"Only through infinite knowledge can infinite peace be attained." – Prince Kardin of Lycia

The summers in Araphen were always long and hot. Countless nobles would visit from distant lands to partake in the harvest festivals and feasts. Perhaps the most popular attraction of the summer was the Dragon Festival, in which the anniversary of Lycia's unification is celebrated. It is a night of great jubilation as friends from across the continent tell old tales of heroics over endless pints of beer. It was widely considered to be the happiest time of year for the Kingdom of Lycia, but this year was going to be different…

It all happened so fast…

"Where? Where? Where is everyone? It's… so… da… rk….."

"Hey, kid! Over here! We need to get out of here now!"

"Need… to… escape? No… this… is home… right…?"

The man didn't wait for the kid to answer as he grabbed his arm and began running for the nearby forest. The sounds of an army on the march filled the night as the man dragged the dazed youth through the forest.

If it hasn't spread to Etruria yet I might not be too late to organize some resistance, otherwise…

"There! I can see some stragglers! Move in! None can escape!" a large man with polished silver and gold armor was yelling in their direction. They had been discovered.

Chapter 1: Preparations

Three days earlier…

"Shawn! Shawn where are you!?"

The spry, crimson-haired girl was delicately wandering through the endless cornfields of her farm, the red sun hung low as the sky turned from blue to purple. The comforting evening breeze did little to soothe the farm girl. This was not the first time her brother slacked off on the job, and she was certain it would not be the last.

"Shawn! Have you forgotten that our farm will be supplying the maize for the Dragon Festival!? If we do not meet the earl's quota we'll be living on the streets!"

She saw a form shifting in the tall grass a few feet from her. With a mischievous grin she pounced on it like a cat on a mouse. "Stop! Stop! Augh hah hah hah! Sis that tickles I can't breathe!" after the boy broke free and caught his breath the red-haired girl snatched him by the ear and began dragging him towards their house. "So what is this, six times now?" she scolded as the boy began yelping again, "Mother and Father entrusted this farm to us with their dying breaths and this is how you repay them!?" In response to her tugging his ear the boy tried to bite her arm. "Augh! Shawn you are fourteen years old! Much too mature to be acting like this! At least I thought you were."

For the first time since she found him the boy spoke, "Amber, I swear I was only asleep for five minutes! I need to recharge after a hard day's work," Although the cowlick in his thick brown hair told her otherwise. "What am I going to do with you?" replied Amber with a sigh. Shawn tried to gain her sympathy by staring up at her with large, apologetic eyes.

"You know that's not going to work on me," she said with a smirk, "After all I am the one who has to slaughter the pigs every time they get fat enough, you are always too much of a coward."

"I'm not a coward!" Shawn retorted, "I just don't see them as food, that's all…"

This just caused Amber to laugh some more at Shawn's naïveté. Even though he was irresponsible most of the time, his concern for everything living was touching, if not unfit for a farmer. For the past seven years Amber had undertaken the task of maintaining both the biggest farm in the city and the biggest slacker of a brother one could ask for. Despite how annoying he could be, she could not deny that he meant the world to her, whether she admitted it or not. Lost in thought, she completely forgot about what she was doing and Shawn broke free.

"Ha ha! I've escaped your clutches you evil witch! I hope you're hungry 'cause your about to eat my dust!" he yelled as he sprinted towards the city.

"Hey! Wait!" she began running after him, her long legs allowing her to catch up quickly, "and just where do you think you're going young man? Do you expect me to bring in all that corn by myself!?"

"Maybe if you catch me I'll do it myself!" Shawn yelled back. He was so busy taunting her that he had forgotten to watch where he was going. With a tremendous clang he collided at full speed with a tall, robed figure and fell backwards to the ground. The impact had produced a large bump on the side of his head, leaving him dazed and dizzy.

"I am so sorry sir," Amber exclaimed as she skidded to a stop, "my brother is a real idiot sometimes." The tall man got up a began dusting off his blue and purple robes, then running his hand through his dark green hair, checking for any bruises.

Upon seeing Amber's apologetic face he softened his expression, "Well, that may be, but I can't deny that this boy reminded me of what I was like years ago." He spoke as if he was an old man, but from his appearance he was probably in his mid-20's. Amber noticed from his attire that he was a magic-user of some kind. Upon hearing this Shawn shot up in a sitting position, completely recovered.

"Ha! See that, sis? Someday I'm gonna be like this guy!" he exclaimed with a gleeful grin, "So what exactly are you anyway, guy? You dress like a lady."

