1 Fall

Year 10XX, Anarchy -1

The Divinity Round Table, Castle of the Elders. Somewhere in Aeras...

Twelve figures sat circular around a large stone table, in what was supposed to be a friendly discussion, but instead was at the brink of disaster.

"--We simply cannot stand idly by! The entirety of Aeras will fall to ruin! It's only a matter of time until--"

"Bah! Let the people do as they please! Do you play them for fools? One second they are your citizens, next they turn a blind eye for some extra coin! Better to leave them be!"

It was absolute chaos.

"It's what the prophecy predicted! We're going to fall into the age known as the Anarc--"

"QUIET!!"

The hall quickly murmured down. Unbeknownst to the commotion, two guards donned in full armor could be seen standing at the hall's entrance, whispering about something regarding the quality of elven brothel girls. Before they could utter another word, everyone thrust a dark eye towards their direction, and the whispering stopped.

At the round table sat the Divinity, a collection of rulers from city-states, powerful seers from hidden villages, and even princes of kingdoms who stood in place to represent their region. At the center of the hollow circle stood Elder Kurven, founder of Divinity.

"It has come to my attention that we all face the same problem, and with the current situation, we do not have the answers. This emergency meeting was called upon to address any concerns we can alleviate at this moment. As the prophecy predict--"

Murmurs rose once again around the table and quickly escalated into another brawl. Elder Kurven slammed the table, causing the whole building to tremor.

"ENOUGH!"

The room grew silent. The Elder let out one long sigh.

"As I was saying, and as the prophecy has predicted, the age known as Anarchy has seemingly fallen upon us. The people have grown impatient and rumors are quickly spreading; the hierarchy of rule will slowly dismantle amidst the unrest. Chaos will ensue across the four corners of our beloved region--"

Voices of anger, desperation, and worry began darting around the room once more, until everybody was shouting at each other again.

THUD!!! Elder Kurvan slams his staff down with menacing force, and a bright red glare begin to emit from his eyes and staff. Everybody halted in the position and silently took their seats once more. The message was clear; this was the last time the assembly would be interrupted.

"WHICH is why, I asked for all of you to come to today's meeting. As you are aware, tis scarce we hold these assemblies lest in times of natural disasters and global emergencies, and I would like for this to be conducted in a respectful manner. The three representatives of the kingdoms of Nihial, Geros, and Panthos shall speak first. Geros, please."

Everyone eyes darted towards a young elven prince as he slowly stood up from his seat.

"Ehhh hemmm... Allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Germain, representative and spokesperson of the Geros Kingdom. On behalf of my liege, King Reikan the III, we would first like to identify the source of the problem. As you all know, the kingdom of Geros accepts all races as indifferent and unbiased. The presence of crime and discrimination remain at an absolute low."

The prince continued. "And despite different customs, most citizens manage to lead a fruitful life, as the idea of a non-human living in a kingdom was not a life they took for granted." The room muttered in agreement.

"Then I shall put forth that the King would like to dissuade the existence of such a prophecy. The idea of a prophecy of doom would create imbalance and chaos in our system and it's people. The King refuses to believe that the freest kingdom in all of Aeras will fall into a civil clash in a society that is already deemed harmonious." More murmurs of agreement sounded the room, but the representative of Panthos bolted up.

"You are a fool, Germain! Your king and your people are stubborn! Geros' greatest achievement will be its greatest downfall!" Prince Elric of Panthos sneered. "You cannot hope to unite races that have conflicted since the dawn of time, much less be in unity. Your kingdom seems to fare well on the outside, but enough of the deception! Even you know..."

The room slowly filled with angst as the Panthosian prince's face of anger turned to worry.

"Something down under is brewing..."

Prince Germain gazed deep into Elric's eyes. After which felt like an eternity, the elven prince reluctantly nodded in agreement and sat down. Even a buffoon could see the unrest in the kingdom of Geros.

Germain did not want to admit it, but Elric was right. His mission as a liaison for the king was to keep the unrest in Geros a secret, but even he knew they couldn't keep their domestic problems within any longer.

Elric continues. "It goes without saying that the kingdom of Panthos has not fared well. Despite our city only containing one race, humans, Panthos has come to realize that our disparity of social status is stretching further and further apart. Nobles are able to train and become stronger while the poor and uneducated fall to the bottom, widening the gap each passing day. This has been a pressing matter for every single kingdom." Elric gestured at Germain, who nodded in agreement.

