00:00The village of Elkhaven was a quiet place, hidden away from the greed of the kingdom.
00:06Here, a young blacksmith's apprentice named Elian knew only two things,
00:11the heat of the forge and his absolute love for Lyra.
00:17Lyra was the village healer's daughter, with a smile that could outshine the morning sun
00:22and eyes as gentle as the spring rain.
00:26One evening, sitting by the edge of the golden wheat fields,
00:31Elian handed Lyra a small ring he had hammered out of scrap iron.
00:36Sitting at their feet was a small, scruffy, wild piglet named Morgan,
00:41which they had rescued from a hunter's trap a few weeks prior.
00:44It isn't gold, Elian whispered, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
00:50But one day, I will give you the world, Lyra.
00:56Lyra slipped the iron ring onto her finger, resting her head on his shoulder.
01:02I don't want the world, Elian.
01:04I only want you.
01:07But the world had other plans.
01:09That very night, the sky turned the color of blood.
01:14King Malachor, a tyrant known for his endless cruelty,
01:19ordered his royal vanguard to raid the border villages.
01:22The deafening sound of galloping horses and screaming villagers woke Elian.
01:29He grabbed his hammer, rushing into the flames.
01:32But he was just a boy.
01:34A knight's armored gauntlet struck his face, sending him crashing into the mud.
01:41Through the smoke and his own blood,
01:43Elian watched in sheer horror as the king's men dragged Lyra away,
01:49taking her as a prize for their cruel monarch.
01:53The village burned, and Elian's heart burned with it.
01:58The boy who loved Lyra died in the ashes of O'Khaven.
02:03In his place, a man driven by pure vengeance was born.
02:08For five agonizing years, Elian traveled the harshest edges of the realm.
02:15He traded his blacksmith's hammer for a heavy mercenary's broadsword.
02:19He trained until his hands bled, until his muscles tore,
02:24and until his heart grew as cold as the steel he wielded.
02:29He was not entirely alone.
02:32Morgan, the rescued piglet,
02:34had grown into a monstrously large, terrifying wild boar
02:40with razor-sharp tusks, fiercely protective of his master.
02:45Along his bloody travels,
02:47Elian also freed a small, incredibly intelligent macaque monkey named Peter
02:53from a cruel traveling circus.
02:55Peter, wearing a small leather vest Elian made for him,
03:00became the perfect scout and thief.
03:04The three of them became a ghost story among the king's soldiers.
03:08A lone, scarred warrior and his beasts,
03:12hunting down the royal vanguard one by one,
03:15searching for any whisper of the girl from O'Khaven.
03:19Elian's relentless hunt finally led him to the capital,
03:24the City of Iron.
03:26The city was preparing for a grand royal procession.
03:30Elian stood hidden in the cheering crowd,
03:33wearing a dark hooded cloak.
03:35Morgan waited in the shadowed alleys,
03:38while Peter sat on a high rooftop,
03:40signaling to Elian.
03:42Then, the royal carriage passed.
03:45Elian's breath stopped.
03:47There she was, Lyra.
03:51But she was not the frightened village girl he remembered.
03:55She was draped in exorbitant, heavy gold silk,
04:00her neck glittering with diamonds,
04:02and on her head sat the obsidian crown of the queen.
04:08Beside her sat King Malachor,
04:10looking at her with twisted possession.
04:13Elian expected to see sorrow in her eyes.
04:17But as she scanned the crowd,
04:19her gaze was icy,
04:22unfeeling,
04:23and regal.
04:25Elian's chest tightened,
04:27a desperate hope telling him
04:29she was just playing a part.
04:31He had to know.
04:33He had to save her.
04:35That midnight,
04:37using Peter to slip through the narrow grates
04:40and unlock the heavy iron doors from the inside,
04:44Elian infiltrated the royal gardens.
04:47He found Lyra walking alone among the white roses,
04:51moonlight reflecting off her jewels.
04:54Elian stepped out of the shadows,
04:57pulling down his hood.
04:59Lyra, he choked out,
05:01his voice trembling with five years of held back tears.
05:06Lyra spun around.
05:08For a split second,
05:10a flash of something unrecognizable crossed her face,
05:13but it was instantly replaced by a mask of cruel arrogance.
