The king of a cleansed and restored Kemarian monarchy stepped up onto a raised platform in the palace's celebratory hall and cleared his throat. From where Brant sat at a table against the back wall with Hannah, Aaron, Wendy, and Keira, the monarch appeared resplendent in the warm lighting cast down by traditional Kemarian chandeliers, adorned in his shimmering violet robes that bolstered his masculine silhouette.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." the king began in a voice both commanding and compassionate, "My original speech was...far too long, I'm afraid, a few dozen pages, if I remember correctly."

A wave of laughter washed up from his captive audience, drawing a grin to his charming face. The corners of his almond-shaped eyes wrinkled as he beamed down on them.

"But I trimmed it down to no pages at all, a speech so short I can keep it in here." he said, tapping his forehead. "So I speak to you now in commencement of our celebration, a commemoration of our victory over Alconte at the place of the Iron Pillars two months ago. As you can see, wine glasses and full bottles lie at every table, so if you find yourself unable to bear even a short speech, perhaps you can soften the blow in that way."

Brant chuckled and glanced back at the sound of liquid filling a glass. Keira flashed her teeth at him as she did exactly what the king had described. Wendy followed suit.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, and if I hadn't been there myself, I could hardly believe the Battle of the Iron Pillars ever happened. I mean, it sounds just like something out of a fairy tale, does it not? Granted, a gritty and dystopian fairy tale it would be, but think about it: Nine armies assembling against one massive horde, headed by a man claiming to be a god? To me, at least, it hardly sounds real."

The king inhaled a deep breath. "But yet, it was real, as many of you here well know. And that is why we celebrate here today. Now, first, I wish to give recognition to the four bravest men I can possibly imagine, Brant Nayan, Aaron Korynn, Baird Amergin, and Ace Parker. These unimaginably tenacious individuals ascended Dove's Knoll and slew the violent god of peace himself. Men, if you are here, please stand and accept our applause."

Brant laid a hand on Aaron's shoulder as they rose. He gratefully accepted the round of clapping hands directed their way before darting his eyes around. Where are Baird and Ace?

He glanced down at Keira. "I thought you said Baird was coming."

She shrugged. "I think they're running a little late."

He sighed and nodded. Brant glanced up just in time to see Ace emerge from the shadows way across the room with a smug grin on his face. He tossed a massive fern leaf onto the floor beneath his feet before lighting a match and dropping it atop of the vegetation. Several men and women screamed as flames leapt up.

"Calm down, people." Ace said, "I've got extinguishers. And the floor's stone over here anyway."

A demonic hiss filled the air as the flames crackled, and when the tongues of fire eventually died off, revealing a shriveled black silhouette of the former fern, so did the spiritual voice.

"Didn't mean to make a scene, your highness." Ace muttered, stepping closer to the speaking platform. "I'm standing."

The king coughed awkwardly, but his charisma soon returned to him. "Well, men, you may be seated now."

"No thanks." Ace said, casually leaning against the base of the pedestal.

Brant smirked and saluted his friend as he and Aaron sat back down. Ace flippantly returned the gesture.

"Well," the monarch continued, "I sense nobody's in the mood to listen to me babble on, and neither do I blame you. I thank any soldiers among you for your selfless service, either in the rebellion as a whole, or especially in that larger than life showdown at the Pillars. And I now commence the celebration. May you enjoy yourselves thoroughly, and take pleasure in our victory."

Applause followed the king down the steps as he joined a group of his councilors, who visibly praised him for his handling of the speech and distractions accompanying it. When a petite woman raced his way, he took her into his arms and kissed her, caressing her back as they embraced. A silver ring gleamed on his finger.

As if inspired by the affection he'd just witnessed, Brant leaned over and pecked Hannah on the lips. Then he scooted out of his seat and headed over to Ace. But he'd vanished. Brant's brow furrowed, and he glanced back at Aaron. He shrugged.

"Hello, old friend." a voice called from Brant's left.

Brant's head jerked to identity the speaker, and his face instantly brightened upon doing so. "Hey, Sila! How've you been?"

"I've been well." the robot said, giving him a mechanical hug.

"That's good to hear."

Then Brant peered around the robot, where he spotted Abigail pushing a wheelchair, which was occupied by Baird. Khemera walked beside her.

"Hey, guys!" Brant said, shaking Baird's hand and smiling at him. He patted Abigail quickly on the shoulder before carefully hugging Khemera. "You just missed a standing ovation, Baird."

Baird shrugged. "Good. I wouldn't have been able to participate anyway."

Brant's stomach sunk as he realized the insensitivity of his words, and the unthoughtfulness. His eyes dropped down to Baird's stumpy legs, snipped off just before the knees.

"I'm sorry."

Baird shook his head and smiled graciously. "No, you're alright. Okay, Abby, let me see Aaron."

