Aroscae Archives - The Fall of Roseheart Castle
written by: Fontaine Argalion
The Eternal Rose of The Kingdom of Roseheart. The sacred artifact entrusted by the gods to the kingdom of faes to ensure nature would continue to flourish and exhibit its prominence on the mystical lands of Aroscae, the land of elves, faes, and humans.
It sits deep within the royal garden of Roseheart Castle where it is delicately maintained and kept in pristine condition as its powers are responsible for keeping the supernatural balance of divine nature and mortal interest. Such powers include hearing out the calls of wildlife and even human, elven, and fae lives for help when they are oppressed by any sort of evil. The Eternal Rose alone feels like a living god planted firmly upon the land, thus, it was both feared and respected by all those who dwell the land. As such, the Royal Family that resides within Roseheart Castle are the ones tasked with tending and guarding the Eternal Rose, and House Aiythorne, the bloodline that currently reigns, bears this burden.Yesterday.“Rozea, have you finished tending to the rose yet?”
“Almost finished, give me a few more minutes.”
Rozea Aiythorne, the eldest daughter and child of House Aiythorne.
This noble princess is the one tasked with tending to the Eternal Rose everyday. As such, her reverence for the sacred artifact has grown through the years as the artifact itself has favored Rozea as well.
“Please be patient, I’m almost done… and there!”
After carefully monitoring all of the conditions needed to be met to ensure that the Eternal Rose will stay healthy (soil condition, temperature and humidity, etc.), Rozea nodded with a satisfied grin.
“Alright, that’s all for today!”
She put one hand onto her chest and bowed with reverence to the Eternal Rose.
“Thank you for allowing me to serve my purpose. Please allow me to have this privilege again tomorrow!”
She left the Royal Garden and entered back into the halls of Rosenheart Castle where one of the family’s trusted advisors was waiting for her.
“Finished with your duties to the Eternal Rose, milady?”
“Yes. Am I needed elsewhere today?”
“Well, I think your lord father is looking for you.”
“Alright then, let us be on our way.”
Rozea looked back at the Royal Garden with a grin on her face.
“Tomorrow, I can’t wait to get back to tending the garden once more!”
Little did she know that what tomorrow would bring will take a devastating turn to her life as the Eternal Rose’s Guardian.“Fall back, fall back now!”
A legion of royal knights flooded into the main halls of the Palace. Rozea had only caught a glimpse of what was happening outside; a short preview of death and carnage occuring within the kingdom of Roseheart.
“What happened here?! What is going on, everyone?”
She knelt beside the wounded and administered care, but her retainers pulled her away.
“Milady, you mustn’t! They have been poisoned by the human’s toxins, and any form of contact can negatively affect our kind!”
“Shhh! Do not worry, the Eternal Rose watches over me. Bring me our healing elixers, and those who can bar the door, do so!”
The princess spoke with such, unfound authority that everyone who was in a daze scrambled to do her bidding in an instant. When she was brought the medicine she requested, she got to work and aided the wounded.
“Boils on your skin and dried up limbs… This could only mean that the humans have launched toxins within our lands…”
She grabbed the attention of the healthiest survivor and asked her questions.
“Tell me, what exactly is happening out there? Why have humans come for our lands?”
“They are after the Eternal Rose.”
A booming voice echoed down the halls. Walking down was Rozea's father, the king of Roseheart.
“Father!”
Everyone knelt before the king, but he waved his hand and ordered everyone to rise.
“I’m afraid that… that this is the end of Roseheart.”
His words struck deep into the hearts of those within the castle. Roseheart, destroyed? The very thought of it had shook them to the core.
“But my liege, that’s impossible! Surely we have a way to repel the invaders that plague our lands. Maybe we can call the elves for help! They are allies of nature and would not like to see our lands desecrated by these greedy pigs!”
“I’m afraid the elves have turned against us as well. These bastards have struck a deal with the humans and have already infiltrated most of our countermeasures against invaders.”
The King walked down the steps and eyed his precious daughter.
“Rozea.”
His grim expression made Rozea’s heart sink deeper. Nevertheless, she knelt down to his side.
“Rise, my beloved daughter.”
She stood up, and was caught off guard as her father hugged her, feeling a trail of tears trickle down his cheek.
“Lord Father…”
“As I have said, they are after the Eternal Rose. We will never surrender the artifact handed to our kingdom over to these devils.”
He broke off the hug and placed his hands over Rozea’s shoulders.
“That’s why as guardian of the Eternal Rose, you must take it far away from here for safekeeping. We had already prepared a route for you where no man nor elf of these lands will be able to hunt you down.”
