoax. It is interesting to note that a subgenre of Centauriian horror films has been devoted to stories of Miriel's ghost.

Teinorus changed his name to Teinylon, and became a successful stage performer.

Maximus grew up privileged; under his father's care, he was educated with the best tutors. He soon outstripped then all, however, and rumor has it that he was even more intelligent than his father. All accounts describe him as exceedingly handsome, with black hair and pale skin. However, intellect such as his came with a price. After he was crowned emperor, he fell profoundly insane, and embarked on the Reign of Terror, one of the strangest periods in Centauriian history. He became paranoid and grew to irrationally hate his father, believing that he had been lied to about the legitimacy of his birth. (It is rumored that Cielaré told him he was a dairymaid's bastard.) In his exceedingly strange Memoirs, he claimed that he was the illegitimate son of Ariella and the High Lord Cielaré. (This was never proven, as genetic testing had not been invented in Maximus's day, but his father's reputation has never quite been so spotless.) He was later killed in the Glorious Coup by none other than the High Lord Ruble-quite an antithesis to his creed of pacifism!

High Lord Ruble had a long and happy marriage to Lady Satoya. They never had any children, despite their efforts. Sorelle Satoya died of the cancer that killed her father all those years ago. Ruble never remarried, and sank into a crumbling depression. After a fatal argument with Cielaré, he left Centaurii. He has never returned.

As for the High Lord Cielaré, he continued to rule Centaurii, becoming the richest man in the known universe. He never became emperor, but he was an advisor to countless rulers and wielded considerable power as the essential head of House Onyx. He remarried nine times, but outlived all his wives. He never spoke of Ariella and denied all rumors of an affair with her. However, in his 1499 publication, Memoirs of Public Service, he wrote of her, "She was formidable, dangerously lovely, and unlike anyone, man or woman, who I have ever known."