King of Pawns

Before: The Monochrome Encyclopedia

Izanagi: Four  summers before

Izanagi had everything, from books to gold encrusted toilets seats, well not really gold encrusted toilet seats. But really almost anything else gold encrusted, just not toilet seats. Izanagi also had a title: Prince. Izanagi wanted something deeper than just this though, after all, he was the second prince to the distinguished Kingdom of Gailiana. He felt indebted to his kingdom. Because of the kingdom, he could do whatever he wanted to do, he could have anything he wanted to have. there were two exceptions to this freedom though; Love and Title. Although Izanagi enjoyed being one of the next monarchs, he was young and being young came with many impulses. He wanted to be able to smell the crisp breeze of a country he'd never know of, he wanted to be able to feel the salty ocean wash against his skin. Basically, he wanted to lose the title 'prince' run for the hills and never look back. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite able to fulfil this dream. He didn't have the guts to.  Izanagi was also under the reign of his very strict father, the king. It was completely normal to not allow your fifteen-year-old son to go completely on a rampage. In a controlled area - maybe. Completely free - no. Izanagi may have sounded like a spoilt prince, but in all honesty, he was much different.  

Izanagi other than being young and a prince was a rather dull character. He did the same routine every day. eat, study, train, sleep, repeat. Currently, the only thing that kept him alive was his plain encyclopedia. Old, dusty and a little mouldy around the edges was his favourite book. Izanagi liked it for one reason, it was long, oh so very long. He could read for hours on end, from cover to cover. He enjoyed reading. He enjoyed his encyclopedia. One thing though, he couldn't remember where he'd managed to find it, it kind of just showed up.  

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The wind pressed against Izanagi as he stared out the open window by his study. He felt something was wrong, the castle was more quiet than usual. Life seemed too slow to be an ordinary day. He took a breath in and glanced outside. Grey brooding clouds were rolling overhead. Maybe it was just the weather, he didn't know. The young prince looked back down at the encyclopedia. He finally had reached an interesting topic, space. When the rapping on the door became a prominent sound in Izanagi's mind. He glanced up and noticed the Kingsguard standing in front of the doorway. Izanagi spoke shyly "please enter."

The Kingsguard looked grimly at the prince "it's your brother. The king wishes to see you."

Izanagi picked up the encyclopedia and held it to his chest as he left his quarters. Maisah was finally home. Maisah the first prince of Gailiana, he was also a general of Gailiana's barracks. Izanagi had not seen his brother for the past few summers, the age between them played no part in helping. With nine summers between them, the pair were more associates than brothers. That did not effect Izanagi's excitement to see the older man though. Maybe the conflict between the Sayrene empire and the Gailiana kingdom that had caused so many deaths on both  sides had come to a halt. 

The outside corridors of the castle were empty, as was the rest of the castle. He tightened his grip on the encyclopedia. Something was definitely wrong. His boots tapped on the floor as he made his way to the great hall to await his fathers request to see him. The great hall was not empty, it was in fact as much full as the rest of the castle was empty: very. What had called for the celebration in the hall? usually, the whole castle would be full. "father whats going on?" The young prince spoke stepping forward into the crowd. He made his way towards his father sidestepping the strangers that stood around him. 

"Son, I'm afraid-"

"father why is all the castle staff in here?:" Izanagi had so many questions.  "father, where is Maisah? they told me he would be here?" Izanagi craned his neck to see if he could spot his brother. "don't tell me he's hiding? I hate surprises." the king stared at Izanagi. Izanagi looked around confused "father-" The crowd scurried away into the shadows of the room as Izanagi stepped forward.