The land of Sanitatum is said to be filled with magic, but it is also plagued by a contagious curse that threatens humanity's survival. It is the purpose of the heir to the throne, Simba Adofo, to inherit his father's crown and find a way to vanquis...
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The air between them rang with silence. Simba was stunned. How could she say such a thing?
"What do you mean order for who?" Simba was exasperate. "Should we let our people spread a vile disease like the Columbine's did before us? Those foolish figureheads promised a fictitious cure that led countless innocent people to their deaths. Would that be order? A hollow promise over proactive measures is order toyou?"
Kurona flashed Simba a morose look.
"You know, no one has ever asked me what it was like working for the Columbine Royals, yet, I could very well be the only one left alive in this kingdom who knew them. I was the only one spared from their court; I watched an an entire empire burn to the ground, and watched another rise from its ashes. Maybe if you listened, my version of history will be the answer you're looking for."
Simba paused for a moment, perplexed. "Two versions of the same history cannot coexist. How can I trust that your story will be more truthful than the one in the books in that shelf?"
"You can't," she admitted. "But that was the beauty of this library. No one book told a single truth more valuable than another. Within each story was a different truth, unique to its author and the time it was written. Reading is simply believing words on paper, but knowledge is comparing those words to one another and learning what they truly have to say. Listen to my truth, and we will see what it teaches you."
Simba glared at her curiously, then flashed a look at the empty shelves that towered over them. There must have been a reason why so many truths were set ablaze. He let out a defeated huff.
"Shall we compare truths then?"
A faint smile crossed her face as she took out a history book from the shelf.
"We shall."
She quickly flipped to a page recounting the timeline of the War of Birds and Lions, placing it on a dusty table for Simba to read along. Dust flew up in the air and Simba waved his hand to clear the burst of drifting particles from his sight.
"As you know, I was tasked at managing agricultural supply and distribution for the Columbine people," she reminded. "Supply was never an issue until the young Prince, Kay Columbine, showed symptoms of the curse at a very young age after a suspected affliction. This was a secret to everyone- even the inner council- and treated behind closed doors. Kay was forbidden from leaving his room, and only a trusted maid was allowed to care for him. The family knew that an afflicted heir would crumble their reign- so they wanted to cured him. One drop of afflicted blood taints the entire bloodline, after all. Sound familiar?"
Simba nodded resentfully. "At least Kay's family didn't make him fight a Witch," he added derisively.
"Though Kay's affliction was a secret, the royals had publicly announced their mission to cure the curse. It says here, that they used 'dark magic' and 'cast wicked spells from forbidden tomes'; that was one of the crimes they were tried with at their holy burning. However, magic disappeared when we hunted the Witches and other magical beasts into extinction."
