Hello everyone! Again, not sure how many still frequent this site still, but I'm back with my first new project in 9 years. This is Vikus' origin story - set when he was around 20 years old, and still relatively green during a period of relative peace for Regalia. I couldn't say goodbye to writing, so I've put together a basic outline for this story, and am committed to finishing it! And if it has enough readers, I will maybe turn this into its own series eventually!

I am also excited to announce that I will be posting this on AO3! I will continue to use as my primary forum, but I'd like to explore beyond this website too. I will mainly be responding to reviews here, though, so if you want to engage with this story, please post your reviews here!

As an original series, there'll be a decent amount of worldbuilding. I know it may be difficult to keep up with it, but I've made sure to tie as much of it to familiar territory as possible, so it's a bit easier to follow what's going on. And if you guys are down, I can add a brief summary of newly-added events at the end of the chapter to flesh out the history of the Underland a bit better, if it helps!

Anyway, excited to present this to you and hear your thoughts! Every chapter of this story will be written from Vikus' perspective.

This is the prologue of The Black Duke.

Chapter 1: Memory

"Vikus!"

Vikus' head snapped up, his body yanked out of his adventure into the past. He had ventured into crests and troughs of memories, guided on this journey simply by the map laid out in front of him. It had been a gift from Judith for his birthday - she knew how much he enjoyed poring over old documents and maps. It had been a staple of his life from his days in the Regalian Academy - a guilty pleasure of his, if one could call it that. It was all too easy to roam down the intertwined tunnels of history.

But now his granddaughter needed his attention.

"Yes, Luxa?" he called out, turning around in his chair.

He was all too happy to spend time with her. She was precocious and independent, which made for a fine princess. In many ways, she was very much like her grandmother, which was not necessarily a bad thing… in other ways, it could be catastrophic if left uncorrected. The girl would one day rule the fate of many. He would not have her following the law of the sword.

Luxa's parents had won themselves a well-earned nap when Vikus offered to look after Luxa.

Solovet was holding a training session, and Luxa's cousin, Henry, had gleefully invited himself to participate in it.

Vikus felt sorry for the poor boy.

He was fortunate where the boy was not, however - he was now left alone with his favourite granddaughter.

The little bundle of energy charged forward, stopping on a dime just before she collided into him. He stared down at her and smiled warmly. "What ails you, child?"

"I just read about Queen Eleanor!" Luxa said proudly.

"Yes," Vikus said fondly. "She was a great queen indeed. You see, she restored balance during a period of great turmoil."

"What does 'turmoil' mean, Vikus?"

"It was a period of great trouble," Vikus explained. "You see, when the old king Solomon died, the crown was passed to his eldest son, the crippled Prince Ambrose. But his brother Tristan was very jealous of him, and arranged for his brother's deposal."

"Deposal?"

Vikus did not have the heart to tell his seven-year-old granddaughter that Tristan had his brother murdered in his bathtub by a royal maid.

"His… removal," Vikus improvised. "That was the Year of the Three Kings, you see. Tristan ruled for six months, before Eleanor deposed him in a bloodless coup."

"Coup?"

Vikus was a terrible storyteller.

"She rallied the people of Regalia to demand his abdication. Everyone saw him as unfit to rule," Vikus said. "He was imprisoned and the Council elected her to be the next sovereign of Regalia. She was the youngest queen to ascend the throne at just twenty-five years of age."

"She fought the gnawers!" Luxa proclaimed.

"Yes, she fought a war that lasted twenty years," Vikus said slowly. "But this was not her doing. It was King Tristan who started the war, while Queen Eleanor ended it. Thus began the longest period of peace Regalia has ever seen."

"The Long Peace!" Luxa recalled, beaming with delight. She was so proud of herself for knowing that.

"Indeed," Vikus said, ruffling his granddaughter's hair.

Luxa suddenly yawned, and pointed at the cushioned bench. "I am tired," the young princess declared. "I shall sleep!"

Vikus had no doubt that his verbose storytelling had snuffed out any further desire within his granddaughter to learn Regalia's history.

He stood up, unsure of whether the creaking sound he heard originated from the chair or his bones. "Come, let us go."

He took her hand and led her to the bench. She leapt onto the bench as Vikus sank into it. Soon, she was lying sideways, her head placed on his lap. He began a steady rhythm of patting her, hoping it would lull her to sleep.

"Queen Eleanor defeated the gnawers," Luxa murmured.

"Yes," Vikus said, patting her steadily. "But it was her eldest son, Prince Emeric, who won the decisive battles for her."

"Emeric," Luxa mumbled, slipping into her kingdom of dreams.

"Emeric," Vikus echoed, his voice descending to a whisper.

Did Luxa know what the cost of Regalia's peace had been?

Would she ever know?

Or was Emeric another name to be lost to the whispers of old wives' tales and the forgotten annals of history?

There was no name in Regalia that stirred as much glowing admiration as it did the deepest disdain.

It was a name of irredeemable infamy and hallowed honour.

Unlike everyone else who still lived to tell tales of the Great Schism, Vikus was cursed to bear one burden alone for the last half of a century.

The truth.

While many had the privilege of perceiving Emeric as either an understated hero or a malevolent monster, Vikus would always remember him simply as who he was - nothing more, nothing less.

He was the Black Duke.

Quick Recap: The events of this prequel are set around 50 years before the events of TUC. 50 years before that (100 years before TUC) was the Year of the Three Kings (Solomon, Ambrose, Tristan). Then Queen Eleanor came to power at the age of 25, and ruled for 45 years (20 years of war, 25 years of peace). More pertinent information will be revealed in the following chapter.

Question: Would you like information tidbits at the end of each chapter to help you keep track of this universe's "canon"?