The Great

Evay Maver: “Um, hey guys.” Professor Vylen’s eyes went wide, Taran dropped his sword, Mena put her hands over her mouth, Deven stared at me like I was a ghost (which in all fairness I technically was), and Lila bolted towards me and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Lila got her words out faster. “It’s ok, I believe whatever you have to say. I’m just glad you’re back.” I felt myself get a little emotional and I tried to stop myself from crying.

Lila was always so good at understanding people. I’d been thinking of what to say, how to act, and how to present myself when I reunited with everyone. It was stressful and difficult but Lila didn’t feel the need for an explanation—she was just glad I was back.

“Thanks Lila, really.” She laughed softly and let go of me. Deven spoke with an astonished expression.

“You’re, you’re here, Evay. What—what happened?” Professor Vylen’s eyes went wide and he teleported next to me.

“As much as you all missed Mr.Maver, I am afraid we have some business to attend to.” I looked at him with confusion.

“What business sir?” Professor Vylen pointed at Aurora.

“Run the usual, class ends at noon, don’t forget to give out assignments,” Aurora nodded. “Evay, we’re going to bring you to the Emperor, he needs to know that you’re alive.”

Savian Yelenta: The large, white marble dome contained one single mahogany wood table which sat directly in the center of the floor. The dome above was made of glass and the whole room was surrounded by individual seats which wrapped around the entire building. The spectator seats were filled with various world leaders—all of whom were softly whispering to each other and exchanging hand shakes or laughs. The sheer presence which occupied the room made my nerves tingle. The most powerful people from all over the world were sitting right here in this room, and I was going to be in the middle of them all. I walked over to the center table and took my seat. At the head of the table sat the queen of Evian, Her Majesty Queen Leila, of house Regalis. The Regalis family had been in power in Evian for nearly its entire existence. The nation was nearly 1,000 years old and held more than 55 million people. Historically, they prided themselves on controlling the seas and the world economy. Nowadays however, their time as the tyrants of the sea, were coming to a close. They were still a major player in the world market, and in world trade, but these days, the title of the seas went towards Mevillime. Speaking of Mevillime, their king was sitting an arms length away from me right next to my seat at the table. King Bira, of house Melvin exuded an enormous and intimidating pressure, but also held himself with supreme dignity. He reminded me of Oden, but much older and even more proper. Finally Emperor Batara made his way to his seat at the table. It was my first time seeing the emperor in person, and I wasn’t disappointed. He was draped in his usual scarlet-red robes, which were embroidered with golden filigree and lined with both ivory and gold trims. He wore his signature white blindfold—which was embroidered with red and black roses as well as golden vines. His full, slightly spiky hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore his signature confident, playful smile on his face. It was the first time that I had ever felt overwhelmed in the presence of another person. Even in this room, filled with the strongest people in the world, quieted down when he entered. They observed each of his steps, locked in a trance and afraid to move while in his presence. I could see why some people called him inhuman now.

Because it sure didn’t feel like he was human.

He finally sat down in his chair and he gave me a smile. “Savain Yelenta, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” My body seemingly moved on its own as I stood up and bowed towards him.

“Yes–yes sir, the pleasure is mine.” He smiled and beckoned me to sit down. He leaned towards me and spoke into my ear.

“Do not stress too much, although, I suspect that you are not the type to do so anyway. I will do most of the speaking today.” I nodded and he gave me another cool smile. He was being friendly but it didn’t feel real. His face dawned a friendly smile but his eyes bore deep into my soul–those cold, unforgiving, eyes acted like an entirely separate being as they seemed to be accusing me of something. It was like…….he knew. It was like he knew everything. My body froze, my heart started to pound out of my chest, and my blood went cold. He knew, he knew, he knew…..he was going to smite me, or burn me, or kill me in some other way….After years and years someone found out….The emperor tapped me on the shoulder as I practically jumped out of my chair. He smiled, “Tired are you? Rest awhile–relax.” I nodded as best as I could and he looked towards the other two rulers who were sitting at the table. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. He’s seen me and he knows my face so I can’t run from him. If I get caught, years of information gets lost…. I can’t get caught–not now. I looked up towards the various rulers sitting around the room and steeled my nerves. Fuck it, everything ends today….

The king of Mevilime nodded and banged a wooden gavel on the table. The loud bangs resonated through the empty air as all of the chatter and whisper of the spectating rulers and lords died down. The king of Mevilime cleared his throat and began to speak. His dark, deep voice echoed into the air, “We are gathered here today in order to discuss the events which transpired exactly two weeks prior on this very day. A formal bout between the warrior representatives of the Taegan Empire and the warriors of Mevilime resulted in unprecedented disaster. Currently, the destruction upon the nation of Evian, the host of this year’s annual Warrior Youth Championships, is beyond comprehension. There are hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and one warrior casualty, that warrior being Evay of House Maver, from the Taegan empire. These are the undisputed details of the current topic of discussion, and all considerations, accusations, and negotiations will use these details as a basis. Now, your majesty, I feel you are obligated to speak first.”

Queen Regalis stared deeply into the soul of Emperor Batara and kept a clam, controlled, and unbothered look upon her face. She spoke in a powerful and dignified voice, “Thank you. While the fighters affected from this incident originated from the Taegan empire and the nation of Mevilime, the larger portion of those that were affected–who were normal citizens–were of my own nation, Evian. The people of Evian adore and treasure the Youth Warrior Championships and our nation has hosted the event numerous times in the past. Over our long and illustrious history, there have been accidents involving spectators and warriors before. However, this level of disaster is absolutely unprecedented. Both Evian as a nation, and I personally, do not feel that this attack was a mere accidental release of power from one of the warriors. The rumor that this destruction was actually caused by a foreign power is something which I do not want to believe, however, it is not entirely out of the question.” She glared at Emperor Batara. “Emperor Batara, can you inform me of anything which would reveal the origin of this attack?” The emperor stopped smiling and dawned a more composed serious face.

“Your majesty, firstly, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to both you and your nation, as well as your people. The death and destruction enacted upon your nation is truly terrible, and the whole of Taegan empathizes with you.” There was a quiet silence as Queen Regalis nodded in acknowledgement. The emperor’s words were supposed to be something of a warm, meaningful apology. However, all of his words had a weird tone behind them. It was like he never meant anything he ever said–his words were just a cover up for what he was truly feeling on the inside.

The emperor spoke again, “I have conducted a thorough investigation upon the situation and the most clear and concise answer that the empire of Taegan can offer your majesty is that this attack was of foreign origin.” The crowd of leaders whispered and murmured in shock and realization. Queen Regalis’s calm face broke a little as her eyes narrowed in anger.

“And this investigation was quite thorough I assume? Or are you not telling the complete truth, emperor.” The emperor responded calmly,

“If you choose not to believe in me, your majesty, there is nothing that I can do to change your mind. However, this attack did not originate from any of the warriors. I assume that you also agree with this statement?” Queen Regalis responded instantly.

“For the most part, emperor, I do. However, we can not ignore all options here,” the emperor laughed.

“Queen Regalis, these are mere children. While they are extremely gifted warriors, as you can clearly see,” the emperor nodded towards me, “I do not believe that these boys and girls have the ability to destroy on this level.” The Queen spoke in an angry tone.

“So emperor, are you accusing a foreign power of an action that can lead to war? Why is this the conclusion you have come to, especially so early into your investigation. As it currently stands, your words do not increase my trust in your empire. I have found that strangely, one of your warriors has no registered information or background to their name. Evay Maver is an unknown figure to most of the world, despite his appearance in the Youth Championships. It is extremely unlikely that a warrior can debut at the Youth Championships and even more unlikely that that warrior has no background information. We both agree that this attack could not have come from warrior origins, but how can this be the case if one of the warriors is completely unknown.”

The emperor’s eyes narrowed, “are you, your majesty, trying to accuse a boy of mass murder?”

The Queen didn’t back down, “I am simply stating facts. Bring forth information about Evay Maver in order to confirm his background–then we can be sure where this attack originated from.”

The emperor’s usual calm tone wavered as his voice hardened, “Evay Maver is dead. You seem to forget that at this moment, you are defacing the reputation and honor of a dead child. Do you want me to pluck his life story from the grave? What good would it do now even if he was somehow found guilty? Your majesty, I have already offered my condolences for your people, however, you seem to forget that the empire of Taegan has lost one of their finest young representatives in this incident as well.” The Queen spoke in a fast, angry tone,

“So do you suggest that I not be suspicious or bothered? I am disturbed by the death of Mr.Maver, however, you seem to forget the exact level of destruction that this incident has caused my people. Over half a million citizens are reduced to nothing, and there is currently a crater the size of a small city in my nation. I wish to know what caused this destruction—for the sake of my people who want answers. If I come off as slightly agitated, emperor, I feel that I do not owe any apologies.” The deafening silence put me on edge as I stared into the eyes of the Queen and the emperor. Both were holding their ground and neither of them looked like they wanted to back away. King Bira finally interjected.

