Prologue
Ashnard cast his gaze around the throne room at his most influential generals, The Four Riders of Daein. Over the years they had changed as more powerful members had arisen to take their places. Now the king believed he had assembled the most powerful warriors to be his four. Bryce the loyal but powerful fool that would serve Daein to his dying day, Petrine a self-serving general that had proven her worth by keeping her soldiers in continual fear and awe of her, and finally the Black Knight a very mysterious warrior who had proven himself undefeatable on the battle field and held his loyalty rigidly to Ashnard. A forth was yet to be found but the king had a foreign soldier lined up for the position already. Renning, currently the leader of the Crimean Royal Knights was a fierce leader and would be perfect for the fourth.
Ashnard turned to his most loyal generals with a manic smile on his face and casted his cloak over his shoulder as he thrust his finger out at each of them, the appendage moving in a slow arc from one to another. "The time has come for the Laguz loving Crimea to fall. The troops are prepared and i have little patience to wait any longer." His eyes glittered maliciously as he held his open hand toward the door, "Go now and don't return without victory!"
All three turned to go but he called out to Bryce. "You may remain here and keep the capital under guard. I know retaliation will occur and i will not take lightly to any failure on your part."
Letting his cloak billow around him he strode through the door and past the guards posted there, not giving them a first glance let alone a second. They were a means to an end and thats the only reason he tolerated their existence. His armor glinted darkly in the light of lit torches along the passage. Pulling a large brass key from a pouch at his side he unlocked a large iron-bound door. Pulling it open with his imense strength he casted it to the side, the hinges screeched as it flew back. Stepping inside he gripped it once more and pulled it shut with a resounding thud. Grabbing a flickering torch from the wall he strode down into the depths of this monsterous room. At the bottom he lit another lam and placed his across from it in a bracket on the wall. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a sneer as he beheld Ena sleeping against the side of her precious Rajaion. Once a proud prince of Goldoa the elixer of the feral ones held him in his enormous dragon form.
"My dear Ena why do you insist on sleeping here? Yes he makes a fine mount but nothing more." He chuckled deep in his throat
"But no...you wish for me to return him to his true form. You want your precious Rajaion to be free of this slavery. Well then obey all of my commands and after i obtain my true goal you may have the wretch back." He spared a glance for the pitiful Laguz as it roared a challenge at him.
"Deny me all you want beast but i am your master now and forever unless she listens. Oh how easy it was to lure you here once i had your dearest sister Almehda in my bed. She served her purposes well." He laughed loudly as the creature strained against its bindings. Almehda was long gone but Rajaion was more useful now anyway.
The assault on Crimea would happen soon and Ashnard wanted to make sure the execution of its king, his own sword would do the blood of Crimea's peace loving king would spill at his feet and the war would blossom from his execution. The nation of Gallia was the closest a laguz nation had come to aligning with beorc in centuries. This would hopefully draw them out to be slain by his mighty army as well....
A/N: Prologue to my first installment in the Fire Emblem stories. Hope you like it!
