Prologue
Aldonia was a country consisting of five kingdoms; Alvenia, Myrana, Erostel, Miadar and Gastavor. Erostel was the large west, where most of its inhabitants were dwarves. In Erostel there was a large mountain range where a city was developed inside. One moved around in mine carts, by going along the narrow mountain paths that were carved into the rock, or over the stone bridges that all led to the large castle in the middle of the mountain. That’s where the dwarf king and his family lived. The dwarf king had a view from the top of the mountain and overview of the villages located in the mountains outside. They could also go further down the mountain to look out over the inner city. These viewpoints were invisible from the outside. To the ousiders, it looked like a normal mountain.
Gastavor was located in the south, and it was where most of the humans lived. They settled in houses and cottages both in the forest, and outside. Some of the houses were built of wood, others of stones. In the markets, trades with food and other goods took place. The people also had a royal family, who lived in a magnificent castle in their capital.
Miadar was located in the east. There it held to all kinds of beings. In the mountains, the dragons used to roam, but there were only a few dragons left. In the forest there were nymphs, – yes, half-goddesses, not butterfly larvae! – druids, fairies, living trees and much more that I myself have yet to fathom. The nymphs were often found around the water, and at the lake important ceremonies and meetings were held for all beings in Miadar. They had no queen or king, but if there was a crisis, one selected from each people came together to lead.
Alvenia was located in the north and was a large kingdom with elves. It was the largest kingdom of them all, and consisted of large forests, a long mountain range, some scattered mountains, several lakes and rivers, and a lot of open landscape. The elves were led by an old royal family, and the castle was located in the middle of the largest forest in the far north of the world. With the help of the elves in the other kingdoms, and the close cooperation between all races, peace ruled in Aldonia. Elves, humans, dwarves and other beings roamed freely between the kingdoms and lived wherever they wanted. Unfortunately, this was to come to a terrible end.
A group of elves had begun with unnatural magic, as did certain wizards. Instead of sticking to their elements; earth, fire, air or water, they had defiled the course of nature using dark energy. This went against all laws of all kingdoms, and that was why they had tried to keep it hidden. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to keep it hidden for long. The elves who used dark powers began to change. Instead of the blue, gray, red, green or brown color of the eyes, as the other elves had, their eyes became darker the more they used the dark. Almost black.
Although they retained their elemental powers, they also gained access to darker, unnatural forces. Forces that defiled their thoughts and made them want to perform evil works. Their king would never have let a group of elves with dark powers live in their kingdom, and would have put an end to it right away. That’s why the dark elves had decided to rebel. If they could take over the throne, they would be able to convince others to join their side. Make them understand that dark powers weren’t necessarily a stupid thing. You could use it for a lot of good. The dark elves did not understand that they no longer belonged to themselves. There was a power within them that they could no longer control, and that would lead them to make bad decisions.
The dark elfs and dark sorcerers had time to create a small army of unnatural beings, that Aldonia had not seen in many years. Orcs. Unspeakable, ugly creatures that weren’t to be trusted. Imagine a dwarf, but with wrinkled, gray and pale skin. They had black eyes and no nose — just two small holes in the middle of their faces. Their teeth were pointed, as if they were vampires, and one should beware of their bite. They weren’t that dangerous, but they hurt for a long time, unless a healer was there to help.
On the day the dark elves felt they had built up a large enough army to hold the castle, they attacked in silence at night. They killed the guards on their way in, while some materialized inside the gate to let in orcs, dark elves and wizards. A smaller group snuck into the king’s and queen’s bedrooms, holding them hostage in their own castle. The Queen had been unable to sit still, and had tried to run away to her children to help them.
The dark elves had killed her as she tried to leave the room. She had been stabbed with a sword in her back, and no remorse was to be seen in the killer’s face. All that could be seen was darkness. The king had unleashed his rage and sorrow, and become stronger in the fight against the dark forces. He killed those who were left in his room, and sent a signal to the remaining elves to sound the alarm. That’s all he could do, before he fell to his knees in front of his wife through 1000 years, and shut the world out for a long time. He was exhausted.
The invaders realized they wouldn’t accomplish their mission, so they had escaped and spread out in the woods. Eventually they had become strong enough to build up a new army, and taken over part of Gastavor and Miadar. They had called their new area for Myrana, which was elvish for dark. Myrana was led by one dark elf who called himself king, in close cooperation with a dark wizard. The new threat grew stronger for many years, and the elven king of Alvenia was too heartbroken over the loss of his wife to stop it. The grief after her loss had not only affected the elves, but all the kingdoms, for her kindness and fairness was known in all the realms.
