Chapter 1 The Death of the Princess

“Arezzzaaa!” Queen Aradia screamed when she saw an arrow zoom speedily and pierce into the bosom of her only daughter, Princess Areza. 

Princess Areza looked at her mother as she slowly fell to the ground. Her breathing was rugged, and she could feel the darkness starting to envelop her whole being. 

The same Persian soldier who hit the Princess with his arrow ran forward, swinging his sword with eagerness to cut off the Princess's head. But the Queen's warrior was too swift. She swung her own sword, cutting off the soldier’s hand that held the weapon. With another fast swing, the soldier’s head flew into the air and landed on the ground alongside his lifeless body.

“Areza, my princess, hold on! Hold on to your dear life; I will take you to the castle!” The Queen almost stumbled as she carried her daughter and ran, shouting to her own troops of women warriors, “Cover us!”

One of the Queen’s soldiers readied the carriage, jumping into the front seat to control the reins of the horses that would carry the Queen and the Princess to safety.

However, it was too late. The Princess drew her last breath while they were traveling back to the castle.

“No!!! Princess Areza, my daughter, don’t give up! Breathe! Breathe!” The scream of the warrior Queen scattered all over the land of Carkas, making even the birds resting in the trees fly away in fear.

Even the horses galloped faster as they listened to the most pitiful sobs of Queen Aradia.

The lady warrior controlling the horses alighted from the carriage and approached the Queen. She saw Aradia embracing the Princess tightly to her bosom, grieving the loss of her only child. The Queen's cries could melt the hardest heart of even the most tyrannical man in the land.

Tears fell from the eyes of the warrior. Princess Areza was the kindest woman she had ever met. She could not bear seeing such a sweet soul fly away so suddenly into the world of the dead.

“My Queen,” the warrior spoke softly, trying to comfort her ruler. “Before the Princess’s soul enters the world of the dead, it must pass through the Chinvat Bridge where the Angel Rashnu is waiting. It will be the decision of the Angel Rashnu whether to accept her spirit, or where it will be thrown—into the House of Lies in Duzakh, or into the glorious House of Songs called Pairidaeza.”

“Malada... are you suggesting that I find a way to hinder my daughter’s soul from crossing the Chinvat Bridge?” Queen Aradia asked, a sudden spark of hope rising in her eyes.

Warrior Malada nodded with a faint smile, though tears still filled her eyes. “You have the sacred pendant that connects you to the other world, my Queen. Let us do it now, while the Princess’s spirit is still lingering inside her body.”

The Queen of Carkas suddenly remembered their ancient beliefs. After a person died, the soul lingered near its corpse for three days while the gods considered its ultimate fate, tallying up the good and bad deeds of its past life. On the fourth day, the soul would travel to the Chinvat Bridge, where it would be met by the Holy Maiden Daena to be comforted.

The soul would then cross the bridge—which became broad and easy for the righteous, but narrow and razor-sharp for the condemned. While crossing, the soul would be threatened by the demons Asto Vidatu and Aesma Daeva, but the angel Suroosh would stand guard to protect it. At the end of the bridge, the Angel Rashnu would judge the soul based on its deeds, assigning it a fitting home in the afterlife: either the House of Song in Pairidaeza, or the House of Lies in Duzakh.

With that realization, the Queen’s mind whirled like a soaring wind. She had found a way to bring back her daughter’s life.

“Malada, bring us to a place near the Chinvat Bridge immediately! A place where it is easy for my voice to be heard by the Angel Rashnu!” the Queen exclaimed, a sudden shade of bright joy spreading over her once-grieving face.

“Right away, my Queen!” Warrior Malada called out. She jumped back onto the front seat of the carriage and pulled the reins, urging the horses into a full gallop.

“Hoo, hooo!” Warrior Malada pulled hard on the reins to stop the horses when they reached the rocky mountain side connecting to the Chinvat Bridge.

Living mortals could not set foot on the bridge itself, lest they lose their lives and release their own spirits to wander across.

“Queen Aradia, we have arrived,” Warrior Malada stated as she alighted from the carriage and held the door open.

The Carkas Queen stepped down from the carriage and walked bravely until she stood a few steps away from the edge of the Chinvat Bridge.

“My beloved Angel Rashnu, hear my cause, I beg you!” She held her glowing pendant high into the air, her voice trembling with grief as she called upon the divine judge.

As Queen Aradia called out to Rashnu—the righteous judge of the dead standing on the Chinvat Bridge between the living and the dead—her voice shook with deep agony.

The pendant shone brightly, scattering rays of heavenly light around them. The wind blew fiercely, as if carrying the light of the pendant and the desperate voice of Queen Aradia straight to the entrance of the Chinvat Bridge, where the Holy Maiden Daena stood guard.

The wind, light, and sorrowful voice traveled far across the realm until it reached the magnificent Angel Rashnu, who stood at the end of the bridge holding the massive Book of Life.

In front of Angel Rashnu, a line of silent spirits stood in orderly fashion, waiting for their final verdicts to be cast into Duzakh or welcomed into Pairidaeza.

Suddenly, Angel Rashnu stopped as a voice—a very sad, desperate voice—entered her ears, calling her name.