Prologue - The Monarch's Quest

The darkness and the light. Always present in people's lives, whether it be in the everyday problems that people encounter or the sweet love and care shown to each other.

The provinces of Alliyon respected each other for what they had contributed to their land. There was the Machina which produced all the machines and gizmos throughout the provinces. They were responsible for the creation of an army and the tools of which they used. They had scientists with immense knowledge of the world they lived in.

Then there was Agra which housed all the farms and agriculture known to mankind. They grew all types of bountiful crops including wheat for the bread, tomatoes for soup as well as cows, with plentiful fields of vegetation for various other recipes. Agra was one of the most important provinces of Alliyon and was guarded thoroughly so that no trespasser could ruin the crops and all of which Agrian's worked for.

There was also Lorian of which the mightiest armies were formed. They had the largest, most extensive military program compared to all. Lorian continually supplied troops to defend Alliyon land and made sure that all citizens were safe and secured. They enforce the law, albeit a bit harshly, but nonetheless still keeping everyone in order.

The most important of the factions however was the Pure Lands which governed the entirety of Alliyon passing laws for Lorian soldiers to enforce, supplied the crops from Agra to the people, and used the machines from Machina to build and grow their city. They were the administrators of the land and helped the Alliyon Emperor, who resided in the great and beautiful castle of the Pure Lands, managing Alliyon.

But, then came a fifth faction, devoid of lush green forestry, giant farms, beautiful villages, and good-natured people. Those lands that the faction inhabited were called the Shadow Lands.

With the lust for power and gold, their Shadow King set on a strenuous journey past the tall, menacing mountains surrounding the mountain village, Magana. During the King's expedition, he stopped by and in this village, he heard stories that there was a piece of cursed armor and axe somewhere in the mountains that would grant one immense and unimaginable power but at a cost.

The King would have to be a servant to the Queen of the Void, her powers making the armor so unimaginably powerful. He knew the risks, but he thought that he could form a compromise with the Dark Queen.

So, he set out, hoping to find the armor and weapons he desperately needed to grow his empire, hoping that the "good" people of the Pure Lands had not found it first. After traveling for many moons, he reached an overpass and on the other side was an opening to a rather suspicious-looking cave.

He entered through a narrow crack which proved to be the only way in, and the only way out. He moved slowly pushing himself from wall to wall until he found a much wider chamber which he could walk freely. He looked all around and concluded that in this cave, there was an abundance of pitch-black caverns leading to for all he knew anywhere. Then he noticed a small light source coming from the caverns. As he listened, he heard the similar crackling of a fire and soon the thick smoke enveloped around him which caused him to cough violently. When he was finally able to see, he noticed a frail, old woman approaching from the black smoke surrounding him.

The frail old woman said, "What brings you here, traveler?"

The king angrily replied, "Why do you need to know? It's not as if you can help me in my quest to find something that I most desperately need. You probably don't even know what's in the depths of this very cave we are talking in. "

The old woman glared at the selfish and foolish king and thought for a second. After a while of thinking and looking at one another, the old woman said, "How do you know that I don't know what you are seeking or whether I can find what you seek for that matter?"

The King hesitantly replied, "Do your words ring true? Do you know where to find what I seek?"

The old woman answered, "Come with me and we will soon find out."

Subsequently, after thinking for a while, The Shadow King decided to give in to the old women's demands. They ventured farther and farther into the decrepit cavern from which the thick smoke came. They passed skeletons of old warriors most definitely seeking the treasures within the caverns dismissing the dangers and the risk. They soon approached the old women's camp.

The camp was filled with all types of potions and other miscellaneous objects. There was one tent at the corner of a cavern wall and inside it was a sleeping mat and a lamp. There was a small fire in the middle of the camp created with whatever she could find that could be flammable. That included moss, dry leaves, and a flint she discovered near one of the corners of the cavern walls surrounding the camp. Based on how the camp looked, the King assumed that she was a hoarder and a crazy old woman through and through.

However, he had this nagging feeling suggesting that even though she was tremendously messy, that she knew something that he did not. However, he also knew that he could not entirely trust the old woman. The old woman had been standing there motionless, and it was expected, she looked like a delirious woman after all. When he couldn't wait any longer, he said annoyed, "Listen, old woman. You are testing my patience and let me remind you that I am not a man to be lied to and I grow impatient very quickly."

The old woman laughed, "Is that a threat that you just uttered from your mouth? Listen fool, I am not one bit afraid of what you're going to do to me. Others said the same thing and their fate was sealed then and there. You know that I am your only hope to get you out of here alive and find that armor and weaponry that you so desperately need."

She waited to see the king's reaction when he realized that she knew what he had been so determined to find. The King had not told anyone of his conquest, and despite the immense knowledge the King had, he still could not begin to wonder how the old woman knew.

She continued, "However, since you are so impatient, know this, there is a dragon named Boldar which guards the entrance to the cavern that will lead you to the treasure that you want."

She motioned to one of the entrances to another cave and told him to push on and fight the dragon. The king reluctantly decided to fight the dragon knowing that this was one of his only chances to snag the armor and weaponry guarded by the fearsome dragon.

He moved slowly, so as not to disturb the slumbering dragon, also using this moment to scan the battle arena of which he will face one of his greatest foes. He found some cages dangling loosely by a rotted metal chain. He realized that with a well-aimed shot that he could break the chain and stun—admittedly only a second—the dragon. In that time he could run past the dragon and enter the cave without the dragon following him. Thinking it over, he figured that this was the best option.

He moved towards the battle arena and soon the dragon hearing the king's footsteps woke up violently and coughed up a flame so bright that a thousand suns pale in comparison. Right then and there, he knew that his plan could not work, for the dragon was too strong and his flaming breath would soon overpower him. As he was dodging the dragon's continuous and downright vicious attacks, he was quite interested in the idea that had just materialized in his crafty brain. He decided that he would have to tame the dragon.

"After all, dragons are tamable, right?" muttered the king while gracefully dodging a tail whip from that dragon.

He then stopped in front of the dragon as it was about to try to burn him with his flaming breath and eat him for dinner.

He said menacingly to the dragon, "We can make a compromise right? Listen, before you burn me and eat me for dinner, I just want to let you know that you could have had something much better than a delicious feast."

The intrigued dragon, Bouldar replied in a deep voice, "What could possibly be better than raw and succulent human meat."

"How about power and a seat at a nice gold throne. Hand me the armour, that you so dearly and foolishly guard, and I can conquer more lands than you have ever eaten. What was it you said? Ah, yes, raw succulent meat." said the affluent king.

"I'm interested… " Said the vigorous dragon, looking intrigued.