Disclaimer: Do not own.

Author's Notes: New story. Just the prologue. Too tired to write much more. Read, enjoy, and review please! May not update for a while since I am still working on "Cat Got Your Tongue?".

Happy New Year! (A little early.)

Prologue

Hundreds of years ago, everyone lived in peace. The three peoples, animal folk, humans, and draconians all lived in harmony together. But something happened between the three races. The reason is now forgotten but coursed through the hearts of everyone then, building into hatred and rage. The animal folk, sticking out most because of the difference in looks, were killed mercilessly. The remaining ones eventually gave in to the humans will. Some learned to live peacefully again, but scorn was ever present.

Because of the close similarities between the humans and draconians, they both were at a disadvantage. Human killed human thinking they were draconian. Draconian killed draconian thinking they were human. But in the end, the humans won the war and the surviving winged folk hid in the shadows of history.

Years passed. Few remaining draconians were spotted yet children were still taught to be fearful and feel hatred towards them since they were not yet extinct. One year, there was an attack on the royal families of Gaea that had come together for a meeting of strengthening the Allied Nations, which was growing weak over the years. The attack was made by a much larger number of draconians than thought was to still be alive. It was a futile attempt though. All it did was kill a large portion of the remaining draconian population. It fueled the hatred in both races once again to nearly that of when it all started.

More time passed. Memories of past horrid events still ran fresh through many minds. This caused a strange fellow to appear. He caused havoc in the realm of humans. All feared him and his deeds. Yet no one knew who this figure was. Then, by mere chance, he was caught raiding a merchant's wagon train. Surprisingly to the people, he was only a boy no older than 15. Even so, he was sentenced to death. On the day of his execution, he openly proclaimed he was what they had feared he was. He unfurled his wings. Black feathers rained down from black wings. Within that moment, he was beheaded. But even dead, the boy's last words still rang clear in the ears of all present.

"You will all die one day. And you will die by my people's hands. Then, the true rulers of Gaea shall come forth. It is fate. It is destiny. None can stop what will come. None can challenge the power that we hold."

~*~*~*~*~*~

A little girl stared at the city below. Her parents were down there, why, she didn't know. They had simply told her that they were heading into the city and she was to stay behind with her grandmother and brother. A call came from behind her.

"Come, child. Come inside. Your parents will be home soon," an elderly woman said.

The girl turned to look into similar green eyes like her own. "Grandmother," she started, "why did Mother and Father go without me?"

The woman hesitated. Should she tell her grandchild about what was happening down there? Yes, she finally decided. The truth was better so the girl would know about the terrors in the real world. "Hitomi, darling, there is a man that is being executed."

Hitomi looked confused. "Executed? What's that mean?"

"He's going to be killed."

Tears started to form in little Hitomi's eyes. "Killed? But Mother said it's wrong to kill people. Has he done something bad?"

To calm the girl, the woman held her close. "Don't worry little one," she cooed. "This man has killed many people. And it is wrong to kill. But what you must understand Hitomi," she looked directly into the girl's eyes, "is that he is not a person. He is a demon, a cursed being. He is one of the winged ones. Remember the stories I've told you?" She received a slight nod. "He is one of the creatures in those stories. If we didn't kill him, we would all be murdered ourselves. So in the end, it is all for the greater good."

With cheeks still tearstained, Hitomi turned to the city and started murmuring to herself, "A demon. For the greater good. He's a demon. It's for the greater good. Yes, the greater good."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Your Highness!" a man shouted as he burst through the wide doors. A woman looked up from the young boy in her lap. Another man turned towards the new arrival from a book in his hand. Though he made a move to stand up, the woman spoke first.

"What is wrong, Balgus?" she asked, her voice calm but holding a hint of fear.

Balgus looked sorrowfully toward her. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but word has just reached us that your son..." He couldn't continue. He needn't continue. The man and woman knew what he was saying.

Sobs consumed her body. "No, it can't be," she whispered to herself. "They can't have. He said he'd be careful. They couldn't have found him. No. No, I don't believe it."

The other man stood slowly up and walked to his wife. "Shh, Varie, calm down," he whispered into her ear as his arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Breathe and relax. That's it," he said as he felt her slump in his arms. "Don't be sad. He fought bravely and his death won't go unpunished. So for now, just breathe and relax."

All this while, the boy had been looking at his mother with a confused face. Hearing the word death, he decided to speak up. "Mother, who is dead?" he asked. A faint trace of fear also started to enter his usually cheerful tone.

Varie looked at her second son with grief evident in her eyes. "Baby," she started shakily. "Baby, your brother. It's Folken. They caught him, Van. They caught him and killed him."

Unbelievingly, the boy clenched his fists tight. "Folken? No, Brother can't be dead. He said he'd come home and teach me how to sword fight." He whirled around to face Balgus. "You're lying!" he shouted. "Brother can't be dead! You're just lying!"

Balgus looked down at the floor and could only say "I'm sorry, young prince."

His own tears starting to fall, Van ran from the room. Varie tried to call after him but her husband stopped her.

"Let him be," he said. "Let him be."

Soon, Van came to one of the few gardens. He entered a small channel of light where he fell and just laid there on the ground. His eyes were shut tight to stop the salty droplets.

"No," he finally said. "No more crying." He turned his face upwards into the light. "I'll avenge you, Brother. Just wait. Those stupid humans will not go unpunished."

Upon saying that, the small prince walked away, leaving a portion of himself behind, and entered a path of darkness.