Prologue

Theme Song: Bad Blood — Bastille

For most of time, the Kingdom of Quillum had been isolated from the world. This kingdom, composed of avian creatures, a race of humanoid hawks known as the Buteos, lived in relative peace and quiet. This state of being was thanks to their separation from the rest of the known world, consisting of a little over two-thousand miles of ocean between their homelands and the more populous Dragon Realms.

However, this far-off land was not completely unknown to those of a dragonic origin. Among the visitors to this distant continent, nomadic wind dragons would frequent these lands, taking refuge for a time, then later departing. The locals didn't mind the dragons much, sometimes even providing assistance. This relationship lasted for many years, with both sides living in relative harmony. But that relationship eventually began to wane over the years.

In time, the number of wind dragons that were spotted and encountered grew fewer and fewer, so much so that dragons became — as some might know them — as myth. And with the knowledge of the past relegated to myth and legend, it would take one harsh encounter to set a new precedent. And it was such a harsh encounter that would change the course of history for this plucky avian civilization.

Over one-thousand years before the present day, a purple dragon with darkened scales and yellowed eyes set his sights on the continent. Malefor's true intentions for the avian kingdom were unknown to all. His action was his alone, a lone wolf committing many brutal and savage attacks that began with the ruling monarchy at the time, the ancient palace which stool for eons had been reduced to dust with the destructive power of Dark Aether.

Just as suddenly as the evil dragon appeared, he vanished without a trace after his mauling of the innocent kingdom. And it was in that chaos that the once prosperous kingdom collapsed into chaos. In the aftermath, close relatives and cadet branches fought over the right to rule.

Meanwhile, legendary heroes whose names became lost to history, now covered by the title of Ancestors, banded together to stop Malefor's reign of terror. Together, they defeated the purple dragon and sealed him away. From that point on, the dragon realms slowly recovered and rebuilt, eventually growing into a prosperous land. But not all prospered. Quillum still remained in a regressive dark age that would last for centuries.

Over the course of three hundred and three years, many factions formed and warred for control of the continent with no faction gaining any significant footing; an ever increasing state of barberism, however, was. When the fire that was the first kingdom of Quillum was nearly extinguished, new fuel was finally added to the fire after three centuries of absence. It would be the House of Raemes that would rise to the throne through friendliness and force, and with the validation in the form of long-thought-lost royal artifacts, the doubting of their legitimacy faded away as acceptance grew.

Finally, the fighting for control ceased, and an era for the continent of Treyblesh began. It would be a time of rebuilding, a time of peace, and a time of prosperity that lasted for many, many years to come.

And by many years, it would be another few centuries before a new conflict arrived on their shores… literally. In a bitter twist of fate, Malefor had returned to Quillum once more, or at least his armies of apes did. Their arrival was swift and unexpected, catching the avians off guard as the apes began their conquest of the kingdom. Once the armies of Quillum had mobilized, they sent out to meet the apes in combat.

The first set of battles fought between the forces of the apes and the avians did not favor the avians well, who were lacking battle experience compared to the seasoned Dark Army. Battle after battle, the Quillians adapted, learned from their mistakes, and developed new and improved strategies. Finally, after a long string of defeats and blunders, the Royal Army of Quillum scored their first successful victory against the Dark Armies.

With this knowledge in hand, a campaign to push the apes back to the sea began. It was not easy, and cost many lives, but once their momentum had started, it was hard for the Quillians to be stopped. And on one fateful day, the salty air filled the lungs of every soldier. This was it, the day that the Royal Army finally scored a victory over the Dark Army and to drive them from their shores.

Just as the battle began, loud roars from the skies were heard, and all eyes turned to behold the sight. What had long been relegated to myth in Quillum had returned spectacularly, and blew a hole right through the front lines of the defenders. The Dark Master had a trick up his sleeve, and that was thirty dragons under his command. All progress gained from their campaign had been for nothing as the front lines returned to where they had been before, if not more in favor of the Apes.

In the army's highest leadership, it wasn't so much the dim-witted ape soldiers that worried them — their own stupidity was enough to give any avian a fighting chance despite their physical dominance — it was the dragons that the Dark Army had mobilized. They were the super weapons of the Dark Master and he knew it well, having his generals plot out their savage strikes on villages and towns.

Quillum and her armies were effectively defenseless against the dragons of the Dark Army. They wrecked havoc across the continent, and the Royal Army were desperate for anything that could reliably injure or kill reptilian creatures of death and despair. After a long series of intelligence work, there was a vital connection made. Where these dragons resided, large clusters of gemstones would grow from the ground and be subsequently harvested, the green ones especially so. Seeing that these gems were considered a vital resource to these dragons, efforts were made to harvest these gems for themselves.

