As the ceremony concluded, Tero stared at the wide screen in awe.

"That was amazing!" He exclaimed, turning to his father with a great big smile.

His father smiled back. "Of course it was!"

"Grandpa is so cool...our family is so cool..." Tero started.

Tero then looked over at his father.

"Oh yeah, about family." Tero started. "Today isn't just special because of the ceremony. I've seen grandpa on the big screen all the time doing cool stuff."

Jonakai already knew where Tero was going with this.

"Today is the day you're supposed to tell me the story of my brothers and my mom!" Tero said.

Jonakai cracked a half smile. "Yeah, it is." The smile faded as all the memories flowed back into him. "Are you sure you're ready to hear it? It's some heavy stuff."

Tero ferociously nodded. "Of course!"

Jonakai stared at Tero and began his story.

"There are nice people in this world." He started. "There are angels. There are people who not only inspire the people around them, but millions around the world."

Jonakai smiled.

"And then there is your Mother."

When Tero heard that word, his heart dropped. Jonakai never talked really talked about his wife's fate. He had always just told Tero that bad things happened.

"Her name was Margaret, but you know that. Your mother was someone who spread joy to everyone. Not a day went by where she didn't inspire someone or fix their problems."

Tero smiled. He pictured his Mother as some sort of goddess, an angel, if you will. He had never heard one negative thing about her.

"I met your mother while serving under your grandfather. We were both in the highest tier group of knights in his army called the Perrior. There were about 50 or so members, and I hadn't made good friends with anyone in this sub-division. Your mother always caught my eye though. She was beautiful and strong. She pushed for peace rather than glory and was always the most rational one in the group."

Tero kept smiling as he pictured his parents fighting off evil warriors in a great fashion.

"One of her perks besides strength was her ability to tend to people medically." Jonakai smiled even harder. "There was this one battle where I got hit really hard. An evil warrior stood above me, waiting to finally strike me at the neck and take off my head."

Tero's smile faded and his eyes widened as he pictured his father in a helpless situation, just moments away from death.

"However, the captain of the Perrior, Kordau, extended his strength towards my side of the battle and started fighting the evil man."

Tero's expression remained still.

Jonakai looked up at Tero and formed a grin.

"And he killed him in just a few seconds."

Tero formed a smile once again. "Wow!" He exclaimed. "How strong..."

Jonakai continued with his story. "Although the battle had been won, I was still on the verge of death. If something were not to be done on the battlefield then on that day I truly would have died."

Tero's smile faded again.

"That's when your mother came into play. She was able to use her power to save me from death there. She stopped my bleeding and reconnected my tendons and muscles that had been torn apa-"

Jonakai stopped as he saw Tero's squirmish expression.

"Oh-I'm sorry, I didn't realize you-"

Tero looked up at his father and cracked a smile. "No no, don't worry!" He reassured him. "I just...haven't really thought of stuff like this before. If I am going to live in a world stuff like this happens, I have to hear about it eventually."

Jonakai smiled. "Alright then."

He resumed his story. "Like I was saying, she mended me up. It was beyond words. I would have never thought she would be so proficient in something like that. I knew she was a part-time field medic next to being a strong warrior, but I didn't think she'd be that good."

Tero's smile rekindled.

"It took me a few weeks to recover and she was by my side for most of the time. It was captain's orders that she overlook and tend to me. She did willingly, and we got very close over the span of those weeks."

Tero imagined his parents as young men and women in the army, caring for each other. He wished it were still like that today.

"Anyway, after those few weeks we returned to the battlefield. We fought in the Perrior for two more years until I finally dropped out and created my own army. I became a warlord after a while, and she supported me all the way through."

"Amazing..." Tero's mouth hung open in awe of his father.

"Although it seems like I was doing all of the important things like fighting wars with my army and whatnot, your mother was quite the spectacle in the Kingdom of Mace. She actively gave back to the poor and helped out those in need. After all the years of being a brave strong warrior, who would have thought she would have stooped to something so tame and peaceful?" Jonakai chuckled.

Tero's image of his mother became even more angelic after hearing this.

"Your mother was not only involved in giving back to the community though. She became a well-renowned diplomat."

