Topaz

CHAPTER-I

The readers should note that this story is a word of mouth passed on from one generation to other and even though people of Nacremarine would call it a lunatic tale made up in a psychopathic mind , there are similar evidences known in some way or the other to all of us.

This tale is of two kingdoms ,totally opposite to each other yet a part of the whole. If one was North the other was South. If one was powerful the other was frail. The time of its occurrence is not known as is the ambiguous kingdom of North, Demarion Range. The kingdom which started from nothing to being everything. It all began with a group of nomadic warriors who wanted to survive the heart wrenching cold weather. Heavy fur clothes were their major obstacle for movement and hindered their training and practice. To overcome this obstacle they tried finding a solution. Eventually they joined hands with the saints meditating at the Sacrosanct river which flowed through the whole country emerging from the Demarion Range Glaciers. The saints told them their secret to survive in single piece clothing and in return the warriors pledged them to build the tallest temple in the history and make the name of Demarions known all over.

The birth of the first prince, Andronicus imposed a major threat to every lord and king but the Demarions as a prophecy was made that he would rule over the whole country. In the successive years the white as snow prince showed exceptional talents in fields of archery and war tactics. The prince eventually was crowned the king and the slogan "All hail King Andronicus" travelled along the winds throughout the empire.

Some kingdoms planned to surrender to the mighty king while others tried to put up a fight. The ones that decided to do the latter always were killed to death and burned to ashes. King Andronicus after winning almost every major kingdom was the happiest person as he was soon blessed personally too with three official sons, two from his first lady, Ariadna and one from the lady he was recommended to marry as by the saints. She had no name since she was a member of the temple. Even though she was a saint she wanted her son to learn archery as she believed one can only save himself with appropriate war skill and faith in god.

At the same time our other kingdom, down in South, the kingdom of Nacremarine was partially known to threat it was going to receive in the next two decades . Nacremarine, symbolising the end of Sacrosanct river was well endowed with pearls and other valuable gifts due to its very hospitable climate for sea creatures. One such valuable gem was the rarest blue Topaz found on the seabed now decorating itself on the crown of its king ,Mollusk. The king was a simple man who got the throne from his father and his father from his grandfather and so on. He knew as much as the people around him did- Pearls. The defence mechanism of Nacremarine was not massive but effective as only the best of the best were selected for the army and rest were obliged to deal in natural pearls.

King Mollusk was highly respected for his kindness. He was a king of the people. He always gave their betterment first priority. Therefore After thirty and nine years from birth he got married to a girl who he found at the shore one day while he was walking with his Blue Topaz embedded crown on his head. From that day on everybody started calling the girl "Mother". Mother never spoke. The sound of Mother's voice was not known to anyone but King Mollusk who termed it as the sound of poetry , only to be heard by someone special.

After two years the news of Mother being blessed with a child arrived and every family in Nacremarine was gifted a natural pearl to be passed on to generations as a symbol of the child's being. The happiness doubled when after nine months the king got the news that it was a boy, the most beautiful being he had ever seen in his life. He took the crying newborn to the assembly announcing his name at the exact same moment " Just like the pride of my crown this newborn prince of the Sacrosanct river with the kind of blue eyes like I've never seen before will be called and remembered till generations as Topaz Nacremarine."