Ashes of the Realm: Book 04 - The Return of the Realm (28 page)

Tag ignored the hand and gave Trey a big hug, “We believe in you as well, Trey.”

Those simple words filled Trey with an emotion that almost overwhelmed him. Now he had to accept his destiny and quit fighting the role he was born to play. Cassie listened in her mind and felt the emotions wash over her as she sat down and began planning who was going to attend.

• • •

Trey and Cassie stood on a raised platform in front of the statues in Robbins Park. Grang stood in front of them looking very uncomfortable. Cassie thought to Trey, “Do you think he can pull this off?”

“I don’t know. He is the perfect one to do it. The Empire’s first Emperor forgave him and adopted him as a brother. He should be the one to place the Crown.”

“I know, but you know how he hates to give speeches.”

“Cassie, he’s never given a speech. We’ll just have to trust this is the right decision.”

Cassie smiled and said, “Even if he messes up, I wouldn’t want it from anyone else.”

The horns sounded and the gigantic crowd grew silent. The positions of honor in front of the platform were taken by the former Riders and the two new divisions of White Warriors who were standing at attention. The rest of the available space was filled with the citizens that were able to get a pass into the park. The surrounding city was standing room only in the streets and on the tops of buildings. The Realm’s citizens were glued to their monitors that showed the Coronation with a split screen of the millions gathered on Ross to view the ceremony with the Queen. Excitement was high and everyone was watching to see their new Rulers.

The Horns stopped and Grang stepped forward to the audio bank. He was struggling what to say and words just didn’t come. Where was Jingo when you needed him? Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud screams overhead. Everyone looked up and saw thousands of Zord circling overhead. One of them left the screaming mass and flew toward the ground. The White Warriors directly in front of the platform moved back into the ranks of their fellow warriors and the Giant Zord landed. The thousands circling overhead grew silent and continued to soar overhead.

Trey smiled and thought, “Vring, it is so good to see you.”

Vring went to all fours and bowed, “Your Majesty, may I address the gathering?”

“Yes, by all means. We welcome what you have to say.”

Vring turned and looked at those gathered. The Algeans reporting on the ceremony began sharing Vring’s thoughts with those that were watching on monitors that were not telepathic. “The First Emperor of the Empire came and fought to save our babies as a young human against a heard of carnivores that numbered in the millions. The odds he faced with the Archers from El Prado were unimaginable, but they faced the Torg and saved our children. Not only were our children saved, but my species as well. We know that Scotty Robbins and the brave archers that fought with him are the reason we’re alive today.”

Vring turned and looked at the giant statue behind him and said, “My father swore our loyalty to the Emperor after that fight and said we will protect him and his people until the mountains on El Prado faded into dust. They are still there and our oath still stands.” Vring looked at Trey and said, “You are his child. You are the third Scotty Robbins and every one of you has been an example for my warriors to follow. Your family’s sacrifice tells us what we must be willing to give to win. I am here today to renew our oath and to make sure everyone knows that we will follow wherever you lead us. The Empire has chosen well and you and your wife are the perfect ones to lead us in our fight for Creation.”

All at once the sky grew dark and everyone looked up to see a giant green ship high in the atmosphere. A silver flash appeared in front of the Platform and two giant Spiders stepped out of it. They bowed and the largest one thought, “We are also here to swear our loyalty to you, Your Majesty. We will join you in your quest and will follow your commands. We know that you are Creation’s Chosen and we will be your willing warriors.”

Grang said over the audio bank, “I hereby place the Crown of the Empire on Scotty Robbins the Third and proclaim him the Emperor of the Bristone Empire. Lead us and protect us, Your Majesty. We are all your loyal subjects and we will never forget our oath.”

As Grang raised the crown, every one of the millions on Bristone bowed. On Ross, Tag and Danielle stood and bowed to the monitor. The millions watching the ceremony joined them. The trillions in the Realm saw the Queen of the Realm bow on their monitor and they joined her pledging their loyalty to the new Emperor.

Grang placed the Crown on Trey’s head and whispered, “Saved by the Zord again.”