Once collected, prompt studies began on these strange gems. It was clear through observation that the green gems had to do something with their magic. Attempts were made every way from Sunday on just how to use them, all of which turned out to be failures. Desperation and despair took hold as everything they tried were unsuccessful. It finally took a joking suggestion from a brewer delivering a consolation keg to the team assembled before they discovered a major breakthrough.

The brewer's suggestion was to throw the gems in with the mash and see what happens. With a lack of results with the previous experiments, they went forward with the joking expression. The result of which was a brew with the same green color as the gems, and the gems in the leftover mash had their color drained. Tentatively, a young and willing volunteer drank the brew, and the spatacular occurred. Magical powers developed in the volunteer. Soon after that phenomenal development, a rush of volunteers came forth with the desire to develop these new and promising powers.

With a process discovered, military leaders were eager to organize a task force to counter the dragons with these magician soldiers. In total, there was a platoon-sized group, around thirty or so soldiers. With sponsorship provided by the House of Raemes directly, the training of this group began. After three weeks of intensive and near-nonstop training, it was thought that the group was ready, and needless to say, both the magicians and military leaders were eager to finally relieve the pressure that the dragons put on them.

An attack opportunity opened itself up to them when a dragon was sighted flying towards the sizable town that had been spared from attack. With that information in mind, the platoon of magicians quickly flew to intercept. The avians were swifter than the dragon sent to the town, and were the first and last line of defense. Once the reptile was in-sight, it was up to them to kill it. Many were scared to move, knowing the ruthlessness and brutality that they could bring. It took another brave soul, the same one that volunteered in the first place, to make a move. He charged an energy attack in his hands, and threw it.

The energy ball impacted the dragon's wing, and blew the wing apart, sending the creature tumbling to the ground. The loud thud was music to their ears, and with a cheer and renewed confidence, the soldiers of the platoon charged the wounded dragon, before melee weapons hacked and slashed at the dragon until it was nothing more than a bloody mess of a corpse. It was only one of thirty dragons that was at the disposal of the Dark Army, but to the Royal Army, it was a monumental victory for the kingdom.

That victory was the first of many, as the tide began to turn against the invading Dark Army. Dragons fell one by one as once captured and enslaved towns were liberated by the royal standard. It was one night that the Dark Master had to reconsider his goals and intentions in this foreign land as the loss of the few dragons on his side began to mound up. The next morning, the remaining dragons flew towards the shores and crossed the ocean, never to be seen again on the continent.

Avians across the kingdom celebrated as the dragons withdrew, and the defeat of the Apes would likely follow as the now seasoned Royal Army pushed the dark armies back towards the sea to the south. With a regained momentum, the Royal Army became a difficult force to be stopped.

Weeks later with nowhere to go, the final stand of the Dark Army began, culminating in the final push to the sea, where thousands of apes were pinned between the advancing avians and the seas crashing behind them — their battle roars mixing among the sounds of whirling arrows and crashing steel.

And as the dust settled on the blood-soaked beaches where bodies piled high, the royal standard waved in the sea breeze. Quillians across the kingdom celebrated and cheered over their victory against impossible odds.

The immediate aftermath of the war was marked by an intense rebuilding initiative to the decimated town affected by War Against the Dark Army. When the rebuilding process continued, progression in society and technology increased subsequently, ushering in an age of unprecedented development as an industrial revolution took hold across the kingdom.

But while the rest of the kingdom licked it wounds, the reigning king of Quillum weighed his options. In his toiling mind, there was no way that he could consider Dragons to be a neutral species to their kingdom. It was Malefor that caused the kingdom's collapse, and his return, albeit indirectly in the form of the armies that his generals commanded. And with the thirty or so dragons that savagely mauled the nation, it was more than enough for the king to come to a grim conclusion.

And with the newfound hatred that coursed through the veins of the people, a decision was made that would set the Kingdom of Quillum and the Dragon Realms on an inevitable collision course. Dragons were deemed to be the enemy of the kingdom, and a long-term plan was formulated in the highest ranks of government and military command…

An invasion of the Dragon Realms

First thing to address, yes, I am aware that the subtitle of the story is called "The Phantom Menace," which is the same as Star Wars Episode I. I've tried to find a alternative name for it, and nothing has really stuck, so I will have to go with what I got. While this may seem like a strange name to use, it will all make sense as the story progresses, trust me.

To all that read my announcement and have come here to read the rewritten War Torn Souls, I think all of you. If you are new to this story, then welcome! I hope everyone here enjoys the story to come!

Until next time. Stay safe, everyone!

-Abyssal