Chapter One

Drover is known as the ruined kingdom. Seventeen years ago, an unknown disaster killing most of its citizens. The survivors of the disaster are the monks. Now calling themselves 'The Council.' To keep the country profitable, they announce they are a neutral kingdom and will not take any sides of any domain. Doing merchants from every kingdom come here to sell their wares and not get harassed by the opposite kingdom's citizens. With money comes power and with the ruined kingdom Drover became powerful.

With a rumor spreading of a powerful mage living in Drover, This gives them an option to stay out of the war between Tralon and Runeswift kingdoms that have been going go for sixteen years. Seeing no end in sight for the war and seeing the fall of their economy, the Council members step in the war and put a summons for both kingdoms to come and negotiate a treaty.

Rumor of the neutral kingdom having a great powerful weapon that can end all of them. Runeswift and Tralon agree to come to the meeting. As word travel about the treaty meeting and the royal families coming and their royal court is coming, the merchants see a great chance to sell their wares to them and hopefully be on the royal merchant list to either family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A commotion of sound drifted through a tiny window high on a stone wall. The noise brought the attention of the occupant in the small and dreary room. The figure looks up at the window that allows a little bit of sunlight to spill in.

"What's going on?" an excited child's voice whispers in the dark.

"It sounds like something is happening in the city. The monks could be holding an event today." A motherly voice answers the child.

"Oh! I want to see! Please?! Can we go look?" Pleads the small child's voice.

"I'm sorry little one you know we're not allowed." The mother said, sorrowful. "There is reason why we are here."

"But That' not fair! It's not fair!" Whines the child. "I want to see!"

"Now, now calm down dear. If you want to see what they are doing, then how about we send out a little birdy? Will that be okay?"

"Okay." the child grumbles.

Chains clan as a pale, thin woman's hand lifts and opens her palm. A black mist comes from the corners and crawls up the woman's slender form and gather in her palm. Please, with the amount, she balls her hand into a tight fist. Opening her hand, a small black crow sits calmly on her palm.

"Now, we will be able to see what is happening outside and remain safe inside." She lifts her hand, giving the bird flight as it heads to the tiny ledge of the window. Squeezing through the bars, the bird takes flight, just as a loud clang of the iron lock becoming undone announcing someone is coming in.

The blackbird let out a caw as it flies over the crowd of people entering the crumbling gate entrance. Many of the visitors hurry to the marketplace to set up their stand or buy something from far away. Among the merchants are a few local farmers. The bird notices two farmers, a father, and daughter, entering the city with their horse and wagon, landing on the wagon full of produce; the bird groom itself as the two talks.

Marcus looks over at his daughter with her long crimson hair tied back with a leather strap to keep away from her cream color face, a completer opposite of his salt and pepper short hair and dark tan skin. His smile gives him small wrinkles near his mouth as he sees her eyes wide in awe. "What do you think Moonlight?"

The young woman turned to her father and gave him a bright smile. "This is amazing! Thank you so much for bringing me here."

He chuckles a little, "Well, you are getting to that age where you are old enough to learn this side of the business. Though I didn't realize it will be this busy so early in the day.

Moonlight looks surprised and looks at the crowd. "Do you mean it wasn't this busy normally?"

Marcus shakes his head, thinking about it. "No, it must be because the two kingdoms are arriving today."

"Really how can you tell?" She rubs the nose of her mere to keep her calm as she looks around the crowd trying to see what her father sees.

"Take a look dear, do you see anything out of place?" He asks, looking at his daughter.

Moonlight puffs out her cheeks a bit, looking annoyed. "Father, this is the first time I've been away from the farm. Everything looks out of place."

The old farmer tries to hold back a laugh seeing his seventeen-daughter pouting like a five-year-old. "Just take a look around sweetie."

Moonlight looks around the crowd of people. "Hm, I see a lot of people dress in the same color of orange and red." She examines the crowd a bit more. "Oh!" She cries out in a surprise that made her father jump a bit.

"What is it?" Her father asks, placing a hand over his chest.

"Their hair!" She answers excitedly. "Thier hair is like mine." She turns to Marcus. "Does that mean we're from their country?"

Marcus shakes his head, no. "No, dear, though you do have their hair color, but your purple eyes are from here in Drover. But the people dress in red and orange are from Triennia. You can tell because they have the Royal signina on their cloak. Do you see it?"

The crimson hair girl studied one of the men standing around in a circle talking among themselves. She can see the emblem of the sun with a tiger in the middle standing on their hindquarters. Seeing it, she looks away before they notice her staring. "Is it the one with the tiger and sun?"

"Yes," He nods, giving a smile. "Those are Triennia's soldiers; you will see a few of them around here. But Moonlight." His tone turns serious. "I want you to be careful when you are alone, all right? This is the first time you have been around people, and you need to keep in mind that not everyone is as honest as our neighbors.

