Prolouge

NOQUESTER 7TH YEAR 529 ASMERIAN CALANDER

The walls were crumbling down as the archers fled their posts and the knights of House Scottkey flooded in through the breach. There was no other way out, the king, watched as his kingdom fell apart in front of his eyes. There was nothing that could save it. Not the church, not his army, and not his wealth. He stood above the battlefield watching as any who dared fly his colors were cut down and any who wielded a sword in his name were brutally trampled by horsemen from Gregoria. This was indeed the end of Asmeria. He looked for a way out of his tower, but the guards had barricaded the door and his wife, the woman who had driven his to make all of his laws in the pursuit of power was now crying in fear as the sound of the drums that were being beat by Scottkey's men were growing louder. And the horns blown by the Gregorian Marines to signal to each other echoed on in the halls.

He sat at the edge of his bed, longing for another chance to see his son, the heir to the throne. But this could not be done as he was killed the prior week on the battlefield of Lexington at the hands of a Gregorian Knight at the side of Franklin Scottkey. There was no one left to head his call to arms. The house of Asmeria, the family who led and nurtured this country through every war, famine, and plague was now falling apart at the seams.

The sounds of wounded men screaming for their lives now filled the air as Gregorian's left nonalive. The sounds of war were unpleasant no matter who heard its unrelenting cry. For it was a cry, the battle cry of soldiers valiantly standing their ground. The cry of women being raped as their men and lovers were cut down by the enemy. The cry of children running for their lives, being punished for a crime they had never committed. The cry of a nation being torn apart for the actions of two men. One who was king a ruled so that there may be a future. And the duke who would rather there be no future than one dominated be tyranny.

Franklin Scottkey stormed the keep where the king hid, an Assassin from the Western Isle stood next to him. "Shall I go sire?" Black asked? The assassins were notorious for their chosen names. The darker the better.

"Yes, make sure none survive, none except the infant prince." Franklin ordered. He couldn't bring himself to be responsible for wiping out the entirety of a family who his own blood has served for hundreds of years.

"It'll be done my liege." Black disappeared into the onslaught of the frontlines. It was far simpler to climb the keeps tower that had been riddled with battle damage. He was used to rock climbing to create short cuts to reach his targets faster so climbing a stone wall was easy. The windows were already destroyed by rocks fired from catapults. He entered the kings' chambers and drew his sword. It was a peiron longsword, so the blade was pitch black and void of light. The king didn't even notice that Black entered his chambers. He was in a trance at the foot of his bed. His wife in a inconsolable state sobbing in the fetal position. It was pathetic, and a true display of cowardice.

Black walked right up to the king and jabbed his sword through his forehead and his body fell limp. Then the queen who was basically rolling on the ground. He took his time with her, as he grabbed her hands she panicked and tried to pull away, but it was futile. He ripped her clothes and got a clear look at her royal body. He then plunged his sword through her abdomen and gutted her in the nude. He then bound her hands to her dead husbands and as Franklin Scottkey had desired, he hung both monarchs from the tower window. The fighting below ceased instantly as warriors from both sides looked up at the clear victory the Scottkey's had accomplished.

The time came when treaties were signed, and the country was at peace. The Asmerian civil war was over. Seven years and hundreds of thousands of lives lost, homes destroyed, and families torn apart. All for it to end at just one man's death. It became evident, there was no amount of pain that couldn't be stopped by the death of a single man. The new republic of Asmeria was born in bloodshed, several generals of the king's army were beheaded. The knights of the order of Asmeria were slaughtered and their families exiled. The only survivor was the king's son, the crown prince of Asmeria.

There were riots and parades, hangings and celebrations. There was so much whiplash in the publics attitude that the country soon turned into chaos. It had been two months since the king was killed and the army dismantled and there was still no other form of leadership than the established nobility whose ranks were being thinned as each day passed. Only the Scottkey's held any real power, but Franklin Scottkey knew not what to do with such power. The very same initiative that led to the rebellion was now frozen and indecisive.

A relatively wealthy man by the name of Hunter Bowell was able to convene a meeting between the elite of Asmerian Society. The admiralty and generals of Asmeria who were hunted by remnants of Scottkey's army were now called upon to bring back stability to the very country that had shunned them. And they did, to everyone's surprise, everyone voluntarily took back power over the Asmerian Army on the condition that they serve the people. The nobility was also called upon, there were twenty-four nobles barely maintaining control of their territories. Only thirteen offered their service to the country now as judges. The other eleven families were given amnesty for any crimes and allowed to maintain a large percentage of their wealth. The Scottkey family was one of the houses that took the amnesty offer.

Asmeria was now broken up into thirteen districts and each one was overseen by a head judge who served for life. Head Judges were given enough to live comfortably but they were never allowed to earn any sort of wealth by any other means. That was the driving reason behind so many nobles choosing the amnesty deal over a life of selfless servitude enforced by a Senate elected by the people of Asmeria. The senate would also have an overseeing organization. The Order of Asmeria, the last official remnant of nobility in Asmeria. The knights were not allowed to produce offspring, and if they were to make a child then they would be forced out of the knightly order and back into the peasantry.

It took a year and hundreds of tons of gold to stabilize the country. The army was able to rebuild itself and in doing so a force of able-bodied men was established for rebuilding cities and fortifications. Not to mention the great Asmerian Castles. Unfortunately, Hunter Bowell would never live to see Asmeria regain its footing of the world stage. He and his pregnant wife were killed by Lucc Empire mages. Asmeria was geared for another war that never came, Franklin Scottkey once again stepped into the spotlight and ended hostilities between the two nations and peace lasted, if only for a moment.