Trey broke out into a huge smile and said, “Please rise. I accept this honor and I pledge to do everything in my power to protect those under my care. I am both humbled and honored by your trust and I promise I will never betray it. I will give my life before I allow you to be harmed. Thank you.”

Cassie came forward and Trey put his arm around her. Grang placed a crown on Cassie and said, “I present the Emperor and Empress Robbins of the Bristone Empire, long live the Emperor.”

The Zord screamed their joy and the crowd erupted into celebration. Then, the thousands of citizens rushed forward to thank the White Warriors for their sacrifice. Those watching in the Realm saw the reverence and high esteem the citizens held their fighters and the enlistment rolls tripled afterwards.

Jingo came over and said, “Nice speech.”

Grang cleared his throat and said, “It’s one of my best.”

“All forty two words?”

“I do get long winded on occasion.”

Jingo laughed and shook Grang’s hand. “What were you planning to say?”

Grang looked out at the celebrations taking place and shrugged, “I have no idea.”

Jingo laughed out loud and pulled the huge Magrum over to congratulate their adopted son. Cassie felt the love of the three that were so different yet so much alike. This is what the Empire will be. All the many species will be bonded by the love we have for each other. Today is the beginning of what Trey’s Grandfather fought to bring into existence. It will become something amazing…if we survive the Demons.

• • •

Alex asked, “Cassandra, why aren’t you and Junior at the celebration?”

“Are you kidding? We have the best view possible right here on our displays. There’s no way we could see anything down in that crowd.”

“I thought you would join the White Warriors?”

“No, they deserve the honor for the fight they just won. I wasn’t there and I refuse to diminish their accomplishment with my presence. All of the attention belongs to them.”

Alex said, “This is my first time seeing a Zord. They are amazing creatures.”

Junior said, “That they are, but they were helpless against the Torg that attacked them.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Have you seen the recordings from the Night of the Torg?”

“What is that?”

Cassandra said, “I don’t believe I’ve seen them either.”

Junior pulled out his computer and attached a cable to his board, “I’ll download it for you. The one with the blonde hair is Trey’s Grandfather and the Cainth is Jingo.”

Cassandra pulled the download up and watched it. Her first words were, “Oh my big backside.”

Junior said, “It’s really not big. It’s perfectly sized.”

Cassandra smiled and continued to watch the download. Junior said, “The Zord delivering the additional quivers that crashed into the tree is the one that landed in front of the platform. He was the Zord Ruler’s son and he is now their sovereign.”

Cassandra finally looked up from the display, “How did this recording get made?”

“The Algeans took the thoughts of the surviving archers and converted it to digital. Some of it was taken from the Zord that delivered the arrows.”

Cassandra was silent and after a long moment Alex said, “He fought to save creatures that were killing his people.”

“He felt that a species young should always be defended, no matter what. It was his and Jingo’s bravery that forged the alliance between the Zord and the two communities, which became the Bristone Empire.”

“Do you know the story about Grang?”

“No, I do not.”

Standby a moment and let me download it. These two recordings are required for all children in the Empire.”

After several minutes Cassandra said, “He killed Scotty’s Mother?”

“Yes, he did.”

Cassandra hit her communication panel, “Danielle, have you seen the recordings of the Night of the Torg and Grang’s salvation?”

“No, I don’t believe I have.”

“I’m sending them to you now. Please watch them.”

Danielle sat down on the platform and hit her board’s memory. She watched the two recordings and felt overwhelming respect for the Empire’s first ruler. She called over an assistant and said, “I want this sent out to the Realm immediately.”

The assistant downloaded the recordings into his portable scanner and left the stage. The celebrations were interrupted when they heard an announcer say, “We have a recording of the fight that was done to save the Zord. We will play it in twenty minutes.”

