Book 1. Genesis (North and South Ed.)

Prologue

Prologue

"My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me

and horror overwhelms me." - Psalms 55: 4-5

In the aftermath of the Dark Wars, Mages and Dragons face a great struggle for survival. All of Milton is cursed. Every man, woman and child are afflicted; while the Dragons were rendered almost extinct. Only two dragons remain, Maisie and Horace ridden by Lord Adam of the Bell Clan and The High Queen Hannah of the Thornton Clan. Drought, Death, Pestilence and Misery covers the once proud, beautiful and prosperous Milton, Land of Mages and Dragons. The gray air hangs over the city as if in perpetual mourning for all the brave Miltonians who made the ultimate sacrifice so that The Light could prevail. All 7 Realms of North and South would have succumbed to eternal darkness were it not for these brave men and women. In humanity's darkest hour, the Thornton Clan answered the clarion's call and took up the Banner of Leadership, uniting all of North and South, into a force of good, towards the Light, to fight the Darkness.

Queen Hannah, leader of the Thornton Clan, knew well the fickleness of men having been left sole ruler of Milton upon the shameful death of her husband. His weak and proud character led to his proclivity to the dark resulting in his shameful death that nearly crippled his house. The young widow, with a young son and an infant daughter, was left to rule a kingdom in disarray. With her upright character, iron will and dragon-infused mage power, Hannah, the Old Dragon of the North, secured her position as ruler of Milton and mobilized her people to fight the Darkness.

Although Milton is the strongest realm in all the land, it was not strong enough to defeat the Dark Enemy by itself. A unified North and South was required to secure such a victory. Towards this goal (and with a decisive victory in mind), Queen Hannah sent her emissaries to proclaim her message of unification, strength and hope. The other realms weak, panicked, and in danger of falling into darkness clung to Queen's Hannah's proclamation. The other rulers knew that without Milton, they were doomed. How can they win against such a formidable enemy when even the strongest amongst them does not have enough power to stand alone?

If Milton falls, then surely; all of them will soon follow and sink into eternal darkness. After all, only Milton has the Dragons and Mage powers. Only Milton has the warrior skills needed to train the Armies against the shadow enemy. Only Milton can protect the people properly. Only Milton can defend the 7 realms against such a strong and elusive force. Aware that without Milton's might, the Light would never prevail against the Dark and fearing for their lives and the survival of their people, all the 7 realms of North and South formed a council of rulers, the Daewang, and began negotiations on what will be a seminal document, the North and South Accord. The Accord signed by all the 7 realms elected Milton, the Overlord of the entire North and South. Thus, with the signing, the Thornton Clan, ruler of Milton, came to exercise supreme dominion over all other realms. In exchange for this absolute authority and control, Milton pledged to protect and defend their weaker neighbors against the Dark Enemy.

The cost of the war was very high indeed. While the lands of the South remained largely untouched; only providing soldiers, equipment and supplies to the war effort; the people and places of the North and most especially those of Milton, the great vanguard of the North, paid a staggering price for victory. Once famous for sloping hills, colorful flying dragons, bountiful harvest and bright blue skies; Milton now became a place of soot and smoke. The people of Milton, tainted by the mark of darkness, are trapped within and slowly being consumed by the taint. They have no hope of escape as they are barricaded from the rest of the realms by an impregnable wall built by Queen Hannah, to honor the North and South Accord. This wall prevented spillage of the dark to the other realms and contained the ravages of the war to only within Milton itself. The Last Stand resulted in the Final victory for the Light but Darkness, though defeated and consigned to the deep; still lurked in the shadows gathering strength, waiting to strike again.