Chapter 2: The Rulers of Harmonia

Kendrix, the young prince of the Kingdom of Hia was in his room getting ready for the Equinox Festival with his best friend Emily Shield a young Savannah cat two years older than Kendrix, the two of them were helping pick each other's outfit and makeup, the both of them will have most men falling for them, much to the dismay of Kendrix father as the young prince had taken after his mothers' feminine features and beauty.

"I can't wait to show off this new dress, it's so cute~." Emily the young Savannah cat spoke with a bubbly tone as she examined a white dress with rich golden strands and silver flowers, it also had the kingdom's insignia on the left side of it.

"It is cute, what do you think about my outfit? It's not that revealing right?" Kendrix said as he examined himself in the mirror admiring the light pink dress that he wore with white and purple traces that match the soft flower in his right ear along with the pink and purple markings around his tail & ears, eyes, paws, waist, and lower back that help highlight his soft beautiful white fur. All animals of royal descent have the markings and insignia of their kingdom painted on them to show their wealth & position as well as status and even authority, the paint was permanent and will never fade away thanks to being magically enhanced so it was comfortable with the fur of the animal that would wear it.

"Only a little, we might even get some of the guys to eye us up and down~" Emily teased softly as she finished putting on some jewelry that showed the engravings of her position as a palace servant.

"Hopefully my father doesn't notice, he surely will throw a fit." Kendrix giggled softly at the thought of his father being overprotective despite him being eighteen a young adult plus he wasn't the only one who had an overprotective family member, Emily's brother, Thomas Shield, Captain of the king's guard was someone that took their duties seriously. Their little conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door hearing Thomas from the other side of the door as he spoke with a hint of impatience.

"Are you two done already?" We are going to be late." Thomas said as he opened the door regardless if they were ready or not much to the dismay of his sister Emily who started to complain about her brother's lack of manners.

"Hey, you can't just barge in here like that, what if we were still changing, you pervert!!" Emily pouted childishly at her brother's sudden entrance of breaching privacy, much to the amusement of Thomas who had entered the room that was adorned with pink & purple colors and a couple of cute white curtains with gold decorations colors of the Kingdom of Gia and there were also some stuffed animals in the bedroom.

"Sorry to disappoint sis, but as your big brother & Captain of the King's guard I must make sure that both of you are not slacking off in your responsibilities not to mention that I also have to assure the safety of our prince," Thomas said nonchalantly as he leans against the door, earning an eye-roll from Kendrix as he was capable of taking care of himself he was eighteen now for equinox sake.

"Yeah, Yeah. We get it Mr. I'm so responsible." Kendrix said as he and Emily walked towards the door outside of the room while the older sibling let out a chuckle at the prince's childish behavior as they all headed towards the courtyard of the royal palace where Kendrix's father was waiting for them along with the rulers of the Kingdoms of Gia and Mia allies, prophets and friends of King Dominic.

When the three of them arrive at the courtyard it was safe to say that it was full as many animals of high status such as nobles or rich families were interacting with each other heck even some of the guards, and even wealthy merchants were busy talking or planning the final preparations for the festival while others took photos or admire the three marble statues of the Equinox Dragons of the fountain that was located in the middle of the courtyard. The Kingdom of Hia was the first kingdom that was founded by the Equinox Dragons and thus was the heart of Harmonia, The land of Tranquility & Hope it was also the largest of the three. Hia also serves as the place where the festival is celebrated each year. Gia & Mia were much smaller branch Kingdoms that served as military forts. The three of them made a triangular defensive position with Hia located at the top. Each of the three kingdoms represented one of the Equinox Dragons spawns of the Dragon of Greed, Aurum, the Ambitious & the Dragoness of Generosity & Love, Liebe, The Blossoming Rose.

Hia represented the youngest sibling Aurora, The Merciful Blade while the kingdom of Gia represented Solis, The Raging Fire serving as the middle child. Lastly Ludex, The Judgmental Eye.

The three dragons rule Harmonia along with their prophets, the king of Hia, the Duke of Gia, and the baron of Mia however the three dragons rule from the land of dragons Caelestia a plane of existence for the celestial dragons. As the trio made their way toward the rulers of their respective kingdoms, the conversation was put to a pause as Dominic smiled brightly at his son "There you are what took you so long!?" Dominic asked his son as the other rulers remained quiet anticipating the young prince's answer.

"I'm sorry Dad, I just wanted to look good for the festival. You always tell me that we should look our best for our people," Kendrix said softly as he shifted in place.

"Yes, I suppose I did say that, do you remember Duke Fortis and Baron Cor?" Dominique asked as the other two rulers step forward with kind smiles on their faces, the two of them were like uncles to Kendrix.

"Of course, I remember them, they have always been at our sides even in difficult times such as when mom passed away," Kendrix said as he turned towards the duke and Baron.

"That we have, young Kendrix." The Duke of Gia, a young roan antelope by the name of Fortis William spoke with a gruff voice smiling at the young arctic fox the total opposite of his father who had the aging look of a tired king with a right scar over his right eye, Fortis had one of his horns missing while the other one was half broken, he also had scars but in the left side of his face in the shape of a claw mark.

"You have grown so much, to the point I barely recognize you, it's unbelievable to think that you were only five years old the first time we met you, your mother would have been so proud that you had grown into such a fine young man." The Baron of Mia, Azure De La Grace, a young peafowl with beautiful feathers said putting a feathery hand in the young arctics fox shoulder his voice raspy yet full of sympathy behind a mask that hid his burned face as a result of an explosion of an RPG that had hit his vehicle as a result of an assassination attempt.

