The Four Kingdoms

Beginnings

For years, a war has been raging between two armies. The Janari and the Musphals. They have been at each other's throats as long as they could remember. When one would rise above the other, the opposing empire would catch up, forcing the war to stay perpetually even. The world was separated into different regions according to geography. There was the Tundra of Dreygson, the Infinite plains of tranquility, the Desert of Musphal, the Mountains of Jagir, and the Marshes of Catastrophe. The tundra was owned by the Janari, while the desert was owned by the Musphals. Neither have been able to conquer the plains, due to the opposing armies. The marshes and mountains are inhabited by their own third party countries who wish to not join the war.

Our story begins with a young man by the name of Markus. Jude was an inhabitant of the Desert of Phal, and his father was the King of the Musphals. Markus never agreed with the war, he just wanted it to come to an end. Even though Markus was raised in a very regal state, he had always sneaked out as a kid to explore the nearby dunes of red sand. He loved being in the open, something about it made him feel at peace, and he could mourn easier that way. Mourn for his mother, that is. She died when he was 13, and he hadn't fully gotten over it yet. Regardless, he would always lay on the cool sand and stare at the stars. As he aged, he yearned more and more for something new, some kind of adventure. But there was none of the sort. 

One day, Markus was accompanying his father in the throne room of the castle. He was 17 and his father wanted to ready him for his future duty as king. He sat on his throne and held his head with his hand. Many people passed by with royal matters, some trivial and some more important. But none were interesting. Near the end of the day, an mage in a dark blue cloak walked into the throne room. Dark blue was the color of the Janari, so the guards were cautious. Well, more cautious then usual. The mage bowed his head and spoke "Your majesty.." The king nodded silently. The mage drew closer and continued "I have a proposition for you, my king." The kind remains silent. The mage looks down and says "Peace between the Musphal and the Janari." The king stands up, enraged and says "Absolutely not!" The mage backs up and nervously says "S- sir, we could end the war, this is possible.." The king yells at him "No, the only way I will end the war is by killing every last Janari!" The mage hesitates before saying "I thought.. maybe you could change.. my father couldn't either.." The mage takes off his cloak and reveals himself. The kind stumbles backwards, surprised at the mage's identity and says "Prince Joshua!" 

Prince Joshua was the son of the king of the Janari. As a kid he was always taught to loath and hate the Musphals, but he always thought that peace was acheivable. His sister, Princess Jane did not think the same. She had more hatred for the Musphal than anyone else. He would try again and again to convince his father to make peace, but King Jonathan would have none of it. As he reached the age of 17, he thought that if he could get the King of Musphals to agree, then his father would as well. So he trekked to the Desert of Musphal to negotiate.

The mage, now revealed as prince Joshua frowns and speaks "Please Sir, peace is achievable." The king hesitates before saying "No, I will not." Joshua looks up at the king sadly and says "I understand.. in that case, there's nothing I can do to stop my father." The king stays silent and Joshua walks out of the throne room. Markus looks at his father and asks "May I be excused?" The king responds with "Alright, but do not take too long." Markus smiles and quickly walks out of the throne room, and after Joshua.

"Excuse me, Prince Joshua." asks Markus. Joshua looks back solemnly and replies "What is it?" Markus looks down, then back up at Joshua before saying "Well, I really agree with your peace idea.. I want the war to be over as well." Joshua, suprised, says "Really? Well in that case, you should attempt to convince your father." Markus smiles and replies "Or maybe when we're kings, we could end the war together." Joshua smiles as well "Well then I look forward to our treaty. Well, Prince Markus, I must be on my way. The journey back home is a long one." Markus, a little curious asks "With sights and dangers?" Joshua replies with "I couldn't describe it better." Markus waits for a few moments before speaking again. "What if.. I went with you?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yo, that's gonna be all for this chapter. The next ones aren't going to be as information filled but are rather filled with character development and the good stuff. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed. And if you didn't? Then tell me why in the comments. Love you guys, just kidding I hate you.