Brant watched as the redhead, blind man, and amputee travelled over to the table, along with Sila. Then he turned upon hearing another familiar voice calling his name, this one gruff and gutteral.

"Trackenkaken?" he called in disbelief, pulling the grizzled general into an embrace. "How'd you make it here?"

Track smirked. "When you lead the corleggions that win a battle as significant as the one at the Pillars, you typically get some perks."

"Oh, I see how it is. Well, I hope you've been well!"

"I have. I've found myself missing you guys, though, so when I heard word of a commemorative ceremony going on in New Kemaria, I had to come down and check it out."

Brant squeezed Track's shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you did. Aaron's staring over there, so you might wanna go say howdy. I'll join you in a bit."

The general's eyebrows jumped. "Might be a good idea."

The moment Brant's eyes left Track, they landed on a familiar tattoo slithering up a well-dressed man's neck. He tapped the man's shoulder, and sure enough, Ryder turned his head.

"I didn't know I'd see you here too!"

Ryder's stern face managed a smile. "Well, I wasn't originally intending to make the trip, but once I heard Baird Amergin, Brant Nayan, and Wendy Archer planned to attend, my mind was set."

"I see." Brant said, "So, I hope Unterstat's been liberated?"

"Almost harmfully so, yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ryder sighed. "Alconte recalled all their soldiers from the place immediately after the battle, all the guards, border patrol, police forces, everything. Suddenly, everything was up to Unterstat's residents. It was tough at first, but we're getting along fine now. We've got a governing council for now, until we figure out what method of government will work best."

Brant nodded. "Well, I'm confident your people and your country will flourish now, without the oppressive Alcontean hand gripping those underwater domes."

"That's the hope."

"Alright, I've gotta find Ace, but it's good seeing you."

"Likewise."

Brant broke away, devoting himself to discovering where Ace had gone. He wove through the growing crowd with scanning eyes. Clusters of people around him broke into pairs that floated across the dance floor with graceful steps when the royal band began playing a lilting melody.

Finally, a puff of smoke brushed across his nostrils. He narrowed his eyes and glanced to his left, where Ace emerged from a shadowy corner, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"You already made one dramatic entrance tonight," he remarked, "how about you ease up on it by now?"

Ace rolled his eyes and gave Brant a one-armed hug. "Gotta keep you people on your toes."

"Sure you do. So, I haven't heard a peep from you for two months, not until just now. What've you been up to?"

Ace only stared at him.

"Other than finding Albatross' artifact, of course." Brant added, "Where did you dig that up, anyway?"

Ace shrugged. "Started hearing about this weird cult. Some Grovenian woman bought a fern for her garden, but her husband accidentally spilled bleach into the soil and ruined everything else. But the fern remained. So people started worshipping it."

"And...there's a lot more to this story you aren't telling me."

"I retrieved it, did some digging in those ancient texts, and realized it was indeed Albatross' artifact. I came to that conclusion this morning, actually."

"Well, what a perfect way to make a scene, dude." Brant said with a chuckle.

"For real. So, what've you been doing?"

Brant shrugged. "Been helping this new government get set up, for one thing. There was some flowery language in that constitution Princess Chariya wrote that needed outside interpretation. Since I sorta...knew her, I was able to give them pretty good ideas on what she might've meant."

"Cool. But I asked about you."

"Right. Well, not much for me. I guess on a more personal note, I've been Hannah's support pillar as she starts performing out again. People are really loving the cheery girl with the pure voice and the rich guitar chords. And of course, so am I."

Ace smirked. "Understandably so. How many artifacts are there, again?"

"In all? Twenty-six. But I'm assuming you don't want me to include the ones we've already destroyed."

"Yeah."

Brant squinted as he mulled over some numbers. "There should be nineteen left. Why?"

"Somebody's gotta go after them. Empire or not, individual wackos could still get ahold of these things and deify themselves."

"Well, possess themselves with demons, more accurately." Brant corrected.

"I'm using their terminology, okay? I know how it actually works."

"If you're concerned about that, Ace, I can do it. Really, it's my job to finish up what I—"

"No." Ace interrupted. "You deserve to rest a while. Keep supporting Hannah. I haven't been running around nearly as long as you, and it's time I step up."

Brant sighed. "And what about Keira? Are you ever gonna...y'know..."

The man's brown eyes gazed into the distance and lingered long, causing Brant to look back too. Keira had taken to the dance floor, face beaming as she swayed in Trackenkaken's arms.

"We'll see." Ace muttered thoughtfully. "After I get back from destroying those artifacts, we'll see."

"But if you—"

"If she wants to sleep in his arms at night, what do I care?" Ace snapped in a tone contradicting his words, "I've got a job to do, and until it's done, I'm not worried about my comfort."