05:19Guard your tongue, peasant,
05:21she hissed,
05:22her voice dripping with venom.
05:24You address the queen of this realm.
05:28Elian stepped forward,
05:30desperately reaching out.
05:31It's me, Elian.
05:34I've come to take you home.
05:36I'm strong enough now.
05:37We can leave this nightmare.
05:40Lyra looked at his scarred face,
05:43his worn leather armor,
05:45and then let out a cold, mocking laugh
05:49that cut deeper than any sword.
05:52Home?
05:53To a pile of ash and mud?
05:56Look at me, Elan.
05:57I wear the wealth of nations.
06:00I dine on silver and command armies.
06:04Why would I ever trade this crown for a dirt-stained blacksmith?
06:10Elian froze,
06:12his heart shattering into a million jagged pieces.
06:15You, you don't mean that.
06:18You're wearing my iron ring,
06:20he said, looking at her hand.
06:22Her hands were bare,
06:24covered only in gold rings.
06:26I threw that piece of scrap away the day I arrived here,
06:30she sneered.
06:32Guards!
06:32There is an intruder in the gardens!
06:34The heavy footsteps of soldiers echoed in the distance.
06:39Elian looked at the woman he loved,
06:41realizing she was truly gone.
06:45Devastated, broken, and hollow,
06:48he scaled the garden wall
06:49and vanished into the night,
06:52leaving his soul behind.
06:54For weeks,
06:56Elian descended into the darkest depths of despair.
07:00He drank heavily in the slums of the city,
07:03wanting to forget the world,
07:05to forget her.
07:07One rainy night,
07:09a group of the king's soldiers entered the tavern,
07:12brutally kicking an old man
07:14who couldn't pay the royal tax.
07:16Morgan, the giant boar,
07:18let out an angry snort from the corner,
07:21while Peter the monkey
07:22threw a wooden tankard at a soldier's head.
07:26Elian watched as the soldiers
07:28drew their swords on the innocent commoners.
07:31Suddenly,
07:32the faces of the terrified people
07:34blurred with the memories of his burning village.
07:37He had spent five years training to save one girl,
07:42only to find she didn't want to be saved.
07:45But what about the others?
07:47What about the thousands groaning beneath King Malachor's tyrannical boot?
07:53Elian stood up,
07:54kicking his chair back.
07:55His broadsword sang as it left its scabbard.
07:59In mere moments,
08:00the soldiers lay unconscious on the floor.
08:04Elian looked at his reflection
08:05in a puddle of spilled wine.
08:08Lyra may have chosen the tyrant,
08:11but Elian would choose the people.
08:13He would not leave this city
08:16until the king's head rolled.
08:18The infiltration was not a rescue mission.
08:22It was an assassination.
08:25Elian struck during a heavy thunderstorm.
08:28Morgan, the giant boar,
08:30charged like a battering ram,
08:32completely shattering the heavy wooden door
08:34of the palace's side armory,
08:36crushing the guards.
08:37Chaos erupted.
08:39While the royal army rushed to contain the monstrous beast,
08:43Peter the monkey swung through the rafters,
08:46dropping heavy iron chandeliers
08:48and stealing the keys to the inner keep.
08:50Elian walked through the chaos
08:52like an angel of death.
08:55He didn't run.
08:56He marched.
08:57Every soldier that stepped in his path
09:00was cut down with ruthless,
09:02terrifying precision.
09:04He was no longer a heartbroken lover.
09:07He was the wrath of the kingdom incarnate.
09:11He kicked open the massive double doors
09:14of the throne room.
09:15King Malachor stood from his throne,
09:18drawing his ornate,
09:20jewel-encrusted sword.
09:22You have fought well, peasant,
09:24but you die here.
09:27The duel was explosive.
09:31Malachor was a skilled swordsman,
09:33but he fought with arrogance.
09:36Elian fought with five years of rage,
09:39pain, and loss.
09:41Their swords clashed,
09:43sending sparks flying across the marble floor.
09:46Elian parried a deadly thrust,
09:49spun,
09:49and smashed the heavy pommel of his sword
09:52into Malachor's face.
09:54The king stumbled,
09:56his sword clattering to the floor.
09:59Elian kicked the tyrant to his knees
10:01and raised his broadsword high,
10:04ready to deliver the final killing blow.
10:07Die for Oakhaven!
