Prologue

'Protect me, from myself…' 'I won't leave you alone.' 'Believe me, I don't want this to happen. But, eventually, it might.' 'How are you in your prison?' 'You are being released from you cell' 'I need your help.'

All these thoughts and more went through the mind of the man, as he knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened.

"Hello, Cassidy." The man said.

"N." Cassidy said.

Nicholas walked in, having a staff in his right hand, with on the top of it, a pinkish jewel. He was wearing long brown robes. He was in his fifties. He had a pale skin and brown hair. His name was Nicholas, but friends of him usually called him N.

"You seem a bit pale, N. How've you been?" Cassidy asked.

"Well, I haven't seen much sunlight since I've been in prison for four years. And even after that, I'm not going outside that much." N responded. "Now, you said you needed my… help. I wonder what you, Cassidy, the Guardian of Water, would want from me, N, keeper of the Heart, traitor to the Guardians and a power mad fool."

"Don't talk like that, N. You know most of that is not true. You haven't betrayed us and you're not power mad. Why else would you still have the Heart?" Cassidy replied, giving him an annoyed look.

N smiled as he took a seat. "Very well, I see you trust me. Now, why do you need my help."

Cassidy sighed. She walked to the window and looked outside.

"Do you know the leader of this city?"

N's smile disappeared. "I do. I have heard the stories."

"Do you think they're true?" Cassidy suddenly said, apparently even surprising herself.

"I…think so. It would be the only legitimate explanation to why he has been able to rule the city, and it's aligned state, for more than 150 years. He must be kept alive by necromancy. But what does this have to do with your…request?" N said, slowly and thoughtful.

"Will you stop being so dramatic and making stops in your sentences every time you mention I have asked for your help?" Cassidy said annoyed, getting her a grin from N, "Now, do you also know how this city, this state, was before he got to the throne."

N laughed. "The exact opposite of now. Green, beautiful water, parks, theatres, libraries for the sorcerers. All the good stuff. But now, that's all gone."

"Indeed." Cassidy said. "I have been researching a lot and, it seems there's only 1 thing that has been better for the city than before he took the throne. And it may be our opportunity."

"Our opportunity for what? Cassidy, what are you planning?" N asked, very curious. He was smiling. He thought he knew where this was going. And he was correct.

Cassidy sighed. "I want to change the regime of this city. I want…to kill the Grand General, and place another man or woman on the throne. Somebody who's worthy of the throne and who will restore the city and its state to its former glory."

N rose from his seat. Cassidy sighed. She thought this would end bad. That N would hit her for her stupidity, that she shouldn't have said that out loud, that she shouldn't dare defy the Grand General. But no, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and saw sparkles in his eyes.

"I see that you have taken up my research. The very research that send me to jail." N said, dramatic.

He walked around the room, picking up several objects, and looking at them as if he was interested.

"Yes, the Grand General is a power mad fool, who decapitates everybody who dares defy him, scared of losing the power he possesses. It also explains why he's so afraid of death. Death will mean he loses all of his power, all that he worked so hard for might fall apart."

"Sounds a bit like you, according to yourself." Cassidy responded, with a small grin.

N looked at her. It was clear he wasn't amused.

"I don't decapitate you if you'd defy me, I'm not afraid of death. And if I must, I will give up all my powers, even my life, to save this world, and all the other worlds along side that. So don't compare me to that fool of a Marcus, the so-called Grand General."

"You are twice the man he'll ever be, N." Cassidy said as she closed in on him.

He smiled. "So, who were you planning to put on the throne? Me? You? And why do you need my help with this?"

Cassidy shook her head. "We're too old. We're both in our fifties, we wouldn't last long. And you yourself said once that you couldn't be trusted with more power than you already have now. No, a new generation should take the throne. Somebody who shares our vision."

N knew what she implied. "A child. That immediately explains why you need me."

Cassidy smiled. "Don't talk to me like that. You love me, don't you? You've done for a long time."

"So, now you're trying to use my love for you to get a child. That is not the way a child is supposed to be made, Cass. A child is the embodiment of love between two people. You can't just create a child because you need him or her to…" N started, but the rest of his sentence was cut off when Cassidy's lips touched his.

"You're right. But, I don't think that's a concern…because…I love you too. I didn't get you out of jail for nothing. Not just because I need you for this, but because I need you. I love you and want to be with you, until the end of my days." Cassidy said, as she looked him in the eye.

She knew that N was not only a Guardian, but a strong sorcerer as well. He had studied all forms of magic, even necromancy, to get a good view of the capabilities of magic. The fact that his last subject of study was necromancy, was the very thing that got him thrown in jail for four years. One of those forms of magic enabled the user to see the truth. In other words, you couldn't lie to him.

N smiled. "I can see you're not lying, my dear. Well well, this is quite a surprise."

"The grand sorcerer N doesn't know something? What magic is this?" Cassidy asked, laughing at her own joke.

