#!unova

Initially apprehensive after Hilda's disappearance, The Flower of Unova proved to her people that she was capable of decision-making and taking care of them. Likewise, Sir Hue was proving to be the Head Knight that complemented her rule. Although his youth still bothered some of the old knights, he showed his value at Sir Liam's side throughout the previous events - not limited to his service in battle, but also his service to his lord when he lost his arm in the war. Liam stepped down from his position when Hue was knighted, but recommended to the new Queen to have Hue succeed him. Although he suffered - and continued to suffer - from depression, psychological trauma, and physical pain, Liam eventually overcame some of his perceived worthlessness by learning how to do things again with his left hand, especially battle. Although he has considered becoming a scholar, his family's legacy and his loyalty to serving his kingdom keeps him going as a knight.

However, the peace and prosperity of Unova only lasts for so long. As if out of nowhere, a horrible drought befalls the land, leaving it in famine. The people grow hungry and outraged, wanting answers - or better, solutions - but Rosa and her council are unable to provide them. After consulting help from the best wizards and witches of the land, from Ingo and Emmet, to Head Witch Shauntal, nothing seems to work. When all hope seems to be lost, a foreign wizard finds his way to the castle: Colress. 

Mysterious but suspicious, it is difficult to trust this stranger upon first impression. However, when he manages to make it rain, the people's faith is placed on him, moving the Queen to welcome him to their land and resources. More misfortunes befall the land over time, and in each instance, Colress solves it. The people continue to trust him - even Rosa - but something just does not sit right with The Order of Truth. Count Nate becomes intrigued by the new wizard, especially after witnessing him cast the first spell firsthand. During the last few years, he has found that an affinity for magic has awakened in him. This has been something he has been keeping away from his family, who seem to be wary of the practice. He came to the kingdom in hopes of having one of the wizards take him up as an apprentice, when he crossed paths with Colress. From that moment, he felt that he had to learn from him.

Colress seemed to know that a young nobel had been watching him, and is quick to acknowledge him. One night, Nate finds Colress' quarters, and makes a deal to work as master and apprentice. Colress seems far too accepting of this arrangement, but Nate does not seem to expect anything of his intentions. It doesn't take too long for Rosa and Hue to recognize a familiar face around the castle. Nate doesn't take long in realizing his potential and honing his magic skills, but Hue does not trust Colress at all. Eventually, he confronts Nate about what he is doing, telling him about his suspicions of the foreign wizard.

Meanwhile, Liam shares with Hilbert his anxiety over Hilda's whereabouts. They are both concerned about her safety, and whether she is still alive. After some time, they begin patrolling the lands in hopes of finding her, and instead come across signs that the Black Kingdom is up to something. Fighting off some rebellious knights on their own, they capture one of them to have them explain themselves. They only taunt them, telling them that they are too late, leaving them with a riddle:

"That which was one in the beginning shall be reunited once more. And from ice, the land will be reborn."

Upon returning to the kingdom to warn the queen, they find that she is not there.

Where has she gone? With Nate. 

Upon learning from Colress about the legend and reading more about the lore in the kingdom's library, Nate has convinced Rosa that they must reawaken Kyurem. Colress has expressed intrigue for the pokemon, and Nate believes that by reawakening the pokemon, that the dragons of truth and ideals will return and bring back the lost Queen and King of the respective kingdoms. But legend says that the pokemon waits for a hero to fill in the missing parts of its body with truth or ideals. Nate thinks that this must mean a descendant of the the white royal family. With that in mind, Rosa leads Nate to the Giant Chasm, as he insists on coming along to see this through. Considering that Hue has expressed his disdain for Colress' ideals and Nate's blind belief in him, they keep this a secret from the Head Knight.

It becomes a race: Liam and Hilbert are pressed to discover the meaning of the riddle, and come across the room of royal possessions - and that the gene wedge (known in the present as the DNA splicers) is missing from a broken-into chest. Having witnessed the perpetrator leave, they chase after him. Hue has been following close on their heels with the intention of stopping them. But in both cases, the knights are too late.

Upon catching the perpetrator, Sage Zinzolin, they find out that he has already passed the gene wedge onto someone else to take it to their lord. Liam takes this as N has returned.

