Queen Knight Semlina

The Hall of Heroes

(A/N: Please note that any photos in any of the chapters are just inspirational photos none of the photos belong to me all the credit goes to the artists and their amazing art!)

The royal party arrived at the infamous Hall of Heroes. Semlina stared in awe of the massive hall that stood before was her. Made completely out of many types of different stones yet looked so elegant, the building resisted the test of time for the past hundreds of years from when it was first created back in King Javen the First's time. The Creation Era as some called it. There were rumors surrounding the Hall. The reason why it's stood for so long is due to the "lost" ring that was said to have stayed on King Javen the First at all times. The massive power that the ring withheld was keeping the Hall from succumbing to the times. Sem un-mounted from her horse, still taking in the beauty of the hall. "Father, the Hall exceeds all the stories you have told of it." King Javen chuckled and made his way towards the entrance.

"Come, let us see the Hall you've been waiting for."

Sem quickly made her way toward the King. Excited for the Hall she'd only been told in stories. The inside of the Hall was just as beautiful as the outside, the walls lined with timelines of each ruler showing notable points in history. She traced her hands within the cracks of the stone bricks seeing the fabric drape from the ceiling in honor of her second coming. She gathered her dress to catch up to the King who was still ahead. "Come now, the Main Hall is almost in sight." Sem felt a giddy feeling coming up from her stomach to her chest. She couldn't wait to see it. All of a sudden, she was overwhelmed by the sudden sight of white and gold. Unlike the palace's marble interior with specks of gold, the Hall held ridiculously large columns within in the dome-shaped room. The walkway before entering the main dome room was a hallway with statues of previous Head Knights and the names of Kings they had served. Sem stopped in front of one of the statues. The one who looked oh so familiar to her. "Father" she whispered quietly. A hand was placed gently on her shoulder. "He had a statue made in his honor because he had served not only my father but my brother for a brief moment as well...is it not as uncanny as mentioned in the stories?" She nodded her head. "It looks just as I remembered but of course younger...he looks exactly like Arin did..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I'm ready to see the main room yet Father...may I have a moment?"The King smiled softly "Of course sweet girl...come when you are ready." The sounds of feet after the King hustling around getting everything ready was slowly drowning out. They were doing the final set-up for the reveal. Sem took a look at the statue of her birth father. Remembering their last moments together before everything was plunged into the dark. The Great War that cost such a devastating amount of death and sadness. It was a sad start to the reign of the King. However, he was able to revive things the way they were...not all the way but up to a better point.

The echo of laughter filled her head as she remembered the dinner they had the night before everything. "Sem my beautiful rose...I'd fight the entire realm to save you." Her father's hand caressed her chubby 8-year-old cheeks. The warmth lingering there. "Father you're going to spoil her like that." She looked at Arin. He was grinning ear to ear. "Come here you little rugrat." He tousled her hair and picked her up. "Ah! Arin! Stop it! You're going to mess up my braids that Mother did." Her mother's beautiful appearance stood before her. Arin set her down. "Mother, Arin ruined my braids! I told you I don't ruin them! I wouldn't want to get another scolding from you."Her mother chuckled "Now, children behave...Arin I don't think that's the way a future Head Knight should act." They both laughed and hugged each other heartily...and then the messenger came.

Sem's memory was stopped when something cold gripped her hand. She snapped out of it and saw Sir Tanner looking at her worryingly. "Are you alright Princess? You've been staring at the statue this entire time..." She quickly realized she was staring at her father's statue still. HEAD KNIGHT DERRYL JEFFERSON RHUNE was carved into the stone below her father's statue. "I'm alright, thank you for your concern, Sir Tanner...I was just daydreaming a bit. I'm ready to head to the main hall." Tanner gestured the way to the main hall for Sem. She walked down the rest of the hallway to a huge magnificent room. The only problem was there weren't any statues like she thought there were going to be. Like when she had seen with the Head Knights statues. "Ah, Sem you've finally joined me." The King stood between two golden circles in the middle of the room. "Father...I don't understand where are the statues? I thought they would be in here on display like the Head Knight statues." The King gestured Sem over to him. "Dear Daughter the thing is the statues are protected by magic...so the only thing to get them to come out...is magic." The King called for a serving boy to give him something. The serving boy took out the glowing orb that was depicted in every painting of a new King taking over the throne. The King carefully took the orb off the cushion and sent the boy away. "This orb...is more special than what you have always thought. There was a reason I never let you play with it when you were younger...it isn't just a symbol of our kingdom but a vault for the one thing no one would ever suspect would be in here." Sem looked at the King confused. "Father, would you get to the point and show me?" He chuckled. "Of course." The King quietly uttered the words: