Record of Ashes War

Epilogue - Heart-less

Sar'tara rested the back of her head against the wall, smearing new tears over dried ones upon her cheek. Two midwives stood in the corner, working their hands to clean towels. A few maids aided them, whispering with excitement.

The pillow at Sar'tara's back was drenched in sweat. She never figured childbirth would come with such pain. The babe in her arm had finally stopped crying. A shadow enveloped her as Kalin leaned over to get a look at his daughter, covering the beam of light coming from the six-paned window. The babe started crying again, causing him to stagger back and frown.

Sar'tara smiled, rocking her bundled daughter back and forth until it quieted again. She pressed a soft kiss to the child's forehead.

"Have you thought of a name?" Kalin asked.

She shook her head. They'd gone over a few names for both a boy and a girl. For a girl they'd been stuck between Elizabeth, Elisse, Eliza, and Elesmere. The names all bore significance to House Serene, being carried by renowned past members. But Sar'tara couldn't agree with them. The one she liked most was Eliza. But it still felt off.

She stared long and hard at her daughter. The dark's of the child's eyes stared back at her and its tiny lips seemed to curl into a smile. "Elizia," Sar'tara breathed. "I like Elizia."

Kalin scratched at his beard. It'd grown a bit unruly of late. "Elizia… Elizia Serene. I like that. Are you sure of it then?"

Sar'tara nodded. The final piece to complete her heart. Her family. "I will always love you," she whispered into Elizia's ear.

***

The Sun scribbled notes into an empty book, squinting to see his written words in the dimly lit dungeons beneath the citadel. He kept his shoulders slightly raised, not wanting to let his white robes pick up dust by dragging along the floor. A maid in yellow walked beside him carrying a jar of ink in her hands. Screams could be heard coming from the far end of the dungeon.

The Sun paused as a man approached from beyond the dark corridor, his face masked by a dirty piece of burlap with two holes for eyes. He was dressed in plain clothes, save for a whip hanging from the belt at his waist.

"Your Brilliance," the man breathed, getting down on both knees.

"How is everything progressing?"

"Well, we're doing as you said. But… She's only a child…"

The Sun resisted the urge to kick the man to death right then. He squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled a deep breath. All of them broke under the pleading screams echoing from the far end of the dungeon. None of them were hardened enough to carry out the torture of the prisoner. Too much sympathy was dangerous. This one would need to be killed and replaced just as the three torturers before him.

"She is a darkspawn child," The Sun hissed. "Do you understand? Or do you want to know what will happen if you start sympathizing with her? The witchcraft burning your soul will be the last of it. First you will have to stand trial amongst the judges and then endure the punishment ordained by Goddess Trillia." The Sun cringed inside. There was no point in ranting when he was going to have the man killed anyway. He'd played his part as 'The Lord Sun' for so long that it had become a part of him. "Now, what was the girl's name? I'd forgotten to write it down last time."

"I believe it was Tayvi, brilliance. Or perhaps Tavi."

"Imbecile! You can't even get it right? Ugh. I guess the name's not so important. Has there been any changes?"

"She's stopped calling for her Mother," the man said. "She's instead been calling out her last 'saviour's' name instead."

The Sun nodded his approval. "Good. Very good. Continue on then. Keep her suffering with some breaks of kindness in between from another. This time, instead of killing the saviour, have them pretend to save her and then betray her."

"Your Brilliance, that…"

"What? Too cruel?" The Sun said, his voice rising.

"No! No, it will be done."

The Sun nodded again. He turned around and began walking away, his maid following, the sounds of her shoes echoing along the thin passageway. He handed his pen to her and held the book out in his hand, letting the ink dry before snapping it shut. He wondered if it was possible to turn a person created from Chronary into a Heartless soldier. The exact Chronary sentence for creating a Heartless was lost on him. Only the Tortured King knew the correct words. It would take a great deal of experimenting and sacrifices if he was to find a way to create Heartless himself.

Of course, the prize would be Tavi. If she really could be turned, one with the blood of a lesser deity would make a most powerful Heartless. But first, she would have to lose her own heart. She would need to learn to love, and trust. And then have those feelings betrayed over and over and over again.

Even if she couldn't be turned, her mind would break eventually. And once she learned to master the powers of Ny'Danis hidden within her blood, she would become a terrifying monster.