Zeravia's Five

six

Present day, May 21st.

The walls of Vyrdam's castle were bathing in the early sunlight as the morning set itself upon the sleeping kingdom. The castle overlooked a cliff by the vast ocean that once was the main route for every shipment that came in from other small kingdoms around the world. That was before this very land was stripped of communication with any others. Before the hundred years long war between Vyrdam and Zeravia.

A man stood by a large window, looking at the faraway waves. His frown brought his thick brown brows close together, "Theodore..." a woman's voice echoed into the room as she stood by the door, bringing the man out of his long train of thoughts.

"Yes," he spoke calmly, his voice gentle with a hint of roughness, anger even. The young lady quickly cleared her throat and swallowed down the lump in her throat, "The've gathered the commanders for you, they're waiting," she informed the much taller man.

Within seconds, he turned on his heels and faced her. She couldn't exactly discern his expressions. She knew she was growing anxious about the current status of the outside world, but she couldn't find one ounce of doubt on his face. She almost found herself smiling at the way his chiseled jaw tensed up with confidence. He gave her a nod, dismissing her in his own respectful way before walking past her and out of the room.

He walked through the halls at a fast pace, his classically worn black coat flapped around his legs. He looked the part he was meant to play, but never fully accepted it. Theodore Hearst, Prince of Vyrdam, never made much sense to him. He had always been more of a fighter than a ruler, but after his father's death he had no choice... he had to step in.

The prince pushed open the wide wooden doors of the dramatically large great hall and set his eyes upon the different commanders and council members, their eyes focusing completely on the man.

"We're ready," stated the only woman part of this private meeting. Her features were hidden under the hood of her long white cloak. From the little information known by the other members, she was fairly young. Most of the council members called her arrogant, but the Prince always thought she was simply wise. Her delivery was always a little arrogant, but it was simply how she was. She had been blessed with a rare ability, but no one knew what it meant.

The prince walked up to the long rectangular table and let out a long sigh, "We don't know much..." he began leaning over the table, "As you are aware, not much is known of Zeravia as they're a pretty secluded kingdom up on that mountain... but we were able to gather up a few things," he stopped and took a seat at the table, waiting for everyone to be in their seats before continuing on with the few things he knew.

There wasn't much. The information he had received so far from his informant were only names. Names and threat levels. It angered him just how little they truly knew about their nemesis, but it was the only thing he knew and he had to work with that.

"Their forces would equal our own," he began again earning a slow tilt of the head from the woman, "Would?" she questioned awaiting the explanation for the prince's choice of words. He cleared his throat and nodded, "They would... except that we've been able to identify five people who present a big threat and add to their forces a rather large gap with our own. This special force set apart from their main soldiers is known as Zeravia's Five..."

A few council members seemed to be familiar with that name. Very few rumours were known about the group, not that they were worth knowing. For the first time in years, the woman's hood was pulled back, her features lit up by the room's chandeliers. For some reason, this small thing grabbed everyone's attention, including Theodore's.