There are stories from worlds beyond and worlds within; stories are the building blocks of reality. What is a life that has no story? Not every story ends wonderfully, but not every story ends terribly either. What stories do you know that don't have a little bit of both?
The Two Queens of Archonia
For Your Viewing, Translated by Archivist Georgia Logg
Category: Disputed Non-Fiction, LGBTQ, Daevite, Archonian
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Archonia. This kingdom was ruled by two queens, known as The Tyrant Queen and The People's Queen. The Tyrant Queen was a warlord of unimaginable power, having the grace of the Archons themselves to guide her. She kept watch over the soldiers, the treasury, and the truest functions of the great kingdom.
The People's Queen was a woman beloved by all. A celebrated diplomat, the first to establish an Archonian orphanage, and oftentimes the leading lady in many of the kingdom's celebrations. She had a personal relationship with every member of the castle staff, and she earned the name "The People's Queen" by being the woman who the people loved.
Between the two of them, the kingdom of Archonia held an era of peace like no other. That was, until they faced a force beyond what they were capable of.
Despite the kingdom's proximity to the advanced magickal societies of Daevon and The Ortothan Kingdom, they had no thaumaturgical skill aside from one resident court mage who could barely summon a familiar, let alone fight an army.
So when the armies of the conquering Daevite Empire came, they were woefully unprepared. In a matter of two days, the kingdom had fallen. But, when the so-called mpatron of Daevon, a deity called Maloria Malor saw the city, he decided he would use the kingdom for an experiment. And so, the god made a deal. If the two Queens each agreed to bear his child, he would take his forces and move on to the next kingdom. Desperate and unaware of the theme with pregnant women and the Daevite gods, they agreed.
And so, for the sake of the kingdom, the women were subjected to a ritual, for the god did not come with the necessary parts for the biological version.
When it was done, the Daevites left. The Queens felt sure they had done what was right for their people, for their kingdom. Only three months later, the Queens gave birth. To their shock, the beings that left them were not fully human.
The boy, Son of the Tyrant Queen, had the wings, horns, and tail of a dragon, the scales spreading on his body like an unfinished rash that left very little skin on his body.
The girl, Son of the People's Queen, was born with radiance and a beauty that no being ever to walk the land of Archonia had possessed.
When the Daevite forces returned, Malor asked for the children back. The Queens, who had felt that attachment to their Daemon-Children, tried to refuse.
"Will you damn your people, or will you give your children the life of Gods?"
Saddened, the Queens gave the two newborns to their father.
"I never promise to leave your kingdom forever," Malor began as he cradled his children. "But since you gave up your children willingly, you will be spared. Since there was resistance, however…"
That night, every child in Archonia was enslaved. Even as the people fought back, the Daevites refused to fight. They were taking what they were rightfully owed, after all. And through it all, the Queens screamed in rage and agony, at being treated like they and their people meant nothing. But that had taught them a lesson, too.
What you do for your sake, remember the sake of others. A kingdom is one, a person is only a piece.
A lesson was learned, our main characters survived and kept their kingdom from destruction, but every mercy had a terrible cost. To the Daevites, this is a story of mercy where opportunity may lie. To the Archonists, it is a nightmare and a bedtime story for misbehaving children.
Is it a good ending? A terrible one?
You tell me.