Athalaris Overview

"AAAKH!"

Arryn woke up with a loud scream, the image of his painful death vividly displayed in his mind as if he were experiencing it for the second time.

He woke from a recumbent position, standing straight up as his breathing sounded ragged.

"Damn, Stephen!" Arryn complained.

Just as his anger subsided, Arryn's eyes witnessed something different around him.

He was inside a garden with blooming flowers, birds flapping their wings, a beautiful fountain, and a gorgeous woman in a transparent white dress sitting on a chair made fully out of tree roots.

Her fair skin was pure white with gray-black hair, her two pupils were bright sapphire green that looked dazzling, and her nose was smooth but not so pointed with graceful pink lips that seemed delicate and small.

What caught Arryn's attention was the Greek golden leaf crown set atop her hair, two snow-white wings bent behind her back.

Realizing such magnificence, there was one thing on Arryn's mind: he had reached heaven.

"Am I already inside heaven?" asked Arryn.

Lauriel laughed softly. Every time she laughed, her eyes were closed, "No. You're inside my castle.

"Castle? Who the hell are you? How could I be in your castle?" asked Arryn.

Lauriel's eyes continued to look forward, then gracefully scrolled to the side corners of her eyes. The way the beautiful woman's eyes moved made Arryn curious.

Arryn's intuition told him that he needed to walk to the edge of the wooden fence, but Arryn didn't know why he approached the fence rather than ask the woman before him further questions.

Arryn arrived at the back of the wooden fence, both hands clinging tightly to it as Arryn looked at what was there.

The Earth was clearly displayed as a perfectly shaped sphere. Arryn looked elsewhere in awe, looking clearly at the stars and galaxies more vividly from this place.

"So, I'm in space?" asked Arryn.

"No," stated Lauriel, getting up from her throne and stepping closer to Arryn until she stood beside him.

"No?" asked Arryn, confused.

Lauriel cleared her throat, staring long enough at Athalaris that her eyes turned to the side, matching Arryn's gaze.

"We're on Athalaris," Lauriel explained.

"The planet you're looking at is Athalaris, not Earth," Lauriel countered.

The woman suddenly grabbed Arryn's right shoulder, her gentle touch taking Arryn by surprise.

"Come, I'll take you on a tour," Lauriel invited.

In a flash of white like a lightning bolt, Lauriel and Arryn were now on Athalaris.

They arrived at a vast green field, an area of savannah that Arryn had never seen while on Earth.

"They won't see us," Lauriel stated.

Arryn squinted at the woman beside him, then began to focus his eyes forward.

Arryn's eyes admired a building made of stone formed like an ancient castle.

"A beautiful historical building," Arryn explained.

Lauriel chuckled at Arryn's cluelessness, the woman reluctant to explain what the building was. She preferred to let Arryn find out for himself.

The gate opened, and Arryn's eyes were shocked to see hundreds of people in iron armor on horseback carrying swords.

For a colossal performance for fun, the sight was too scary. Everything that happened was again confusing to Arryn.

"What the—"

"Let's have a look," Lauriel pointed out.

The woman returned to holding Arryn's shoulders with her left hand while her right hand began to snap fingers.

The two left in a flash of white light and changed to a battlefield on a large plain close to the stone hills.

Arryn jumped back, eyes widening as nausea began to fill his throat. He vomited on the grass, which was stained with the blood of the fighting men.

That's right! Lauriel led Arryn to a war raging in the Kingdom of Athalaris, a civil war involving the two great houses that ruled the Tregaron

"Just like your brother, Stephen. They went to war because of their selfishness, blinded by the lust for power to the sacrifice of many," Lauriel replied.

Arryn was still kneeling on the ground, wiping his mouth where he had just vomited. Arryn's head tilted up, staring at Lauriel, who had brought him to witness the battlefield horrors.

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Arryn.

"To remind you that war is not good for both sides," Lauriel replied.

"I'm not going to war. I don't even have a sword or a shield," countered Arryn, standing tall.

