The Prince of Arc - Part I

Chapter 1 - Welcome To Sandrux

1.

Touching the cold marble floor beneath me, I raise myself out of bed. Walking towards the edge of the room, I am able to see into my bedroom's largest window. Through it I see a completely different environment from the one in which I stand. Instead of modern furniture, glorified decorations and expensive paintings; I stare into a scene of poverty, depression, misfortune; and most of all- a lack of proper leadership.

I see an old wooden shack blowing in the wind. Its tin roof looks like it's overdo to collapse. After a few thoughtful seconds, I turn back to face where I came from. I see sculptures, paintings, and other expensive décor that I definitely could live without.

I'm Blake Archer, containing a last name many people seem to hate. And I completely understand why. My family has ruined the nation in which we rule, and as time moves on, things only seem to be getting worse.

I turn once again to my window, and reach out to touch it. The scene before me suddenly turns into a dark blue screen. When you touch the glass, it automatically transforms into an oversized, touch activated-computer. It can do almost anything- from playing videos, to reading articles, or to serving as a hidden security system for my room. At the moment, I have it on the local news, because lately rumors have been spreading of a rebellion led by the citizens of Sandrux. (A nation led partially by my family.) The homepage of the website has an article about the issue; titled, 'What Threats of Rebellion Means to the Archers and the Drakes.' And as I read on, the nightmares begin in my mind.

* * *

The problem that we are dealing with started when the bombing occurred over 150 years ago. My ancestors began fighting a terrible nuclear war, (Not as if wars are ever good.) for several reasons: money, land, resources, and most of all; greed. The war started and ended quickly, and in the end, my ancestors only achieved one thing- the destruction of each other and the world around them. Only a few survivors remained after the damage was done, and they became the founders of a new civilization. They hoped that we wouldn't make the same mistake they did and learn to live peacefully.

...They would be so ashamed.

The three founders, (Two females, one male) knew what they had to do: repopulate the world. Each female had two children (One girl and one boy) and as time went on and generations passed, gradually the population grew.

Now that the population was increasing, the next problem was to deal with the government. About 100 years ago, around 50 years after the bombing, the kingdom of Sandrux was established. The founders of the nation decided to make it a monarchy to begin with because, at the time, the small population didn't need a larger representative body like a democracy called for. If it were to be a balanced republic, (Like it should be today,) the majority of the citizens would be politicians, instead of teachers, scientists, and technicians. Therefore, it became a 'temporary monarchy'.

The designers of Sandrux also noticed something else about the citizens- they were divided. About half of the population referred to themselves as 'Arc's'. (A group of people who claimed they were descendants of one of the female founders; Katherine Archer.) The other half called themselves 'Drand's' (Who claimed to originate from the other female founder, Heather Drake.) Each group had a separate culture and lifestyle.

The designers found the differences between the two too difficult to comprehend under the rule of just one of the groups, (Arc or Drand) and since they wanted to keep Sandrux united, they came up with a new idea;

A double-family monarchy. That way, the original Archer family, (In which I am part of,) could rule the Arcs; and the original Drake family, (The other royal family in Sandrux,) could rule over the Drands. This system was supposed to allow the single nation to exist all while allowing the two different cultures to thrive and prosper separately.