Jacob and Maria looked at each other in astonishment, then back at his uncle.

"Does the war have to be inevitable? Why don’t we just join forces and take my dad down ourselves? Innocent civilians don’t have to get involved."

His uncle scratched the back of his head.

"It would be one hell of a trip I would have to make to tell him to stand down. Maybe I could have Monty send one of his guys out there to let him know."

"Please Uncle Leo. I have many friends behind those walls who I don’t want to see getting hurt."

His uncle looked at him for a moment then scratched his head.

"If you’re going to turn on your dad, we need to form a plan. As much I hate to admit it, he is one strong bastard. Even with all my preparations I have in place, I can almost guarantee we will fail."

"Are you telling the truth? My father said you already have plenty of strength to take him down with this charm on our side. He seemed worried about it too."

"And you’re going to believe your father even after everything I just told you about? What your father failed to take into account is the combined power of the noble clans. If those two were to fight together with the king, we will have some issues. The head of the Katra Clan by himself was able to diminish our main force by an entire fourth."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Have the noble clans turn on the king."

"How am I supposed to do that? From what I heard, the Katra Clan is known to be quite loyal to the king already. Their leader is the right-hand to my father."

"That’s for you to figure out."

His uncle laid the charm in Jacob’s hand.

"Here. Make sure to take this back with you. I will be close by when the time finally arrives for the attack. I will not be waiting for you to accomplish your mission, but you may join in the fight once it starts."

"But didn’t you just say you would lose in a fight against the combined forces of the clans and the king?"

His uncle started chuckling.

"I would be heavily disadvantaged, that’s for sure. However, the advantage I am waiting for will put me almost on the same level as the king. That is a boon I cannot afford to pass up on."

"And what advantage is that, exactly?"

A wide smile grew across his uncle’s face.

"A storm."

Jacob’s heart dropped. He never even considered the possibility of his uncle being able to control the water from a rainstorm. In such an event, he would never have to worry about running out of ammunition with his ability. Thinking about the potential destruction such a power could bring sent shivers down Jacob’s spine.

"I see. Is it okay if we spend the night and travel back in the morning?"

"No can do. I need you back as soon as possible."

Jacob slouched and pouted.

"Ugh. No mercy for your nephew?"

"Hey, you were practically the same as your father not too long ago. You’re lucky I didn’t just kill you the second I saw you."

"Fair point. I’ll we’ll be on our way then."

His uncle stopped him.

"One last thing, Jacob."

Jacob turned around in curiosity. Suddenly, his uncle wrapped his arms around him and gave him a large hug. He was so surprised by the sudden affection that he just awkwardly patted his uncle on the back. His uncle pulled away and smiled at him.

"You’re looking more like your mother every day. That’s a good thing, of course."

His uncle messed up his hair and gave him a small shove to say goodbye. Jacob grabbed Maria by the shoulder and walked with her east back toward the kingdom. As they walked together, they shared a peaceful silence between them. Maria eventually broke it to talk with Jacob.

"The stars look beautiful tonight, don’t they?"

Jacob smiled at her.

"They do. The sky itself seems to be at peace. I desire a peace like this to find us one day."

"Us?"

"Yes. Wouldn’t it be nice to live without worry of your kingdom being attacked, of your father being killed because of his terrible choices, of losing your friends."

Maria nodded.

"Yes. It would be."

A light breeze crossed the meadows they walked on.

"Do you think this marking will prevent us from attaining such wild dreams we have? I mean, think about what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to change the world as we know it, yet this mark told me I was destined to see all the work I strive toward crumble before my very eyes. It just feels a little... hopeless sometimes."

Maria slowly reached out and lightly took hold of Jacob’s right hand. Jacob welcomed it without hesitation. Their green eyes were staring into each other for a few moments.

"I’m the one who is supposed to be a sign of all of it crumbling down. I feel that way too sometimes, but you don’t have to share that burden alone. If we’re going to be scared, let’s be scared together."

Jacob held her hand tighter while they continued to walk.

"Do you ever wish that you were born someone else? Wish for a life that feels more... normal compared to this one? Wish for a chance to completely start over?"

Maria chuckled slightly.

"I wish it all the time, but it would be hard to imagine myself as someone else. Besides, right now I am glad that I am not someone else."

They continued walking for hours upon hours. Through all of it, they never once let go of each other’s hands. Before they knew it, the stars started to disappear from the sky while the sun settled in to start a new day. Eventually, were in shouting distance of the gates when all of a sudden, they heard a massive bang roar through the sky. Jacob looked at Maria.

"Did you hear that too?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I did. It sounds like it came from somewhere by the kingdom."

"Let’s try to hurry back"

Upon reaching the front of the kingdom, Jacob and Maria were able to see, what was once a massive lake far to the east. There were massive cracks spreading around its edges, all the water seemed to be gone, and there we a massive crater to the right of it that extended for miles.

"W-what the hell happened over there?!"

Maria was dumbstruck too. It looked like a supernatural force barreled its way right through the lake, leaving extensive damage behind. One of the guards towards the front of the palace saw Jacob and ran over to them.

"Prince Jacob! Iron Kingdom is glad to see your safe return home!"

"Pardon me, but do you know what happened to the lake?"

"The lake? I believe I heard the noble clans were sparring by the lake today. Is there something wrong with-"

The guard dropped his weapon and screamed.

"What?! What the hell happened?! I must inform the king at once!"

He rushed toward the palace and left Jacob and Maria equally stunned.

"Why are the nobles sparring each other? What the hell happened since we’ve been gone?"

Maria thought to herself for a moment.

"Perhaps they are training for what they know is coming. As they see it, they have no idea when the enemy would be arriving."

"I guess you make a good point. Let’s just go inside and grab some meat from Sarah’s place. I’m starving right now."

"Would that be a good idea? Remember what your uncle said about the food and water?"

"It will be fine. As long as we have this charm with us, we should be able to eat and drink any amount we want without worry."

"What if the king wants the charm?"

"Then I’ll have to figure things out from there. Come on, let’s hurry before all the good meat gets taken!"

With that, Jacob and Maria started their walk towards their favorite food spot in the entire kingdom.