Just as Hue reaches the Giant Chasm, Rosa has approached an icy figure. Upon touching its chilly surface, it gleams, and bursts, in a flash of light, into Kyurem. Before Rosa can further interact with it, however, a spell is cast, entrapping the royal and his apprentice in place as he makes off with the legendary. It is by no means happy, as the moment it steps outside of the Giant Chasm, its surroundings are frozen in ice.

Part II, Act II: Smothered Mate

It is an understatement to say that Nate feels betrayed by his Master. He does not have time to dwell on his anger; and it is through concentration and will that he casts a spell to cancel out the one Colress placed on them. Hue allows himself swept up in his emotions, and fights with Nate over his rash decisions. It is not until Rosa stops them and reminds them of who the true enemy is. They finally go after the rogue wizard.

The rest of The Order of Truth are having none of Zinzolin's smugness, and persuade him (with threats and force) to take them to his leader. It is no other than Ghetsis, still bent on making his original plans come into fruition. And of course, the Shadow Triad are the ones who have helped in delivering the gene wedge in his hands. After taunting them with his plans, he orders the Shadow Triad to finish them off. The battle of two against three is unfair, but the two knights hold their own and manage to follow after Ghetsis.

To their surprise, N and Zekrom have been apprehended. Ghetsis has trapped them, berating N again for his failures now that he has a new audience. Just as he mentions that he only needs one more piece of the puzzle, the Black Kingdom castle freezes over with the arrival of Colress and Kyurem. 

When Ghetsis goes onto explain where Colress' alliance lies, but is interrupted by the wizard himself, who is only interested in the deal that they made. The Shadow Triad present him with what looks like the Light Stone. When Liam recognizes the item, he blindly makes a rush for it, only to be stopped by another spell by Colress. He attempts to take his leave, but before he can, he is struck with a spell that sends him flying back.

Nate confronts Colress, beginning a wizard battle between apprentice and master, allowing Hue and Rosa to enter the fray. While Liam releases N and shakes him down for answers about Hilda's whereabouts, Hilbert tries to stop Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad. In all the crossfire, their efforts are wasted as they activate the gene wedge. Black Kyurem is born.

Ghetsis thinks that he has won, taunting the queen and the knights with his new weapon. But when he tries to command it, Black Kyurem cries out in agony and begins to destroy the castle, knocking him out of the way for a moment. It appears that the fusion is unstable, and the situation is not making it any better. As The Order of Truth fight off and eventually defeat the Shadow Triad, Rosa begins talking to the upset pokemon. N joins her, and together, they calm the pokemon down, causing the fusion to separate into two entities again. The ice freezing the kingdom begins to melt away.

He cannot accept this. Ghetsis cannot accept his plans failing one last time, and in a desperate move, attempts to kill them all off in battle. The scene is chaos as he commands his pokemon to do just that. Kyurem and Zekrom take the side of the young heroes, ensuring their win. Right when Ghetsis makes an attempt at Rosa's life - declaring he should've just done it himself - He gets caught in the final blow between Nate and Colress, turning him into stone. Colress shows no remorse for the man, but concedes at the realization that Nate would've bested him if Ghetsis didn't get in the way. He hands over the Light Stone, showing disinterest of pursuing what he was originally after. He does make a cryptic note, however. "It feels like the power residing in the stone is stronger than I imagined."

As the group leaves the castle, they become aware that it isn't only the castle that has defrosted: the rest of the kingdoms seem to be returning to normal. N stays back, determined to right the wrong his "father" has caused and takes responsibility. When he touches the Light Stone, he insists that they return to their kingdom as fast as they can. Whatever is inside has to find its way out. The group escorts Kyurem back to the Giant Chasm, where it can return to its peaceful slumber. As final parting words, Rosa apologizes for the trouble they have caused the pokemon. She explains to Kyurem the struggle that has happened two years ago, and the aftermath they are currently facing. She then shares with it the weight she has had to carry since: the loss of her family, the suddenness of becoming ruler of a kingdom, and the pressures of doing what is right for her people. In spite of all of this, she comes to terms with these emotions she has veiled with a reassuring confidence, and something about her words causes Kyurem to "engulf" the Light Stone.

The gene wedge, which she stowed away in her parcel, activates, and Kyurem becomes White Kyurem...

Ghetsis finds out that N has met the princess, and takes advantage of this. He begins to devise a plan and makes sure someone is keeping track of where Hilda is.

