Prologue:

Kyzo was shaken awake by the sound of an explosion. It was distant, but it was far too early for the mages to be training, it was still dark out. He rummaged his hands through his fiery red hair in an attempt to wake himself up. Forcing himself out of his bed, he started dawning his armor already fearing the worst. As he was reaching for his rapier the door burst open. A shout was able to be heard over the wooden door slamming into the stone wall.

"Milord!"

Standing in the doorway was a tall man with with slick brown hair that that ran down into a short beard. He was head to toe in dark gray armor that gave him a powerful presence to match his build. At his side was a trusty silver sword, reserved for those who had proved themselves in combat.

"Jonathan!" Kyzo replied, "if you are busting down doors then I can only assume that the worst is happening."

"Aye. It appears Daria was using the invitation to introduce itself to our trade deals as a front to send soldiers into our borders. It was nothing but a farce to attack us off guard and we fell for it like fools."
"Damn! I thought that we could shatter the isolationism of the Darians, but I never assumed they would have attacked us!"

"Perhaps they took our trade deal as an insult, but I cannot say why they are attacking, all I do know is that they are."
At this point the sounds of fighting could be clearly heard from outside the window. Kyzo finished preparing himself and took off with Jonathan to the main chamber where his aunt would be. They ran through the narrow halls of the castle, ignoring any cries and clashes of swords they heard. As they turned a corner a Darian soldier leapt out in an attempt to pull off a surprise attack, but before he could even swing his sword a lance had already pierced through his chest. The life slowly drained from his eyes as he became more and more limp. He slumped to the floor and the lance was forcibly removed from his dead body, stained red with his blood Behind him stood his killer, a woman with dark brown hair that reached down to her waist. She wore teal armor which was much less bulky than what Jonathan had, but it still was more than enough protection.

"Blair! You killed him!" Kyzo exclaimed.
"Of course I did! He was going to kill you! Now come on, the queen is waiting for you!"

Kyzo and his retainers finished the short journey to the main chamber without any further issue. There, a women with red hair to match Kyzo, laced in a ponytail that protruded through her crown stood the queen. Her long green robes adorning her let anyone who saw her know her status.

"Kyzo."
"Queen Anna!"

"Thank the gods you are safe, I'm not sure how much longer our defenses can last."

"What do you mean? We have many capable men, we can take whatever Daria is throwing at us!"

"They have more men than I could have expected and they are far better trained than ours. There is no use denying it, this castle is falling. Most of the capital is already in flame as well."

"No. That can't be true, I refuse to believe it!"
"It doesn't matter what you believe, what matters is how many lives we are losing and how many we can save."

A guard runs into the room, interrupting them. "Your highness, Squad Four has been wiped out and the enemy is breaking into the South-Eastern Wing as we speak."
"Damn," Anna replied, "they are advancing faster than I thought." A short pause. "Get Squad 5 down there to hold them off as long as they can, everyone else is ordered to retreat."

"B-but… wouldn't that be a suicide mission?" The guard replied.

"For the sake of the kingdom and her people, sacrifices must be made."

"I-... understood your highness." The guard said before running off with the order.
"Now Kyzo," Anna said returning her attention to him, "I need you to head north to the kingdom of Balmwood and ask for their aid in this war."

"But the castle, the villagers, this is our home, we have to save it!"

"This castle is as good as gone. The best we can do right now is to recover it as soon as possible."
Jonathan placed a heavy hand on Kyzo's shoulder. "We have our orders, let's head out before that is no longer an option."

Silence.
"Kyzo, please listen to your aunt- I mean the queen." Blair added.

Kyzo replied by letting out a shout and slamming his fist into the wall. "Of course, you can count on me."

Anna nodded, "Good. Now go! Time is of the essence!"

Kyzo and his retainers headed out of the castle and and to the stables where they each mounted a horse and charged out into the castletown. Buildings were burning and corpses of his people littered the ground. Kyzo felt nauseous seeing a sight and if he had not been on horseback would have probably lost the strength to stand. This was his first taste of uncensored violence. Something he would remember for a long time. As the three made their escape, the green and red stripes of the Vaettado Kingdom flag were already being replaced with the purple sword of the Darian people, marking the fall of the capital and the beginning of a long, bloody war.