Introduction
Every year eligible women are rounded up and brought before the king for selection. One female from each supernatural species is selected to complete the mate trials, for example a vampire, a werewolf, a fairy, and so on.
The women are taken to the king's grounds where he and his angel like body guards built the mate trials.... a series of mazes with puzzels inside. The trials were created for entertainment but also so that supernatural creatures could find their mates. Of course the last of the humans participated too but they seemed to be few and far between. The last human had not been spotted for years but there have been rumors.
There also only seem to be male angel like beings that guard the king. They live forever but are known as the last of their species. This is why the angel like guards never participate in the mate trials... and why they were chosen as the king's body guards.
Every year they watch the grounds from a far... keeping a careful eye on the selected women and those participating in the trials.
The women are placed in the centre of the maze after being injected with a hormone that triggers a heat like state. The hormones last for two weeks and the women have food and water dropped off by the king's guards during the trial.
The hormone not only allows for easier breeding but also allows the males to be lead to them by scent.
The trials are held on a certain date and all of the eligible males gather around the maze. If the male smells the scent of the female then they are mates and it is the male's job to complete the trials and get to the female.
The males are given two weeks to get through the trials and to the designated female. If they do not reach the females in time then legend has it that a creature comes up from a hole in the ground and captures them... never to be seen again.
No one is sure what the creature is or why it steals the women.... or where it takes them to. The trials have been completed every year for the last few thousand years.
The king is always a hybrid of the supernatural species and therefore the strongest... second only to the angel body guards. The reason the angels follow the king is because they have no desire for power over others. But, they don't want to sit on the sidelines completey either.
If the males manage to complete the trials then they can claim the female as their own however they see fit. For some supernatural creatures such as werewolves there is a marking and mating process that takes place after the trials.
For others, such as vampires, there is a ritual blood exchange and a burning ceremony. They always take the females back to their own villages, which are seperated by species for safety reasons. The only ones who are allowed to move between villages are those that do not have enough members to form an entire village.
The humans, angel-like beings, the king, and the elves are the only ones who do not have enough members to form an entire village, so they are allowed to wander.
As a result of the seperate villages, there haven't been any large wars for several centuries. Each village has also been designated a leader, the strongest of the species, to take charge. However, they still report to the king.
This year however, things may turn out a bit differently.....