The millions of monitors around the Realm made the announcement and the trillions celebrating waited in anticipation of seeing what could have caused the giant creatures to swear their eternal loyalty to the Empire. An hour later they knew why and the change in the Realm’s citizens was instant. This young Emperor came from a family that faced unimaginable odds and fought for their enemies. Grang’s story told them about the heart of the Empire’s Royal Family and learning that Trey had adopted him as a father told them all they would ever need to know about their new ruler. The celebrations took on an entire new level of exuberance. The Realm was united again. They were brought together by a trust and faith in the ones leading them. Those two recordings became required learning for all the Realm’s civilizations. Once again, there was a pride in being part of something bigger than themself.

Tag looked at Danielle after watching the recordings on the huge monitor and said, “Now I must agree with you.”

“What is that?”

“I wish I had the opportunity to have met him. He truly was a warrior in the purest sense. He is what I hope to be.”

“Leaving the universe behind was probably the best thing that could have been done, because it produced those people. Even out of terrible mistakes, great things can happen.”

Tag nodded and slowly lowered his head. He could see the millions of giant Torg and wondered if he would have been brave enough to face them without pause. For the first time in his life, Tag felt humility.

Danielle listened to his thoughts and smiled. Everyone needs a hero. Now Tag had his. He would be stronger for the knowledge and far more dangerous because of it. Tag looked at her and said, “I want to visit the Robbins Memorial again after things slow down.”

“Why?”

“The Red Warriors had the two swords to pledge their lives to on Glod. I now have the Warrior I wish to pledge my life to as well.”

“We’ll go together, Love of my life.”

Tag smiled and saw millions of huge carnivores. Scotty Robbins became his ambition.

• • •

Two weeks later Cassie heard, “I hope you don’t mind but Tag and I would like to visit the Robbins Memorial. Would that be alright with you?”

“Danielle, it’s so good to hear from you. Of course you may visit.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Will you come by afterwards?”

“No, until our ship is completed we won’t be citizens of the Empire and we want to abide by the rules of visitation.”

Cassie sent the conversation to Trey and said, “Danielle, you are certainly welcome anytime.”

“Thank you, Cassie, but admittance to that holy ground should be respected. We are here for personal reasons and we thank you for your consideration.”

Trey looked at Cassie and she shrugged. They turned their perceptions to the park and saw Danielle and Tag arrive out of a silver flash. The two walked slowly forward toward the statues of Scotty and Julie and then bowed. They heard Tag say, “I have often been called the greatest warrior ever created and I have accepted that compliment without much thought. After seeing your fight to save the Torg, I know that I am unworthy of that honor. Your bravery and humble heart have shown me that I am still a work in progress and have such a long way to go before I can come close to what you have done. I have brought one of the swords I used at the Quilleron Temple on Glod that led to the formation of the Stars Realm and I leave it here to honor the greatest warrior ever created. I humbly thank you for the example you have given for me to follow. I will give your Empire that was created by the sacrifice you made to save it my loyalty and faith. Thank you.”

Trey watched as Tag went forward and slammed the long sword into the marble in front of the statue and buried it half way up the blade. Tag went back to Danielle, bowed, and continued to think about what he had learned about Scotty Robbins.

Trey felt his heart breaking at the memory of his family’s death as he took Cassie’s hand and teleported to the park, joined Tag and Danielle, and bowed with them. Cassie knew that Tag was not alone in his vow to be what his grandfather had shown in his life. They remained there for two hours as thousands came to the park when word spread about who was there. The silence was unbreakable as the multitude joined the two Royal Families and bowed with them. Soon the image was being broadcast to the planets of the Empire and the citizens felt their resentment of the old Realm evaporate and melt away. Now the two were finally one again.

A month later, every new White Warrior was taken to the monument and would put their hand on the Glod Sword and make their oath to the Empire. The warriors that came from the Realm first went to Glod to promise to follow the principles established by the Stars Realm and then they went to the second sword on New Hope. The ceremony is what called to millions to join the new force being forged to fight for life. Standing on New Hope is what inspired them to become a Life Warrior.

A year passed without the Demons and fifty divisions left to go out into Creation to fight for those that could not defend themselves against evil civilizations that were attacking them. It was then that the Zord and Spiders joined their fellow Warriors and made a truly formidable force against the ones that threatened Creation’s Balance.