Tear Tarnished Angel

Emperor Taj Royale was Drefan’s Great Grandfather.

Empress Consort Galina Royale was Drefan’s Great Grandmother.

Prince of Second Rank Talkran Royale is Drefan’s Great Uncle.

Prince of the Second Rank Ademar Royale was Drefan’s Great Uncle.

Emperor Stanislas Royale was Drefan’s Grandfather

Empress Consort Maral Royale was Drefan’s Grandmother.

Emperor Robert Royale is Drefan & Thom’s Father.

Princess of the First Rank Cermaka Royale was Drefan and Thom’s Aunt.

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3189-3357 The Age of Spirits:

3315 – Talkran Royale is born to Emperor Taj as a Prince of the Second Rank, the child of an Imperial Concubine, with little chance at the throne.

3319 – Ademar Royale is born to Emperor Taj as a Prince of the Second Rank, the child of an Imperial Concubine, with little chance at the throne. 

3324 – Stanislas Royale is born to Emperor Taj and Empress Consort Galina as Heir Son to the Royale throne, garnering an instant dislike by his two elder, but un-inheritable, brothers.

3332 – It has been 8 years of Talkran and Ademar mistreating their brother, from denying him food to purposefully leaving him in the cold. His royal parents have yet to notice this behavior, too busy ruling.

3334 – A ten year old Stanislas, realizing that he must largely fend for himself against his brothers begins to have some of the servants teach him a much less honorable form of hand to hand combat then the swords play he is learning from the Palace’s Black Guards.

3336 – After another four years of abuse that has escalated to various attempts at murder of the Heir Son Stanislas, Talkran allows Ademar, Prince of the Second Rank, and his younger sibling to take the fall for their joint deeds. Talkran watches from the royal booth as his brother is executed for treason.

3340 – Talkran attempts to discredit his brother Stanislas who appears to have not inherited the Imperial line of necromantic arts. This does concern the provinces, whose people worried that the Heir was not as bound to the Divine of Darkness, Honor and Undead as Talkran is. Defamed by this Stanislas must prove himself to the people and peerage.

3341 – The grave of Prince Ademar, which was instated in the royal cemetery, is found to have been robbed, and a rash of city graves have been dug up.

3342 – Stanislas has taken it upon himself to finish his training with the Imperial Black Guards and has successfully passed the Exams of Merit that both officials and ministers must excel at to become peerage. He is the first Emperor to have done so.

Summer of 3343 – The first flesh sewn body is seen following Prince Talkran in the bowels of the Imperial Palace. Rumors begin to circulate through the palace that one of the dead look like the middle prince, and Talkran becomes known as a 'Fleshweaver.'

Winter of 3343 – Emperor Taj wishing to retire at 53, seats his heir in the Black Throne where Stanislas immediately forms the ‘Devotion’ with the Royalian people,  and this act ceases talk that the Heir is not bound with Lord Nanqa.  Forming the Devotion is a requirement to rule the Imperial Royalian Empire and to form this mental connection with every Royalian with an embedded crystal, the heir must be of the Fallen Arch-Angel Taedras’s blood. Without this bond, consolidating power of the Empire is near impossible.

3344 – Emperor Stanislas marries a Barazon woman of peerage, Maral.

3^rd month of 3347 – Prince Talkran finalizes his plans, and gains the power to transform himself into a lich. He does not, however, let it be known he is now undead, and uses illusion spells to keep his human or living appearance.

5^th month of 3347 – No longer afraid of any or all repercussions, Talkran murders his father once-Emperor Taj in cold blood, before vanishing the body. His laboratory and prison in the lower levels are ripped apart in efforts to find the Emperor's remains, but they cannot be found. Emperor Stanislas enraged in grief for his father and the possible desecration of the Prior Emperor’s corpse heads a military manhunt for his elder brother. 