“You wish for me to run away? Never!”
“Rozea, please listen to me! If the Eternal Rose falls to the wrong hands, all of fae kind will be scorned and wither away into nothingness! You are the only one who has tended to the rose for years, so it is only fitting that you carry on with safekeeping it.”
The King knelt before Rozea and bowed.
“Carry our memories on, Rozea Aiythorne. You must live, live for the sake of all fae kind!”
Everyone followed suit and knelt before the princess. Rozea herself felt like she was about to burst into tears.
The burden of carrying on your own life for the sake of your own kind, the thought of abandoning everyone you had known and leaving them for dead…
She had no such time to think of these matters as a huge shock had struck the castle, causing the ceiling to crumble and collapse.
“GO NOW! ROZEA, RUN!”
The King drew his blade and rallied his men, charging out of the castle doors, taking their last stand. Rozea dashed towards the Royal Garden and approached the Eternal Rose.
It had already been prepared for transport as if it was anticipating it would be moved from the flower pot it was in.
“Forgive me, but we must go.”
Rozea took one last stare at the artifact before her, whispering prayers as she tearfully ran back inside the castle.
“Please, please, watch over our kind. Please let us all survive this ordeal…”
“Princess, over here!”
One of the royal advisors had led her into a room: the laboratory where scholars would study day and night.
“Alright, please hang on. We already have an escape route planned for you.”
Her advisor and his assistants tinkered furiously on some sort of circular arch. After a few minutes of chanting, the arch grew to life.
“Please enter here, and may the gods and the Eternal Rose watch over you, princess.”
Her advisors knelt before her as she stood just at the entrance of the arch.
“I… I will.”
She entered the arch, making her and the Eternal Rose’s whereabouts unknown in the land of Aroscae.
The Eternal Rose was safe, and so was the Princess and the memories of all Fae kind.
But… where were they now?To Be Continued.
Aroscae Archives - Trials, Tribulation, and The Return of a Forgotten Princess
One day later after the Exodus of Rozea Aiyethorne
I came to my senses after what I felt like was a fall into a bottomless void. Opening my eyes, I saw myself surrounded by bald trees, and the ground was a mix of cold, white snow and dead leaves.
What is this place? Have I been transported into an alternate dimension where nature has died out? It can’t be, then that would mean…
“The Eternal Rose!”
I quickly stood up on my feet and searched for the artifact. Thankfully, it was still in one piece a few meters away from where I stood. Still contained in the magical casing that housed it, it remained in pristine shape despite the harsh conditions we were faced with.
Now that my adrenaline from waking up has passed, coldness began to seep into my body. This place where I was sent was not very ideal for either myself nor the Eternal Rose, and I have no idea how long the magical casing would last to keep it alive.
I took the case within my own hands and started to roam the land in search of a suitable shelter. I was no stranger to hardships as my Lord Father had taught me a lot in wilderness survival as part of my education and training in case that I needed to survive on my own.
But application of the real thing is a hundred times more frightening knowing that I have no safety net this time, and the gravity of being in an unknown world just makes it all the worse for me.
I clutched the Eternal Rose near my chest and prayed for courage.
“Grant me strength and bravery, for I know even in these unknown lands, you’ll heed my prayer.”
The Eternal Rose responded, and I felt a warm sensation within the casket it was contained in. A warm breeze that feels like the first sign of spring encircled me. In a small radius, the snow melted and the grass grew rapidly.
“Continue on, Child of Aiyethorne. I will guide you.”
The Eternal Rose… it spoke!
I set it down immediately and bowed down in reverence.
“Rise, Child of Aiyethorne. You have proven yourself more than worthy in all these years of service. It is time that the gods repay your tenacity and devotion.”
The casket that contained it shattered, and a strong gale blew away the winter snow. The Eternal Rose’s petals scattered and surrounded me. I can hear a surge of different voices whispering within my head, and the cold, desolate place that I was once in was flooded with a great, white light.
Before me stood a divine being. Their face was indistinguishable because of light blocking their features, but what was prominent were a pair of transparent wings flickering red and white.
“Rise, Child of Aiyethorne.”
Multiple voices boomed from this being. Was this the personification of the Eternal Rose?
I heeded what the figure told me, and rose up. They put one hand on my shoulder, face peering near to mine. I’ve never felt such radiant power up close before, but it didn’t make me feel scared, it made me feel… powerful, energized.
“Devoted art thou, rewarded you shall be. The gods have chosen you to claim back your birthright and homeland.”
“But I’m powerless! I cannot possibly face legions of humans all by myself.”
