Crown & Prophecy

1. Endangered

 The sun was just starting to go down, its rays shining weakly through the leaves on the trees. Douglas Gyfford stood at the window, watching the birds play around in the trees, flying from one branch to the other, pecking playfully at each other. There was the occasional critter on the ground as well, running and playing, just like the children used to be able to do, completely oblivious to the destruction that was coming. His forehead wrinkled and a frown settled on his face. He sighed deeply. It seemed that no one, not even the animals, knew of the danger that lay ahead. No one but him. He was the last of his kind, the last of a long line of powerful seers able to see future events. At least, that is what everyone thought. There was another, but not one person knew of their existence and Douglas had vowed long ago to take that secret to the grave with him. He would rather die than let Raveena Lafaire get her hands on them. She already had enough power at her fingertips. Adding a seer to her arsenal would seal the fate of both Elyria and Baleria. They were the only two kingdoms left in Asteria, the land of the stars; a land that used to be united in peace. That is until Raveena came along.

Douglas had not had the misfortune of having a run-in with the queen of Baleria himself, but he had known many good people, some of them good friends and kin, that had died at her hand. She commanded a vast army, with a significant number of weapons at her disposal, and most were afraid to challenge her. Even the great King Merrick of Elyria, a man with an undefeated army, avoided Baleria and any involvement with Raveena, like a plague. Rumors were floating around, in several of the small villages, that he had even gone as far as to dare his knights to attack her men, verbally or otherwise, no matter what they were seen doing, for fear of starting a war between Raveena's kingdom and his own. The people in Douglas's village, Alatar, called the king a coward, and Douglas thought no more of Merrick than that.

Anger flooded through him as he thought of the man. Merrick had stood idly by and done nothing, while Raveena slaughtered hundreds of innocent, men, women, and children. It seemed, as long as he remained on Elyria's throne, nothing would ever be done to stop Raveena or the injustices she continued to commit. Merrick feared the unknown, the reason that so many were dying. He feared Raveena's power and the thing she was capable of. In other words, he feared magic. Period. Those with magic were being persecuted, especially those with power as strong, or stronger, than Raveena's. Her ultimate goal was simple: rid the two kingdoms, and their outlying villages, of all who had magic. By doing this, she hoped to then take over Elyria and unite it with Baleria, under her wicked rule. Raveena was selfish and she would run Asteria into the ground. Douglas wasn't about to let that happen.

No one knew about his gift to see the future. Douglas realized long ago that if you wanted to keep something a secret, it was best to tell no one about it. It was a heavy burden sometimes, but he always managed to deal with it. He had been blessed with a mountain of patience, a trait that had come from his mother's side of the family. He was the only one left of them all. Raveena had taken care of that. Unknowingly, of course. There was only one person left, one relative remaining, that Douglas loved, and that was a baby he had given up long ago: his son. He had no idea where he was or if he was even still alive, but at least he had gotten him out of harm's way at the time. If his son was alive, he was bound to be somewhere in Elyria. It had taken every ounce of strength he had in him to leave him there, but he knew what had been coming and that leaving him in Elyria was the best thing for him.

As it turns out, he was right. Everyone in that village was killed the night he lost his wife and his son, everyone but him and a few others who ran as they had. He and his wife parted ways to keep their son safe and that was the last time he had seen either of them. The villagers that survived the raid moved to Alatar with him, and now it was the target. Douglas had seen what was coming, the devastation and heartbreak that would have come to pass, had he not told them all to leave. He warned all those he knew were gifted and told them to get out of town, as well as the normal folk. A trusted ally and friend was sweeping the perimeter as he stood there at the window to make sure they were all gone. He could see him now, running toward the cottage. Douglas walked over to the door to let him in. He had barely cracked it open, when the boy came barreling in, nearly knocking him over.