The Mirror Princess

PROLOGUE

Our story begins with three kingdoms in a land far away and long forgotten my many due to the passage of time. The first of these kingdoms was Hylaris, the first and most ancient of them. Here they kept the knowledge that would aid in the growth of the later kingdoms and its scribes were renowed for their halls of record keeping. Hylaris Castle was nestled in the Wildhorn Mountains, a great range backed by the sea and confronted by the Hills of Mist.

Here the scribes of Hylaris found calm and solitude, a place where they could work together in absolute contentment or remain undisturbed if they wished it. These scribes often dedicated their entire lives to a single subject, and would travel the land in search of further insights. Their halls of record keeping grew to great sizes due to each return from these wanderings, and thus too did they grow in fame and legend.

The second kingdom to form in this land was Manara, the dedicated kingdom of magick. It was here that magick truly flourished and the greatest of wizards made their name. Manara Castle had made its home in the Oaken Range, cousin to the Wildhorn Mountains, and sat before both the Hills of Mist and the forest called the Duskwood. The wizards of Manara found that, along the great Oaks that the mountains were named for, both Ash and Hawthorne also grew. This triad of trees were favorable for magick, and where they grew together great feats of magick could be performed.

Manara was unique not only for the sheer magickal power its people possessed, but also for its line of sorcerer-kings. Great men unprecedented in magickal strength tempered with a sage mind. These leaders of men and magick became known as exceptionally wise and formed close ties with the royals of Hylaris. This connection seemed to be fated, as magick and ancient knowledge had a tendency to go hand in hand and these two kingdoms were no exception.

Not long after the creation of Manara came the third and final kingdom: Averon. This kingdom did not have the ancient knowledge of Hylaris, nor the great magicks of Manara, but what it did have was cunning technology and a grand order of knights, the Order of the Bronze Dragon. Averon Castle was built deep in the Duskwood, bordered by the Hills of Mist and the Oaken Range. A forest where upon the setting of the sun, the bark of the trees would seem to alight with fire.

The kingdom's superior understanding of technology aided in its rapid growth, and their weapons and armor of great craftsmanship were the staple of Averon's mark in the histories. Blacksmiths of exceptional skill were found here, and their reputations never to be doubted. Averon's knights were masters of these things and they gave the kingdom the ability to hold its own in comparison to Hylaris and Manara. These men were of great prowess in battle and the greatest knights of Hylaris and Manara were often trained by those of the Order of the Bronze Dragon.

For many centuries these three kingdoms worked and grew together, Hylaris providing knowledge, Manara with magick, and Averon in technology. Trade was friendly and the bonds that tied them together only strengthened as time continued on its course. To the inhabitants of the kingdoms it seemed as though this Golden Age of growth and peace would last forever, and such prosperity would never abandon them. Unfortunately tranquility does not last forever and tragedy must eventually stirke even the most well-being of people.

No one could accurately say what truly happened a thousand years ago, as the known records created during that time were among the many casualities that are consequential during war. This point in time became known as the Divide and for reasons unknown the ruler of Averon at the time, King Raynard I, led an attack on Hylaris and the ancient kingdom was ultimately destroyed. The kingdom was abandoned completely and its castle left to crumble into ruin, left to become a kingom of long-forgotten ghosts of the past.

Through this grevious betrayal of trust, the kingdom of Manara reacted violently and darker magicks grew strong within its borders. Beings and Beasts of darkness and death replaced those who did not flee Manara quickly, for a dark sorcerer strong in the mystic arts soon claimed the throne after the death of Manara's last sorcerer-king. In display of his corrupt power and finality of his claim over Manara, the dark sorcerer split the land and forever separated Manara borders from Hylaris', but more importantly from Averon's. Manara's land became blackened with the dark sorcerer's influence, leaving it barren of all life and killing anything that tried to grow and heal its earth. This influence also invaded a stretch of the mainland that Manara was once connected to, a place equally dead and forever it would be known as the Deadlands.

Though many of the Hylaris records pertaining to the Divide were lost, their destruction could not stop the spread of rumors, for the word of mouth was hard to dispell once it gained momentum. Stories were told of a fine crystal mirror within the great hall of Hylaris Castle, said to be as old as the kingdom itself and gifted to its first princess by a prince of Manara for her birthday. This mirror had been passed on from princess to princess for centuries and it was most certainly a priceless heirloom of the ruined kingdom.

And supposedly the princess at the time of the Divide, Princess Estelle, was trapped in the crystal mirror by the darkest of black magicks and held captive by the Dark Sorcerer of Manara.

The tale of the Mirror Princess grew for a time, a popular story among the younger children of Averon. However, the longer time went on the fewer quests there were to find and rescue the princess from her mirror. Many a brave knight had vanished in the ruins of Hylaris Castle, the common belief that the Dark Sorcerer had ended their quest permanently, or they never made it to the castle at all and were also never to return home. The Mirror Princess soon faded into legend as the quests ceased and time followed its natural path.

A legend that the Dark Sorcerer was quite content to let fade away entirely from record and memory, and one that a young prince of Averon would renew faith in once again.