Moonlight gave a little laugh wanting to tell him she's not a little kid anymore. But she knows he will still worry about her no matter how many times she tells him not to. So, she nods and gives a soft smile. "I will father."

Marcus looks around the crowd to see if he can notice the other kingdom so he can point it out to her as well and notice the blackbird perch on their wagon. "Hey!" He takes off his straw hat and waves it at the bird trying to shoo it away. "Get out of here!"

The bird takes flight and flies around the kingdom once again. It passes to the more well-maintained and beautiful part of the town where the houses are not crumbling or falling apart like the inner-city buildings. The further away the bird goes from the center of the city, the thinner the crowds, the bigger the space between the large houses are.

A gold carriage enters this district, and gleams in the sunlight catch the bird's attention. It begins to follow it to an elegant manor, with three brown cloak figures waiting in the front. The leader of the three steps forward as the carriage comes to a stop. A young man dress in a simple red and orange tunic and trousers jumps down from the driver seat and hurry to the carriage door and opens it bowing his head.

The king of Treinna is a man in his sixties dressed in a crimson cloak that parted open as he steps down, showing a black tunic with a gold arrow pattern and grey trousers underneath. His red-amber eyes scan his surroundings, a habit he gains from his years in the war. A flat red velvet with gold feather trim sits on top of his short grey hair as he steps down from the carriage, his black velvet shoes steps on the small sun-bleached white stones making a crunching noise. He makes his way towards the bold monk.

"King Gabel, Welcome to Drover! It has been ages my friend." The monk greeted the king of Treinna warmly and extended his hand, offering a handshake.

There is a long pause where no one speaks or moves. Then Gabel gave a loud hearty laugh. "Lanney, it has been a long-time old friend." He reaches out and takes the offered hand and gave a handshake. "Thank you for call for this meeting and hosting it here."

The monk smiles and chuckles as both men continue to shake hands. "Of course, this war has been going far too long. It's time to end this and start a new era." Lanney lean close to his friend. "Tell me good friend did you bring along your family?"

"yes, I did, I would have brought them even if you didn't ask me to. I feel it would be beneficial for my sons to experience how these proceedings go." He slung an arm over Lanney's shoulders and led him to the carriage. "Come let me introduce you to the them. My first-born son and heir to my throne, Felix Ramile!" Gabel proudly announces.

In his twenties, a man appears from the carriage dress in a maroon red short t-sleeve tunic with gold trim along the hems. An amber color belt kept his black trousers up as he climbed down and greeted the monk. His deep brown leather boots crunch the gravel. He reaches out to shakes Lanney's hand showing chocolate leather cuffs tied to his tan forearms. His amber eyes look Lanney into his and offer a smile to the monk. "Father Lanney, thank you so much for inviting us to come.

The father shakes the young man's hand gives three hard shakes as his smile widens. "Goodness, your hair is just like your father's when he was your age. Wild and untamed." He gave a laugh watching Felix run his fingers through his fiery red hair."

Felix gives a chuckle putting his hand down. "Yes, though I may have that from him. I was told I inherit the color from my mother."

Lanney gave the prince a nod and a sad smile. "I am sorry to hear about your mother." He let out a deep sigh. "She was a wonderful woman and it's a shame she passes away when you were so young."

The prince nods and pats his shoulder. "Thank you; I don't remember her much but what I heard she was a beautiful and kind woman."

The king clears his throat to get their attention. "Lanney let me introduce you to my second son. Anoi."

The younger prince appears as well and joins the rest of the men. He nods his greeting to his brother and father but offers his hand to the father. "Father Lanney it's an honor and pleasure to be welcome here, father." Anoi is dress in an amber-orange half sleeve tunic with red trimming along the hems and a matching red belt holding his black trousers.

"Of course, it's an honor to meet the sons of my very close friend." He takes the young man's hand and gives it a hearty shake. "I how's your mother Lady Rosabella?"

"She's fine, but you can ask her yourself." Anoi smiles as he heads back to the carriage; his chocolate leather boots crunch as they

The father looks over to this friend. "You didn't tell me Lady Rosabella was accompanied you."

"Yes, my lovely wife insisted on accompany us though I wish it was just us men," Gabel said, watching Anoi walking back to the carriage. "I think she's afraid that I won't come back after this meeting." He chuckles as a delicate red lace glove hand appears for the dark carriage and takes the offered hand of her son.

With the help of her son, the Queen of Triennia climbs out and down the carriage steps. Her amber red dress with black lace gathers at her feet as she let go of it once she reaches the gravel. Approaching the group once close enough, Rosabella pick up her skirt and courtesy in front of them. Felix and Lanney look away as her bodice presents a deep cleavage. "It's an honor to meet you finally. My dear husband speaks fondly of his childhood friend. Hearing the father clear his throat and steamer as he starts to talk, a small smile appears on her red painted lips. She lifts her head to see her husband offering his hand for her.

