Thank you so, so much for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece. I'll admit, I put a lot of thought into this one before I wrote a single word. Ashe's death was the first and only thought I had, and the opening line ("The Queen is dead, long live the Queen.") festered inside my brain for over a week before I started.

Honestly, I imagined Ashe's demise quick and sudden, though I've never thought too long on what it might have been. She was the driving force throughout the game, of course, and this all unfolded from the thought of what the others would think or feel if she were to die. Everything that was accomplished by the epilogue of the game was just the beginning for her, really; there was still a broken nation to mend, and that takes time. What if she didn't get it?

Basch and Balthier were the strongest 'feelings' that I had while writing this. Basch, who didn't stay; Balthier, who couldn't. Fran followed Balthier, but her respect for Ashe was no less (once Ashe had proven herself, of course). Penelo followed Vaan, who followed Ashe for the adventure and connection of their mutual losses (of Reks and Rasler, respectively).

And I've got no clue where Vaan is in all this. Pirating, maybe? Wow, I'm terrible.

I think, perhaps, that it may be appropriate that with the end of the Age of Stones, the Dynast King's line end with it.

Sorry I'm so long winded. I'm not even sure if I answered your question! But thank you again for reading. ♥