Not yesterday but long ago, the world was not the peaceful place we know it to be today.
The castles that loom in our countryside's, sitting desolate, once teemed with life. The surrounding lands were vast, fertile and infinitely beautiful at sunrise; tranquil at sunset.
Oh it is true that the lands knew war. They knew it intimately, the fever that grips men's hearts during such times. The lands knew of the blood shed and tears shed. They knew of heartache and love, bittersweet sorrows both. They knew the joys of birth and the sweet promise of spring after a long harrowing winter, but above all, the lands knew magic.
Once, before the land was so scorched that it wept still hundreds of years later, magic had coursed deep through the earth, it was life giving and oh so beautiful. Magical beasts of all sorts roamed the grasses and mountains, seas, deserts and skies. Pixies and fairies, goblins and dragons and water sprites and kelpies. The land was teeming and fruitful.
The lands were not always as prosperously united as they are now. They were split into four realms with a King or Queen at each head.
To the east was the kingdom of Gryffindor, ruled by the noble Godric Gryffindor. Helga Hufflepuff ruled the kingdome to the north with a kind and gentle hand. Helena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin respectively ruled to the west and to the south.
Where the four kingdoms joined was a vast lake that played host to an array of creatures. It was there near to this lake that the four rulers decided to build a castle. At this castle, they decided, they would meet to hold a summit in order to maintain the peaceable times they found themselves in.
The castle they built was grand. It had many floors and spires reaching up to the heavens. The four rulers of the land possessed strong magic of their own. Each king and each queen held in esteem a set of values.
It was the brave Godric Gryffindor who valued above all else daring, nerve and chivalry. The sweet queen Helga of Hufflepuff valued above all else caring and kindness. She ruled her people so that they were all just and loyal. The intelligent Helena Ravenclaw valued above all else those of wit and learning with a ready mind. And the Sly Salazar Slytherin of the noble land of Slytherin valued above all else those cunning folks who'll use any means to achieve their ends.
The castle itself was magical, as when it was built, its founders poured some of their own magic into the old stone. It had many passageways, some secret, some not and many rooms built to accommodate those who stayed. The castle had staircases that moved at their own discretion and the founders portraits that were painted moved and talked, proof of the wonders of magic.
Each of the four rulers claimed a section of the castle and had it decorated to reflect their individual kingdom.
Gryffindor claimed as his a tower on the seventh floor. Backed by red and gold his proud lion roared. Slytherin claimed the castle dungeons and had them transformed into opulent rooms in shades of silver and green. It was Hufflepuff who settled with yellow and black near to the warm and comforting kitchens, and dear lady Ravenclaw had settled on the west side of Hogwarts at the top of a spiral staircase located on the fifth floor. Decked in bronze and blue, It held the most stunning views of the grounds.
The castle they named Hogwarts; the water body, the black lake.