Lauriel turned her head to the side, smiling widely with serious eyes fixed on Arryn, "You will."

The man beside Lauriel could only smile disdainfully at Lauriel's statement. The woman knew nothing about him, so she would not quickly come to such a conclusion.

"One important question I must ask you. What will you do with me?" asked Arryn, starting to show an annoyed expression.

Lauriel smiled, placing a white delicate hand on Arryn's shoulder again. Arryn already knew what Lauriel was going to do.

"Don't flick—"

Too late! Lauriel flicked the finger of her right hand, making Arryn and her move into a typical medieval bedroom.

The room was surprisingly spacious, the walls covered in the finest wood and painted white and gold.

There were wardrobes, wooden tables, chairs, nightstands, mirrors, and so on; the usual stuff for a bedroom.

"Thank goodness there's no blood, screams, or human body," Arryn stated, relieved.

Arryn's attention focused forward, witnessing a young boy in his teens lying on a large bed alone, lost in consciousness.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Arryn.

Lauriel was silent, the woman's hands folded gracefully before her breast, continuing to stare at Quentin Reingard's heartbreaking fate.

"He was poisoned," revealed Lauriel.

"Huh? By who?"

The door to the room opened. Arryn quickly turned his face and saw a man in a luxurious noble suit coming toward the bed where Quentin lay.

He came in roughly, grabbing the hair of a 10-year-old young girl.

The girl was wearing a pretty dress, with reddish-black hair, that was grabbed by a man older than her.

"Stay out of my business, you little whore!" the man snapped, being insolent.

"That jerk. Who the fuck is he?" asked Arryn, annoyed.

"Edmund Reingard, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Athalaris," stated Lauriel.

"And the crying girl?" asked Arryn, curious.

"Mary Reingard, the younger sister of Quentin Reingard," Lauriel replied.

The woman stepped away from Arryn, standing right next to the bed where Quentin still lay weak, "He is Quentin Reingard."

"Do I get to punch Edmund in the face?!" asked Arryn.

Lauriel was silent, her eyes focused on looking straight ahead, precisely at Arryn, who seemed annoyed at Edmund for being rude to Mary.

The Goddess of the Athalaris Realm stretched her hand forward, creating a white magic circle before her palm.

A white aura emerged from within the magic circle, seemingly gathering around Arryn, making the man startle in fear.

"What are you doing?" asked Arryn.

"I, Lauriel, Goddess of Athalaris Realm, one of the supreme deities of Athalaris, command you to become Quentin Reingard and postpone your judgment in the afterlife."

Lauriel began to look at Arryn seriously. The white aura that had been surrounding Arryn's body immediately sent Arryn's soul bit by bit.

Arryn's legs were faintly visible and then completely disappeared. The soul transfer started from the bottom to the top; Arryn panicked to find himself going to disappear.

"Don't be kidding! I cannot become him," Arryn explained, his voice rising.

"You don't have to worry; Quentin's memories will become yours too," Lauriel replied.

His waist had already disappeared like dust particles sucked up by something, this time by the white aura that Lauriel brought forth.

"What should I do with him?" asked Arryn, anxious as the soul transfer began to creep into his stomach and chest.

"Try to survive. I'll give you random abilities, magic powers," explained Lauriel.

"Magic?" asked Arryn.

"Too much information for me to give you. You'll figure it out as time goes on," Lauriel replied.

The soul transfer had reached Arryn's neck, leaving only his head yet to be transferred.

Just before his entire soul was sent into Quentin's body, Arryn asked Lauriel one last question.

"What about Mia?" asked Arryn.

"She's here. Try to find her."

"What name—"

Arryn's soul had been completely sent into Quentin's body. The young man lying on the bed for three days opened both eyes at once, woke up, and sat on the bed.

The moment Quentin woke up surprised Edmund. The man thought Quentin would not wake up permanently because the poison he gave to Quentin was a high-level poison.

"How can you—"

"Get your filthy hands off from my sister!"