Prologue: A King and a Curse
Thunder crashed in the distance. Lightning split the night sky as black storm clouds emptied rain upon the earth. Each streak of lightning lit the area, illuminating an ominous forest surrounding an equally ominous castle. It was as though the storm was made as an effect for the dark fortress. The lightning causing the castle to appear one moment and vanish once more when darkness fell back into place.
One would think the castle haunted the way it stood alone in the darkened land. Not a sound could be heard for miles around the castle, other than that of the crashing of lightning and pattering of rain. Upon closer inspection there could be seen a soft glow of candlelight in the upper most room, unaffected by the tempest raging in the skies.
A lone figure sat in the room, a haggard looking man. The lord of the castle he looked to be. His long raven hair was pulled back by a jeweled clasp, and a circlet of gold lay upon his brow. His clothes were regal yet wrinkled from several days of wear. His eyes were calculating, cold, and menacing. The lord of the land was not in anyway a good lord. He was a greedy, overbearing lord, taxing his people and enjoying his riches. His greed had grown and grown, causing turmoil in the hearts of his people. As their poverty grew, so did their want for a kinder lord, and for someone to remove the tyrant. People began to flee the country, no longer able to make a living.
One particular group of men did not wish to witness the fall of their homeland, and decided to search the neighboring lands for someone who would stand up to their lord. Their search eventually brought them upon certain cottage in the neighboring woods. A simple cottage it seemed to be, though far from ordinary it was. The resident of the simple cottage was, in fact, a very powerful fairy. She listened to the men's story and took pity on the people of the neighboring land. She then took it up herself to help the poor folk under tyrant's rule.
A curse she perfected, and using the cover of the current raging storm, made way to the castle in the dark.
