Rated M for violence, gore, strong language and possible intimate situations.
Hundreds of years ago, the kingdoms were in turmoil, a power struggle to prove themselves as the higher power in all the land. War raged among the kingdoms and both sanity and life were lost in the conflict. Eventually, the desperation for power has reached its peak, and the kings decided to turn to magic. Magic has always been a prominent force in this world but it wasn't always accepted. Those who can do magic were scrutinized if they were found out and thus, most witches chose to live in remote locations where they could not be reached. However, some still chose to remain with their homes and conceal their abilities from others.
Dark magic was prohibited, but it was what the kings had desired to aid them in their quest for power. A young powerful witch was discovered, who was eager to show her abilities, and thus agreed to aid the kings in battle. Unaware of how dangerous this could be, the witch created three stones of power, Death, Omnipotence, and Pestilence by using her dark magic. The stones destroyed more lives and kingdoms than the kings were able to do on their own. While some kings were satisfied with the results, the dark magic within the stones became too much and these stones of power needed to be destroyed. Today, in a more peaceful time, it is unclear whether all the stones are truly gone but word has it that one still remains.
The Silver Arrows were on their way back to the castle in the kingdom of Verisia. They were given a job by king Leroi to take out a five-hundred pound brown bear that has been intruding on the villagers as of late. Successful in their hunt, they were bringing the bear back to the king as requested. The Silver Arrows were a group of hunters who were famously known for their hunting and tracking skills. They made a name for themselves by offering their services to various kingdoms and hunting whatever game the kings desired. Annalise was part of this group, a twenty-five year old woman in her position was uncommon, but The Silver Arrows were all inclusive. There wasn't much judgment among the members as long as you can prove yourself as useful. Many of it's members came into the group from a young age and were trained to be skilled hunters overtime. Annalise was one such member and was taken off the streets by the leader of the Silver Arrows at the age of 10. To Annalise, The Silver Arrows were her saviors.
Once the game was delivered, Annalise was informed by one of the king's guards that her presence was being requested in the throne room. Confused, she asked what this was about and was simply told that this was approved by her leader. What was approved? Annalise was skilled, but she was never one of the main members of the team, so she could not understand why her presence specifically was being requested. If the king needed something personally, Annalise could think of at least 5 other people within The Silver Arrows who would be considered first for the job.
Following the guard into the throne room, there were already others there waiting. The king was seated in his throne with a smile on his face as he seemed to be having a casual conversation with another man around her own age, who appeared to be a knight. Perhaps he was a higher rank knight judging by the armor he was wearing. When Annalise approached the king, she stopped next to the young knight and bowed to the king. "Your highness, I have been informed you requested to see me" Annalise spoke up and then straightened up, one of her hands resting on the handle of her sword, which was fastened to her belt and sheathed in fine leather.
King Leroi straightened up in his throne as well and smiled at Annalise, "Yes, I sure did. In fact I needed to see the both of you" he pointed at both Annalise and the knight and Annalise glanced over at the man next to her. "Not to worry Annalise, I have cleared everything with Bruce, your leader. He has informed me that you being away for a little while will not be a problem" king Leroi reassured the girl, even though his reassurance confused her even more. "Now, I'm sure you both have many questions, so allow me to explain" Leroi began. "I have something that needs to be done, it needs to be done in secret and handled with great care. Thus I needed to find someone who I can trust with this task as well as someone who can offer guidance and aid on this journey. This is where the two of you come in" the king went on.
"You see.." he sighed heavily, his smile from earlier turning into a serious expression. "Our world has seen very dark times and very dark power which should never have been used or exposed in the first place. I assume you both know of the three stones of power? Death, Pestilence, and Omnipotence?" he inquired briefly and saw a nod come from Annalise. "These stones were believed to have been destroyed years ago and their power to have faded with them. However, in recent events this has been proven to be untrue" king Leroi explained and seemed to have been finished with being cryptic.
Leroi motioned for someone to come over from the nearest hall of the throne room, another one of his guards walked in carrying something that looked to be in the shape of a box but was wrapped tightly in some red fabric. "I suppose you can guess what is in this box..." the king spoke and paused for a moment. Annalise tensed almost instantly and gripped the handle of her sword harder than before. The war for power happened well before her time so she only heard stories of the three stones and the destruction they have caused. Never did Annalise even dream of seeing one of them in person, and if she was correct, that's what was in that box. Suddenly very worried, Annalise spoke up, "Your highness, you can't possibly own one. How is that possible?" she wondered and hoped she did not step out of line.
"The way by which I have acquired this stone shall remain between me and the person who gave it to me. However, it is no secret that I want it gone. Such power should never have come into existence and it needs to be destroyed. This is why I have chosen the two of you, Luther..." the king finally addressed the young man standing next to Annalise. "You know I trust your father with my life, and you have served me well over the years. I don't know anyone more reliable than yourself to help me rid the world of this evil. Annalise...." Leroi turned to the girl. "I asked Bruce to offer me someone from his group that will be able to succeed in such a journey. He offered me you, I believe the skills you have acquired from The Silver Arrows will greatly help aid in this quest I am sending you on" Leori finished addressing them both. "In short, I need the two of you to team up and destroy the stone. This is the only one I know that is still in existence and under no circumstances can it get into the wrong hands" the king concluded.
"If you have any questions, now is the time to ask" the king opened the floor to Luther and Annalise and leaned back in his throne.
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