Askyeruz Adventure and the Royal Knights (Nine)

Prologue

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Once there was a great land known for its beauty, harmony and prosperity.

It was well known for the beauty of its fields being marvelled by its people especially when the birth of spring comes as beds of teeming flowers of all kinds and colours adorn its vast domain.

The farmers rejoiced in the abundance of harvest its lands produced and the sailors wondered of its rich sea waters.

The birds of the air fill the sky with chorus and the fish of the seas travel to endless currents and territories.

The people are very well enjoying life in its fullness of health and prosperity. The children spend their gleeful moments of the day in playtime and learning.

It was peaceful indeed as the watchful care of the great Deity of the land governed all that the sun reaches with its light. Harmony was sure with the people abiding the laws of the land faithfully and truthfully.

All was well and no one could have imagined that such blissful moments could ever end.

But came one fateful day that changed the history of Askyeruz forever...

That one night of the full moon when all souls rested in their humble homes did the phantom of old visited.

And as the morning rays of sunshine stretched out through all the lands, a stranger in ashen robe stood before the people and uttered words revealing the future that is to come.

The stranger's words were enticing convincing the people that it would someday be fulfilled unbeknownst to them that it was all made up to deceive them and make their hearts grow weary. As some of the people doubted the words of the stranger and tried to make him leave, those who believed his dark prophecies exaggerated their worries and fear bringing confusion and uncertainty in the hearts of the people.

As the days went by, the people continued to consult with the stranger who even told them about hidden treasures and sources of more powerful kinds of magic.

Hearing about those things this time, the people desired to find them in order to gain such spoken wealth and power and to survive the coming days of darkness and suffering as told to them by the stranger. They believed so much of what the stranger said and ventured to far places in search of those treasures.

Some hired skilled adventurers and mages but none of them found the location of the treasures and the magic.

Even the kings and queens of the kingdoms of the land heard about the stranger's words and they summoned him regarding the treasures and the magic. One king even got furious claiming that the stranger was lying but then the words of the stranger came true that day when a dark cloud from the east was seen.

The dark cloud was said by the stranger beforehand to bring illness and death that the people sought the stranger of what they should do against it.

The stranger then commanded them to perform strange rituals that even the royals and high officials were forced to do.

It was so, as many have already suffered and died, the stranger enticed the people once again to search for the hidden treasures and the lost source of magic to ward of the dark clouds and the calamity it brought them.

It did not take too long when a child and his father discovered a tree in the far east and underneath the ground where it stood was a cavern of which an old golden armor was found sunken in a pool of mystical waters whose ripples glowed with light every time a drop of water fell on it.

This was the beginning of greater chaos...

The stranger spoke of the power that can be wielded when the magic in the armor was awakened and it caused the people to fight over it.

This led to kingdoms making war against the other and conflicts arose between men.

While others believed that they should consult with the great Deity of whom they have already neglected and forgotten since the stranger first appeared, others were much convinced of searching for the hidden treasures, the sources of other kinds of magic and fighting over the golden armor in order to survive and save themselves.

Chaos and conflict continued until the next break of dawn. Soon, even the people complained of their sufferings and demanded to dethrone the royals ruling them wanting to make the stranger their sovereign one until one kingdom fell after the other.

With the voice of the people and the threat that rained upon the remaining royals, they stripped off themselves of their royal garments and their royal titles and the people crowned the stranger their new ruler of all Askyeruz.

And it was so, as the time was right when the stranger revealed his hidden intentions and unspoken character bringing calamity and affliction to the inhabitants of the land.

There was no one, no one that was able to stop the stranger and the land of Askyeruz now stood in a time of uncertainty and at the brink of destruction.

And as all hope begins to die, there is but one that could change the course of their future. A better one than what the stranger foretold them but no one ever knows if it would ever come nor had one mind ever imagined.

"This is the story of one great land known for its peace, harmony, and prosperity and about its fall after taking after the deceptions of a stranger whom they knew very little about." The voice of an old woman resounded within the four corners of the room as she spoke these words to his grandchildren gathered around her by the fireplace where her old rocking chair found it's merit as her seat.

"But grandma, why doesn't it end like the other stories you've told us?" One child asked that curved a smile on the old woman's face ushering that child to come to her and sit on her lap.

"Oh, my dear. The many stories I have told you ends happily but this one was never yet finished I suppose. Or it must be that you all should learn that you can't only have a happy ending in your life. Depending on what you will get to choose as you make decisions growing up, you might end up with good things or bad ones. Be wise, my grandchildren. Learn to not be deceived by that which may bring you calamity, conflict, and chaos." The old woman said.

And those words resounded in the mind of a young boy as he looked at the smiling face of his grandmother wrapped in a frame one night with his countenance gradually painting gloom.

Right then, his mother came and embraced him in her arms.

"I wanted to listen more of that story from grandma, mom. She told me that it will soon continue but she slept for a long time already and never woke up. I could have known what would have happened next or if Askyeruz was saved from destruction and from that stranger..." The young boy spoke wiping his tears that already escaped from his eyes.

His mother hushed him and embraced him ever more tightly speaking of comforting words to not make him discouraged.

"Hush now, my darling. It's okay. Just remember the lesson your grandma taught you about it. As long as you remember that, it will find its happy ending in your heart." Were the words of the mother to his little son.

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~•AerixielDaiminse•~