Twenty years after Aric Vale's death, the kingdom gathered for an unprecedented event, the trial of someone accused of deliberately imitating his crime. A young mage had studied the soul-splitting curse, had attempted to recreate it, and had succeeded partially. Three people died before the curse was broken.The case became a defining moment for the Vale Standard's continued relevance. Could principles established through genuine curse apply to deliberate imitation? Could mitigation exist when someone chose to curse themselves intentionally?The three Keepers, David Chen now sixty-five, Elena Thorne fifty, Marcus thirty-six, convened an emergency session. This case would test whether the framework could handle complexity it was never designed for."The facts are clear," David said, reviewing documents. "Marcus Therin, no relation to our families, deliberately cast a soul-splitting curse on himself. I wanted to experience what Aric experienced. I wanted to understand the shadow's free

Fifty years after Aric Vale's death, the kingdom prepared for an unprecedented ceremony. The last living person who'd known him personally was dying. Mara's granddaughter, Sarah, now seventy-eight, had requested a final visit to his grave before her own death approached.Sarah had been twenty-eight when Aric died. Had visited him regularly during his final years. Had absorbed his teaching directly. Now she was the final living link to the man himself, not just his principles.The three current Keepers accompanied her, Elena Thorne now eighty and retiring soon, Marcus at sixty-six still active, and the newest Keeper, David's successor, a woman named Keyla from victim family descendants.They made a pilgrimage in early spring, when the weather was mild enough for Sarah's failing health. She moved slowly, supported by family, determined to complete final teaching."I remember him," Sarah said as they approached the grave. "Remember his voice, his face, his absolute commitment to honesty.

One hundred years after Aric Vale's death, the kingdom gathered for unprecedented celebration. A century of the Vale Standard. A century of complex justice. A century proving that truth could be sustained across generations, across cultural shifts, across changes that had transformed everything except the commitment to honest acknowledgment of complexity.The cemetery had changed dramatically. What had been a simple burial ground was now a historical site. Aric's grave was marked not just by his original stone but by the memorial plaza surrounding it. Not monumental, he'd have hated that, but informative. Displays explaining the curse, the split, the murders, the imprisonment, the teaching. All presented with unflinching honesty.The current Keepers, the eighth generation of leadership since Aric's death, prepared for the centennial ceremony. They were young, in their forties and fifties, trained in complex justice from childhood. They'd never known a simpler system. Had always unders

Two hundred years after Aric Vale's death, the kingdom established the Vale Archive, a comprehensive repository of everything related to the cursed knight and the frameworks he'd inspired. Not a monument. Not worship. Just honest preservation of complicated history.The Archive was housed in a renovated tower, deliberately chosen to echo Aric's imprisonment tower, though this one was open, accessible, and inviting. Five floors of documents, testimonials, case files, scholarly analysis. Everything preserved, everything accessible, everything presented with unflinching honesty.The lead archivist was a young man named Thomas, named after the boy Aric's shadow had killed, continuing the tradition of naming children after victims as reminders of a complicated legacy. He was twenty-eight, trained in historical preservation and ethical documentation."The challenge is honesty," Thomas explained during the Archive's opening. "Aric Vale was neither saint nor monster. Was a complicated man who

Three hundred years after Aric Vale's death, a child asked the question that would reshape everything.The child was seven, visiting the Archive with her school class. They'd completed the ground floor tour, seen the seventeen victims, learned about the murders, and sat in the Reflection Room. Now they were on the second floor, learning about the imprisonment."Teacher," the girl asked, "if Commander Vale was so good at accepting consequences, why did he need to be imprisoned? Couldn't he just accept the consequences while free? Wouldn't that teach better?"The teacher paused. It was an obvious question, one that children asked periodically. The standard answer was ready: "Imprisonment was the consequence. Accepting it meant being imprisoned, not just accepting the idea of imprisonment."But this girl wasn't satisfied. "But what if imprisonment made accepting easier? What if being locked up meant he didn't have to choose acceptance every day? Maybe accepting the consequences while fre