Kingdom Come

Prologue

The kingdom of Jole was divided into five rings: Jolier, Kelivar, Mairo, Perivat, and Eklat. The kingdom was once unrivaled, and surrounding countries respected its boundaries. The king was a strong, brilliant, and charitable man. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was the kindest king that the kingdom had ever had. "Long live King Erthil," the people would cheer when they saw him. His wife, Queen Symantha, was always by his side, and the two of them traveled frequently to visit each of the five rings of their kingdom with their son, Mathiew.

Jolier, the central circle of the kingdom, was full of wealth and was where the castle was built. Many of the biggest stores were in this ring, and jewelry was made from the minerals that were imported to them. They had the fanciest meals and clothes, all made from imports, and their own specialty was using the materials given to them to make goods to use and export as well.

Kelivar was best known for its technology and surrounded the central circle of the kingdom. It provided technology that was exclusive to their own ring, but also exported to Jolier and Mairo. Perivat was fortunate enough to get cellular devices and computers, but Eklat got the basics of Kelivar's trade: landline phones, electricity, street lamps, and trains. In Kelivar, it almost seemed absurd for someone to have not invented some sort of technological advancement within their lifetime.

Mairo was the third ring of Jole. It was more well-known for machinery, most of which was made with Kelivar's technology. Machines were made and distributed across the kingdom, and many parts were sent to Kelivar for their technology. Trade between the two rings was huge and supported their people well.

Perivat was the fourth ring, and it was mostly known for its hunting. Most of the ring was wilderness, full of wolves, rabbits, and other wild animals that could be made into meals. The people of Perivat also excelled in farming animals, though their land didn't work well for growing crops. Many other rings could easily make their own food, but most of the meats came from Perivat.

Eklat was the final ring of Jole. It was some cities here or there, but mostly it was farmland. Any crops that could be produced were produced here, but the people of Eklat were still of the lowest standing of the rings. They were constantly overlooked and many of Eklat's people had, over time, grown desperate. Because of this, Eklat also had one of the highest crime rates and rates of homelessness in the kingdom.

Things didn't change much when Mathiew first became king. Then relations between the rings became more intense and more isolated. Money meant status in the kingdom, and money meant technology and the means to live. A plague washed through the kingdom just before Mathiew became king. People in all the rings suffered, but it was especially bad for the people in Eklat. Thousands died before Kelivar came up with a treatment for the illness, but not before King Erthil was taken by the plague as well. While most of the other rings received help, Eklat was isolated as the plague had been strongest there and they couldn't afford the medical assistance they needed.

Ten years after the plague, Mathiew's son, Simon, went missing. Many rumors had started that Mathiew was not a fit father or ruler, and Simon had fled for his life. Many rumors involved morbid descriptions of how Prince Simon could have died, and some speculated that he had been disowned and banished for breaking the law. Some said that King Mathiew even blamed Simon for the disappearance of Queen Estria, who had gone missing shortly after Simon's birth.

It was nearly three years after Simon's disappearance that Mathiew became ill. He, like many others, had become affected by the plague, but he had survived thanks to the cure, but the symptoms of the plague were never guaranteed to have no long-term effects on those who were infected. Many people said he had it coming, but with no heir, who would take over the throne? Mathiew and Simon had no siblings. It was soon realized that a duke who was Mathiew's best friend, Duke Chiram, would be taking over when the king finally died.

Chiram was considerably as bad as, if not worse than, Mathiew. While King Mathiew did little to help his people and started arguments with all their foreign neighbors, Duke Chiram couldn't have held his tongue to save his own life. Chiram would make sure that no foreign trades were made at all, unlike the king who allowed a few major imports. Those who were poor would only suffer more. It wouldn't be long until Eklat disappeared into wastelands, and though nobody really stopped to think about it, Eklat's fall would lead to the fall of the entire kingdom.

Word eventually got to Eklat about the king's illness. It was on every newspaper on every street corner, it was on every radio station that the ring had access to, and it was in every gossip magazine printed. Shortly after the news had broken, a young man with unruly brown hair read the news in a newspaper. He took the paper and ran as far as he could. He went to a lake just outside of a town called Pelma and screamed. His screams turned into sobs, which were filled with gasps of air that quickly became laughs.

Was he angry? Sad? Happy? He couldn't tell, but it was over. He knew what he had to do. He watched the sunset. He'd known this day was coming, but some part of him still felt empty. He might have months to plan, if he was lucky, he might even have a year, but soon he would no longer be free.