Prologue
If the rolling hills of Winsdell could tell stories, they would have plenty to choose from. They could tell you of a priest deep in one of their valleys who ran a small chapel with much love and care. They could tell you of all he gave up because of his devotion to the king’s gods. The hills could tell you of young lovers forced to leave each other behind, only to find each other again to eventually lose one another forever. The hills could speak of prophecy and curses, and how they could ruin lives and kingdoms.
They could speak of all these tales and in truth they might because all of these tales related directly to the High Captain of the Sentinel of Cassendar. The hills, like the folk who lived on their grassy knolls, would probably favor tales of the great Sentinel, especially the tale of the current High Captain to any other tales they could tell.
Stories of the current High Captain had become popular, and it was easy to see why. Her tale was one that could fascinate all of Winsdell’s folk, high and low born. She was an oddity, the first woman to lead the Sentinel. She was from a great family, born to the High Lord of Winsdell, raised just outside the palace walls. She was beautiful and known to be brave. Her mighty acts during the latest battle of Winsdell were known far and wide to be great and without precedent. She was much loved by most of the Sentinel, but what mostly kept tongues wagging, as is the case with most tales, were rumors of the young woman.
There were plenty of rumors, but none of them were the complete truth, rumors rarely ever are. There were definite parts of the rumors which skirted the truth, but it never encompassed enough of what was actual fact to give anyone a clear picture of who the High Captain truly was. The truth was no one knew who the High Captain truly was, not even those who loved her most. Many had a piece of the puzzle that was her life, but no one who lived in Winsdell had seen the whole picture put together.
The High Captain was a complex individual with many secrets she held herself, and many more she had no idea hung over her head. It is not to say that those who knew and loved her were wrong to do so. They knew enough truth about her to understand she was worthy of love. What was universally known of her was she was lovely, she was strong, and she was more than capable to lead the Sentinel which had stood for over 2,000 years. This was enough to gain admiration and devotion from most of the people of Winsdell.
While her story was always talked of far and wide, another tale was currently popular amongst the folk of Winsdell, gentle and common alike. The Crown Prince was to be married to the Princess of Navalia, and who wouldn’t want to talk of a handsome prince finding his true love in a beautiful foreign princess. Except, the story was not the fairy tale it seemed. If the story played out to actually unite the royal families of Lanoxan and Navalia, there would be no happily ever after. Instead, there would be nothing but heartache and ruin for the village’s true favorite subject and the kingdom itself.
