The thunderous sound of hooves striking the dirt path echoed across the plains. From the Yosho mountains to the Sea of Serenity the steady beat could be heard like an oncoming storm. Every man, woman, and child in the kingdom knew the meaning of the sound. Like a marching drum, they were drawn by the sound to a small village called Raito; to the the procession of the fully armored knights led by their eternally young queen and the Grand Magus. Their destination was the enchanted flower fields just outside of Raito. There, the fate of the entire kingdom of Xien would be decided.
It had been ages since the two of them had last been seen in their respective roles as they had both been forced into hiding by the world's last remaining evil creature known as the Final Dark. The villain's true name was lost to history and many rumors circulated that the knowledge of his name would bring him to justice. Many had tried and many had failed. The evil shadow lord had destroyed everything in his path including the royal family.
Eighteen years ago the queen had arrived, fatally wounded, in Raito carrying the baby princess Meeka in her arms. The queen died from the deep lacerations covering her back and left the princess in care of the person she was seeking; the Grand Magus Zento. He was the hero of the royal family and one of their few trusted friends. The elder raised the princess as his granddaughter while he himself retained a reputation of a crazy old wizard. When the princess' curse became apparent, he allowed everyone to think that he just wanted the girl to stay small and cute forever so she would never need have adult worries or teenage temptations.
All of that was history now as it was time to enact an ancient prophesy thousands of years in the making. The queen and Grand Magus planned to sacrifice themselves to summon heroes from other worlds to defeat the magic devouring darkness that crept over the land like a plague of death. Naturally, it was the brain child of the final dark and the evil lord of shadows that raised him.
Meeka and Zento stopped in the middle of the field of flowers and they were surrounded by a circle of knights. Everyone was silent; grave expressions darkened every face. The two central figures dismounted their steeds with their heads held high. They surveyed the knights for a moment before the Grand Magus spoke.
"I will begin the ritual. Both of us fully expect to lose our lives but heed my words good people and Xien! A hero will emerge to become the leader of all free peoples of Xantara. Even the western continent in all their military glory will know peace."
Th crowd seemed to stiffen as the Magus raised his white-robed arms above his silvery white mane. The elder began to chant in an ancient language as the queen drew her blade and waited. She held it over her left hand and watched the Magus intently as if waiting on a signal. As she waited, a swift wind kicked up and dark clouds covered the sky. A swirling hole opened up in the sky that looked to be a black void of pure nothingness. The Magus continued his chant, undisturbed by the event. Debris began to lift into the air and assault everyone in attendance. Even over the howl of the wind you could hear the small rocks and sticks ping off the knights' armor. The wind seemed almost to whisper a chant of its own before a loud boom was heard in the distance. An evil laugh filled the air, drowning out all sound save for the Magus and chilling everyone to their core and causing the horses to buck their riders and run.
"You shall never defeat me you foolish mortals, you shall lose."
The queen and Magus both received shallow gashes on their arms from debris that was flying through the air in a seemingly random manor. Through the chaos the Magus struggled to keep the spell going. as the queen searched for their enemy. As quickly as it had began it ended. The manically laughter of the Final Dark died with the wind. The void portal that had formed above them cracked and shattered; the dust settling and being carried off by the wind. The Grand Magus collapsed, his energy spent, and the queen looked tired and tried but otherwise in fair health. Many of the knights were sporting cuts and fatigue similar to those of their most important charges. One would almost think that the enemy had show compassion to the two great leaders but the truth was much more sinister; he had destroyed the prophesy.
Meeka swore and sheathed her blade before offering her hand to the fallen elder. "Please tell me it was supposed to end like that."
Magus Zento accepted the girl's offer of assistance as a solemn expression darkened his face. "I'm not certain. This magic is older and more powerful than I and there was no way to test it before hand. I guess we must wait and pray to the goddess it works."
The queen pouted, puffing out her upper lip as a scorned child would. "I don't like it."
The Grand Magus placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into the distance. "Neither do I, my child, but we have little choice to accept our fate and have faith in the ancients' magic. We shall have the knights gather the horses and return to Raito."
Zento was unsteady on his feet and had to have help from Meeka to walk back to the village. As they regrouped, the knights gathered the horses and returned home, waiting to one day be called upon again.