13 CH12:R:Age Of Wonder

"Regalia as a country only existed for a thousand years, before it was the Triumvirate ruled Ghal Empire. The Triumvirate was said to be Godbeings of the land, the historians have said they ruled wisely and eternally for generations of the Ghal Empire. It was said, the Ghal Empire started with those tree Godbeings." Lesson Notes From Tutor Tonselwift.

#Reanna

A deluge of pebbles cascades down a cliffside near one of Revon mountains paths. Reanna rouses up from the noise, she then alarmingly ganders down the chattering quarry. She tries to calm her fray nerves, that would have been her sliding down with those pebbles. One misstep on a dislodging stone and she would be the one cascading into the rocky ravine. Getting that memory out of her mind, she continues her bleary trek on following Siger. Reanna felt like the old man in front of her had an endless store of energy and strength, while he continues carrying her napping little brother Regulus on his seasoned back.

Regulus woke up to more of the rocks clouting the quarry floors. He startles, "Oh Regis!" Regulus exclaims. Siger nearly tripping to Regulus startled motion and his squeal, collapses down to the right, abandoning Regulus to flop down to the dirt bed near the cliff walls.

"Ow."

"You, uh, are a lucky boy. If I did not drop you when I did, I would have lost my footing some more and fell hurling down into the ravine with you. You won't be Ow-wing, when we hit that floor boy."

"Uhm, I apologize, Sir Siger."

"I'm no knight, nor an officer in your father's military. Now that you can talk, you can walk boy." Siger grunts out.

Reanna's crunching followed footsteps prompt Siger and Regulus to continue their trek pass the cliffside.

"How did you know our father Siger?" Reanna asks, annoyed at the way Siger responded to her little Brother.

"We are old acquaintance, from his childhood, my girl."

"Ah see…" She remembers her father's decapitated head rolling towards them like daunting boulder ready to crush her hopes of reuniting ever again. The misty pale eyes of her father would then focus his gaze on her, making her stumble on a small pebble about to slumber off the cliffside. She curses herself the memory of that moment, a memory she did not ever to want. Both her parents passing left a cold dark ember in her heart that was fuming her to move on their perilous trek.

"Where are we headed?" She asks ahead of her. Sigar grunts out also nearly stepping on pebbles beside the cliffside, Regulus at his side closer to the cliff walls.

"As I remember," he pants out. "There, over that rift, there will be a small hidden stone trek leading into a valley, we will camp there for the night."

A night without sleep, but just walking, utter walking was the least of the things she wanted to do in the not near future, reluctantly fate was kind enough to give her a reprieve. To lay down on the grassy floor, or better yet a dirt ground would do her scratches and bruises a world of time to age back into irritating irritations of her once carefree life.

"What's in the valley?" Regulus inquires the old man beside him.

"The valley holds ruins, my boy. Old ages of ruins of the Regis summer."

Reanna peaks up to his words, old ages of ruins of the Regis summer, a time where the regalia's parent empire existed. Regalia was part of the Ghal empire that was disassembled a thousand years ago, the empire was split into 3 countries, Regalia, Rhaodia, and Marcia. Those countries, co-existed with one another of the 1000 years of squabble peace. Regalia was at the center of the two empires and was the most contested amongst the lot. Regalia was the most bountiful with heavy Greenlands south of its borders, to plentiful of minerals to the north of their shared continent.

Sigar halts pass the cliff trek, nearing stone ruins. Reanna ganders pass his shoulders to see a masterwork of a stone bridge. Underneath the bridge, they were crumbling high arches to stabilize the bridge from boulders. There were intricate carving patterns of stone all over the sides of the bridge. The patterns were rectangular at its nature but symmetrical to the exterior parts of the bridge.

The sooner they reach the bridge, the sooner they saw a triangle symbol of the Triumvirate, the three political rulers who ruled the Ghal Empire. They were said to be gods in human form, there to guide humanity into the long winter. The long winter occurred over 2000 years ago where a catastrophic disaster led the world half into ice. The Ghal tribe united all the tribes to form into the Ghal Empire, after said disaster.

Reanna remembers Tonselwift words he loves to spout out about the Ghal Empire.

"The Ghal Empire was the pinnacle of humanity's grasp of a utopia. The great marvels that beautiful empire create were just simple marvels of engineering." Drools Tonselwift her mind.

Even though Tonselwift was a bore to be around, she hopes he made out of the manor alive, without his books and journals of course. She is not entirely a saint to give him that. Besides she lost everything, a few measly books would not be too bad.

They all step on the sturdy stone bridge, ready to embark upon it. The stone bridge was solid, her unafraid of high heights when she was young age, confidently went forth. Her brother though is another story. The idea of gander down the terrain would kill her brother into a state of frozen shock. She tries not to unnerve her brother by glancing back at him, she can't always look after her brother. One day she will… No, she can't think about that. Her brother needs to learn, that is all.