"And because of thi--"

The representative of Nihial abruptly butts in.

"Oi, let me have a say in this matter, ya wagglers!" A stout dwarf with a stern look climbs up onto his chair, holding himself in a stoic position. Whispers floated around the table, some of worry, and some of the height of the dwarf. As the commotion continued in the hall, nobody realized that the two guards that were babbling about elven brothel girls had just left the room.

Outskirts of the Castle of Elders, Same Time

*rustle rustle* ... *crack* 

Deep inside the forests on the outskirts, an orchard seemingly disappears into thin air as the space around it distorts, forming a pulsating black hole. Two masked figures, one with a dark wing, and one with a white wing, float through the portal. Wielding a dark and white scythe respectively, the two silhouettes tap the portal with their scythe simultaneously, warping it away as quickly as it opened. The winged life forms slowly drift onto the earthen terrain. For a moment, everything was quiet once more.

The dark winged stranger was the first to break the silence with a loud groan, muttering something about portals before turning to the other.

"Fucking Christ, Vara, why did we end up with the short end of the straw? I still have to finish weapon preparations back at the Boss' base. He'll be pissed off if the gauss rifles aren't coiled up."

Vara was a half-blood with angelic features; skin as soft as snow, eyes as bright as the reflection of the moon, and an enormous pale wing hovered behind her, possessing all the qualities of a goddess. Her smile could steal any man's heart away.

"At peace, Zaen. The fate of the world is in our hands, and it is our duty to carry out the prophecy. This 'dirty work' you refer to is the greatest gift of all." Vara slowly unveils her mask to reveal a radiant brightness that outshined even the stars. She glanced over at Zaen with a slight smile, though behind those eyes, one could see her face showed no emotion at all.

Zaen spat in her direction. "Your deception doesn't work on me, siren. Only reason why we're here is 'cause Boss said so."

Like Vara, Zaen was also a half-blood, but his skin was chalky and ashy rather than smooth. Multiple scars etched around his arms and the way his scythe was held showed experience in war. One of his eyes was blazing red while the other was covered by a strange patch.

Vara's face turns from a heartfelt smile to a vicious, toothy scowl.

"Yeah, yeah, that's more like it. Why did I even get paired up with you, anyway?"

As Zaen continues to berate her, Vara's true self began to form. Her angelic white skin crumbles into pieces and drops onto the floor, revealing a scaly green body. Her spine splinters into bone fragments as her body stretches out and begins to slither upon the ground. Her eyes mutate into complete darkness, much like staring into an empty abyss. Her white pale hair fall off in long strands and give way to an amalgamation of crimson streaking hair and the remains of her heavenly body. Vara let her an evil cackle and begins sliding towards Zaen.

"Zzzzzzzaaeeeennnn..."

The half-winged demon instinctively holds his scythe towards her direction and takes a step back. "Damn it, Vara, you know I hate it when you do that. Save it for the party later." Zaen starts walking towards the castle. "We need to talk to the twins. They should've checked out the hall already."

WHOOSH! And just like that, two identical human-like beings appeared in front of him, wearing what looked like to be the guards' armor at the entrance hall ealier. "Commander Zaen, the preparations have been completed. The round table's arcane barrier was an insult to our power." The twins said in unison.

Zaen cackled in glee. "As expected of the Je Min twins. Are all the arcane charges been set?" His eyes glance over the castle's structure once more.

"Yes, Commander. They are located in the forgotten caverns underneath the castle. We then infiltrated the round table and we are content to report that all kingdoms of Aeras are present. There is one problem though..." The twins twitched simultaneously. "None of the kingdom's rulers were present. Only their princes came to represent."

Upon hearing this, Zaen grits his teeth and his scythe begins distorting, as if it it had a will of it's own, but eventually he regains his composure.

"Well, there is nothing we can do about that. Besides, the Aeras' princes should suffice for the beginning of the prophecy."

Gripping the middle of his scythe, Zaen begins to twirl it, creating a vortex of dirt, dust, and wind as a purplish, ghoulish glow begans emanating around him. The glow intensifies, covering his whole body, and he stabs the hilt of the scythe into the glade. The ground begins to tremble. With an excited glare, Zaen looks at Vara and the Je Min twins. "Ready to burn a castle?"

The group huddles together and began walking towards the castle. Zaen can't help but smile.

"Aeras... welcome to the Anarchy."