Faded Diamond

 
 

PROLOGUE | STOLEN MOON | WANING CRESCENT | SACRED SANDS | FALLEN SELENE | EPILOGUE

Prologue - the Grey Plains

The prologue chapter will start with a falcon that has flies over a forest where one army is prepares for battle as it awaits an expected enemy. The soldiers of Veiland (The Crescent Shield) await the army of the Empress of Gules (The Phoenix Scepter). The falcon carries a message.

The soldiers of Veiland are clad in blue with light silver armor and the soldiers of the Sanguine Empire in red with black accented armor. The chapter will follow the King, Marcus of Veiland and two brother, Arthur Ages and his brother Phillip. Arthure has been newly appointed as the High Commander of The Crescent Shield.

The falcon is seen arriving and the king sends for the message. The 3 men will be discussing their position and their strategy and Phiillip will also express concern for rumors he has heard of the enemy.  The rumor concerns the Shimmering Knight that fights for the Empress of Gules. Arthur tries to dissuade the rumore as the message finally arrives for the King. He reads that his wife the, Queen Theia of Selene, is having complications in her pregnancy. The baby is not due for another few months but there is a possibility that it may be stillborn. The King is upset by the news as this was to be their first child. They have already had trouble conceiving and the queen has also suffered 2 miscarriages prior. The queen hopes that the king will return as quickly as possible.

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Before anything can be said about the letter, the enemy forces arrive and the sound of a horn can be heard. The opposing army, The Phoenix Scepter, separates their front line to the confusion of the King and his forces. A white flame ignites within the enemy forces and a beam of white light blasts forth, crossing the battlefield and shattering the Crescent Shield front line. Arthur, the Commander of the Veiland forces wakes up as the enemy forces begin to attack. He and Phillilp compose themselves after the blast and Arthur commands the Crescent Shield to engage the attacking forces of the empire. He surmises that another blast could come at any moment, but he may have time given that it would tear through the enemy as well.

The king wakes up from being thrown from the blast and notices the extreme damage that the blast inflicted on his men. He prepares for battle and reunites with Phillip and Arthur. Arthur’s tactics are effective in the field but the second wave of the enemy counterattacks. The three prepare to engage in the fighting despite heavy losses when an ally of Veiland comes to the rescue. The army is from a northern country, called Istoria and is an ally to Veiland. Their army, The Gold Gauntlet, pushes the enemy back and the King of Istoria meets with the King of Veiland in the field. They have little time to discuss strategy when the Shimmering Knight himself engages in the battle.

The Shimmering Knight lets loose blasts of white energy that obliterate anything within a straight line. They are more focused now though and smaller but no less deadly. The men decide it is imperative to take down the Shimmering Knight first. All forces are commanded to direct their focus on the Soldier’s guard of knights that protect him. The soldiers are pulled back and Archers fire at the battalion that guard the Soldier. With the combined effort of the two King’s and the two brothers, the Shimmering Soldier’s guards are taken down and he may be more vulnerable. Before they can make a run at him, a blast kills the King of Istoria.

The blasts from the Shimmering Soldier are completely overtaking the armies of Veiland and Istoria. They cannot defend against them. Arthur convinces King Marcus that he can do no more and must leave the battle for his own safety. He sends his brother Phillip with him to retreat. Marcus doesn’t initially want to leave his men but the thought of his queen and the baby make him think otherwise. He leaves with Phillip.

Arthur then makes a last ditch effort to take down the Shimmering Soldier as the white light continues to rip through the armies. The commander leads a charge directly at the Shimmering Knight. He is riddled with arrows and begins to slow in his fight. Staying ahead of the blasts on his horse, Arthur disarms the Soldier and engage him one on one. He nearly defeats him in combat but the Shimmering Knight becomes erratic and begins to act strangely. A white light engulfs him and Arthur in the center of the forest. Arthur Ages feels a sense of pride that he did defeat the Shimmering Knight before being covered in the white light.

Away from the battle the King and Phillip turn to look on from a high vantage point. King Marcus and Phillip look on as a white light is emitted from the center of the battle and explodes outward, completely covering the entire field and part of the surrounding area. The flash cause them to shield their eyes.

As they look back to the battle, the soldiers, the grass, the trees, everything is gone. Only a crater remains. The king looks on as ash begins to fall around him.