6^th month of 3347 – Talkran is at last apprehended, and according to Palace records, found guilty of murder, treason, and grave robbing. Emperor Stanislas would attempt, and fail to execute Talkran by the following methods: bathing him in acid, burning him at the stake, and finally dismembering him. The lich was known to crow with laughter during his death, and return from the dead-flesh rebound and laughing once again within weeks. It takes the threat of the Fallen Arch Angel, Taedras to banish the lich from Royale for good.

12^th month of 3347 – The royal couple have their first child Daegal Royale, and with each Imperial first child it is the ‘Imperial Sacrifice.’ He is named shortly before the newborn’s spirit is returned to the Amaranthine River.  This is done by each Emperor in, “Royal subordination of the Heart in servitude to the Royalian People and the Lord of Darkness, Nanqa.”  A physical and painful display of the royal family’s loyalty, duty and honor to a people who would return said loyalty by offering their lives and undeaths in battle for the Empire.

3348 – Emperor Stanislas makes the decision to have no concubines, which is abnormal for the reigning Emperor. He does this however to ascertain all of his children will be with his Empress and hopefully lessen the possibility of violent infighting between his children due to his own awful childhood with his half-brothers.

3351 – Robert Royale is born to Empress Consort Maral, as Heir Son to the Royale throne.

3353 – Emperor Stanislas Royale heads a contingent of Black Guard in quelling rebellion among the Vivassians swiftly.

3355 – Cermaka Royale, the Imperial couple’s only daughter and Princess of the First Rank is born.  Empress Maral was a distant mother figure, finding it difficult to show any emotion towards her children due to her inflexible attitude toward her royal position. This stifled maternal affections, and it was only her daughter that she genuinely enjoyed.

3357 – Emperor Stanislas takes Imperial Black Guard forces into the south-eastern province of Hlukhiv to assist in pushing back Danu raiders from beyond the southern mountains that were pillaging Eolin towns. So impressed is he with the military excellence of the Black Guard that he requests that the Commander of the Black Guard personally instruct the heir when Robert is of age to live among them at the Citadel. 

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3357-3368 The Age of Lilies:

7^th month of 3359 – Princess Cermaka dies of Pneumonia at 4 years of age devastating her parents and prompting the Empress to publicly retire to her family’s estates in the province of DormuKai. She is only seen after this during the yearly Royal bloodletting ritual for good harvests. Robert is only 8 when he loses his beloved sister and he is hidden from the public by his father for his breakdown. He learns early that such shows of emotion are unseemly among royalty as he is now left alone with only his Father at the Castle.

10^th month of 3359 – The Dirian War begins for the Holy Camarian Empire with the northern desert lands. For the first time a treaty for peace is written between the two Empires who have off and on warred for three millennia. Emperor Stanislas is deep in personal grief and agrees to the twenty-five year terms headed by crowned Sovereign Joscelin I of Camara.

3360 – Stanislas refuses his Ministers once again on the matter of taking concubines and will not divorce his wife who he understands wishes to have no more children. The Emperor remains alone, not bothering his wife’s privacy. The Royalian common admires him for remaining faithful to his wife regardless. Unfortunately, the loss of his daughter and his wife’s withdrawal makes the Emperor that much colder, distant and strict to his heir and son Robert.

3361 – Robert has been set to a strict regimen of lessons pertaining to the eventual taking of the Merit Exams since his sister’s death. This has been in effort to curb the child’s sullenness and fickle temper that has reared its head since Prince Cermaka’s death. ‘Where sadness is unacceptable there only remains fury as an emotional response to loss.’

3363 – At twelve Robert has not inherited the Royale line’s necromantic powers and Stanislas relocates his heir to the Black Guard citadel where Robert will live among those who have returned as Undead to serve the Empire.  The Undead Black Guards will drill him on The Veziput Code, swordsmanship and military discipline alongside his Imperial history and Nanqaian theology.

