On the island of Jaljus was a field surrounded by palm trees. It was impossible to see from afar because of the thick curtain of fog. A closer view revealed the long buildings that gave the impression of a fairly large settlement. These buildings housed the staff in charge of the island and its army. It took a day's ride to reach the nearest town from the island. That was why the settlement was built for the staff's welfare. This little settlement was called Garuja.

Inside one of the buildings in Garuja, some men discussed how to go about the upcoming battle and how to easily achieve victory against King Bihanzin and the Heir of Wilberforce.

Eleven men sat around the table. From the right sat Uznu Ururu, two men standing guard behind him. Beside him was Deniz Iluru, his son Bizaya and Deniz Kalhari stood at his back. There was also King Rafiya with Asifu and Red Rider standing behind him. Then there were the two representatives of King Han'ibal, who was away fighting black flame, the famous Twin Executioners.

Uznu smiled and cleared his throat while studying the battle plan on the table. "I brought you the princess as promised. It's now up to you to fulfill your end of the bargain."

He gave the battle plan one last look before walking out of the room. The two Kings and the representatives of King Hanibal exchanged looks and nodded.

***

Day 14 of the 7th month, 1856 BA.

***

The arena where Nostalgia would be executed was already filled with thousands of soldiers. In the nearby town of Garuja, all the happenings from the execution ground were being watched from an ayrid-powered projector.

Thousands of men were lining up to watch. The jinzidal Kings wanted to show off to the whole world. They wanted everyone to know how they would win.

The soldiers in the execution arena were divided into four groups. The first was a group of over one hundred thousand soldiers. Most of them were just foot soldiers with no special background. Then behind them was a group of one thousand elite soldiers specially selected from each empire. Every one of them had more than two hundred years of pol. The third group consisted of the princes and top commanders of the empires. Prince Bizaya from Deniz. The man was so jealous and angry that he wanted Nostalgia dead. Then Prince Niyashi from Rafiya. Then the commanders from each empire. Kalhari from Deniz. Asifu and Red Rider from Rafiya. Then king Hanibal's two representatives, the Twin Executors.

On the last section of the arena stood a tall stone altar from which dangled a handcuff. It was where Nostalgia would be standing trial. Four chairs stood empty at the feet of the altar, awaiting the four leaders of the war.

Meanwhile, in a cell-like room beneath the arena, Nostalgia lied in chains, her face upturned. The prettiest princess in the world, lying on bare ground and in chains.

But she didn't care. For Armad, she would give everything without regrets. Her only thought was of her husband, Armad, and her father, Bihanzin.

A war that could change the world was about to happen. Nostalgia didn't like the bloodshed, but she could do nothing about it now.

How did it come to this? How was she captured? All she could recall was watching Armad bombard the enemy soldiers with lightning. Then, suddenly, the scene around her disappeared and she found herself flying among the stars like a bird.

She remained like that for an undetermined period before she lost consciousness and awoke to find herself in this room.

It was suspected that one of the jinzidal commanders could use some type of summoning Bend that was related to the stars. Did that mean she was forcefully summoned using the power of stars? But she found it hard to believe that any man could wield such kind of power.

Today was her second day in captivity. Though she didn't take it, food was brought to her through a hole in the walls.

An undetermined number of guards stood behind the door.

After a lot of thinking, she resolved to talk to them. "I understand that, as guards, you are probably not allowed to talk to me. But I believe you can tell me who brought me here and why."

The guards maintained their silence and ignored her. Minutes passed and she got frustrated and hissed.

On the third day, the door opened and light seeped in. Nostalgia had to close her eyes for the foreignness of it. Before she could adjust, the guards marched in.

"Come with us," a guard thundered. "You are to be executed today by beheading."

That startled Nostalgia. Execution?! All her thought didn't stray there. Holding her captive was enough to invoke an ugly war. What more of execution? Surely they sought war.

She looked at them and asked, "Do you think my dad and husband would just stand by and watch?"

The guards ignored her at first, but one of them later replied, "It's been published in jinzidal papers already. Right now, the entire world is aware of it. Yet, three hours to your execution and no sign of either your husband or your dad. Perhaps, they've abandoned you."

The pieces immediately clicked in Nostalgia's mind. If they wanted to kill her, they could have done so at any time in the last three days. But because they wanted Armad to surrender so they would have them both, they published the news and even waited.

It seemed the army perceived Armad as a threat after he displayed King Eyrion's lightning transformation.

Sigh.

Nostalgia went ahead and the guards followed her behind. She wore a gown of brown fabric that had turned dark with dirt. The chains rang with her every step.

A few minutes later, they reached the end of the corridor and then climbed a flight of stairs. The princess walked without any idea where she was going.

A few minutes later, she heard noises in the distance. The noise got louder as she approached the end of the stairs. Then at the end of the stairs, the arena greeted her.

A sea of men, all armed with a variety of weapons, stood before her. They started jeering and calling her names as soon as they saw her. The most frightening thing for her was that all these men were calling for her head. She was a princess and a very beautiful one at that. But here she was, everyone, hating her. Painful tears welled up in her eyes. She had never known hatred before now. Everyone loved her, and everyone competed for her affection. But there were more than a hundred thousand people gathered today wanting her dead.

Nostalgia was led by the guards to the stone altar. They forced her to her knees. A giant man with an ax stood behind her, awaiting orders to execute her. She bowed her head, not knowing what to do.

Time passed slowly. Tears streamed down her face.

After an undetermined period, the jeers turned to ovations. Nostalgia raised her head to find the Kings arriving.

Deniz Iluru, Rafiyan Daljari, one of Hanibal's Twin Executioners, and finally Uznu Ururu.

They sat on the four chairs at the foot of the altar.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers stood on the first section of the arena. Then one thousand specially-selected, elite soldiers stood behind them. And then a group of princes and commanders, each of them boasting of more than one thousand years of pol. And then lastly, an alliance of the four powers sat at the foot of the altar. To free Nostalgia, one must fight through these four groups of soldiers. But what would Armad do?