“While both parties have reasonable arguments, no accusations or predictions can be proven at this moment. Mevillime’s warriors have not been harmed during this incident and while our nation is also deeply troubled, this attack can not be deemed as a simple foreign attack upon Evian. This also begs the question, Emperor Batara, has the body of Evay Maver been found?” Emperor Batara responded quickly,

“No. It is to my knowledge that he was completely vaporized by the attack. Why is this a point of question, your majesty?” King Bira paused for a moment and spoke with a healthy degree of caution.

“If that is the case, it is entirely possible that Evay Maver is somehow connected to this incident. If the boy’s body was vaporized there would still be traces of liquor detectable in the surrounding area. You had your intelligence sector scour the area for any remnants of Evay Maver’s body, yes? If nothing was found that could lead to a world of other possibilities.” Emperor Batara spoke in a deadly cold tone.

“Your majesty, if my intelligence has found nothing that means that the boy was completely vaporized. Liquor rements are very hard to destroy, but it is not impossible to destroy them either. If you are suggesting that this is some elaborate plan of ours to destroy the nation of Evian—a long time ally of Taegan—then I am curious to hear your exact reasoning behind that, sir.” A wave of fear billowed out from the emperor as both the Queen Regalis and King Bira tensed their bodies and struggled to maintain their calm demeanors. My body felt weak, my vision started to go blurry, my very being screamed in cold-blood as every cell in my body begged for me to run. But my legs were jelly, my limbs went numb, and my eyes widened as I tried to get a hold of myself. The emperor didn’t budge as Queen Regalis and King Bira held onto the table for support.

Emperor Batara spoke in a calm, cold voice, “any words, your majesties?”

An extremely loud bang erupted into the silent air as the giant mahogany double doors swung open abruptly. The emperor stopped excluding his waves of terror and turned his attention to the hall entrance. Queen Regalis’s eyes went wide and King Bira spoke in an deep, quiet, and angry voice, “emperor Batara, explain yourself.” As I looked over to the hallway entrance, many different feelings started to come over me. Confusion, disbelief, a hint of fear, and even more confusion washed over my soul as my mouth opened in shock. Why? Because Evay Maver stood before me alive and well…..

He looked…different, but not so different that he looked unrecognizable. He looked objectively better as his whole body looked more muscular, athletic, and toned. He also seemed to have magically grown a little taller, and even his hair and facial features seemed more elevated—more regal and defined—than before. But he still looked like Evay, which made things even creepier for me… Emperor Batara let out a soft laugh which echoed through the hall. King Bira dawned an angry look upon his face.

“Emperor, if I may ask, what is so humorous to you?” The emperor ignored his words and kept on laughing. King Bira smashed down upon the wooden table and shattered it into bits while maintaining a cold glare upon his face. “Your imprudence has cost various nations valuable time, effort, and peace. The matters proceeding this meeting will be even more complicated and no man knows anything about the results that will come off this matter now. You have deemed Taegan a land of lies today, Emperor Batara, are you aware?” Queen Regalis stood up and stared daggers into Emperor Batara’s soul,

“I suppose I was right about you, emperor. I will act accordingly, and this spells the end of the long lasting peace between our two nations. Trust built for millennia has been broken today for the lies and deceit you have fed our people. Do you have anything to sa—“ I felt my entire body go into paralysis. It felt as if I had been shoved into a picture frame and turned into a lifeless drawing plastered upon a wall. I looked around at everyone else and realized that they too were trapped in this imobile state—at the mercy of the Emperor. Not even the other rulers were safe–not even King Bira or Queen Regalis. The Emperor looked into Evay’s eyes and kept laughing. He kept laughing, and laughing, and laughing until his voice crescendoed into a loud, raging bellow of realization and insanity. He crossed his arms and spoke as he looked at Evay one last time, “oh you poor child, you poor, cursed child.”