Early 3368 – The Heir Apparent Robert Royale takes the Merit Exams during his 16^th year and excels. His father Emperor Stanislas calls him back to the Imperial Palace at this time to begin to teach him how to run the Empire. The Prince has a reputation among the people as being a studious, dutiful, well composed royal who takes his responsibilities to the Empire as seriously as his Father does.

Mid 3368 – Emperor Stanislas holds a formal ball at the Imperial Palace where the eldest unmarried daughter of each Minister in the main 6 provinces will be presented to the heir. He would dance with each one of them and spend time speaking to them that night before making his decision on which he will court.  Lady Lucina of the province of DormuKai, a fellow Barazon is chosen by Heir Prince Robert Royale.  A softer side of the royal is seen when he is with her, however per noble tradition they will not wed or be intimate until Robert ascends the throne. 

Late 3368 – Emperor Stanislas imparts an important piece of wisdom to his son in regards to the Royalian throne, “To be an Emperor is to be an actor. Never show weakness or else someone stronger will try to take everything from you. They will deem you unfit to rule the Empire, and if you do make that mistake, use the Devotion to undo your indiscretion. The people will know no better…”

 (The Devotion or ‘The Kiss of God’ is a mental connection that has kept the people safe from Camarian magics that could have potentially brain washed them. It helped the people see through illusions, glamours, charms and other such tricks. It could also be used by Emperors for less than noble reasons. It could be used to make subjects forget any and all transgressions in the fixing of memories and could also be quite suggestive or manipulative of choices made.)

Days/Months/Seasons

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On Average:
Cor'Terrae Has -

33 Hours in a Day
21 Days in a Month.
253 Days in a Year.
12 Months in a Year.

12 months = 21 days for 11 months, with 1 day added to the month of the Winter Solstice.
7 days a week (Which makes 3 weeks in a month.)
These numbers are explained in the Cosmology.

The Main Continent (The Known World) is in the southern hemisphere, with the deserts of the north-lands (Diria and Zene) at the equator. So the seasons and months correspond to a southern climate (As in Our Australia/South America/Africa.) Consequently, Summer is at the beginning of the year and Winter is in the middle of the year.

 

Yearly Calender

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The separate Empire’s would have their own respective calendars, however, the Holy Camarian Empire is the center of the stories so the dates will follow the Camarian calendar.

The Summer Solstice and the First Day of Summer is Cynteya 21st.

Gorfanaur (Of Dry Hopes - The Celebration of The Summer Solstice and the New Year in Camara)

Gwanlote 21st is also the last day of the previous year, known as the ‘Longest Day’, and is an auspicious holiday devoted to new beginnings. In the cities, a fair takes place that celebrates the Goddess of Music, Rina Linn and the God of the Sun Nau'ar. Dancing is had and music is played in the streets and good will is a plenty in the cities.

In the towns and villages, however, so dependent on the leniency of the God of the Sun for their crops, there is little celebration and much veneration. The God of the Sun and Fire is known to as the God of Power and it is in his nature to be selfish and vain. If dances or prayers are given up they are made to Nau'ar only as these communities offer ritual sacrifices of some of healthiest cattle and sheep to appease him.

1st Month - Meheleire (Midsummer) Cynteya (Beginning of Summer)
2nd Month - Zwngahaf (The End of Summer)
3rd Month - Haeeren (Harvest, Named after Goddess of Nature)
Autumnal Equinox - Zwngahaf 21st
4th Month - Nn'harsal (Autumn, Named after God of Death/Souls)
5th Month - Hrethsos (Fierce Winds)
6th Month - Pyrmogae (Of Dusk, Loss of the Sun)
Winter Solstice - Pyrmogae 21st
8th Month - Gaesneira (Snow and Ice)
9th Month - Endelrhew (Last Frost)
10th Month - Neivorlyng (Spring Start)
Spring Equinox - Neivorlyng 1st of 2nd
11th Month - Matarshae (Rains, Named after the God of Water)
11th Month - Gwanlote (Blossoms Blooming)
12th Month - Cynteya (Beginning of Summer)
Summer Solstice - Cynteya 21st

The Winter Solstice is on Pyrmogae 21st.

