The Vanishing Queen and the River That Flowed Backward

The river flowed backward on the day Queen Atani vanished, marking the beginning of a three-stage royal death ritual in the Queendom of Lubel. As the waters defied gravity, the people of Lubel sensed that their queen had passed, though her body had simply faded before her three sons, the Queensguard, and her closest attendants. Queen Atani’s disappearance was expected only by a few, including her aging chambermaid, who had witnessed this phenomenon before.

In the capital of Mistvale, the bells tolled fifty-four times to honor the years of the Queen’s reign. Her second son, Prince Flynn, descended the stone steps away from the castle, avoiding the stifling mourning within its walls. Known as the “People’s Prince,” Flynn was unlike his brothers. Prince Carter, the eldest, carried himself with the arrogance of a future king, while the youngest, Prince Dravin, was a prodigious swordsman and the pride of the Queensguard. Flynn’s heart, however, belonged to the people, and he found solace among the commoners at a local tavern, The Brazen Bull.

As he reached Mistvale, Queen Atani’s voice echoed across the Queendom in the apparition form that marked the second stage of royal death. Her voice, ghostly yet audible to all, thanked her subjects and introduced her successor in a scripted farewell. For Prince Flynn, this only stirred frustration and a longing to distance himself from the royal charade. Equipped with a bow, arrows, and supplies stored in his room at The Brazen Bull, Flynn set off, determined to trace the path of the Crystalbrook river and uncover the mystery of the death ritual himself.

The river, imbued with ancient magic, could heal or strengthen, though its powers were largely misunderstood. Flynn had only begun following its reversed flow when he saw the Queen’s funeral boat—a vessel adorned with flowers and coins tossed by mourners—float up the river toward the capital, carrying her body back to the gods.

As he continued, Flynn reflected on the royal lineage, recalling the tale of the first ruler of Lubel, sent by the gods to end an era of endless strife among warlords and self-proclaimed monarchs. Lost in thought, Flynn barely noticed when the river’s flow returned to its natural direction. He cursed his failure but continued upstream until he felt a strange shimmering in the air. Moving forward, he encountered a massive clearing filled with hundreds of people who bowed as he passed.

At the summit, Flynn reached a building of white marble and towering pillars. He entered, surrounded by ancient murals depicting Lubel’s history, and stood before eight great thrones, each occupied by one of the gods he’d grown up hearing about. Luscon, Phaeno, Quona, Theria, Marrus, Daa'ev, Grayver, and Kunlan, the gods of Lubel, gazed down at him.

As Flynn grappled with the enormity of his journey, Phaeno, the god of war, spoke. “Hello, Prince Flynn,” he said, his voice powerful yet calm. “We’ve been expecting you.”