The Legend of The Golden Rose

Prologue

In the far off land of Turop, a rose with petals as bright as the sun and more precious than any fortune lay hidden in the caves of Mortebriar Peak. Amongst the large mountains, it towered above them all, its jutting finger-like peaks reaching up into the clouds. The temperatures on Mortebriar got colder and colder as you went upward, and by the time you were in the cave, it was sub zero. Though, no one's ever gotten that far. Most, if not already dead, give up around Rockfall, which is about half way up. At Rockfall, most have already gotten frostbite due to the freezing weather and feet of ice-cold snow. The sudden drop stretches down hundreds of feet and has sharp stones at the bottom. The fall would kill anyone. It's nearly impossible to cross the 12-foot gap in the mountain, yet most still pathetically attempt the leap, praying that their feet will hit the powdery snow.

But why would anyone put themselves in so much danger over a flower? The answer: Its petals give three blessings. No one knows what the blessings are, but some have theories. A popular few are immortality, wealth, and the power of swooning with irresistible features. These theories drive anyone mad with the need for the rose.

It has been foretold by Queen Mala, the first sorceress to become queen, on the day of her death. Laying on her deathbed, her body flinching in violent spasms, she declared the words of the prophecy.

"In a time of weakness, when the ground shakes and the sky falls, a magical child shall save Turop," she had spoken, her voice cracked yet authoritative. Her eyes sparkled with hope, before they dulled and her blood ran cold.

For the last 100 years, at the age of 6, every child in the country had been inspected, tested, and monitored until their eighteenth year if they had not yet shown any sign of being magical.