Nostrildom (Of Night Stars - The Celebration of Midwinter in Camara)

The week of Pyrmogae 14th to 21st is celebrated as Midwinter by the Holy Camarian Empire with the 21st being the Longest Night, where The God of Light won over the God of Darkness. This is of religious importance to the day that follows, the ill-received 22nd. One candle is lit on the 14th in all homes that celebrate, and this pattern is continued until the 21st. On the Longest Night, there will be seven candles to protect the inhabitants of the home from the darkness and evil that will be most powerful that night and the following day.

The Goddess of Stars Clerics and Holy warriors all keep vigil from dusk to dawn each night of this week, kneeling before Sila Vor’s statue. Prostate they remain, with their heads to the floor upon cobblestone of her temple. There is a fast during these hours for these men and women who protect.

On the final night, the Longest Night of the 21st in the Imperial Castle the most beautiful Elven woman in the city is chosen to represent the Goddess of the Stars and Elves. Her face is hidden by a veil as the Goddess’s beauty is so, that no mortal can see it and survive. Wrapped in silks and lace, this Elven maiden plays her part and is nearly captured by the God of Darkness Nanqa, a man painted as an ebony demon. He dances around her, seducing her away with whispered promises and evil intent from the half angel who shines, representing the God of Light, Reinn Anon. This half angel who is the husband of Sila Vor protects the maiden from the Dark God Nanqa, capturing the loathsome God and collaring the demon, signifying that life is preserved and protected for another year.

Through the castle into the city streets the three parade, Reinn Anon protecting his beloved, shielding her and marching the imprisoned Nanqa to the Grand cathedral where Nanqa will be locked inside a man-sized cage. Cloth of darkest and thickest black will be thrown over the demon to re-enact the God of Darkness being vanquished and banished far out into the void where he could never return. The King or Queen would then lead prayers in thanks to the King and Queen of Heaven (Reinn Anon and Sila Vor) upon the balcony of the Imperial Castle and the evening will end with dancing and merriment.

As a Side Note: The celebration has been calmed by the Royal Family in the last twenty years, whereas prior, Nanqa’s player being a demon was not symbolic. The Church would find a demon born and force them to play the part, heavily collared, where he would be sacrificed inside the God of Light’s Grand Cathedral as a clear sign of Reinn Anon’s superiority and power over the God of Darkness.

Pynzanqa (Gate of Darkness - The Extra Day in Camara)

The most superstitious and feared day of each year follows on the coat-tails of the Winter Solstice in the Camarian Empire. Pyrmogae is the only month of the year to have 22 days, and many Camarians consider this 22nd day to be very ill luck, and most dare not leave their homes for fear of demons and the Dark God, Nanqa. If anyone must leave their homes they do so swathed in a cloak, with faces hidden by masks that were worn for the Winter Solstice celebrations the night before. These disguises are used to hide not only those who are afraid of being found by demons but also by those with ill intent.

As so few individuals are willing to go out on this day, the 22nd of Pyrmogae is considered a day of anarchy where abuses of the law are many: murder, adultery, intoxication, and theft abound. Holy Paladins of Reinn Anon’s Light are called to keep order in the many cities of the Empire throughout this grim day.

Haeeren naw Spiritus 

(5:9 3250)

Spinning, and twirling, the Ellearn child had been dancing that day. Dancing in the old places, where the trees talked, chattering, and singing their beautiful songs. She had been enveloped in their sound, their voices in her ears.

‘It’ had stolen her breath away, and she had fallen into the cushioning grass, and leaves of the forest floor. Her eyes rolled back, her body beginning to convulse, fingers twitching, grasping with futility at the plant-life around her. The Ancient ones in unison had spoken of her anguish, confused and worried, their branches reaching toward her. 

"Naerdiel!" 