During the two months when Liam and Hugh are in Sinnoh finding Pond, Ghetsis has persuaded N into not only creating an alliance with the White Kingdom, but uniting as one by arranging a marriage between Hilda and N. Despite her parents' initial suspicions, Hilda agrees to it because after meeting N so many times, she has come to trust him (though, finding out he's the King of the Black Kingdom was more than a surprise). By the time Liam and Hue come back, they find out the wedding will take place two weeks after their arrival.

To add more salt to the wound, the King has called for Liam. He gets scolded for leaving Unova and only telling the princess about it, and questions his loyalty. He then states that he is no longer allowed to leave Unova unless he travels with the royal family. The King also reveals that he is unsettled by Hilda's decision to marry the Black King, and asks that at the wedding he stays close to her--not him, as he will ask Sir Hilbert to be at his side--in case something should occur at the wedding.

And something does occur at the wedding. The King was supposed to die just as the two were pronounced man and wife, but Hilbert caught a shadowed figure who was going to assassinate the King. A struggle to capture the assassin breaks out, but it all goes to hell when the assassin beheads the King. 

In the midst of it all, Liam tries to help Hilda escape, but she refuses to leave. Hilda is protecting N, as she demands answers from him, but he's too stunned by the blood and hysteria, as everyone tries to evacuate. When she isn't looking, N flees the scene, unable to take the chaos any longer. Hilda runs after him, only to have no idea of which way he went. When Liam and Hilbert catch up with her, they find her standing over a cryptic message left by the killer.

Part I, Act II: Battery

The assassin’s cryptic messages foreshadow not only their directive to kill off the royal family one by one, but to also serve as a tease about where and when the assassinations will take place. Liam puts all his effort into solving these messages, but even when he does figure them out, the knights are either too late or unable to keep the assassin from killing the royal.

It continues with the Queen. It is assumed that Hilda is next, as the first in line, but the next member is her uncle, the Grand Duke, then the Grand Duchess. Hilda and Rosa are the only royals left, but despite their survival, the bitter taste of multiple failures taxes out the head knight.

Hilda manages to stay strong throughout the ordeal, taking on her role as queen despite, for fear of a repeat of the failed wedding, the lack of a coronation. Knowing that they are growing weary, she helps Liam and Hue regain their confidence just as the next cryptic message is found. Rosa is targeted, but the knights are able to save her from her fate.

Liam and Hilbert pursue the assassin—which they find out over time is actually a team of assassins—while Hue takes care of Rosa before catching up with them later. In a final confrontation, having supposedly cornered them, the assassins give one last cryptic puzzle before slipping through their hands.

Liam deciphers that they are known as the Shadow Triad and that they work for Ghetsis.

The knights return and tell Hilda what they’ve discovered. Terrified of the royals’ systematic assassination, ill rumors of the Black Kingdom and the corrupt Ghetsis spread across the land. The people insist on war, putting pressure on Hilda to make the decision.

She hesitates.

Hilda, influenced by N’s pacifist nature and idealistic words, as well as her own concern against unnecessary bloodshed, fails to incite immediate action. She considers her people’s lives, but the longer she waits, the more they question how much she cares for them.

There’s no way around it: The White Kingdom will go to war.

Part I, Act III: Gambit

Upon telling her Head Knight of the declaration, she also tells him that she must go on a journey of her own. She knows they have barely learned the truth. As a descendant of the twin heroes of legend, she knows that she inherits the Light Stone and must call upon Reshiram. She heads for Dragonspiral Tower, not only to summon the legendary pokemon, but to find the Dark Stone.

Unfortunately, the Dark Stone was found by people of the Black Kingdom long before N became king. Having found out that the Shadow Triad gave themselves away, Ghetsis tries to accelerate his plans to overtake the White Kingdom and create his ideal world. Knowing by legend that he is not pure-hearted, he has raised N as his own for the purpose of summoning Zekrom. The time has come for Ghetsis to reveal the Dark Stone, and insists that in order to win, they must unleash the dragon. N is upset by this, hating to believe they must turn to violence, and goes to find Hilda, taking the Dark Stone with him.

Meanwhile, both sides are preparing for war. The absences of their leaders breeds more uncertainty; the likelihood that Hilda and N are conspiring worry the common people. Liam trusts her, though, and keeps quiet about her whereabouts.

