Three years.
That's how long it had been since the Star Sovereign fell.
Since the Ashen Wastes were swallowed in light and void.
Since Kaelen Aurelius Drayce — bearer of the Eternal Dream — disappeared into legend.
Three years.
And the world had not healed.
Because he had not returned.
Heartland: Three Years Later
The Holy Land still thrived — but dimmer.
The Spirit Rivers still flowed — but slower.
The Heartstone still pulsed — but quieter.
No enemy had dared invade Heartland since that day.
Because even the Cosmic Families,
even the Obsidian Warlords,
even the Primordial Spectres…
feared what might happen
if the one who shattered Zar'kaan
ever returned.
But he hadn't.
And the Sovereign Family had changed.
Aria Valen
Now Aria the Sovereign Flame,
she stood at the head of Heartland's armies.
Cloaked in silverfire, armored in sovereign steel,
her eyes burned colder than before —
still filled with grief she would never name.
She had not wept again since that day.
Not once.
But every night, she stood beneath the Heartstone
and whispered:
"Come home.
Just once.
Come home."
Mira Nightshade
Mira now walked the shadows of nations.
A blade of vengeance.
She hunted Cosmic agents in silence —
leaving only Sovereign-black marks behind.
She said nothing to anyone.
But she wore his emblem on her blade,
etched deep, unbreakable.
"He's not gone,"
she told herself.
"I'll kill the stars themselves to bring him back."
Riven Emberstorm
Riven laughed louder now —
fought harder, burned hotter.
But only fools believed he was fine.
He had taken over the Ashen Borderlines,
his flames creating a new blazing wall of protection.
He called it the Starveil.
He never said why.
Selina Dawnweaver
Selina tended the wounded,
nurtured the lands,
smiled gently at children.
But when alone,
she held the crystal Kaelen once gave her.
And listened to the way it never pulsed again.
Damon and Eren Stoneheart
Now the Twin Lords of Heartland's eastern walls,
they trained new Sovereigns day and night.
And in every sparring match,
they whispered the name of the friend who had made them believe in more than just strength.
Lyanna Starborn
Lyanna studied.
And studied.
And studied.
She built arrays that could see into the stars,
search the multiverse,
pierce forgotten dimensions.
And every time she failed,
she whispered,
"One more rune.
One more breath.
He's not gone. I'd know if he was."
Lyra Windrider
She soared endlessly now.
The sky was quieter without him.
She hadn't laughed in two years.
Elena and Darian Drayce
At the Sovereign Pavilion,
Elena stood beside her husband Darian
as Heartland's Matriarch.
They ruled with grace and fire.
But when alone,
they held each other in the quiet.
And they looked often toward the cradle of their fourth child.
Auriana Caelia Drayce
Now two years old,
the Child of the Sovereign Star had never spoken.
Not once.
She only cried once in her life —
the moment Kaelen vanished.
Now she watched the skies every night.
Her golden-red eyes were older than her years.
Her hair shimmered with starfire.
When she touched the Heartstone, it pulsed louder.
When she touched her mother's heart,
Elena felt him.
Faintly.
But real.
Aerin, Seris, Liora
Aerin Sol Drayce, now 17, had become a fierce warrior — more silent than ever, carrying his brother's sword style in every move.
Seris Elowen Drayce, 15, weaved Spiritlight into living shields — protecting Heartland's youngest with grace Kaelen would have been proud of.
Liora Seren Drayce, 12, sang to the winds every morning —
always the same song.
The one Kaelen once hummed
the night before the first Sovereign Trials.
The Queens: Elowen and Isolde
They ruled alongside Heartland's Council —
guiding the world with strength and sorrow.
They had loved him.
In different ways.
And neither had forgotten.
Queen Elowen whispered his name into her ancient spirit songs.
Queen Isolde carved a statue of him from sunstone.
Neither dared speak of what they still hoped.
The Stars Themselves
Sometimes…
on the darkest nights…
the sky burned a little too brightly
above Heartland.
And Auriana smiled softly.
As if she knew something the others did not.