Fairytale Beginning
Once upon a time there was a princess…
"No Daddy, that's not how it goes!"
"What do you mean?" The man asks, looking affronted. "When Mama tells it she always begins with the fairytale and then the real story," the small girl scolds from her bed. An indignant expression comes over her father's face. "Well, I'm not Mama so I'll tell my way." "Tell it Mama's way!" The child insists. "I'll leave," He threatens. The girl pauses and then smiles slyly. "I'll scream and cry, Daddy," Her father turns white and she knows she's won. "Fine, I'll tell it Mama's way. See if I ever do bedtime stories again," He mutters under his breath. Satisfied, the youngster snuggles into her covers and waits for him to start.
Long, long ago, before Jorden ever was, there were twenty-four Immortals wandering the worlds, lonely and miserable. They were cursed with eternal life, condemned by all those who envied them wherever they went. Always in search of companionship, it was not long before all twenty four of them found themselves in the same corner of the universe, in a patch of nothing in the garden of space. No one made a sound until some brave soul ventured to ask what the others were doing there. It was there that Jorden was born. The Immortals upon realizing that they had a common dream, pooled their magics together and from it came Jorden. But Jorden was an empty place and there was no one else besides themselves there. So the Immortals sought out mortals, people they had felt drawn to and asked them to come live in Jorden. In the end fifty men and women and their families came. The fifty were bonded lovers, bound by the kind of love so extraordinarily strong it could bend Time to its will. It was this power they exuded that made Jorden complete and to thank them, the Immortals made them Kings and Queens, grateful for their company that made this new world feel so inviting. But it was one woman who realized her presence wasn't enough, and she refused her Crown because of it. She decided to attach herself permanently to Jorden, in the only way possible. With a broken bramble branch, she slew herself and seeing her, her husband followed. A single tremor of the ground followed and the ground was still though the bodies of the fallen lovers had disappeared leaving nothing behind except for the bloodied, broken brambles. Sorrowful the Immortals and the remaining forty eight thanked their spirits for their sacrifice and promised to honor and never forget them. They swore an oath on the Bramble Branch that their descendants would honor the lovers' Bond and find mates, one mate each to love for lifetimes or suffer the same fate as their comrades. For centuries it was this way, and how it should always be. And why shouldn't it be so for a world made of magic, friendship and love?
Our story begins in Illuseon, one of the twenty-four countries the original forty-eight rulers were given to govern. The descendants of the original rulers of Illuseon, the King and Queen, were fair and just sovereigns and loved by everyone in Illuseon. It was more than any leader could have asked for: the Kingdom was at peace, the laws were in place and now an heir was expected. The people waited, almost as eager for it to be born as the Royal Family themselves. There were no preparations left to be made and now all was in the hands of Fate to seize her opportunity.
The Sun drifted lazily across a warm summer sky, uncaring that his sister the Moon was also strolling, he in his blinding glory and she wrapped in the cape of skies, unseen but present, nonetheless. For a moment they stood fixed in their positions and looked at each other in agreement.
It was time.