Diary in the Ashes - Part 1 and 2  
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego\_Minifigure\_Realm/s/jHAWAsNxHP](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego_Minifigure_Realm/s/jHAWAsNxHP)  
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego\_Minifigure\_Realm/comments/1tqefo7/beneath\_red\_skies/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego_Minifigure_Realm/comments/1tqefo7/beneath_red_skies/)  
Prequel 1 and 2:  
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego\_Minifigure\_Realm/comments/1s4keae/facing\_queen\_blood/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego_Minifigure_Realm/comments/1s4keae/facing_queen_blood/)  
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego\_Minifigure\_Realm/comments/1s1qxzw/quest\_part\_11\_chains\_of\_the\_storm/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lego_Minifigure_Realm/comments/1s1qxzw/quest_part_11_chains_of_the_storm/)

**Diary in the Ashes - Part 3**

The great hall of **Braccenfoot** was quiet. Rain beat softly against the stained-glass windows as the doors swung open.  
A rider entered. Mud clung to his boots, soot to his cloak. In both hands, he carried something wrapped in worn leather.

He knelt before the throne.  
"My Lord."  
Lord Falcon looked down.  
"What have you brought me?"  
The messenger carefully unfolded the bundle.   
A small book.Its cover blackened by fire. The edges charred. The leather cracked with age and heat.

"It was recovered from the ruins of **Harrogos**."  
Falcon's expression hardened.   
The messenger continued.  
"It belonged to one of the Kraken."  
He turned the cover just enough for the name to become visible. 

**Freya Bloodsail.**

A murmur passed through the court.  
Falcon descended the steps of his throne and took the diary into his hands.  
The leather was still stiff from smoke and dried blood.

For a long moment, he simply stared at it. His eyes began to move across the faded ink.  
The hall fell completely silent.   
Only the sound of turning parchment remained.  
And Lord Falcon began to read.

—-----------------

Queen Blood smiled as Freya entered. Only the gentle rippling of the blood-filled basin disturbed the silence. Freya had grown accustomed to this place. Months ago, the sight of it had filled her with revulsion. Now, she simply slipped off her boots and sat upon the stone's edge.

Queen Blood floated effortlessly in the crimson water. For the first time, Freya saw her hair unbound. Hundreds of fine black braids drifted across the surface like strands of ink upon a scarlet sea.

Without her crown and severe headdress, she looked younger. Softer. Beautiful.

Queen Blood caught her staring.  
"What?"  
Freya smiled.  
"I've never seen your hair before."  
Queen Blood laughed.  
"It takes an army to make me look terrifying."  
Freya laughed with her. For a fleeting moment, there was no queen. Only two women.  
"You've been quieter lately," Queen Blood observed.  
Freya nodded.  
"I've been thinking."  
Queen Blood rested her head against the basin's edge.  
"What troubles you?"  
Freya hesitated.  
"You."  
Freya gazed into the dark red water.  
"Do you truly believe everything you're doing is worth it?"  
The smile faded. Queen Blood's eyes drifted somewhere far away.  
"I would do anything for love."  
Freya raised an eyebrow.  
"You?"  
Queen Blood chuckled softly.  
"You sound surprised."  
"I am."  
A long silence followed.  
"There is only one thing I have ever loved more than victory."  
She barely whispered the next words.  
"My husband."  
"Lord Blood."  
Freya searched her face. There was no madness. No performance. Only absolute certainty.  
"They took him from me," Queen Blood said quietly.  
"They called him a monster."  
"They hunted him, just as they hunted me."  
"They celebrated his death..."  
"...while I mourned."  
She looked down into the blood surrounding her.  
"So I decided the world would remember his name."  
"And Vurren Bay?" Freya asked carefully.  
Queen Blood slowly lifted her eyes.  
"The battle will begin soon. So many banners. So many armies. So much blood."  
A slow smile spread across her lips - not joyful, but expectant.  
"It is exactly what is needed."  
"Needed for what?"  
Queen Blood looked at Freya for a long moment. Then answered without hesitation.  
"To open the Gates."  
Freya felt her breath catch.  
"What gates?"  
**"The gates between the living and the dead."**  
She spoke as though discussing the weather.  
"When enough blood has been spilled..."  
"...when enough souls have crossed..."  
"...the veil will finally weaken."  
Freya stared at her.  
"You cannot be serious."  
Queen Blood tilted her head.  
"I have never been more serious."  
"My husband waits beyond those gates."  
"And he is not alone."  
A pause.  
"There are undead kings."  
"Hellish generals."  
"Cruel conquerors."  
"All waiting."  
Her voice softened almost into reverence.  
"When the gates open..."  
"...they will flood the world."  
A chill ran through Freya despite the warmth of the chamber.  
"And then?"  
Queen Blood's expression became strangely gentle.  
"They will build a world that does not decay."  
"A world where nothing precious is ever truly lost again."  
Freya searched her face for doubt.  
She found none.  
Only unwavering conviction.  
"You would risk the entire world..."  
"...for one man?"  
Queen Blood smiled.  
"No, my dear."  
She rose slowly from the basin, crimson water cascading from her skin.  
"I will remake the world..."  
"...for the man I love."

Freya no longer knew whether she had just witnessed madness...  
...or love in its purest - and most terrifying - form.

At last, she understood.  
The Blood Dragons did not follow Queen Blood because she promised them victory.  
They followed because she loved beyond reason.  
Beyond loss. Beyond death.  
Without hesitation. Without compromise.  
And there is something deeply terrifying about a person whose love is stronger than death itself.

Diary in the Ashes Part 3