10:09Elian roared,
10:11swinging the blade down.
10:12Suddenly,
10:14a blur of gold and silk
10:16threw itself between Elian and the king.
10:19A sickening,
10:21horrific sound of steel-piercing flesh
10:24echoed through the silent throne room.
10:27Elian's eyes widened
10:29in absolute,
10:30paralyzing horror.
10:32It was Lyra.
10:34She had thrown herself
10:36in front of Malachor.
10:38Elian's heavy broadsword
10:40had driven
10:40straight through her chest.
10:42In the shock of the moment,
10:45King Malachor
10:45scrambled to his feet,
10:47a cowardly rat
10:48fleeing the sinking ship,
10:50and escaped
10:51through a hidden passage
10:52behind the throne,
10:54leaving his queen
10:55to bleed.
10:57Elian dropped his sword,
10:59falling to his knees
11:00and catching Lyra
11:01as she collapsed.
11:03Blood ruined
11:04her golden dress.
11:05No, no, no, no!
11:08Why?
11:09Elian screamed,
11:10his hands desperately
11:12pressing against
11:13her fatal wound,
11:14trying to stop the bleeding.
11:16Why did you protect him, Lyra?
11:18After everything he did?
11:20Lyra looked up at him,
11:22her cruel, arrogant mask
11:25finally slipping away,
11:27replaced by the gentle,
11:29loving eyes
11:29of the village girl
11:30he had never stopped loving.
11:32She coughed,
11:34blood staining her lips.
11:36Because he had
11:38the orders drawn up,
11:41she whispered,
11:43her breathing shallow.
11:44If he died,
11:46his generals were ordered
11:48to march on the borderlands,
11:50to slaughter the survivors
11:52of Oakhaven,
11:53to burn everything.
11:55Elian's heart stopped.
11:58He stared at her,
11:59the horrific truth
12:01dawning on him,
12:02with trembling,
12:04bloody fingers.
12:05Lyra reached into
12:07the deep neckline
12:08of her dress,
12:10pulling out a chain
12:11hidden close to her heart.
12:13Dangling from the chain
12:15was a rusted,
12:17scrap iron ring.
12:19I had to make you
12:20hate me, Elian,
12:21she cried softly,
12:23tears streaming
12:24down her pale face.
12:26If you loved me,
12:27you would have fought him,
12:29and you would have died.
12:30I married the monster
12:33to keep you safe.
12:34I traded my soul
12:36for your lives.
12:38Elian broke.
12:40A raw,
12:41guttural scream
12:42of absolute agony
12:44tore from his throat.
12:46He pulled her
12:47against his chest,
12:49rocking her
12:50as he sobbed
12:51uncontrollably.
12:52I'm sorry.
12:54I'm so sorry,
12:56Lyra.
12:57Please,
12:58don't leave me.
12:59We can go home.
13:01We can go home now.
13:02Lyra reached up,
13:04her bloodied hand
13:06gently touching
13:07his scarred cheek
13:08one last time.
13:10You are
13:12my home,
13:14Elian,
13:14she whispered.
13:16Her hand fell limp.
13:18The Queen of Thorns
13:20was dead.
13:22Elian did not
13:23chase the king.
13:24He did not
13:25claim the throne.
13:26He carried
13:27Lyra's body
13:28out of the palace,
13:30walking through
13:31the silent,
13:32terrified ranks
13:33of the royal army
13:34who parted ways
13:35for the grieving warrior.
13:36He buried her
13:38on a quiet hill
13:40overlooking the ruins
13:41of Oakhaven,
13:42planting white roses
13:44over her grave.
13:45Years later,
13:47legend spoke
13:48of a wandering,
13:49nameless swordsman
13:50who roamed
13:51the edges
13:52of the world.
13:53A man with
13:54a heart of stone
13:55and eyes filled
13:57with endless regret.
13:58He spoke to no one,
14:00fighting only
14:01to protect the weak.
14:03And he was
14:03never alone.
14:05A massive,
14:06aging wild boar
14:08walked faithfully
14:09by his side
14:10and a small monkey
14:11sat upon his shoulder.
14:13They were three ghosts
14:15wandering a broken world,
14:18carrying the weight
14:19of a crown of regret,
14:21waiting for the day
14:23they could finally go home.
