Chapter 21: Abraham Stanford And Lara Smith
The crew gathered around King Vladimir, eager to hear the story of his family. King Vladimir took a deep breath and began.
"I am honored to introduce to you my older brother James Stanford, also known as Ian Whitlock. He deserved to be the King of Gaia, and now, I am going to formally announce that King James is our new king starting this day." Vladimir's words were met with excitement and anticipation.
But Ian shook his head. "Not to disrespect your offer, brother, but I'm better off as an ordinary warrior willing to help protect Earth and Gaia. So, I will bring back the throne to its rightful owner, King Vladimir Stanford. It is my first and final order."
The room erupted in laughter and praise. JackSpark grinned. "That's the noblest order I've heard from a King."
SpecLady chimed in, "If King Ian is the King of Gaia, then would you give your throne to Samantha, your Highness?" She addressed Queen Archandia.
Queen Archandia smiled slyly. "Well, if she would like to put her life in danger, that would be fine with me."
The room laughed again, and the tension was broken. King Vladimir's expression turned serious, and he changed the topic.
"We are very happy today to finally find the Sun attuned wizard, and I guess it's time for me to render the truth behind our family." King Vladimir shared their family's history.
"Abraham Stanford, our beloved father, is a simple man just like Ian. He only wanted to have a simple life with an ordinary lifestyle. He is blessed because he was considered the only Sun attuned wizard living on Chrono. He met our mother, Lara Smith, when they were still studying magic together. My mother was a moon attuned. They have different personalities, but they did end up together."
King Vladimir's eyes seemed to gaze into the past. "The real name of Death is Zacharias Grey. He was bullied in school and became best friends with my father. Zach envied my father because all the great things happened to him, and he got our mother Lara. That's the reason why he committed himself to the darkness."
The room was silent, hanging on King Vladimir's every word. "Father and mother had their first son, James, my brother, but he died after mother gave birth to him. Abraham decided to hide the truth regarding James and passed his sun abilities to him. By the time James was born, Zach offered himself to the darkness and made a curse which made a contract with the supreme being of darkness, Thalos. Thalos commanded Zach to offer his identity to him, and his wish would be granted. He wished for the death of the first-born son of Abraham and Lara. That's why the curse was cast by Thalos to James, combining the moon and blood magic, which symbolizes death. Zach is long dead since Thalos used his body and called him Death."
King Vladimir's voice was filled with a mix of sadness and determination. "Abraham decided to build an alliance called the Stan Guardians, including my mother. But now that Valkyrie and DragonKnight overheard the conversation of the Corpse, mother is the one who is the traitor among the Stan Guardians and infiltrated them to help Death easily get what he desired, and that is to become the King of Chrono. He defeated father. Mother gave birth to me before their fight. Father became a nomad after he lost to Death and had many sons and daughters. When Death cleared Chrono by killing the people who are against him, that includes our brothers and sisters that hold the Stanford last name, I'm the only survivor because mother protected me from him. Father decided to sacrifice his life to seal him. He has no contract to the supreme being of the Blood magic, that's why he can't use the Blood Contract Magic. He got the soul stone that mother created, and he built the time-stopper machine. He successfully executed the sealing process, but the effect is the separation of Chrono. That's why up until now, we are hunting Death."
The room was filled with a sense of determination. King Vladimir's eyes locked onto the guardians. "Mother, on the other hand, was imprisoned in one of her soul stones as a result of the sealing process and the separation of Chrono, and we will find out her secret after she will be released. I would like to order all guardians, that include you Archadians, to search for our mother's soul stone before Death and the Corpse regain their strength. I know he will gather more allies to invade us again. We don't know what dimension or planet he is lurking, but we should be fully aware of his invasion in the future. I will train my brother, and you need to train hard too, guardians."
Ian nodded, his determination clear. "That's clear enough, brother. We will prepare for Death."
Queen Archandia smiled. "For now, let's enjoy our victory together.