"She would have been," Kendrix said solemnly remembering that had mother, Snow Astroma had died from a disease that would affect the user's ability to use magic properly turns out the disease had originated from a type of wasp known as "Death's Touch" wasps that contain a magical venom that will turn poison the magic of the user not consuming the soul but poisoning it, a cure was developed but by the time it was already too late, now the cure was used throughout the three kingdoms. The gloomy silence was broken by Azure as he remembered the reason why they were all here in the first place.

"But enough of the past, we are all here to celebrate Equinox Days, all days of happiness & pride that we are all still standing here today thanks to the dragons of equality," Azure said as he spoke with a cheerful tone as he patted Kenrdix's shoulder.

"He's right, we should all probably make our way, the people are expecting me to give a speech in the town's plaza," Dominic said with a smile as he looked at his watch, with those words being said they were all ready to get going until they heard someone.

"Couldn't have said it any better myself." A black wolf with golden eyes spoke as he approached the group with an arrogant aurora & smirk. Kendrix immediately noticed how his father along with Fortis & Azure frowned at the wolf's presence, and even Emily's brother was on edge and glared at the wolf. Emily looked confused and whispered to Kendrix.

"Who's that?" Emily asked confused about why the rulers & her brother were seen on edge towards the black wolf that is until Kendrix whispered back towards her as they stood behind.

"That's Lord Ivan Lumina V, one of the most influential nobles of the Holy Empire of Vale. Some people believe that he rose to his position by purging his family members even those in the Empire are wary of him, yet those are still rumors." Kendrix said while carefully seeing if he was looking in their direction since a wolf's healing was one of their natural advantages just like foxes or any other animal with enhanced senses, luckily for them, he wasn't.

"Lord Ivan what a pleasant surprise," Dominic spoke while maintaining eye contact with the wolf as the wolf stood proud with its expensive custom outfit, sword on his hip, and the emblem of his family on the right side of his shoulder. "We weren't expecting you to be here, what brings you to the festival you normally don't attend at all?" Dominic said facking a surprised tone to not agitate the wolf in front of them.

Ivan could only smirk at that reply sensing the fake tone but not commenting on it but answering the question addressed to him. "I figure it would be a nice change of pace of life and what better way to visit Hia, the heart of Harmonia, where so many people are celebrating happily with no worries at all," Ivan said with a paw in his hip and wave of his hand addressing the crowd at the courtyard that were enjoying themselves.

"Well I'm glad you are enjoying yourself, we were just on our way towards the town's plaza for the annual speech, now if you would kindly excuse us," Fortis said politely but the response of the wolf was not what they wanted to hear.

"But what's the rush we have all day wouldn't you - "

"I hope you're not distracting them from their royal duties Lord Ivan, after all, you should know that it is bad manners to keep rulers from their responsibilities and attend to their subjects." Ivan's response was interrupted by the arrival of an old grizzly bear, the Emperor of Vale, Gaius Agustus, much older than the three rulers of Harmonia; the bear was a monarch that had shown that old age doesn't matter. What matters is that as long as a monarch has strength & wisdom while still showing firmness & kindness towards their people then their time as rulers will be remembered for centuries.

Gaius Agustus was a respectable ruler from the Empire of Vale, a hero to his people as he staged a coup to overthrow the previous emperor Marcus Vulcan, the Butcher a tyrannical lion who was known for his cruelty and numerous atrocities in Vale thus earning the title of the Butcher due to slaughtering many people that oppose him or not submit to his will, his presence was welcome as Kendrix noticed that everyone relax when he appeared.

"No, not all your holiness, I was just in my way," Ivan spoke with a frown as he took his leave glaring at them, but mostly toward the emperor, now knew what kind of thoughts go through the young noble head that is until Gauis spoke.

"Such an insufferable brat, he brings nothing but disgrace to his family name & house, his ancestors must be rolling in their graves," Gauis spoke with a growl before taking a deep breath to calm himself down and turning toward the rulers of Harmonia. "I truly I'm sorry for his behavior." His voice had an apologetic tone.

"Don't blame yourself for your actions Emperor Gauis, his actions are his alone, not yours," Dominic said reassuringly to Gauis that there was no need to apologize for the wolf's actions.

"He's right, his actions are his alone, not yours," Thomas said as he stepped forward.

"Very well then, now I believe that you were on your way towards the town's plaza for the annual festival speech, am I right?" Gauis said with a nod toward his fellow monarchs.

"Indeed," Dominic said as he also nodded toward the emperor, before they continue on their way Dominic addressed the crowd that the speech will be starting very soon and that if anyone would like to join them or stay in the courtyard, a few of them decided to stay in the courtyard of the palace while others decided to head toward the town's plaza to listen to the speech, those who remain were mostly old nobles that had heard the speech before while those who decided to join them were younger ones, only a small number of the old nobles along with another percentage of youth decided to stay behind. Those who decided to go towards the town's plaza were also looking forward to seeing the local shops and enjoying the cultural food & crafts of Hia. Despite the kingdom's technological advances of the modern era, the culture of the old times remains as it was critical towards their history and to teach the younger generations the value of tradition, thus why in Harmonia was a mixture of old customs and newer customs.

"Oh, by the way, Gaius. Would you and your wife like to join us? Your presence & wisdom is always welcome." Dominic politely asked the grizzly bear as he turned towards him, the bear pondered for a moment before replying with a small smile.

"We would love to," Gaius said as he stood next to his wife, Rhea Agustus, a beautiful leopard that despite her old age remains her natural beauty and so all of them made their way towards the town's plaza to deliver the annual festival speech.