Amber slapped the back of his head at that comment, but the man simply chuckled, his posture regained, "You remind me of my own sister," he said with a soft smile, "When we were young she always pestered me, telling me to do my studies. She was right of course, and if it weren't for her I probably would hold the position I do today."

"So what are you?" Shawn repeated, his eyes glowing with curiosity.

"You may call me Aeolin," the man replied, raising his hand to his chest, "Mage General of Etruria." Amber's eyes suddenly widened as her face turned beet red.

"My humblest apologies, milord," she stammered, falling to her knees, "please find it in your heart to pardon my brother of his most heinous crime." Shawn, on the other hand, continued to look up at him in amazement.

"I'd hardly call accidentally running into someone a crime," Aeolin replied, "and please, do not let my title intimidate you, for the festival I am simply another customer, eager for merrymaking."

Suddenly a loud shout came from behind the group. They turned to see a young cleric running towards them, almost tripping over her robes. She wore her purple hair in a long braid that ran down her back and had large glasses that seemed to never stay on her face.

"Master Aeolin! Master Aeolin!" she called out in a panic, "Honker's gone missing! Oh dear, oh dear what will we do!?"

"Well, it seems I will have to cut this meeting short," he told Amber with a grin, "Duty calls." With that he left them on the side of the road as he left to join his companion. Shawn stared after him in admiration as Amber began dragging him home. The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully as they worked into the night on the cornfield. It was well after midnight that they finally finished their work and went inside.

"I'm so tired, sis," Shawn said as they walked into their cozy living room. Amber began starting a fire in their fireplace to start making dinner. Shawn slumped onto the wool couch and began chewing on some straw he picked up on the walk home. If on this farm was rather comfortable most of the time; there were only two mouths to feed in the house and money was easy to come by since they owned the only corn plantation in Araphen.

"I'm glad I had your help this evening," said Amber, casually stirring the carrots and potatoes into the stew over the fire, "You may be a pain, but I hope you realize how helpful you are."

"Well, I only do it 'cause I know you'll beat me up if I don't," Shawn replied unconvincingly as he hid a blush. Despite his rebellious side, he would never dream of hurting his sister.

"Aww, did I embarrass my tough, wittle, bwother?" she said mockingly, pinching his cheek. She pulled away laughing as he tried to bite her finger. He never liked the idea of showing weakness, especially in front of Amber.

"Don't worry, sis," he said, sitting up, "Someday I will become tough, and I'll prove to you and the rest of the world that I am able to protect this farm!" he held his hand up high as if challenging the heavens themselves.

This caused her to chuckle even more, "You don't need to prove anything to me, Shawn," she said warmly, "I know you will be strong, I raised you didn't I?" With the Dragon Festival now two days away, they knew that tomorrow was going to be another busy day of harvesting, but at the moment, they enjoyed the comfort of each other's company with a soothing bowl of stew.

The skies over the Lycian capital of Pherae were muddled with black, ominous clouds that entailed a terrible storm to come. Prince Kardin lounged into his azure and gold throne, trivially twirling a chain of keys around his fingers while running his other hand through his combed blonde hair. He always had hated waiting, but this time in particular was considerably jarring for him. Once he tired of playing with his keys he stood and began pacing about the grandiose throne room, lightning could be seen splashing in the distance from the huge windows overlooking the country. Above these windows was a large painting of the founder of the United Kingdom of Lycia, King Roy. Kardin admired his ancestor greatly and was famous of upholding his ideals of unification.

"I give you my word, King Roy," said Kardin as he stared at the dancing lightning outside, "Your vision of a perfect kingdom will soon come to fruition."

As he finished this personal vow the majestic double doors at the other end of the grand room opened to reveal a hooded knight entering in a hurry. His cloak concealed a large body that was encased in an even larger suit of polished silver and gold armor. The crest of Lycia was prominently displayed on his chest piece with a bold dark blue hue. As he briskly paced towards the prince he removed his cowl, revealing a middle-aged face that had seen more than a handful of battles. Jet black hair was slicked and combed back, forming a short mullet connecting a modest, clean cut beard that thinly ran from his ears to the tip of his chin, giving him a dignified composure. He fell to one knee after stopping a few feet away from the shallow steps leading up to the throne.

"Milord, I bring news from Ostia," he began, wasting no time on pleasantries, "The team you dispatched believes that they found the artifact you were searching for. It will be delivered to you within a day and will be ready of activation on your whim."

The prince cracked a grin upon hearing this news, his heartbeat began to quicken and he noticed the hairs on his neck standing on end, as if he were electrified. "This is grand news indeed, General Faust. After ten long years of preparation my plan is finally reaching its final stages. Soon I will purify Lycia. Only through infinite knowledge can infinite peace be attained."

End of Chapter 1