Authors Note
Sorry for this very late chapter it is the product of procrastination, end of the year tests and to little time to write. I'd like to give credit to my semi-decent BETA(the BETA wrote that last part), Ranch14, and another friend of mine without an account who is a soundboard. So please read and review the chapter all reviews go a long way in improving the quality of chapters.
The kings of Arcadia had long watched the lands their former brothers called Alaegasia. Their brethren had left ages ago when the land had been torn by warfare and death. Now a storm was brewing on the horizon. Old feuds had been reignited and it took all of the kings political and physical power to keep the peace in his nation. The houses were already heavily divided. While the lands were divided a mighty threat was on the horizon. And Alaegasia would be were it would first break. Suddenly a voice broke the kings train of thought saying "my lord, we have captured the man who started the riots in the lower city." Turning King Lorthien of the elves of Arcadia said "bring him forward." Moving to his throne the ancient king sat up the throne his ancestors had held since the days of the great rift eons before. Two guards one elven and one human dragged a badly beaten and cut up man in his early thirties before him. Looking at the man the king began "This is your one chance to give up your allies and the reason you are causing discontent among my people before I tear the knowledge from your mind." Suddenly laughing filled the throne room as the prisoner raised his head and spoke with his voice full of amusement "High King Lorthien of the Federation of Alaea I will tell you what you can do with your offer. Shove it up your royal arse. The true king of all approaches. He will burn your brothers in the west to ash and kill all who resist before turning his eyes on you. He will burn these vaulted towers and gilded cities to rubble. He is the one true God of our world." Hearing these words the king stood slowly before combing his mind with that of his four nearby court mages before crushing the mans mental defenses and prying all of his knowledge from it shattering the fools mind in a instant. Drawing his lean sword Lorthien plunged it into the mans chest killing him instantly. Once it was free he spoke aloud to a nearby commander of the guard saying "Gather the royal guards. Arrest the lords of the Houses of Deloi, Pike, Drakefyre, and Neloia. They are to be brought to me." The man saluted before marching out of the throne room leaving his king to his thoughts. In his mind he thought "The coming days will surely be dark if the information that man had was correct." With that King Lorthien moved from the throne room traveling up a flight of stairs to his personal chambers and out onto the balcony. Staring over the golden city of Arcadia he loved this city and had loved it from his first memory and would till his last. From this vantage point he could see a steady stream of people leaving the mighty city behind and moving swiftly east away from the coast. The wind blew softly through the air as the last of the people left the city and began moving swiftly for the distant horizon. The king bowed his head as he extended his mind to that of his Royal Mage, Mithrial, who was accompanying the guards tasked with arresting the leaders of the prominent houses. "Mithrial how have you faired?" Lorthien asked with his mind. Mithrial replied by simply saying "My king, the traitors have fled. Their houses are emptied of all wealth and anything personal. They have escaped us though we believe they are moving towards the ancestral home of House Pike in the eastern mountains." The King sighed at learning of this. "So they are willing to tear this land apart over petty squabbles. Mithrial I want you to find out who's still loyal and from all of the houses draw two thousand men to form a force to arrest these traitors. I want them assembled near the plains of sorrow." He felt Mithrial's agreement and with that severed their connection turning away from the balcony and walking back inside he heard a noise in the throne room that sounded like fighting. Hurrying towards the noise he threw the doors open long enough to see a sight he never expected. The two elven guards at the main door to this ancient hall were on the ground bleeding as the two guards, who had drug the prisoner into the throne room, were fighting for their lives. The men whom they fought were obviously human but they had tanned skin etched with blue markings. In a flash they killed the first guard only to find the second more experience guards casting spells at them. Drawing his blade and roaring the King of Alaea joined the fight by beheading one of the attackers and stabbing a second before the remaining guards of the citadel converged and killed the remaining attackers. Catching his breath the king began to speak when the ground beneath his feet began to shake. A roar was heard throughout the throne room from outside and rushing back to the balcony he was in time to watch the massive main gate of Arcadia collapse following a massive could of smoke and flame. The king sank to his knees at the sight before him. Arcadia the capital of Alaea was burning, explosions ripped the golden city apart as the host on the horizon disappeared. The heart of the nation was burning. The bridges spanning the wide Heart River were collapsed as the outer defenses were laying scattered. In one afternoon a civil war had been started and the capital had paid the price for his failure to capture the traitors. His brothers in Alaegasia would stand alone for now, for he needed to defeat the rebels quickly. Before the war had time to affect the country any worse. Then he would prepare for the arrival of the heroes of the prophecy who would come for training. Now was the ending of a era of peace. Now was a era of war and turmoil.