Tero was confused. "What is a diplomat?"

Jonakai chuckled. "It is someone who specializes in representing a certain place somewhere else. For example, your mother would go to many kingdoms as the daughter-in-law of the King. She would go to many villages in different kingdoms and try and resolve issues through talking, negotiating, and even directing many things to help the citizens and bring peace. She would also expand her charity to small, run down villages and see how she could revamp them into prospering. She would go to other kingdoms that were having warring conflicts and try and see if she could solve their problems peacefully. Hell, she even went as far as to go into evil territory to stop problems!"

Tero was in extreme awe of his mother even more now. She was a savior in his eyes. A savior of the world, someone who solved all the issues that were present in all of these kingdoms.

Jonakai's smile faded quickly. "Of course, not everything ends up being solvable. All this venturing out into other kingdoms, with little protection and little care...it was ultimately her demise."

Jonakai did not want to retell the news that he heard that day, but he had to. His son had asked for several years. and if he was going to tell the heart-wrenching stories after this about his other family members, then this may just have been the tamest one.

"You were only a few months old when your mother ventured into the Kingdom of Jiuna. Now, as you know, the world all full of good people. Sometimes, the powerful aren't people like us."

Tero knew exactly what he meant.

"The ruler there was named Jolik, and he was a very strong evil warrior." Jonakai started. "He owned the entire Kingdom of Jiuna, and although he was an evil warrior, he was not a bad ruler. He did morally questionable things, but as a ruler, he knew what was best for his kingdom."

Tero nodded to signify that he was understanding. Jonakai paused for a minute.

"Bloodshed is common within this world, even amongst us warriors. However, we kill within reason. I hope you understand that." Jonakai stared at Tero and waited for another nod. Tero nodded assuredly.

"The difference between us and evil warriors is that evil warriors do not kill within reason. Jolik obtained the kingdom through bloodshed, which meant killing innocent families." Jonakai's gaze moved away from Tero. "And his killing of innocents did not stop once he took control. He'd kill many people that opposed him or tried to make him give up his Kingdom. One thing that he promised to never do though, after all the relentless killing he did, to never lay a hand on his innocent citizens."

Tero blinked, still listening.

"The world government tried to reason with him and create an alliance, however, he suspected that nothing good would have come out of that. In hindsight, he was right. They wouldn't have just let him go like that. At most he'd have been charged for his crimes."

Tero's questions grew more and more with every sentence. Killing... Tero started to think. My father and this ruler are the same in that regard. They both do it. So at the end of the day, it's how people kill that makes them evil?

Jonakai coughed, resuming his story.

"Jolik's morality when it came to his Kingdom is what interested your Mother. He saw how gentle he was with his citizens. He would give them the utmost respect, even as a King figure, and tried to give them the best life possible. I'd think in another lifetime, with different upbringings, that he would have made a fine King."

Tero was surprised at the sympathy his father was having for the man that he suspected was linked with the tragic event that affected his mother.

Jonakai started his story up again, this time with the intention of getting it over with.

"Your mother always tried to do as much good as she can. There was no telling how many boundaries she would break in order to accomplish what she wanted. This meant hiding secrets, or even breaking trust when it came to extremely serious matters." Jonakai's face tensed up as he recalled these tragic memories.

"She had set up a secret appointment with Jolik one day, in attempts to establish an alliance of some sort, or just try and win him over. Surprisingly, this happened because Jolik actually reached out to her first."

Tero was shocked, but he didn't ask any questions directly or even in his head, because they were probably about to be answered.

"I'm still unsure why this happened. I believe she saw this as a great opportunity, but knew that presenting it to any higher ups would have shot her down immidiately. It was already scary enough for her to tag along on expeditions into evil territory, but to lead one was even scarier."

Jonakai stared at Tero for the next part of the story.

"Your mother traveled to the Kingdom of Jiuna one day with the intention of trying to set up an alliance with Jolik."

Tero's heart dropped. Why? Why would she do this? This guy...he killed anyone who opposes him...why...didn't she know better? Tero thought. He couldn't help but ask questions in his head.

Tero wasn't sure what to make of what Jonakai was about to tell him. He was scared of hearing about what happened to his mother, but he was curious all the same.