Chapter 1: Betrayal

Royal Castle, Human Kingdom

King Chiron stood at the balcony of his castle. The sun was setting in the distance and it cast an orange glow upon the city. The world seemed relatively peaceful. Despite the fact there was still tension among the six races of Scalon, Human, Demon, Elf, Dragon, and Shape Changer.

The world of Terra was very diverse, and still young. However it was a world filled with great wars and much of its history had been lost. Somehow though a few facts remained about it. This world was exactly one thousand four hundred and nine years old and was of great importance.

The Avatars, communicants of the gods, had confimed that there were other worlds out there, but Terra was special. Terra contained more magical energy and importance than any of the other planets out there.

Chiron couldn’t help but wonder about the other worlds. Knowing about them felt so strange. He could not see them, interact with them, or go to them...but he knew they were there. One day perhaps they would travel to the other planets.

Chiron’s thought was interrupted when he heard a knock on the door. He turned around and opened it and was greeted by an elven messenger. Like all elves, he had pointier ears and a more defined face. His hair was a bright yellow color (not blonde, but yellow) and he wore the traditional green messenger uniform.

“King Chiron of the Humans.” he said bowing. “I apologize for intruding, but it is urgent. The guards let me in when they saw this.”

The messenger extended a letter. Chiron took it and looked at it. It had the Royal Elven seal upon it. He opened it and saw it was a letter from Queen Slzin herself. He read the letter:

“Dear Leader, I bring grave news. The demons have turned on us and have begun to assault our lands unprovoked. Worse yet, one of the ancient Chaos Lords has awakened. The flaming monster known as Goliath leads the attack. We are in dire need of assistance and we will not be able to hold back the flames much longer. I ask that you send help immediately. Sincerely, Queen Slzin.”

“How long ago was this letter written?” Chiron asked trying to process and assess the situation as quickly as possible.

“It was written not half a day ago. The elven mages were able to teleport me an hour or so away from the city. It did not take long for me to arrive.”

“I thank you for your speed. Return to your Queen and tell her that the human army is moving out.” the human King commanded.

The elven messenger bowed and ran forward past Chiron and leaped off of the balcony. His naturally adroit body allowed him to land perfectly and he ran with amazing speeds through the city.

Chiron only observed this for a second as he moved back into the throne room. “Guard! Summon the General immediately and alert the citizens of war.”

All of the kingdoms were used to war, and alerting them of this one would cause no problem. They had been in an era of peace for around four hundred years now, and every moment of those last four centuries they had been waiting for war. On Terra, war was inevitable. It could not be escaped. It could not be prevented.

Chiron only had to wait a few minutes before General Stormrage had appeared. Stormrage was not the General’s real name, but it was what everyone addressed him as. He was lucky enough to meet a prophet who told him he would one day be referred to as this, and the entire army began to call him this. The King could not help but wonder when he would truly earn that name however.

“General. Please read this.” Chiron said handing Stormrage the letter. The General skimmed the letter and Chiron saw his face change. His normally emotionless face had become one of disappointment. He read the letter a second time more thoroughly.

“The demons have turned on us?” he asked.

“I do not know but it appears to be that way. I have to wonder however, if this is the work of the Chaos Lord or not.”

“Chaos Lord...I can not remember what they were. They were heavily involved in the world before the era of peace, yes?” Stormrage inquired.

“Legend says that they were the kings of all monsters and were agents of the God of Chaos. That was so long ago however, not even our historians are sure that is true.”

“I also find it hard to believe. Agents of Chaos herself upon Terra. Perhaps it is just fear and denial. Regardless, I assume you want to move the troops out?”

“Yes. How long will it be until you can reach the elves to the south?”

“Three days by horseback. However, the mages can teleport themselves to the battle ahead of us.”

Chiron thought about this. “Please ask them to take you with them. I do not want all of our mages to arrive at the elven kingdom and have no guidance. Also, it is time that someone take up the Heldum Blade again.”

“The Heldum Blade? Are you sure a weapon of such power is necessary?” Stormrage asked nervously. The legends said the Blade had been forged by Light itself using the ancient material called Elderium.

“It certainly is. An entire race has turned against the elves. If they are being led by a Chaos Lord then this means danger for all the races. Go now, we have no more time to talk. I trust in your judgement.”

Stormrage bowed before the King. “I will not fail you.” He then quickly left the throne room.

Chiron then thought to himself once again now that the room was silent. A being as powerful as a Chaos Lord had awakened. In the legends this was exactly what led to the original wars in the past. It was the gods’ involvement on Terra. For some reason this place was special.

The King wondered about Terra itself. If it was so special to the gods, then perhaps there was something greater than the gods themselves. Perhaps they were a reflection of Terra itself, beings of war. Were they the ones that had brought war to Terra?

These were not strange thoughts to the King. He was very inquisitive and frequently thought about the world. He could sense old secrets were about to be revealed. This meant that the future would be one of war yet again.

Next Chapter: Death