When next the child woke, it was to her mother's stricken face, tear streaks down both of her parents cheeks. Her mother grasped her to her breast, and her fathers fingers ran through her hair. But Naerdial did not understand, she hurt, and felt as though she had run for ages now.

What had happened? 

Those who knew all in the eyes of their children, did not even know.

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Neivorlyng Dwy ar bymtheg Spiritus 

(9:17 3253)

‘It’ would happen with far more rapid frequency now, and Naerdial’s parents had noted that her mind would be stolen away during both quiet moments, and frantic ones. She was not allowed to leave the house unaccompanied any-longer. No more climbing of the trees, as she could fall if one of the fits seized her. No rough housing either. So the young girl would read instead, and truthfully, she did not mind reading, yet she missed the sun, and the feel of the tree-bark under her fingertips.

Mother and Father were always busy, and she was an only child like most Ellearn. At last Naerdial slipped away on her own, hoping that she could dance beneath the canopy without suffering one of the fits. But ‘It’ happened again, her body betraying her. She fell into the roots of one of the Ancestor trees, taken away from the here and now. Visions grappled with her mind of darkened skies, purple clouds drenching a weather beaten path. Glass laid there, shattered, on this steep hill-side, where a figure pushed it's self up, feet torn, and bleeding. Only as the child saw this scene did another figure form in the stranger’s place, mirroring one, then another, two beings within one body.

But Naerdial cried out, thrashing, wishing away these terrible images that horrified her young mind, and at last there was a calming embrace. 

"Let yourself go..." the words were not really spoken, they weren't actually heard by her ears, but by her Thi'es, her soul. Unable to do anything more to will away the terror, Naerdial let go, falling through the Abyss so endless. Yet flowing trails of light and energy speed past her, with sparks of other souls swimming around her too, and even though she did not understand where she was now, there was an overwhelming sense of peace.

Still too young to comprehend that the very arms that embraced her were of life, of creation, and the very essence of the Heart World, the prophetess cried. But at the world’s center, The Dreamer swirled, keeping the world spinning. This ancient being wished only to teach Naerdial to dance once more, here, outside the body that the girl would come to hate so furiously.

In the core they spun together, her enveloped within the world’s serenity.

In time the child grew tired, and she was instructed tenderly, "Shh now... Sleep..." This escape would feel like only a moment for the girl who would become known as Nilec in her later years. These visions would return, and they would define her destiny, as nearly every decision she would come to make would be influenced by them alone. 

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Wasting away, that was the hardest part of it, watching him die. I had thought the knowledge that his death was on my hands would hound me far worse then this, the physical representation of it all. But no, the wheezing breaths, the shut, dull eyes were much, much worse. 

The grey pallor that would give way to blue, the poor circulation that Thom already had only making the transformation from living to dead that much quicker. Nathanael is whispering to him, clutching his hand, making promises, as if the future matters at all. 

My grief has never been easy, it has always transformed itself into something more, the bitterness twisting it into rage. Always I would attempt to shift the blame, to put that hate on someone else, anyone else but me. If the grief turned to rage, and rage into hatred, I could push away all of these actualities.

Thom was going to die today, and I could blame everyone under the sun, but that wasn’t going to change the fact that this was going to destroy me.

I’ve never been a happy person, my people call me their ‘Bitter Prince’ for a number of reasons, and it was in his smile that the rays of hope shone. But there would be no hope, no dreams, not after this. I was the last one of us, father - deceased, mother - deceased, and now Thom who die as well. 

Where did that leave our people? 
Where did that leave me?

I feel it before I see it, as my eyes are starring at the infirmary wall, and I force myself to look down as Nathanael begins to cry, head buried in my brother’s chest. 

It’s done. 
It’s over, and I’m alone.

My head snaps up, as agony wracks through my mind, and that voice, that comfort I have depended upon for these last three years is panicking. The breaths that come are faltering, stuttering as I feel myself rise from Thom’s bedside. The darkness envelops me once again, and I allow myself to snap free from the tethers of this reality. 

