Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

I

Once upon a time, the world was one of peace and prosperity. All kingdoms united under the promise of peace, caring and supporting each other in times of need. War was a foreign concept, an idea now only drifting at the back of the minds of those who now knitted by firesides and play board games around the dining table. The luscious mountains and vast oceans were shared equally amongst the kingdoms, the flora and fauna living in balance with humanity.

That was, until the era of Darkness swallowed them whole. Flock began to die, crops wilted away, the vibrant nature turned cold and receded into itself. Famine and disease spread like wildfire amongst the people, kingdoms closing off their borders in hopes of protecting their citizens. Kings grew cruel, politicians sly, and it wasn't long until the kingdoms were at war with each other.

The War lasted many years, until one day a young maiden from the kingdom of the north, Escila, received a vision from the Goddess herself, her power and wisdom allowing the maiden to travel far and wide. At first, her words of hope and peace fell on deaf ears shrouded by hunger and grief, but when times grew desperate more and more began to listen to her words. One by one swords fell to the ground, gates opened and palms reached out, the rot of greed and anguish slowly dissipating from the world. 

At last, the kingdoms came back together, signing the Treaty of Peace, one that would remain a bleak reminder of those days of darkness and shadow. Slowly, lands revived, nature crept out of its hiding place, and the world flourished once more. The kingdoms, though different in lands, traditions and lifestyles, joined as one to create a brighter future for their citizens. The kingdoms of Catalin, Creati, Nightstorm, Endeavour, and the Tribes that lay deep in the forest, each one held up a pillar of this peace...

"And now he wants to take it all for himself." Shoto sighed, head falling back onto the lounge chair.

The book fell shut in his lap. The faded cover and frayed edges so much like the last embers of hope that slowly diminished against his father's desires. His Gods forsaken legacy. 

King Enji Todoroki, his father, was a vicious man who desired that the kingdom of Endeavour be the one to rule over all of Yuaria, that their fierce army and masses of land showed their power and destiny. As Shoto grew, his father's ambitions grew along with it, his siblings and mother coming to know better than anybody that suffering these desires caused. 

Prince Shoto Todoroki, the youngest of four siblings and the Crown Prince, destined to one day rule over Endeavour and its citizens. Lessons in politics, law, strategy, swordsmanship, riding, everything was carved out into perfection. Shoto was Enji's legacy, one that was to carry on the mantle when his father passed. Well, with his father's attitudes it wouldn't surprise him that the man thought he could conquer even death. 

Only the Goddess, the entity that came down from the heavens in their time of need, was the one true eternal being. She ensured harmony in the world, and if the greed or cruelty of humans began to once more seep through the cracks of their society, Shoto was sure she would once again raze it to the ground. If anyone wanted that to happen it was his father. 

The simmering down of the fire dragged his eyes away from the book, the quivering flames growing smaller and smaller until vanishing under the charred wood. He didn't have the energy to throw in anymore, and instead rose and left the library, knowing his sister would soon come searching to call him to dinner. 

Dinner was a rather positive way of seeing it. Shoto rather thought it was their prison for the hour, all trapped in their seats with perfect manners and practised faces, listening to their father's words until he decided he no longer wanted to see them. Well, everyone except Shoto. Even then, their family was far from complete.