"Magic of the human brain, my dear. The brain can't store all the wisdom in the world. And besides, I won't use my powers to figure out if somebody loves me or not." N responded.

He said it as though the last part was insignificant, but Cassidy knew that was the actual reason.

"Very well. But before we do…that…let's talk about this. We need a plan. Otherwise, it's just a child. And, as you said, you want him or her to be on the throne. To make right what Marcus wronged. We need to think this one out before we act." N said, obviously thinking.

Cassidy smiled. "I have thought of that. I will tell you everything, when you're laying on my bed."

"Very well. Tell me your glorious plan, my dear heart." N said as he walked into the bedroom.

N smiled and laughed. Cassidy seemed unsure.

"Very good, dear. I never thought you'd think of that. But yes, that was what I was thinking about too." N said, obviously proud, while Cassidy hugged him.

"Do you really think it's a good plan?" Cassidy asked.

"It's an excellent plan. I only need to work on it for a few more days. I feel that some events have to be…manipulated." N said.

"But, pregnancy takes 9 months, so that won't be a pain, right?" Cassidy said, smiling at him.

"You do realize you're almost 50 and that there's a good chance it won't work, right?" N asked.

"Yes, I do. But you have the power over Quintessence. You can…ensure it'll work." Cassidy said.

"Another reason why you need me. Don't keep secrets from me, Cass." N said.

"That was the last secret. I swear." Cassidy said.

"Then," N said, smiling evilly, "the General is dead. Long. Live. The General."

"You're scaring me when you do that." Cassidy said.

*9 months later*

"Something's wrong with the boy, Cass." N said.

Cassidy looked at her child, who was lying in her arms. Nothing seemed wrong with him, but she could feel it as well.

"It's the necromancy." N said, "He's affected by it. He's a young boy, living right next to the castle, where the Grand General is kept alive by necromancy. He has been carried here for nine months, it has taken its time to seep into him."

N rose from his seat and started walking around the house, as he explained.

"Necromancy is indeed performed on a person. However, as it is used multiple times in the same area, it might spread to it's vicinities. First the room in which the ritual is performed, then the rooms close by…it keeps spreading through the building, and eventually through the city itself. Imagine this, he has kept the throne for 150 years. He was 30 when he became the leader of the state. That's at least a 100 years of necromancy. Think of what that did to the castle and it's surroundings. And now, we have a young boy, living next of the castle. He's still weak at the moment. It'll wear of if he gets older, but we can't take the risk of him getting insane or a necromancy lover, because he's been subjected to it. It's a dark art, Cass. It has side-effects. Perhaps the Grand General doesn't know about it. But, most likely, he just doesn't care." N explained. "Therefore…"

He rose his hand and pointed at the boy. His hands started to cackle with lightning. Cassidy seemed afraid.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm not going to hurt him. I'm going to expel the necromancy from him." N said.

Cassidy seemed to relax. N's eyes started to shine bright blue. He started whispering words, not audible to anybody else. Black streams came from the boy. His hands, his hair, his mouth, his feet. All these black streams were transferred to N's left hand. The black streams ended. N's ritual stopped as well.

"And now for the unpleasant part…" N whispered.

Cassidy saw how his left hand started to deteriorate, fast. His skin grew wrinkled, darker. It seemed as if his left hand had died. And then, the skin turned to dust and revealed the bones of N's hand.

Cassidy immediately shrieked. "What just happened?"

"It's an effect of necromancy. Listen, when they cast the spell on the Grand General to keep him young, they had to send his age somewhere. Energy doesn't just vanish into thin air, it's transformed into a different form of energy. Why do you think the people in this city don't grow all to old? Their youth is used to feed the Grand General. And, in return, he gives his old age to them. Since it happens on a large portion of the city people, it's even and everybody grows about the same age, 70 years. This means it looks like a natural occurrence." N explained, while he examined his hand.

"That still doesn't explain what happened to your hand." Cassidy said.

"It's simple, really. I didn't lock up all the necromantic energy in my entire body. No, I locked it in one place. My left hand. Therefore, it has taken all the effects my entire body would suffer. As a result, I now no longer have a skin around my hand. I can still use it like normal, however." N said.

Cassidy seemed like she had to vomit. "That's…disgusting."

"It's why necromancy is banned. It has many side effects. But because he's the Grand General, he makes the rules, and he actually has a rule, hidden in the laws, which enables him to use necromancy. Now, listen, the boy is protected from necromancy now. This means he doesn't age as fast as others would. It means he'll grow older than most people. That could make him an outcast. We're going to have to teach him to be a great warrior. For that is the only way to get him respected in this hell hole." N said.

He took a glove and placed it over his left hand. "You don't mind if I keep that, do you?"

"No, not at all." Cassidy said.

"Good." N said, as he walked to the door. "Now, I have to do something else. It'll make our plan work."

"What? Don't keep secrets from me!" Cassidy said.

N smiled at her. "I have to find the new Guardians."