Blood Ties

Prologue

The enchanted forests stirred in excitement, the winds sent a message throughout the countryside into the villages hidden from the human world; exploding into a celebration. Red covered the town, scarlet petals showered from the windows of his adoring subjects as a festival in their king's honor formed, the flags of the Raven flew from every village for today was his coronation day. The village square was filled to the brim, many unable to leave their homes as tales of their soon-to-be king and his glorious fights, dances in his honor; nymphs dressed in red and the satyrs played their reeds and strings to the fast pacing rhythm of the drums. Dragon-shifters brought the crowds into cheers as they breathed fire and played with flames like a silk scarf around their slender bodies. 

The music and cheers traveled into the nymphs of the breezes' embrace, bringing them to the cliff of the Jankovic castle. Fortress of stone and steel gave a mighty yet welcoming aura to itself, the road leading to the gates lined with the Bood Oaks, trees formed from the bodies of the past ancestors of the Jankovic family. Their leaves, a dark red, representing the long line of the family and the physical blood of the family. The colors flapped in the wind, windows adorned with red laurels and the crest of the Raven, the family crest of the Jankovic family.

The servants were scrambling around the gold tile, gremlins scuttled around the feet of a Hecatoncheires as its hundred arms bear large quartz up to the skyline as the magic carried them to the heavenly light, preparing the great hall for the joyous event. Nymphs of the valleys line the large archway in blood begonias, swirling around the columns that perimeter the large room and up the five-level hall to hold every creature from a giant to the smallest pixie. Black ribbons intertwined in between the vines as the witches twirl their fingers, creating bows and braids within the vines. Sprites flutter around the hall, carrying bright fettlestars to the altar, setting them in floating lanterns. The howl of wolves cut through the noise as the gremlins scurry into hiding as the nymphs halt their task to greet the Lycan clans, who traveled from the deep forests of France to see their future king.

These monstrous wolves trotted through the iron gates; from the muscular alpha males to the thin statured omegas to the beautiful lunas and young pups. Their thick coats ranged from the raven black to the purest white; patches missing from their bite marks and scars they earned from battles. As they shifted into their human forms, some nymphs swooned at the male wolves who wore long, opened coats with their chiseled chest exposed, some of the bashful males wore loose shirts. Male wolves showed their strength and masculinity through the scars imprinted on their bodies. The females were adorned in their traditional garments from the vast safari of Africa to the far west of Asia, honoring where their ancestors resided. Horns trumpet as the Elven clan from the mountains of Romania gallop through the gates on Deathly Mares, creatures with a horses' skull and eyes glowing gold and sheer manes white against their black hides, the elves were dressed in fur and animal hides with halos of vines and flowers. Elven are skilled creatures in natural healing remedies, combat, and hunting. Fairies from overseas from Cyprus fly over the stone walls, the women in silk as the men are dressed in leather with embroidery of leaves and vines. Fairies use the magic of nature to control and aid plants and animals. Another horn blows, but from below at the bottom of the cliff. From the Blood River, dark forms coasted their way upstream and into the lake. From the vast ocean, the merpeople of Atlantis surface and step upon the land with skin glistened adorned in armor and silk, tridents in their hand and their intricate tattoos glow. Pegasus' stood ready for them to return back to the front gates, saving the merpeople the long trek back up to the castle. A flash brings the gremlins emerging from hiding into a frenzy, emerging from the light were multiple clans of spellcasters; ranging from the witches and wizards to soccerers and mages. Their dress attire was much different, they did not seem to fit the time of the outside world. The men in top hats, long dress suits, and canes and the women in loose-fitting dresses, hands covered in gloves and their hair pinned up, unlike the others with their hair down.