“Indeed, you cannot on your own. Which is why the gods have favored you and in unison, agreed to impart to you a piece of our own power.”
The hand on my shoulder began to burn like an iron being pressed onto my skin, but it did not hurt, no. It felt like my body began to lighten up and surge with power.
“Wisdom passed from eons of time, power of the gods flows through your veins. To the Devoted Princess, Rozea Aiyethorne, thou must reclaim the land of Aroscae once more in our name.”
“Let not the wickedness of humans and beast alike shake your faith and resolve, let this day remind you that the gods indeed favors you as our champion. In time, your homeland will call to you once more; the fateful hour for Roseheart’s Throne to be reclaimed by its rightful ruler.”
Slowly, the divine figure went closer and passed through me; no, rather, they had merged within me, and I felt an overwhelming sense of hope and power surge in my heart.
“I…”
The light around the area faded out, and I felt my form change. My clothes were different, and the Eternal Rose within the casket was gone.
I am one with the Eternal Rose, and now it is soulbound to me.5 Years Later.
This world called “Earth” was very different from what Aroscae has to offer. It was a land dominated by humans, and there were no Fae folk to be found nor did they even exist in the first place. To them, we were a construct of fiction.
On the contrary to the humans of Aroscae, this dimension had humans who were respectful of nature, at least, the humans on where I was transported to are the ones who are respectful.
Occasionally disguising myself as a human to live among them, I had heard stories of how awful the course of nature has taken its place here, with the majority of humans not caring of the damages occurring within their own lands. Thankfully, there are still a large number of individuals and organizations working to help save the ecosystem.
And for the past years of gathering information, living among the kind humans, and even teaching me their ways foreign to my own culture in Aroscae, the fateful event finally happened.
“Alright, I’ll see you guys again next time when I can. That was a very productive day!”
I had waved my newfound friends from the community garden goodbye and returned to the now blooming forest grounds where I had first been transported to earth and made my home.
There, I found a surprise that shook my heart’s core.
“Milady… Milady Rozea?!”
It was my old advisor from Castle Roseheart. Tears began to well up from my eyes as I approached my old friend.
“Advisor… you survived!”
They pulled me in for a hug and examined me.
“You look so different, very much like a human!”
“Oh, I had to blend in. Wait a moment.”
I shed off the clothing that I adapted into and revealed my true, fae form. The advisor’s eyes widened in shock.
“That dress! The pattern… it’s so similar to the Eternal Rose!”
“Well… about that. Would you like to come inside my home? We have a lot to catch up on.”
“Yes, yes! I agree. Thank you for having me, Milady!”
As we went inside, I had exchanged tales of my time on Earth. The advisor has told me what the situation was like back at Aroscae.
My heart faltered when he told me that the skies were now tinged gray; the land had become rotten thanks to the incompetence of humans and beastkin alike, and majority of the Fae who had once led prosperously have now been either enslaved or killed.
“Without the Eternal Rose as a symbol of hope and power, all of Fae kind has succumbed to darkness. Sickness, rot, and death is rampant not just among Fae, but all of nature.”
Bastards… I clenched my fist and pounded at my table just thinking of my Fae folk.
“But now that I’ve managed to come here and find you, we can bring the Eternal Rose back home! It’s still here, right? Where have you been taking care of it?”
“Ah… about that.”
I pulled out the empty casket. The advisor’s eyes widened.
“Rozea… What happened to the Eternal Rose?”
“This.”
I held the advisor by the shoulder and infused him with some of the godly power granted to me. He was visibly shocked at the sudden surge within him as he recoiled and staggered back one I let go.
“Milady… you have turned into the Eternal Rose?”
“I am still me, but the Eternal Rose has become one with me. They had foretold this day that I would return to Aroscae, and I believe that time is now.”
I stood up and offered my hand to the Advisor.
“My loyal advisor, true to your devotion to house Aiyethorne. I bid you, rise with me, and we shall take back the land of Aroscae for the sake of all Fae folk!”
They were left speechless, tears springing from the corner of their eyes. They knelt down and bowed low.
“Yes… YES! Yes, I will fight by your side, for the sake of the Eternal rose, to you, Lady Rozea, and to all Fae folk that need our help!”
I offered them a hand and they took it, rising up.
“Come! The portal back to Aroscae is here!”
He led me outside of my home and conjured a portal similar to the one I had gone through for the first time.
“Are you ready, Milady?”
I took a deep breath, and smiled.
“I am.”
Without a second thought, the Advisor and I leapt into the portal.
I’m coming home to Aroscae, and I will liberate it from all evil.