It looms below us, the Abyss, and this time I do not feel it as my body rears up from the bedside, back hitting the wall as shudders wrack every one of my limbs. Digits have dug into pockets, and the black diamond nearly spills from my fingertips as it is loosened from the material coverings. 

Held up now, I can see the black diamond sitting upon my open palm over my brother’s body and my lips open. Yes, the words are my own, and yet they are not only mine, two voices leak free, and they overlay the words that we need to say.

“I won’t be left behind. I won’t be made to be alone. These are not my sins, I will not be damned! Purple skies…and broken glass…”

Endless seas and memories of the past,
Purple skies and broken glass,
Shattered minds, where there is no rest,
Hatred and grief, that breaks the best of us.

Thom’s soul rose from the body on that bed, a ball of glowing white light. It would be captured then, filling the black diamond. Never be alone…

In a moment of control, and with such reverence and tenderness, contrary to the way my body seemed to quiver and jerk, would I slip that diamond away into my pocket. Safe. 

With that act complete we surged forward, around the bed, and our darkness did not only crawl its way up our limbs, no, now it wrapped around us in flames. Black leaking purple, climbing and falling as the infirmary melted away into the castle’s main hall. 

They would scream, and they would beg and plead, they would know what it meant to lose my brother, my mother, and the people I had only ever wanted to defend! 

All there was now, was that hypnotic fire, rising into the night that had eclipsed this noontime sunlight, taking with it all that stood in our way, all that brought us to this day. 

Enraged yells, and so many screams.

Laughter fills the air, a maniacal sound, the laughter of the deranged, and it’s owner… its progenitor is me.

As Mankind is bound to Time,
The Ellaern are bound to Fate.
So the descendants of the Two,
Will be fettered to them both.
~ The Vita.S (Book of Sacred Life)
 

Each individual Ellearn has a unique and in-commensurable Destiny that determines their proper course in life. Having a Destiny meant that the Ellearn were bound to Fate, which decided one’s allotted years, and the extent of one’s life span. As with Destiny complete, the Ellearn begins to shimmer and finally, peacefully, passes on.

"Live following your Destiny, that essential nature deep within that is the will of Fate and your endpoint. Once yours or others decrees have been finished, rejoice as the life journey comes to a close."

To understand and act upon one’s Fate is the ultimate goal of an Ellearn’s life. Fate directs the individual towards Destiny and Ellearn philosophy fills them with the joy of accomplishing what they were meant to accomplish. Each individual Destiny cherished and cultivated as to conform to the decree of one’s personal Destiny preserves each person’s authentic singularity (and individuality.) “For nothing is as good as bringing about what has been decreed by the Divine, for what Fate has decreed is called nature and nothing is as good as realizing one’s Destiny and seeing it through.”

To love one’s Fate is to accept it and relish in it, yet this outlook should not be mistaken for fatalism. To the Ellearn it is very important to reject fatalism. There should be a joyous acceptance of the singular Fate that makes each Ellearn a unique individual. This joy is born from the fact that there is wiggle room within the bounds of Fate, as Fate is open to the full scope of people’s strategy and ingenuity in maneuvering through ones Fated span.

There should be no resignation in the heart of an Ellearn, only a sense of welcomed certainly for what is to come. One should actively engage in the future, not just resign your-self to what is to come. The possibility of knowing Fate meant that one should bring it to fruition through active participation and effort, cultivating ones Fated span.

The goal of such a view was to force the Ellearn to focus on the important things they could control such as cultivating their own and their families destinies whilst avoiding, thinking upon those things they could not control. These uncontrollable things would be wealth, life-span and societal position (class) as these are dictated by others so they should not be concerned with. This philosophy was a wish to change the Ellearn people’s views of what is and is not important, and to redirect people’s energy and efforts from those external concerns to the important internal concerns (family and the self.)

