Terra Nivis

Chapter 1

King Thaddeous ruled over a beautiful land full of mysterious magic and colorful life. There were regions for every season, so anytime of any day, you could have your choice of weather. 

Today was the first day of Ziedey, the days of giving. When he grew up, his family made the tradition of traveling to the wintery land of Terra Nivis! This year, his son was old enough and strong enough to make the voyage safely and Thaddeous was excited to finally share this tradition with him. 

 "Son," Thaddeous began while addressing his Son, James. "One day you will grow up to lead Zealandia through many hardships and lead with strength and courage." He smiles down at his 10-year-old who watched his father intently. "But for now, you are still young, and those ideas should be far from your little mind."

"Mother said I would be lucky to be half the King you are!" James said proudly to his father. 

Bashfully, Thaddeous smiled and shook his head at his beautiful wife's kind words. "I would be the lucky one, my child. I have high hopes that you will be twice the man I ever was!"

James stood up straight, puffing out his chest proudly at his father's words. "I will be the greatest king Zealandia has ever known!" 

Thaddeous ruffled the boy's hair and beamed down at him. "Remember to maintain humility through your journey, but yes, I have a feeling you will be."

James giggled and ran to the table where his father's casual crown lay. The beautifully cut metal forged to perfectly fit his father's head. Zealandia's most precious gem fitted proudly in the center of the silver band. James held the big head piece in his small hands admiring it and wondering when he would get his own and how it would look. 

It was tradition that each king would pick his own gem and his own style for his casual crown. The royal crown that he would wear at the ceremony and was the same crown since the beginning age of Zealandia. It was a tall crown made from a tree from the magical whisp forest. The crown never dies or withers or loses its bright colors of brown and green. It symbolizes the life and nature of Zealandia and how the kingdom was made from the ground up by the very hands that found the land. Cutting down trees, mining in the quarries for stones to build and creating farmlands to sustain the life of their people. 

Thaddeous looked at his son with his happy eyes on the beautiful purple gem. Anyone who knew James knew that he had an aura about him that radiated strength and power. Thaddeous was more than confident that his son would be a better king than he ever was, and maybe even a better king than any of the kings that came before.

Thaddeous threw his hands together in a loud clap bringing his son's attention back to him. "Alright!" He shouted. "We need to pack-"

"I already packed both your bags!" A beautiful woman with short, curly brown hair walked into the room with two large satchels and a smaller satchel. "I also pack you guys one-week worth of food!" She held the smaller bag up to show them. 

"Daliah, my dearest wife." Thaddeous smiled, holding his hands out to his wife to come to him and she responded by setting the three bags down and walking to her husband's embrace. "You really are truly amazing." He smiled down at her. 

"I know!" She said proudly, standing on her tip toes and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Now! My two men!" She looked down at her son who was rummaging through the food bag looking at what meals they had in store. 

Daliah quickly moved in and slapped his hand away. "Ow!" James whined. 

"Don't whine! We both know I didn't slap you hard!" She bent down and grabbed each of his cheeks in each of her hands and pinched them. 

"Mother!" James grabbed her hands and tried pulling them off. After a second of resistance, she finally let go and James rubbed the sting from his cheeks. 

Daliah stood up and walked over to the packed bags, grabbing one of the larger ones and handing it to Thaddeous. "Now, you two need to get going if you're going to make it on time!" She grabbed the smaller bag and helped James put it on, buckling the front to secure it around his small frame. 

"I put your coats on top in the bags so when you get to Nivis, you can easily put it on. You also have the refilling canteens, so you'll always have water. You have clothes for all week and your staffs are by the door!"

Daliah always knew what they needed even before they knew themselves. Thaddeous called her the "Know all queen." She was very intuitive and had been known to help settle tricky disputes between villagers and even their neighboring territories. Zealandia was made of 7 islands. Zealandia was the largest, holding the most precious gems and all the resources you would need to have a thriving community. Where the other 6 islands were known for usually, only one thing, Zealandia was known for several and had several magical places and terrains that were woven throughout the land, giving it it's mysterious nature and magical environment. It impressed Thaddeous that his wonderful queen was able to keep better track of his land than he could. He was confident that if he were to leave this world, she would have little trouble ruling it without him. 

Daliah walked the two royals to the palace doors and double checked their equipment one last time. "You two look ready for your adventure!"

James straightened himself putting his thumbs under his straps and smiled at his mom. "I feel ready!" He bounced on the balls of his feet, his excitement making him look like a vibrating ball. "I'm ready for my first adventure!"

"There, there, kiddo. save that energy for the adventure!' Thaddeous ruffled his hair once more. "My love," He brought his wife into a strong embrace. "We will be home in a few days' time!" He gave her a passionate goodbye kiss making James hide his face in embarrassment.

"Just take care of my boys." She smiled sweetly at him after parting from their shared kiss. She kneeled in front of James and pulled him into a hug. "Take care of your father, James!" 

"I will!" He said proudly while hugging her back.

"That's my boy." She smiled sweetly at him and kissed him on his forehead before standing back up. 

"Now, get going, I want you back on time!" 

The three exchanged one last goodbye before the two adventurers went on their way.