"Alright, that's your choice. I'm sorry for...poking it." Brant said, laying a hand on the man's shoulder.

Ace shrugged. "It's alright. Excuse me. Gonna get a drink."

*******************

Glasses clinked together as the table of war heroes toasted one another rather forcefully. Shoving several smaller tables together, they had created one large space to all sit together.

"So yeah," Ace said, concluding a story he'd begun a few drinks earlier, "I just said, 'you're dead' and shot him in the head. No use in arguing with the bastard. And yeah. That's the story of how I got this jacket."

Aaron chuckled. "That's hysterical."

Brant perked up when Aaron pushed his seat out, rising to his feet while holding his hand flat on his chest and smiling to himself.

"Alright, guys, may I have your attention, please?" he asked with his charismatic grin. After all eyes rested on him, he focused his on Wendy. "I've got something for you, love."

"Okay..." she said, extricating herself from her chair to join him.

Brant exchanged a smirk with Ace and Baird. They knew too.

"Alright, what is it?" Wendy asked, squinting her eyes at him.

"Well, how do I say this?"

"With bloody words, I'd suggest."

Aaron threw his head back in laughter. "Good one. But okay, so, you know how sometimes you don't realize just how good something can be until you see it? Like I had no clue shoes came like that," he said, pointing at a random man's dress boots, "until just now, and boy are those awesome."

Wendy's brow furrowed. "I know what you mean, but why're you talking about this? And why here?"

"Well, you're like that, Wendy. Honestly! I had no clue women like you were out there. Thought they only existed in television and stuff. But there you are, standing before me. So understandably, the moment I saw you, I knew I was smitten. The moment I heard you speak, I knew I was addicted, and the moment you first despaired entirely of replying to one of my idiotic remarks, I knew I'd found the one."

"That's bloody sweet in the strangest possible way, but—"

"So now comes the million dollar question, Wendy Archer." Aaron said, dropping to one knee. He opened his hand and flipped a metal box open, revealing a gleaming ring of gold, with a ruby fixed to it. "Will you marry me?"

Wendy's mouth dropped open, and her eyes darted over Aaron's face for almost a minute. "Of bloody course I will, you nutter." she finally said, stepping forward.

Aaron grinned and slipped the ring on her finger, taking a second to admire it. Then he cupped her head in his hands and kissed her passionately.

When they parted, Brant and the others at the table clapped. When he felt Hannah's head rest on his shoulder, he glanced down, and after staring into her eyes a moment, he kissed her as well.

He sighed with contentment and settled back into his seat. After a life of abuse, loneliness and trials, he now sat at a table of friends, love and laughter, having successfully scaled mountains proverbial and literal. And sure, the mere act of living brought about its own troubles sooner or later, but nothing could be quite so harrowing as the things he had already endured. Best of all, he would never have to face his problems alone. God stood behind him, as did a host of his companions. Glancing at Hannah one last time, he realized a bright future lay ahead.

THE END. 

******************** 

A/N: And there you have it folks, our last chapter with this cast! I hope that was a satisfying last look at them all, while also leaving some room in certain areas for your imagination to keep playing around as it will. 😁 

If you enjoyed this chapter (as you surely must have, because after all, you've stuck around this long), please remember to vote and comment. I really appreciate it, always have. 

And now we've come to that bittersweet moment where I ensure you this is the end of the line, and that this journey we've enjoyed together is finally at a close. Not only is this book done, but this also caps off the trilogy. I want to thank you so much for reading, and I truly hope you'll take something away from this that will make you smile upon remembering it for years to come. Maybe even you'll come back to revisit it now and again...at any rate, if this project of mine has proved a blessing to you, I'll be content. 😊 

Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask some questions to gauge how I did in certain aspects writing this. And now that you've seen the whole trilogy (I assume), your perspective is as rounded as it's gonna be. 

Anyway, so, who are your favorite and least favorite characters, and why? 

What chapter/scene/fight sticks with you the most? 

What are your overall thoughts on the world built up throughout these volumes? Anything specific that stands out (good or bad)? 

What would you say is your key takeaway from this story? 

Also, if you see any room for improvement anywhere, please let me know. 😁 

Finally, as I said, I tried to make this final chapter have some nice conclusions, yet also have room for imagination to blossom as you individual readers think over what life has in store for these characters in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. What are your impressions of what they have to look forward to? (No answer is right or wrong, just speculative entertainment, I hope.) 

With that, I'm done here. Again, thank you for reading! You're the reason I'm writing on Wattpad, after all, and I hope I've given you a nice ride. Thanks for putting up with my less than brilliant author's notes and attempts at expressing gratitude for sticking around, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day/night/whatever. God bless, and may you enjoy your next literary adventure to the fullest! 

-Y. I. Turner