Those who resent their Fate cannot change it, they will simply not learn from their experiences, and will only have a hardening heart. "To attempt to destroy the natural outcome of one or another’s fate will end in disastrous results, and those who do not follow their destinies distort their heart and ruin many lives."

Fate is duty; it is purpose and inevitability of the change in the Universe. "We may regard the present state of the Universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future." All Destinies are linked through patterns in the stars, and tied then to astrology. Fate is seen as a decree by the Gods, giving oneself an opportunity to tie themselves through their Destiny to the Destiny of the world itself.

Fate from the view point of those it affects is either normative or destructive, and one works as best as they can within its bounds to correct it, but must ultimately understand that Fate is more powerful than we and as pieces upon the Divine board we simply play our parts.

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I prayed for forgiveness.
I prayed for strength.
And I wished, and I prayed, and I hoped..
I could learn not be a monster anymore…
- A Child’s Prayer
 

Nathanael has a background of the acceptance of fate as the Ellearn all have destinies. In this way, he is no more special than the rest of his ancestors and for this reason, the idea of accepting his own demise is normalcy. Drefan, who was his biggest influence as a child, is human and comes from a background that says, 'Fuck Fate' (though this would change in Drefan's later life,) and this duality leaves Nath pretty confused. Nathanael clings to his own fatalistic and self hating tendencies in his resignation of what is to come. 'I deserve this. I'm just a monster; perhaps through this fate I will be redeemed.'

However, this outlook is actually incorrect even to the Ellearn, this fate bound species do not believe in simply laying back and allowing fate to do what it will. Ellearn philosophy states that you work with fate, that you strive to fulfill your destiny, but in a manner that is correct to yourself. This allows fulfillment of not only the Gods plans but your own within that fated framework.


Death through Martyrdom would be Absolution for his Sins - An Adolescent’s Hopes.

This comes to be understood by Nathanael, at last, toward the end of his fifteenth year. The Prince begins to understand that yes, there is give and take within his fate. He must defeat Drefan, yes, that is his destiny, but Reinn wants him to kill Drefan. Yet, the destiny only says 'Defeat' so Nathanael can choose to save Drefan instead. His acceptance of his fate morphs in and of itself alongside his own character growth. He evolves from a child who resigns himself to terrible comings because he believes he has no right to stop what is coming; to a young person who says, 'I will play your game, but I will play it by my rules and even if you win, I will have no regrets that I pushed, and I strived and I did everything in my power to make this fate right.'

Nathanael would go on to play to his own strengths, unwilling to give up his own scruples to fulfill destiny. He knows destiny must be completed, so he says, 'Even if I go about this a bit unorthodox, fate will be fulfilled.' So the adolescent takes oaths of Non-violence and Peace so he does not ever harm anyone himself. Alongside this, he takes a vow of Poverty so that his Guardians on the road back to the throne will not have to protect him as these oaths give him divine protection.

As a Death Dweller, he comes to accept his death not only fatalistically, but as an abstract concept (becoming the avatar of the God of Death.) This is done through the fact that Nathanael is more than willing to allow himself to die, yet will fight the God of Death to hell and back for the lives of his Guardians who are his friends. For this stubborn and determined strength the God of Death gives Nathanael 9 lives, and with each death Nath accepts his impending death with less resignation.

Though in further character growth, time passes and after the Prince regains the throne and becomes a parent of three children, Nathanael becomes angry at the thought of his final death as he now is leaving his babies with no mother. Oh Nath gets very angry at his fate at last in the few months before his foretold death at the end of the series, not for his own sake, no, but for his children and his kingdom that is still in ruins and needs a King.

Coming around full circle, Nathanael has accepted his destiny, he won’t fight his fate, yet that anger remains. As the eighteen year old lies dying, he realizes that he is allowed, after all those years of adherence to a script that would end with his death, to think that, 'You know what? I didn't actually deserve any of this.'