Throne of Ashes (Fire And Blood Saga I)

Chapter 0: Interlude

Note: I adjust the prologue to make it less lengthy, and I added a chapter (Chapter 0) as an interlude between prologue and chapter 1, just to facilitate reading. 

Enjoy~

+++

The little prince of Laurentia, not yet old enough to want to leave his mother's loving arms, listened intently to the legends she talked about his native kingdom, Stonehaven.

"...the legend says that Stonehaven was the first place of the eight kingdoms that the Goddess stepped on when she descended from heaven," Queen Alysa whispered, stroking the curly hair of the little boy in her arms.

Cassel looked up at the moon, his lips puckering in a small pout.

"And her friend?" he asked. "Grandma always says they arrived together in the world."

Alysa smiled. "Oh, it is said that the God of the Sun arrived first in Solarea, the home of the dragons, and that his power still keeps the kingdom warm, but what do you think, dear? Who arrived first, the Moon or the Sun?"

"Emberion!" he shouted, thrusting his small wooden dragon at his mother's face, his excitement barely contained.

"Dragons are not Gods, love," Alysa said, laughing as she tried to move the little prince's hand away from her face, her feet starting to carry them both towards their quarters to end their day.

"But Emberion was born during the Great War..."

What the little boy didn't know, and his mother didn't mention at that moment, was that all magical creatures had been born then.

[...]

The little boy, now old enough to steady on his feet without the help of his parents, but not yet old enough to give up bedtime stories, ask properly:

"The Great Dragon, please!"

The little prince was guided by his father's soft and loving voice, slowly drifting into a deep and peaceful sleep as Kael narrated the tales of the Great Dragon Emberion, a legendary character often intertwined with the forces of light during the great battle that marked the beginning of the new era.

"Looks like someone wants to grow up to be a dragon," Alysa teased, gazing at her son's peaceful face.

"Meet our future king, Prince Cassel." Kael grinned at his wife's mock offense. "My mother always says I was just like him. More interested in magic than my royal duties."

"One day, he'll have to learn that the world isn't always like the stories we tell." She said in a low voice as they left the prince's chambers. "Never heard of dragon attacks, but still, they are just..."

"Beasts," Arianae, the Queen Mother, completed, walking towards them with quick steps. "Just like the others. A letter from Stonehaven - the conflicts with the packs are escalating."

"Did Orion write?" Alysa asked with concern. They were talking about Kin Orion from Stonehaven, older brother of Queen Alysa.

The Queen Mother nodded, reassuring her.

"It's not dire, but he requests our help to prevent war. I've convened an emergency council - they're gathering now."

"Thank you, Mother," Kael said before turning to his wife. "Dear, we will do everything in our power."

"I know." Alysa affirmed, taking his hand firmly.

Her eyes shone with a fierce loyalty, and her heart already racing towards the challenge ahead.

And may the Goddess watch over those who would deny her entry to the council, defending her brother's kingdom, for she was Alysa De Laurence, Queen of Laurentia, but her parents had named her in honor of Alissane, the first priestess of the Moon and forger of Stonehaven's crown.

Alysa may be a mother and wife, but she was Stonehaven's daughter first

[...]

As time passed, the fragile peace between humans and magical creatures was maintained in a delicate balance, hanging by a thread as fine as the moon's reflection on the lunar ponds.

A fragile truce, maintained with the passage of time.

And soon, the seasons succeeded each other in an almost endless cycle as time left almost imperceptible marks on its passage, and the little prince, perhaps no longer so small at the age of seven, was old enough to have knowledge about the kingdoms surrounding him.

Arianae, the Queen Mother, nodded at the young prince's oratory.

"...The eight kingdoms maintain a precarious balance," Cassel continued, "the Kingdoms of Eldore and Aetherea remain in constant conflict due to Eldore's prohibition on magic and Aetherea's magical nature, while the Kingdom of Argentia remains isolated from the struggles taking place on the Southeastern Island. Neutral in the conflicts between Eldore and Aetherea."

"Eight kingdoms?" Arianae asked seriously, almost as if evaluating her grandson's motivation to complete his duties.

"Yes, Queen Mother, the pirate republic of Nassau is not recognized as a Kingdom," he explained solemnly. Arianae nodded in approval, so Cassel continued. "Although all inhabitants of Stonehaven are followers of the Goddess, they remain in a forced truce due to the intervention of other kingdoms, and therefore..."

"The Goddess of beasts, eh?" the Queen Mother referred with skepticism. "What has your mother taught you, child?"

Cassel straightened, with a proud look, ready to defend the devotion his mother had instilled in him.

"The Goddess of the Moon, also called the Triple Goddess," he began with a slightly awkward formality, "is the invocation of the maiden, the mother, and the crone."

Arianae smiled with deep affection as she watched her grandson, a miniature replica of her own son, pronounce those words with such seriousness.

"She deserves respect, Queen Mother," he continued with conviction, as if not scolding his grandmother, the Queen Dowager. "Because my Royal Mother always says that, in a moment of need, we might have to invoke one of the Goddess's three aspects."

Arianae nodded, following her grandson's solemnity.

"The Crown Prince is very wise, as always. Though I hope we never have to resort to it."

[...]

Prince Cassel De Laurence, whose home lay at the very heart of the Kingdom of Laurentia, would not remain small for much longer, and his destiny, written in the stars, would be forged in fire.

And when the moment of greatest need strikes the world and threatens to destroy the fragile peace in the mortal realm, as the darkness that has begun to seep into the heart of the eight kingdoms threatens to shatter the world's harmony, legends will come to life in a world of magic and fantasy.

And so, the once and future king will rise again.