Chapter 1: Once Upon A Time

It was a tale as old as time. In a land far away from the reaches of humanity, there lived a girl as beautiful as she was kind. There wasn't one who didn't love her & one she didn't love. As magical as her world was there was no greater magic than the love of her parents and her people. Unfortunately for the girl, just as all good things must come to an end, so did her life. Oh, she lived. She was still alive and breathing but all the good things had come to an end. And thus, she buried her world in the far reaches of her heart and was reborn - if only to bring an end to all the good things left.

***

It was a new morning. There were birds chirping outside and the sweet smell of flowers came through the open window. Elena woke up from her sleep, as languid and lazy as a cat, her blue eyes still drowsy as she slid down from her bed and landed in a heap on the polished wooden floor. 

*Yaawwn* "Seems I'm late again." 

She stretched her bones as far as they could go and rose from the floor in a smooth motion one would not have expected looking at her. She looked through the room - a patchwork of moldy blankets clumped together on the semblance of a bed, rickety furniture barely holding on from the onset of insects and time. 

Elena braced herself, just as she always did. It was now routine to her. To burn the scene in front of her, into her mind, so that, if ever by chance she found herself no longer having the right to return she would be able to bury the memory in her mind just as she had buried everything she loved before.

She slipped out of her room and made her way downstairs. She strutted through an enormous hallway as if she owned the place. Which she did, although no one had ever acknowledged it before. She arrived before a colossal set of oak doors, larger than life and just as intimidating. 

She knocked, a steady rapport that hinted at a history unknown.

"Come in."

It was only two words but the cloying sweetness that managed to permeate every syllable almost threatened to overwhelm her before she could steel herself.

As the door swung open, she moved inside with the same confident gait and stood in front of the massive desk that could be a twin to the doors behind.

"How amusing, Elena. Seems like your pet project made the headlines."

"Of course, Mother. All for your grace."

"Now, now there is no time to waste on pleasantries, my dear. The market is moving and so must we. The Kingdom is sparing no effort to catch the supposed culprits, are they? It would hurt me greatly to see you in trouble."

Elena felt her teeth were about to fall off with how hard she grit them.

"Never Mother. You can trust me. When have I ever let you down?"

With how honeyed their words were one would never have guessed the blades behind them. One was toying around like a cat playing with their food just before devouring it while the other was cursing them with the most creative way of death she knew. Of course, even being as young as she was, only twelve, she knew many. Many ways of killing of course. But we are not here for a mere war of nerves, are we?

"The Malones are acting up. Make sure to take care of them."

"What's the deadline?"

"That is for you to figure out."

Elena smiled again, with the same sweetness she had learned from her Mother, no...Monster, and left.

***

The Avalon Empire encompassing the entire continent is one of the strongest in Gaia boasting powerful mages and knights. The citizens called themselves 'Valiants' proud of their rich history and powerful nation, but they didn't know that this Empire was built upon the bones of another.

The Imperial Family was lauded as the most powerful for they ruled not just their territory but also all the Kingdoms on the Avalon Continent. They ruled with not their strength but their blood. Hailed as the descendants of the Primordial Gods, they were blessed, and thus so were their people. The people were all born with the possibility to become anything, even a god. 

The Empire was divided into five Grand Houses of Stellaris. With the Imperial Family in the center, these five Houses claimed territories across the continent. The First Emperor and his trusted comrades had planned for their empire to resemble the form of their Goddess, believed to be the most powerful of all the Primordial Gods. Not only was the Empire approaching what most historians would refer to as its golden ages, but both the development of magic and machinery were in its most advanced stages. 

Despite the supposed glorious future of the Empire, the upper echelon was all nervous welcoming the good news with dread instead. They had been informed of the contents of the prophecy by their ancestors and now most were either busy covering their asses and putting out fires. Some were shoring up money and some were hoarding power, both human and other. The end was supposed to be approaching foretold by the legends of old.

The clock was ticking and it was time for new characters to step onto the stage.

With no moment to waste, Elena hurried, strapped her weapons on her suit, and prepared to leave. She had to make sure she didn't get caught and didn't waver in her objective. Not even for a moment. For it is paranoia that stabs a knife in one's back. She had people to kill and even more people to fool. But oh well, nothing new about it now.

Same old, same old.

Blood and lies, guts and cries. She was raised for crime. She was raised to kill. She was raised to serve.

But she was born to rule.