"You scared of heights, my boy?"

"Uh, umm no, Sir..." Regulus lied.

A smirk on Reanna's face crips up. She was walking ahead of them so they could not see her shit eating grin. Regulus may be spoiled by their parents, but he was not brave like she was. She then startles, stumbling on the notion, Regulus will not ever be spoiled again by their parents. She sighs out a breathe, walk back, took Regulus by the hand and lead him forward out the bridge without ever turning back at Regulus's petrified face.

Exiting off the bridge, they head towards a narrow ruined passage rift between the cliffs. Gandering up to high crumble towers of the passage. Reanna surmises, that this a sort of gatehouse that would lead to the ruined valley below. And what they found below was a marvel of crumble constructs catered with the greens of the forest. Nature has consumed this place, back into the green haven it was before the Ghal Empire ever exist.

Siger exhales at the marvel of ruins consumed by nature.

"Beautiful, ain't it." Siger sorrowfully says.

"Whoa, this place is huge." Regulus roars out. The echoes of his voice refracted with the mountains, amplifying his amazement even further.

"As I recall, there is a temple nearby. We will camp there."

They walked down stony pathways riddles with green shrubs and grassy sprouts. Cackles of bird noise and rustles of rabbits were heard around the surroundings. No man tenants at this place any longer, but only the inhabitants of nature.

Stony sighs were creaking by the wind halts their passing. Reanna felt ghosts of the long dead still inhabits this place. What nature of man that spirits were she had no clue, but to slumber on a hallowed place like this felt sacrosanct.

"There." Siger points out, directing to a ruined building of pillars with an oval stone roof. They enter pass the dusty pillars, carved intricately with hunting men and flaunting maidens. They have come to a place of Regis, the king of the hunt. Theirs and their parents God. Stepping into the center of the circle building. Siger sat down with a sigh of relief on one of the stairs leading to the circle platform at the very center of the circle room. There were carvings on the round ceilings above them, telling them the fables of Regis.

"I have always admired this place, the tranquility of it all."

"I have never heard of this place." Reanna spouts out rudely she regretted her voice echo and disturb the silence into inhabitants.

"So the historians never taught about this place? As a person of history, I am quite offended by the gaps of your knowledge, especially if you are a bloodkin of the Regalian Royal house." Sigar mutters out, in tired remorse of the historians who have not scribe the place down in Regalia's histories.

"I also haven't heard of this place, If father or brother heard of it sooner, so close to our summer manor, we would have made an excursion here to see such marvel." Regulus confidently says, jutting his chest up.

Reanna sat down on the stairs away from the two.

"Father is dead, Reggie. Stop that nonsense." The words instantly made her want to take them back. Her brother's face crumbles into tears at her cruel words.

"I am sorry, I did not mean-"

"You did mean it!"

"No, no...I am-"

"Shut up!"

Regulus ran outside of the pillar buildings while Siger groans out a sigh.

"Your brother is young, Reanna. He can not hold what has been done, like you."

Reanna is not holding it in, shes screaming it out of her mind. She is trying to forget the night before, the gurgling blood of her mother last loving words, to the rolling thumping of her father's decapitated head towards her. She held out a curse reply to Siger as she bitterly held in her frustrations.

Regulus runs back, slightly frightened of the dark outside. Regulus will always be the same to her, her brother fearful of the dark. Reanna always thought she'd fit a better man than her little brother. If she was a man, she would not have experienced what she witnessed, but with her brother in the army, ordering her own battalion.

"You're sister did not mean it, Regulus. Apologize to your Brother Reanna."

Reanna wants to curse Siger behest with an uncouth curse, but her mother taught her better than that. She sighs deeply to herself, glancing down to apologize.

"I am sorry Reggie...please forgive me." She mutters, hating herself sounding so scornfully.

Regulus wiping his eyes ran to his sister with an embracing and yearning hug. She hugs back with tears glistering down her cheeks. They held each other like that for ages

"Time to get some rest, kids." Siger wistfully smiles. He took out his patchwork cloak and lay it beside the hugging form of the children. He then went back to the steps, groaning the old man lies down on the tiled steps, with a small bag for his head to lay upon, as he gazes up towards the beautiful carvings of the ceiling.

Reanna let of her brother and led him towards the coat placed for them. Her brother with puffy eyes, sat down then lay down on the patched cloak, also gazing upon the ceiling. Reanna lay beside her little brother, putting an arm under his head so he could sleep comfortably on her arm. Looking up at the ceiling, she mourns silently at the carvings, altering them to resemble her parents face looking down towards them.

"I'll tell you the history of this place...It starts with, a boy named Revon…"