"Yes, um," Lanney clear his and look back at the queen once he's sure it's safe to look. "Shall we go inside? I'm sure Gabel you know your way around this manor, but it will be an honor to show you all around." He quickly turns around to the redness in his cheeks. "The treaty negotiations will be held tomorrow, so please use today to rest and relax." He tells them happily as he leads the family through the Iron gate cover in veins with the other two monks following them.

Seeing how small the manor is, Rosabella turns to her husband. "Dear will this be enough room for the servants arriving? It seems a bit too small."

"Not to worry my dear there is a servant house behind the manor." The king assures hers of her. "It may be small on the outside but it's," His voice begins to fade as they enter the manor.

The bird retakes flight and heads towards the town center. Another elegant carriage caught the creature's attention, and it follows the black wood with a silver trim carriage. This one travel to the other side of the city, and like before, the further away from the city square and crowd, the nicer and well maintain the homes are. The carriage stops at a manor, this one with black wrote iron gates but with dyeing and vines clinging onto it.

Three monks waited in front of the gate, and the leader steps forward as the carriage came to a stop. But this carriage doesn't have a footman like the Royal Ramile. The door to it open and appear a man in his fifties dress in a navy-blue cloak with shadow grey fur lining. A black tunic and matching trousers are seen underneath his cloak. A black belt with a silver belt buckle and a bluestone held them up as he steps down, his black boots crunch beneath them. Three more men follow behind him, each cloak and fur a shade lighter than the previous one. On the back of each cloak is a wolf howling at a crescent moon embodied in sliver.

"King Damian of Runeswift, Welcome to Drover." The leader of the three monks steps forward, removing his hood. Showing a bald scalp like Lanney. "I am Brother Maller. I will be your liaison during your stay. I hope the journey was a pleasant one."

"It was, please let Father Lanney known we are grateful for Drover to be hosting this meeting," Damian said, looking at the monk.

Maller nods. "It's no trouble at all. We want this war to end soon and go back to living in peace once more."

"I can't agree with you anymore, too many villages and towns are getting destroyed in between."

Maller nods in agreement as one of the monks came up behind him and whisper in her ear. The smile on his face turns into a frown.

"Damain's grey browns knit together as his grey eyes watch the encounter. "Something wrong, brother Maller?"

"Oh, it's nothing my brother just notices Lady Ishtar is not with you?" He told the king.

The king frowned at the monk. "No, sadly Lady Ishtar has fallen ill, and the healers advise her to stay home."

"That is a shame; please sends along with our well wishes then.

"I will be sure to let her know in a letter. I do hope you don't mind me bringing along my captains."

"Not at all." The brother said, singling one of the brothers to approach and, in his hand, is a small leather book. "If you don't mind giving me their names so we can make their stay more pleasant as well."

The king of Runeswift steps aside, giving Maller a better view of the three men line up behind him and waiting for orders. He gestures the first one in line with his right hand. Another man five years older than him. "This Captain Quincy Dolloway. He's the captain of my guards."

Quincy is dress in a matching black tunic, belt, and trousers, but his buckle is out of steel, and it doesn't have a jewel in it. His cloak an indigo blue and graphite grey fur lining. His pale blue eyes did a quick scan of the area. The sun gleams off his black and grey hair as he did a curt nod.

The king moves to the next man. In his late forties, this man in the matching attire expects his midnight blue and dove-grey fur trim cloak. He also gave a curt nod his raven black hair shin in the sun. "This is Royce Addison Captain of my Army."

Maller nods back at Royce and notices the king didn't introduce the last and finale man in line. This man is much younger than the others. His cloak is a light blue and off-white fur trim. His medium length wavy hair. His sliver blue eyes intrigue the monks, "Milord who is this young man?"

Damian turns to the man in his early twenties. "Ah, this is Charles Winston. He's my page."

Charles gave a short nod but didn't say anything.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all and all of you are welcome here. Please allow me to show you around the manor so you can settle for the night. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, when and where are the negotiations being held?"

"It will be held at noon and at the hall. Someone will come and escort you to the building." Maller answers. "I notice you do not have any servants would you like I send to help tend to you."

"Only a few please just to cook and do a few light housework. We can handle cleaning up behind the house."

The monk nods and turns to lead them through the gate but stops in his tracks, seeing a black crow perch above the doorway. 'Dimas' He singles for one of the monks to come close and whisper in their ear. The monk nods and hurries down the road.

"Is, everything okay?" The king asks, noticing the interaction.

Maller turns back to the men from Runeswift. "Yes, just sending him off to announce your arrival and retrieving some servants for you. Nothing you need to worry about." He opens the door to the manor and enters.

The bird retakes flight and head home.

The blackbird flew between the bars with ease and spiral down to the slender woman's shoulder.

She opens her hand and allowing the bird to hop down on her palm and begin to groom itself.

"Now little one, let's see what is going on today," The motherly voice told the child that gave out a happy, gleeful cheer.