King Cecil laid in his bed in his room atop the west tower of Baron Castle. His eyes were closed but he was not truly asleep, it was not yet late enough to warrant his presence anywhere else. His beautiful queen Rosa slept peacefully next to him, deep within her dreams. Cecil smiled and rolled towards her gently wrapping his arms arounds her perfect figure. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of her long golden hair. He breathed in again, the scent of pine and grass filled his nostrils, the scent of flowers in the castle garden that he had gotten from Edward, and the smell of fire . . . Fire!?

Cecil sat bolt upright in bed glancing around frantically to see where the horrid smell was coming from. He sighed in relief that it was not within his chambers. But he then looked out the window into the grassy plain out to the mountains in the distance. There was a large cloud of black smoke coming from somewhere within the mountain pass that led to the Mist Cave. Cecil stood abruptly and, grabbing his robe from the stand, he rushed out the bedroom door, leaving a slightly puzzled Rosa in his wake.

xxx

"Father!" Ceodore called as Cecil burst into the throne room. The boy's pale face and silver hair made him to look like the spitting image of Cecil at that age. The prince rushed to the paladin king with a worried expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"There is a fire out in the pass at Mist Cave," Cecil stated more to the guards than to his son. "I need the Red Wings to investigate!" Ceodore stared up at his father who was almost a foot taller than him.

"A . . . a fire?" Ceodore stammered in shock. "B-but what could have caused-"

"Ceodore!" Ceodore was cut off by a man in light blue dragoon armor that entered the room. The man's long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he wore a blue winged headpiece. "We need all hands on deck!"

"Oh! Y-yes, captain!" Ceodore followed his squad captain out of the room. "What happened?" the prince asked. His captain didn't respond. "Kain?"

"A ship crashed. We don't know where it was from or if there are any survivors." Kain said without looking at Ceodore. They continued walking until they reached the airships out the castle's main front doors. "Come, Ceodore." Kain gestured to the ship.

"Yes, captain," Ceodore said as he boarded the ship. Kain followed, barking orders at the crewmen. The ramp was brought in and the crew started up the engines, within minutes the ship was in the air. A shorter, rather portly fellow approached Ceodore and Kain. His eyes were covered by dark goggles, he wore a cap and a jumpsuit with a large belt adorned with tools. His large hands were covered by heavy gloves and he wore steel toed boots. His white beard reached almost to his midsection.

"Any word from the scouts yet?" he said. Kain shook his head.

"No, not yet," the dragoon replied sullenly. He stared out at the cloud of smoke and inhaled the stench of burning grass. Kain sneered.

"I sure hope there aren't any casualties," Ceodore said. "Cid?"

"You and me both," Cid said, patting Ceodore on the shoulder.

"Sir, we are coming up to the site," one of the crewmen alerted Kain.

"Land as close as you can," Kain ordered. "Everyone to landing positions!" With that the ship landed carefully near the wreckage. The crew took in the sight before them. It was a ship unlike any that they had ever seen. It was all up in flames there was debris everywhere around the crash site. There was a group of people huddling together around something. One of them, a female, turned to the ship that had just landed. She rushed over, seeming panicked.

"Please! You have to help us!" the girl called to the crew. Kain nodded to one of the crewmen and the ramp was lowered. Kain walked down the ramp and stood in front of the girl. She had green eyes and her skin was oddly blue, a rather light pale blue colour. Her short blonde hair was held in pigtails and had hints of pink in it. Kain gestured for some of the men to join him, including Ceodore.

"We are here to help you, my lady," Kain said calmly. "Is any of your crew severely injured?" The girl nodded and turned back to the group of strangers. She led Kain and the crew to where her crew was gathered together.

"My brother . . ." the girl started. "He needs help." The group made an opening and let Kain through to have a look. There was a man on the ground, he had the same skin tone as the girl though his face was bloody, he had cuts all over his face and arms. A crewman examined him briefly.

"His left leg is broken and he is very banged up. But what I don't understand is how they all have minor cuts and bruises . . ."

"Sylence was piloting the ship. He was in front trying to land it but . . ." another girl piped up. A younger looking one with purple hair and green eyes. Kain looked at her for a second.

"We'll take you and your crew to Baron," Kain said as he turned towards the airship. A couple crewmen picked Sylence gently up off the ground and carefully carried him to the ship. The group that was with him followed quickly.

xxx

King Cecil waited anxiously for Kain and his son to arrive. He was waiting on the balcony overlooking the plains. He was dressed in his armor polished to perfection, the whitest white and deepest blue. The shoulders had spikes coming out of them. His long silver hair was held back by a dark blue headband. His wife, Queen Rosa, stood next to him also staring at the grassy plains. Her beautiful blonde hair was held in a partial bun, the rest hanging down to her waist, she wore a long flowing white gown that had elements from traditional white mage robes. She had one arm hanging onto Cecil's, the other was held across her chest her own hand cupping her chin anxiously. Finally they saw the ship coming towards the castle. They rushed down to the front gates and waited as the ship landed.

"Get him to the infirmary right away," Kain said to his crewmen. The ramp lowered and a few crewmen carried an injured man into the castle.

"Kain," Cecil started. "What happened?"

"It was a ship that had crashed, Cecil. We don't know where it came from," Kain said solemnly. "There were survivors," he added, gesturing to the group that was just walking down the ramp. "Fourteen of them, including the one they took to the infirmary."

"Excuse me," a young girl said as she approached Cecil. "Are you the ruler here?" She had olive skin and red hair, she looked at Cecil with big blue eyes.

"Yes, I am," Cecil said, meeting her gaze. "And who might you be?" He looked at her, she was almost as tall as Ceodore but she was incredibly thin.

"My name is Dakotah Ryddler. My father was Dameon Ryddler, he said that he and my aunts and uncles came to a planet known only as 'The Blue Planet'." Dakotah looked at Cecil whose mouth was partially open, staring at her in awe. She turned her gaze to Rosa who was looking the same.

"You're Dameon Ryddler's daughter?"