Suarus's blue eyes glinted under the sunlight, pensively piercing through her father's regal smile. He waved to the cheering crowds as he sat atop their ancestor's throne of sleek malachite, pride illuminating his face. Tears blurred her vision. She hated herself for being oblivious to her mother's death, accepting, believing it was accidental. Oh, how she wished to have remained forever ignorant, truth untold.

A storm raged within her, black and deadly, obliterating the fundamental pillars that once formed her beliefs. Now, with the veil blinding her removed, she could see it all very clear. The reality of the realm she was to rule, her father's lies, and the God they falsely worshipped.

​The peal of bells rippled loud through her body and thoughts. Its rings carried by the gentle wind over the crowded Gaxma Square and its high archways, reaching the capital's outskirts. With its fading echoes approached the male children, a decade-old today, ten in total. They neatly aligned next to each other, facing the royal dais where the king, his young queen, and Suarus sat. They bowed for their ruler and the towering malachite obelisk shadowing over the square.

​'On this blessed day of gratitude that marks the end of a decade and the beginning of another,' said the high priest Evixrus, pointing at the obelisk behind, meeting the anxious faces looking up at him, 'gratitude and thanks be to our glorious Gaxmanisus, savior, and protector of our realm. For He has once again bestowed His blessings upon us.'

​Suarus's heart pulsed in her throat, jaw clenching. Hate emanated through her glare, her sight following the green draped priest descending the steps. Her chest swelled watching him approach the children, realizing the spell, the cause of their eerie calmness. She mourned their innocence, studying their gleaming beauty under the orangey hues of the setting sun, wind ruffling their golden curls.

A priestess in the sacred color approached, the sleeves of her dress dragged behind her, a golden bowl glimmering between her hands. She kneeled, extending her arms towards the high priest.

Evixrus dipped his hand, his lips chanting the words of The Elders, his ringed fingers swallowed by the thick substance.

'The honor of being The Chosen Ten,' he said, smearing the substance over the foreheads of the boys one after the other, 'ensuring the continuation of life by giving your own is a sacrifice handsomely rewarded by the God of our ancestors.' The priest's gaze locked on the last of the boys, his twitching hand dipped into the liquid. A hint of a smile tugged on the corners of his lips, feeling the boy's warmth. He turned at the crowds. 'An assured passing to The Eternal is what we all seek and what these heroes are guaranteed. Joining their brothers who have passed before them, becoming one with the ever-burning stars that watch over us. Guiding us from the heavens above.'

​Stillness blanketed the crowds. Wide eyes peered into the deep orange sky, the sun's dip beyond the horizon anticipated.

Suarus swallowed, her throat dry and scratchy, her clammy hands pressing against her stomach.

​'Are you well, Your Highness?' whispered Mingus, her father's right hand and personal guard from behind concern glazing his greyish eyes.

She nodded, fearful she might cry if she spoke. Her moist gaze returned on Evixrus, who signaled the ten horns to be blown long and loud with a swift gesture of his hand, announcing the beginning of the end.

​Ten armored soldiers marched into the square led by a helmeted commander. A crescent moon etched on his silver breastplate. The boys simultaneously kneeled, overshadowed by the monstrous soldiers standing behind them.

The rhythmic chants of priests caused Suarus's chest to tighten.

Swords flickered harmoniously unsheathed following the commander's yelled order, resting against the children's throats.

​Time stopped as the shadow of the vanishing sun glided over the city.

Suarus's breathing quickened. Panic twisted her insides, terror stabbing her chest. Tears of grief coursed down her hot cheeks, heedless of anyone noticing.

A mother's screech shredded through the overwhelming anticipation, quickly muffled. A forbidden opposition crushed by devoted worshippers.

With a swing of the commander's sword, the order was given.

​Suarus flinched, shutting her eyes. Her nails painfully dug through her silks into her thighs, bracing herself through the horrible thuds of little bodies slamming to the ground. She inhaled, her lungs failing to breathe, stomach turned. She forced her eyes open, witnessing the ill deeds the false deity they worshiped made them commit. Incredulously she turned at her father, baffled by his unfeelingness, knowing what she now knew.

​The king rose off the throne, his golden crown mirroring the sky's faint hues as he walked towards the dais's edge, red velvet mantle sweeping behind him.

​'Citizens of great Gaxma, the magnificent kingdom of The High Realms. Rejoice! We, King Homokirus Marimus, declare the end of a decade and the beginning of a new. May the great Gaxmanisus bless us with eternal peace and prosperity for now and years to come,' said the king, his arms open to the people.

​The earth trembled. Flickers of lightning whizzed through the pulsing obelisk before it lit a beaming pillar of luminous green endlessly extending towards the sky.

Clamour of thankful prayers and warm congratulations rippled through spectators, joyous under the rain of rose petals and swung flags.

​Deafened by overpowering anguish, Suarus did not hear the words spoken by her father as he returned to the throne, nor did she feel her stepmother's concerned touch over her shoulder. All she heard was her heart's thuds in her ears while she rushed down the endless steps. Her eyes scanned the faces around her for the one most calming and trusted, her best friend and handmaid, Tirus.

​ A hand pulling her from behind forced her to turn. Her eyes widened, fearful of the helmeted commander holding her upper arm, the crescent moon on his breastplate recognized. Repulsed, she struggled to pull away.

​'Suarus, calm down. It's me!' exclaimed the commander, his fingers wrapping around her other arm.

​She froze, heat rushing to her head, the realization of his identity crushing her soul.

​'Lanesirus...' she exhaled breathlessly, pushing him away, 'Let go of me!'

​'Suarus, wait,' he said, not letting go. 'Let me explain!'

'Please,' she murmured, swaying in his grip, sensation of her legs lost, the world around her fading into darkness.