Queen Regina of Griffindale sat in her room, staring out of the large window several floors above the ground. It was a luxurious and spacious room filled with all the extravagant things a woman in her early forties would want. As a Queen, she did not believe in modesty, considering it dishonest to live like that, so she got everything she wanted until she got tired of chasing after endless desires. She stared out of the window, admiring the star-filled night sky and the brilliant full moon.The cool night breeze was refreshing, except for the fact that it nearly blew out the candles that illuminated her room. Besides the breeze, she enjoyed the sounds of the crickets in the nearby bushes and the howling of wolves in the wild forests just beyond the city's gates. The night was still young, and it was beautiful. However, it was not blissful enough to loosen the knot in her stomach permanently. She would never unwind, no matter how many pleasures she experienced. Although she was having a

The next day was one of mourning and silence in Griffindale, as it was announced that the King had died the previous night, giving in to his fever. As the customs demanded, everyone in the kingdom mourned for him from that morning until the next daybreak. It was a sudden edict, and a warning bell was rung to make sure everyone's attention was drawn to it, as violators of the rules stated in the edict would be highly prosecuted. On that day, all the restaurants and shops were closed, and everyone observed the mourn for the late King. All the bustling streets were now quiet, and barely any sounds could he heard from any of the businesses as they were all shut down. Back in the Palace, the body specialists in charge of taking care of the King's dead body had embalmed it so that it wouldn't rot and stink before the day of cremation. As the custom demanded, every member of the royal family was expected to come pay their respects by dropping flowers on his deathbed and taking a bow. Q

Earlier on that same day, Somewhere not too far from the capital city... Felix, a young boy living on the outskirts of the Highlands of Griffindale, in a region that was not considered part of the Kingdom, sat outside his house with both hands joined together as he stared at the skies. His eyes were red, and huge bags could be spotted beneath each of them even under the dim light of the moon. He was in a small village about a day's distance on horseback from the capital city of Griffindale, with a large forest acting as a natural demarcation between the jurisdiction of the Kingdom [of which it was not a part] and the other territories. That was where Felix lived as a young boy, surviving with his mother, who was now terribly sick, giving the impression that it would not be long before she kicks the bucket. She was barely in her early forties, so she was not dying of old age. He wondered what sort of sickness had taken hold of his mother, drastically reducing her from an actively

The queen had wondered what the reason was behind Tarquin bringing these men to her study room. But since he had assured her that it was going to be to her benefit, she had chosen to listen. The man in the middle was the one doing the talking, while the other two behind him [Sir Kendrick and Sir Kingsley] remained silent. “Before we go any further, we would like to know for sure: Do you intend to be the Crowned Queen and paramount ruler of Griffindale in place of your husband?” asked Sir Nickson. “Yes, Sir Nickson,” she said to him, “I do intend to rule as the supreme Crowned Queen.” “Good,” the elder said. “This would make the conversation a lot shorter. Long story short, we have a proposal for you.” “A proposal?” she asked, already trying to hypothesize what the endgame was. “Yes, your Majesty,” Sir Nickson replied to her. “In case you haven't noticed, I and these others also wish for you to be crowned queen as well. Not only that, but we also wish f

The young prince chose to follow the elite knight to the knight's academy, where most of the experienced knights and children in training lived and grew. It would be the prince's first time getting there, and he was excited about it. They both walked out of the king's residence and eventually exited the castle as a whole. They got to the next fortress after the castle of the king, and there was the knight's academy. It was a well-constructed castle, but it was also a lot smaller than the King's Palace. The young prince had only seen the place from afar as it had been introduced to him by his father; he had never thought of going there before. They walked through the bridge leading from the King's Castle to the Knight's Academy, a path on which Cyrus had never walked. Then they got to the gates of their destination, and sitting right next to them was an elderly man in silver armor, the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper, upon recognizing the Elite Knight approaching, stood