N finds Hilda at the Dragonspiral Tower. Almost surprisingly, she isn't angry with him nor does she try to attack him. She is mostly just disappointed. Once N establishes that he wants to right what Ghetsis has done, Hilda begins to listen and cooperate with him. They attempt to summon the dragons, but without any luck. Instead, they come up with another plan in order to protect their people from violence.

Hilda nad N both return to their kingdoms before the war begins, and lead their troops to battle. However, N proposes (as planned) that only he and Hilda will fight. They speak of Ideals and Truth, and somehow, speaking of what they believe is best for Unova summons the dragons. N says that it must be Fate, that they are the ones meant to bring to an end what the twin heroes once started.

The troops fall back to let the White Queen and Black King battle, and N and Zekrom lose. As consequence, N offers himself as a marytr and declaring that the Black Kingdom will be no more with his death, which enrages Ghetsis.

N's proposal was not a part of their shared plan, though, and Hilda rallies for her people to recognize that none of this is N's fault; he is an ally. Their true enemy is Ghetsis himself. Refusing to back down after the truth about him is revealed, he attempts to kill N until Zekrom sweeps him off and flies away. When the attempt is for naught, Ghetsis leads the Plasma knights who are loyal to him to charge.

The war begins. Reshiram isolates the kingdoms with rings of fire, but some still charge ahead. Mindful of what Hilda and N have said, the White Kingdom's knights are mericiful, making sure not to kill any of their opponents if at all possible. Causalities still happen.

Hilda goes after Ghetsis herself despite the chaos and fights him. Unfortunately, he manages to flee with the help of the Shadow Triad.

"A page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire. A young boy served as a page for about seven years, running messages, serving, cleaning, and even learning the basics of combat, and the lord he was working for would usually treat him fairly but they went through intensive training. A page could be generously rewarded if he or she did a great act of service. The lord sometimes gave the page private combat training."

Pages were taken into the castle at the age of seven, but often weren't taken in by one knight just yet. They often rotated to attend to the needs of different knights. Because of this sort of system, it was a time for pages to not only get to know the knights, but to make an impression on them in hopes of being chosen to be their squire when they are of age. Knights who were impressed with certain pages may give them private combat training. Thus, pages usually got a feel for the knight's teaching styles and battling preferences, making for a general sort of education.

Along with messenger duties, pages and squires begin to get a general education. Usually those who come from noble families or are family of knights get a better education than those from common families. They also begin to learn how to play instruments from visiting or established musicians and minstrels. They may also begin to learn how to sing. 

Squire: Age 13-15

“In time of war Squires accompanied Knights on the battlefield, leading and tending the horses and dressing them in the Medieval Knights Armor. They came under fire from arrows and many squires were killed doing their duty.”

When a page is about 14 years old, a knight may choose them to become their squire. This may happen a year earlier or later, depending on the potential of the individual. A knight has 4-6 squires.

If chosen, the knight will accompany the candidate to befriend a pawniard (his bisharp will fend off the wild bisharp of the pack if need be). If they are successful, it acts as confirmation of the apprentice's worth to the knight. They then receive their own Zebstrika to ride and train with.

The knight educates and trains his squires for battle (as well as any other skills they believe they should have), but squires have more duties than just to train. There are two main types of squires: The Arming Squire (battlefield duties) and The Squire of the Table. Typically, the newer/younger squires were the latter, and were promoted as older squires were knighted.

The Arming Squire assists the knight in dressing in his armor, ensures the armor and weapons of the knight were in good order, attended to the knight's zebstrika (stabling and care), and accompanied him on the battlefield.

The Squire of the Table handled things inside the castle: waiting at table, some duties in the kitchen, arranging for the upkeep of clothing, running errands, carrying messages and guarding their knight when he slept.

Occasionally, these individual duties were shared among the squires regardless of pecking order.

The most favored and oldest Arming squire is known as The Squire of the Body and gets the most attention from the knight. He often shows the most promise. ”Such squires were the closest to the lord and were trusted to accompany him in battle.”

Knight: Age 17-21

“The Squires served in this role and performed their duties for seven years and became a Knight at the age of twenty-one. Sometimes knighthood was conferred on a squire at an earlier age as the reward for bravery on the battlefield.”

There are two requirements for Unovan knighthood:

The squire must have evolved its pawniard into a bisharp;

The squire must best his knight in a spar OR prove his worth in battle.

Once they prove themselves worthy, the knight will bring it to the attention of the King for a proper knighting ceremony.