Three Years After the Fall
The world still called Kaelen a legend.
But to his family, he was still something far simpler.
Brother. Son. Friend. Sovereign.
And the weight of his absence had never left their shoulders.
But they had learned to carry it.
Not to let it break them.
Aerin Sol Drayce — The Blade that Bleeds
At seventeen, Aerin stood tall, broad-shouldered, and disciplined —
a mirror of Kaelen in many ways… but not in light.
Aerin's swordstyle was brutal, relentless —
not elegant like Kaelen's,
but forged from pain.
He sparred daily against three Sovereign Captains at once.
Refused healing potions unless absolutely necessary.
Refused rest unless ordered.
He trained in silence,
his fists wrapping themselves in Sovereign Fist arrays —
the same kind Kaelen had once shown him, years ago.
Sometimes, after battle,
he'd look at his reflection and ask:
"Would he even recognize me now?
Would he be proud?
Or disappointed?"
But he never waited for the answer.
He'd just train harder.
Seris Elowen Drayce — The Heart that Holds
Fifteen now, Seris had become Heartland's youngest recognized Spirit Guardian.
She could heal entire companies of warriors in minutes.
Soothe battle-torn fields into blooming gardens.
She could speak to beasts. To trees. Even the Heartstone.
But in private,
she often curled up in Kaelen's old cloak —
which Elena had kept sealed in Sovereign Light.
She whispered her grief in prayer-songs to the stars.
Sometimes, she'd hear faint echoes —
like someone else was whispering back from very, very far away.
"Kaelen…
I'm still listening…
I haven't stopped believing."
But the days were long.
The doubts were real.
Even for her.
Liora Seren Drayce — The Light That Won't Go Out
Twelve, and already glowing with Sovereign Light.
A Sovereign prodigy in spirit control,
Liora could sing Spirit Beasts from hiding,
heal broken trees,
and brighten a room with just a touch.
But no matter how bright she glowed,
no matter how much her songs warmed others —
she always left one chair empty at every meal.
No matter how much her siblings told her not to,
she saved Kaelen's plate.
Every night.
She once said,
"If I don't… what if he comes back and thinks we forgot?"
None of them had an answer.
Auriana Caelia Drayce — The Still Star
She was two years old now.
She never spoke.
Rarely cried.
And only laughed when Seris carried her through the Spirit Gardens.
But when she touched someone,
their Sovereign energy calmed.
Wounds closed faster.
Hearts felt lighter.
She didn't walk often —
but when she did,
the earth beneath her grew green again.
Elena and Darian often caught her staring at the stars.
Sometimes she'd point at the same one —
the brightest —
and smile softly.
"He's there,"
Liora whispered one night, watching her.
"She always looks at that one.
I think she knows."
Elena and Darian — Sovereigns of Grief
Elena ruled with grace and discipline.
Her healing light saved thousands.
Her voice carried through courts and war camps.
But behind the doors of the Sovereign Chambers,
when the halls fell silent,
she would still wake at night
reaching for a son no longer there.
Darian no longer drank Sovereign wine.
He said it dulled the memory of Kaelen's voice.
Instead, he trained young warriors with brutal precision.
And every time a young Sovereign faltered in battle stance,
he'd gently adjust their footing.
"That's how my son stood."
And then walk away.
Aria Valen — The Flame at the Gate
She had become Heartland's strongest living Sovereign after the Queens.
She defended the Starveil Wall.
Led every Sovereign campaign.
Returned undefeated from a hundred battles.
But her eyes never softened.
Her smile never reached her lips.
And once each year,
on the date of Kaelen's fall,
she stood alone beneath the Heartstone.
And whispered a name only the stars could hear.
She kept his memory alive
not through tears.
But through fire.
System Whisper — Unseen, Unknown
Somewhere deep beneath Heartland,
in the core of the Holy Land's Sovereign Wellspring,
a single rune pulsed softly.
Unseen.
Unfelt.
Untranslated.
Except by one.
Auriana.
She placed her tiny hand on the stone
and whispered her first words aloud — ever.
"Still here.
Still waiting."
The stars above blinked.
And the Sovereign Dream…
shivered faintly.