Prolog
Everyone watched as she approached the untouched castle.
The children stopped playing, the hoards of people all quickly came to a halt, some even ducking into small shops in order to avoid her. An unfortunate young mother gazed out of her townhouse window, accidently over pouring milk into her child's cup. She rode on her large red stallion, five guards situated themselves behind her, shifting uncomfortably and becoming tense to the wondering eyes of the villagers.
The village itself was worn down with bricks missing from the road and houses falling apart. One house was only covered by half a roof, another was missing boards in the wall allowing her to see everything inside. Including the four small children who watched her through one of the gaps. As she got closer to the castle however less and less people were around to look. Once at the front of the large doors she dismounted and looked around, it felt like she was in a whole different world. No one would have dared to come within half a mile of the castle. she could see the villagers in the distance began to move around again, going back to what they were doing. And she could see very little of the forest beyond the great looming walls that surrounded the people of the land, keeping them prisoners to their lives.
The castle however once beautiful and pristine had been abandoned. The old stained windows were broken and boarded up. Moss and odd vines grew along the castle. The beautiful wood doors had begun to rot with the left door hanging off its top hinge causing it to tilt in front of the right. since the last queen had died it was evident that no one had stepped foot behind the brick walls. Now she was standing there her hand instinctively reaching into the pocket of her dress gripping tight to the envelope that lie within the silk. The envelope that was given to her by her mother with orders that destined her to become queen of two kingdoms.
Looking over her shoulder to make sure the guards would stay at the door like she had told them to, she entered. The room she had entered was meant to make a first impression. An old dust covered chandelier hung in the center of the room spot lighting the kingdoms emblem which was printed in marble onto the floor. To sets of stairs curved from the back wall out, and around the sacred emblom as if to embrace it. Behind the emblem and in between the stairs, the floor was raised two steps where an object covered in a white cloth sat. As she approached the object the door closed behind her emersing her in darkness. With a flick of her wrist she lit the few torches and the great chandelier above her with black flames. As her eyes adjusted to the now dimly lit room her hands grasped the dusty fabric that covered the subject of her curiosity. Pulling it off and allowing her lungs to breath in a cloud of dust.
A throne sat beneath her. It's large gold frame and intricate black and gold cloth cushion had become dull do to it's lack of use. Her hands began to travel along the detailed frame. With two girls leaning their backs against either side of the backrest staring towards the ceiling. The top had leaves and branches carved to represent the top of a tree. The legs of the throne were scaled and the feet clawed as if to represent the legs of a dragon. It was clear that the throne was built to look like the marble circle that sat in front of it.
The sound of her guards shuffling outside of the old doors brought her out of trance, reminding her of the small cream envelope. She shifted her attention to the grand staircase. It's white marble steps matched the main floor, the black and gold carpet that poured down the center matched that of the throne. She grasped the gold hand rail that resemble a vine and began to ascend the steps slowly taking everything in as she went.
Pulling out the old envelope she carefully broke the seal letting a small bronze key fall into her palm along with a letter. Unfolding it carefully to reveal her mother's soft handWriting and the map of words that lead her to the mysterious keys door. Quickly reading her mother's instructions she dipped her head to the right underneath the molding that hung from the entryway slipping the key back in her dress as not to lose it. She found herself in a long narrow hallway with doors on either side as she walked by each one she noticed that none were the same. Some had different shades of wood or a different framed shape than others but all had different things engraved in them. The carpet had changed to a bold blood red with gold branches weaving in and out of each other.
Coming to the end of the hall another narrow hallway formed a T with the on she was in turning to the left she notice that the only door in this hallway was to the end of it. The wall on her right shoulder was made of glass allowing her to see the mountain to the east. Swiftly opening the door she entered a small lounge that stood the same width of the hallway. She quickly opened one of the two doors that were smaller replicas of the one she had first entered into the castle.
A long table sat surrounded by chairs in the center of the room. A map displaying the outlay of the planet was imprinted on the floor. Passing the abandoned war maps that laid about she stopped in front of the long tapestry of her aunt, the old queen. The women's thin pale body was straight and tense as she sat on her throne dressed in a ball gown made of light blue fabric. Her crown was tightly wrapped around her head probably the cause of the steady glare that intimidated even her niece. Not being ae to look at the sickly woman for much longer she Grabbed the thick fabric of the tapestry, pulling on it, releasing the silky cloth from the nails that once held it to the wall. Pools of fabric drifted to her feet revealing a large metal door.
The metal was dull but intricately designed to match the kingdoms seal, but it had been carved in a way she had never seen the seal designed, as if to tell a story. The tree that divided the middle of the door was barren on the left side. Only outstretched branches covered the left of the tree where a girl carved out of White stood. her head tilted towards the ground were a bronze dragon was carved slumbering beneath the ground to the right, the tree was fully flourished and a girl carved out of Black stood looking up towards the sky where a gold dragon flew above the branches.
Carefully she unlocked the door to reveal a long abandoned and demolished hallway bathed in darkness. Forming a flame in her left hand she gripped the yellowed letter in the other. The gentle clock of her heels echoed out towards the shards of stained glass and broken brick scattered across the forgotten floor. The light of her flame stretched across the growing debris as she carried on. Many of the doors on this floor were locked and carried mysterious auras. One door however was left cracked open.
Her steps slowed as she reached the end of the dark passage, her small figure completely dominated by the ancient wooden door standing guard there. She reached out towards it with pale, shaking hands and ran them across its surface. It's dark, once polished wood was now dull, cut up,and chipped. She had been told something had happened in this palace along time ago, but was never fully informed of what. Hopefully that would change when she entered the room. Letting out a final breath, she moved her hand down to the silver handle and began to slowly twist it before releasing one last breath. The door swung open allowing her her gaze into the dark room. Taking in the huge bed pushed into the corner with thick, towering posts that matched the wood of the door, much like the rest of the furniture.
Tattered velvet tapestries hung from the wall, matching the moth-eaten bedding. Above the fireplace two silver swans were carved into the brick wall resting their beaks against each other. Logs that had been used for a previous fire sat untouched along with piles of ash and, the burnt corner of a yellowed letter. It was once a beautiful and kept room, she supposed she finished spinning around it. Pulling the letter from her dress she scanned the last sentence before looking towards a table covered in by a simple white cloth, however, the cloth wasn't dusty like the rest of the room- in fact, it looked brand new.
She cautiously approached it before reaching out and slowly peeling away the White fabric, causing dust to rise from the tiled floor. The seemingly simple table was unlike the rest of the furniture. It was made of a smooth, light wood, with no scratches or missing pieces making it stand out in the dusty, torn up room. She ran her fingers gently over the unfamiliar surface, savoring the cool touch of the wood.
Yanking her hand back, she let out a panicked cry stumbling to the ground behind her, the wood had shifted beneath her touch. A palm-sized figure of a women formed on the table, her body moved and shaped like it was made of liquid instead of the solid oak wood.
her eyes widened even further when she recognized the small figure. "That's impossible."
The wooden figure laughed as if it were living "Not impossible, just unlikely."
the small women looked up at her with a smile "just as unlikely that you would meet Raven B. Claw."
"What----"
"The reason you are here is because of her. What you will learn has been forgotten by every generation and lost to the heavens. My dear child you have chosen to remember and to help others remember what actually happened to the nine realms all those years ago. Are you ready to listen?"
She quickly nodded her head while sitting down on a nearby stool. Patiently awaiting for the women to begin.
"This is the story of Raven B. Claw."
