PROLOGUE

The rain began to pour, but I watched it from the safety of the carriage window. The sky was shedding the tears that threatened to fall from my own eyes as I thought about the current state of events.

My kingdom was in tatters, war threatened from all sides. The followers of Khabim were creating trouble once more, the Fallen Legion had begun to move, Salant was building his influence. The darkness seemed all consuming. And I wondered if there would ever be an end to our sorrows.

There had to be. The relic in my hands was proof that the Gods had not abandoned us. Ellora had given us a sign, what that sign meant...was still to be discovered. As I stared at the glowing orb in my hands, I felt its warmth, the strength of the Goddess of Light seemed to seep into my very bones.

This could be the answer. Hope from the Gods that the darkness could be beaten, that humanity, no, that the world would not fall prey to the whims of evil. No texts, no knowledge of this relic could be found in any of the libraries of the capital, nothing that couldn't already be determined by common sense.

I felt a sigh break across my lips as I looked outside the window and did not see the comforting sight of my Knight. The timing had been inconvenient at best, and I had to stop myself from questioning the time table of a Goddess.

But sometimes, I really did wonder why.

Why the Gods had all but fallen silent to our prayers, even the Merumi could not contact their Goddess Parna, her lands had iced over by dark magic. I knew little of the Crokhoon, but I doubted that they had spent time trying to convene with their God, Nerhes. They always seemed to be in a civil war, it was hard to keep track which side fought for the right reasons.

And then Ellora, her influence seemed to have vanished when the tides of darkness came. Where had she gone? And to what purpose?

"Princess Lania, are you alright?"

Broken from my reverie, I thought I'd see the flash of her golden eyes looking at me with worry, I forced down the disappointment when I saw the face of Captain Tortus instead. He was a steadfast and passionate man, one whom I trusted severely, but no one could calm the anxieties in my mind but her.

"All is well, and you?"

He huffed, wiping rainwater from his face, "I'd like to say the rain is inconvenient, but it will hide our passage."

I nodded, my eyes slid back down to the relic in my hands, once again cursing the timing of the incidents with the Khabimists, they were the reason that Silver wasn't by my side. As one of the five generals in our kingdom, she had the solemn duty of defending our borders. Her jurisdiction fell to the Highlands outside the capital city, across the mountains that protected my home. However, on top of her duties as General, she also doubled as my Royal Guard, it was an understatement to say she was busy. Perhaps it was selfish of me that I asked her to be by my side, but I'd heard naught a word of complaint since she had taken the title four years ago.

Four years...had it really been so long? It seemed only yesterday when I had first laid my eyes on the young soldier that captured my heart, time flies, as the saying goes. It had also been four years since I had last left the castle walls without her by my side. And we had always managed to make it back in one piece, despite the forces of evil doing everything in their power to strike me down.

Chosen of Ellora, that's what the whispers had said at my birth, and while I wasn't sure what those whispers meant, I knew that my abilities to speak to the spirits and troubled at heart were not given by mere chance. The Blessed Princess Lania, that is how the kingdom spoke of me.

I had to do something, something to protect the land that others fought so valiantly for. I may be a Princess, but do not think for one second that I am naïve to the sadness that threatens my people.

My Knight, she would be angry with me, no doubt about it. My safety was her top priority, always. Part of me knew that if it came down to it, she would forsake her position as General if it meant I would be safe. My stomach turned knowing she would chew me out with words colorful enough that sailors would begin to pray.

I cracked a slight smile at the thought. Perhaps I should take notes, it always was good practice for my own vocabulary when I listened to her rage-fueled rants. If only the kingdom knew that their Blessed Princess Lania would readily, and willingly say the word 'fuck.' The nobles would be shocked, to say the least. My father would merely shake his head, while mother would likely faint.

"Princess." I glanced out the window at Captain Tortus, "do you really believe that Prophet Chimer will know the meaning of that." He glanced down at the relic.

"Chimer will know," I affirmed, a smile on my lips at the thought of reuniting with her once more. She was like a dear relative, though we weren't related by blood, I had always sought out her comfort as a child, and she was the one that taught me about the Goddess, she was the one that taught me how to listen to the spirits.

If anyone would know about this Elloran relic, it would be my dearest Chimer. Surely, it would provide answers on how to fight against Salant.

Just thinking his name was enough to send shivers down my spine, it was because of him that the darkness seemed so formidable. A demigod, born from the malice of Zelnaris and a human mother, he was the head of the Fallen Legion, and hell-bent on destroying everything the light touched. Such was the fate of one held prisoner by the blood of Zelnaris, God of Ruin. His influence had all but vanished during the War of Light a millennium ago, however...with time, even the strongest of seals will begin to crack.

And crack it had, encouraging the forces of darkness to destroy all that was holy and good. Such was the world I had been born into, and such was the legacy I was bound to inherit, along with the throne.

Another sigh threatened to break free, but I merely sat up straighter, it would do no good to be consumed with thoughts of chaos, it was better to focus on what I could do. And right now, that was seeking answers on behalf of my kingdom.

I was drawn from my thoughts for a moment, feeling something was amiss. Yet the only sound that I could hear was the water pelting the exterior of my carriage. To say I was jumpy was an understatement. Even still my eyes kept flashing to the window, hoping to see her atop her pegasus.

I forced my shoulders to relax, I was surrounded by a platoon of soldiers and was assured on multiple occasions that the rain was to our advantage. Our tracks would be covered a good deal of the way to Akrat Plains, where Chimer had taken up residence. It would take us several days to get there by carriage.

The preferred method of transportation, otherwise known as Transit Shrines grew unreliable when transporting many people, we had already gone as far as we could with the help of holy artifacts. An unreasonably long journey awaited us still, I despaired in the fact that Chimer lived so far away.

Akrat was considered a holy land. Legend said that the gods used to live there in corporeal form before the War of Light. I tried not to think too deeply about it, surely the land had deteriorated in the absence of the deities, it was nothing more than a dreary wasteland now, nothing like the beautiful green mountainous region of Hakanas which I called home.

I heard a shout raise over the sound of the thundering rain and I felt a jolt. The carriage stopped immediately, and I got closer to the window when I saw Frost Giants leap off the back of dragons.

'Always stay away from the windows.' General Song's voice filtered through my senses, I quickly jolted back just as I heard the screaming of men and horses. This was bad. What could I do? Ellora help us.

"Protect the Princess!" I heard Captain Tortus shout. I stared at the relic in my hands, it hadn't fallen despite the commotion, my fingers had a death-like grip on the glowing orb. Thinking quickly, I shoved it within the folds of my dress.

It was a good thing I did too, because in that instant the air turned cold and the carriage went air born. I gasped, attempting to brace myself, but my head hit the unforgiving edge of the metal carriage. Everything went blurry and I found it difficult to breathe.

This wasn't supposed to happen. How did they find us? It should have been safe—no, I had been a fool.

Silver...I'm scared...I should have waited for you.

Everything went dark.