"Papa?"

"Mhh...Valvys? What are you doing up? You should be in bed."

"I know papa, but I can't sleep."

A pause of silence. "Another bad dream?"

A quiet nod. "It was really, really scary." She whispers.

He considers a moment. "Come on, let's get you back in your room, so we don't wake your mother."

He lifts her into his arms, taking his daughter out of his bedroom and into her own, then setting her down in her bed.

"Papa, can you tell me the story, so I can be brave?" He knew well what story she was talking about.

"Only if you promise you will go right to sleep after."

"I will, papa! I promise I will!"

He puts a finger to her lips. "Shhh shh...and you have to use your bedtime voice, even at the fun parts of the story."

She nods obediently, but squirms where she sits, very eager to hear the story like she had time and time before.

"Now, this story is true, and it happened to me not long before you were born…"

* * * * ☀ * * * *

After the first year, King Tyrian was confident that we would be able to capture Helarn within nine months, and Nyidem in twelve. Each victory was won in the name of Pelor, the God of the sun, to consecrate the blood spilled on both sides. We battled only with those who were armed, for we were told to never kill the defenseless, save we be marked cowards and become damned. We did this for the first year, until our king sent a decree.

Tyrian told us that in order to truly prove ourselves, we were not to pray to Pelor, as he wished to test our raw, mortal skills. It felt very peculiar at first, because before this, I would always lift my voice up to him in the calm before battle, but when I saw that even his high priests signed their names, I committed to obey. Eventually, I became proud of my own strength, and forgot who we were fighting for. I rose in the ranks quickly, and people I fought alongside began to tell stories of my bravery.

One thing led to another, and eventually, I was ordered to return to the capital, where I was honored and formally declared a general. My pride in myself was the greatest it had ever been, and I wasn't afraid to brag to others about my achievements.

Things changed the day one of the priests of the king took to the streets, frantically declaring that Pelor wished the war to end. "He never commanded us to fight!" He said. "The king has led us astray!" This happened the day after my ceremony, so I was still in the palace when he was arrested and brought before king Tyrian for trial.

The rumors began to spread, that this priest was possessed, or even bribed by Helarn or Nyidem to confuse us. I didn't witness the trial, but what I did see was his execution.

* * * * ☀ * * * *

He stops, looking down at his daughter. She was peering up at him with awestruck, eager eyes. "What?" She asks him when he pauses, leaning in.

"I don't want to give you more nightmares. This is the part where things don't go well."

"Yeah, but then you run away and find out you were tricked by the bad guys and fight them! I know the story, papa." Valvys assures him, nodding. "That's why I like when you tell it. Cause, you didn't give up when you found out you were wrong." She springs to her feet, jumping on the bed, though he had to give her credit; she did remember to stay quiet as she did so.

Her father chuckles and watches her jump a few times, then grabs her by the armpits, setting her in his lap. "Yes, I know, Val. I'll continue if you really want-"

"I do, dad," she says, firmly insistent.

So he continues.

* * * * ☀ * * * *

During my time at the palace, I had gotten to better know the King's daughter, Princess Tamyr, through acting as her personal guard. She tended to treat palace guards more as friends and equals instead of servants, especially to me. In fact, at times I would forget that she was even a princess because I always saw her as nothing but a friend. When the priest was executed, I could sense she was bothered by something. Eventually, I decided to approach her about what made her uneasy, and it was then, when she asked me: "What if we are fighting on the wrong side?"

I had never disclosed any of my doubts in the king to a soul before then, but I decided to tell her how I felt too. We both decided that something had to be done to end this war, if not simply pause it for a time. So she tried to plead with her father, time and time again, to no avail. With time, her father became agitated by this, and in a fit of fury, threatened that unless she wished to die, she would never question him again.

That night, she consulted me and a handful of others directly loyal to her, wondering what she should do. We all agreed the king was a threat, not only to our enemies, but also to the kingdom, and now his daughter. Finally, with a heavy heart, she concluded that the only way to see the war stopped would be to capture or kill King Tyrian. Seeing the pain in her eyes as she even considered that filled me with grief, though I knew she was right. But we couldn't do it on our own; there were only five of us, and only two of us had any experience in real combat. We agreed the best thing to do then, would be to assist those we were fighting against.

We fled Gwendrall two nights later, setting out towards Helarn. We had no idea what they would do when they found us, but at that point, anything was better than staying in the palace.

When we came across a Helarn military camp, I was chosen to reveal myself first to them, and slowly explain to them who I was, and that I had no desire to fight. Their commanding officer was weary of me, but reluctantly sat with me to discuss details. When I told him I had Princess Tamyr with me, he became even more suspicious of what our true intentions were, though Tamyr was able to explain to him more clearly her thoughts of the war, and her father.

* * * * ☀ * * * *

"You're getting sleepy, aren't you?" He whispers softly, seeing his daughter's eyes beginning to droop. Upon seeing this, he lays her down on her bed and pulls the covers up.

"No I'm not," she argues through a yawn that only contradicts her claim.

"Well, you know the rest. The princess and I were taken to see the king of Helarn, where we arranged a plan to overtake the palace, kill the king, and end the war. And we did just that. The end." Calth'm kisses Valvys on the cheek. "Now, go to sleep, my little Lavender."

The child gives a heavy sigh of displeasure, but obediently tries to close her eyes, before opening them a second later. "Papa?"

"Yes, Valvys?"

"Do you ever doubt the queen now? Like, how you did with the king?"

"Sometimes, though, she tends to be more open to hearing what others have to say than her father was."

She thinks about that for a moment. "Why doesn't she just do the right things all of the time then?"

"She, like you and I, are imperfect. Remember everyone makes mistakes, though not everyone is brave enough to admit when they are wrong." He stood up and knelt next to her bed, kissing her cheek one last time. "Can you go to sleep for me now?"

At last, the blue and red dragonborn nods. "Yeah. Goodnight, daddy."

"Goodnight, Val."