Fan Fiction ❯ The Four Swords of Fate: Quest of Royal Birthright ❯ Prologue

Disclaimer: All of the characters, along with the plot, presented in The Four Swords of Fate: Quest of Royal Birthright are copyrighted ©2006 by Rothardyn. They may not be used in other works but Rothardyn's, unless the other party has been given expressed written permission by the writer, who may be contacted at rothardyn(at)yahoo(dot)com. Any resemblance to a real-life person, whether dead or alive, is purely coincidence.

 

The Four Swords of Fate: Quest of Royal Birthright
A Tale of Adventure, Fantasy, and Magic by Rothardyn

 

Prologue - How The Quest Came To Be

Long ago, there stood a kingdom called "Cibynel," ruled by its Kings alongside their Queens and Stewards until its defeat that occurred several hundred years later. It was during the rule of the king Sivander the Second, his queen Eizoura, and his steward, Matteo, that the alchemists, sorcerers, and blacksmiths of Cibynel forged a sword, that when held by one not containing the royal blood of Sivander's line, it would cause destruction upon his kingdom, along with their neighboring Ranind and Kaiser. This sword, legend says, because of the severe damage it could cause, was hidden in a location that only he, his son Luciano, his wife, and his steward, knew of. Legend continues, and says that a month or so after hiding the sword which he bestowed the name Aradanis, King Sivander died peacefully in his sleep, leaving his then-fourteen-year-old son, Luciano, later on named "the Lightbringer," in charge of the kingdom which he loved so dear. His steward, Matteo, lived to serve Luciano the Lightbringer three more years before he himself died and another steward was employed into the royal Cibynelian household - Rodderick the Steward-Seer. After hearing of the death of Sivander the Second, the fourth kingdom, down to the south, Ryamir, was determined to find this "Aradanis," the very fabled "Sword of Darkest Doom," and claim it for their own, not knowing of the circumstances upon which Sivander had had his sword crafted in.

 

Thirteen years into Luciano's reign, with the king at the age of thirty and was by now betrothed to his childhood friend, Maddison of the neighboring city, Gyrgandara, still within the boundaries of Cibynel (Luciano and the royal family lived within the capital of Cibynel, Andardyrnin), his mother Eizoura, is captured by the Ryamirians and is held hostage. Since the Ryamirians know of Luciano's strength in swordsmanship, they decided to try and get the information out of his mother, who was, by now, very old, and very unable to wield any type of weapon but her sharp, quick-witted mouth. Luciano, legend says, sent several of his strongest men to conquer the Ryamirians and retrieve his mother, but since Eizoura would not give the Ryamirians the information they sought after, Luciano learned from his devastated men that the queen of Cibynel had been tortured to death; they found her body with head, hands, and feet severed and left for the vultures to eat. The king, angered by the fact that even his mother had to endure pain because of one sword, was dead set on destroying the very sword that his father, and several of his father's court, had spent several months making. He retrieved it from its hiding place - this place is said to be a secret chamber within the wall of their castle's topmost tower - and used every measure he could think of to destroy it. However, his Steward-Seer, Rodderick, advised him otherwise - with a prophecy:

 

When the day of brightest light and darkest night draws near,
The Three Kingdoms of Heaven will tremble with fear.
The Four Swords of Fate will be handled by birthright:
Swords to be found at Dusk, Dawn, Day, and Night.
Ilrhuir, Sword of Mighty Magic, Sword of Kaiser.
Aradanis, Sword of Darkest Doom, Sword of Cibynel.
Saylabohrr, Sword of Inevitable Impurity, Sword of Ranind.
Ryorranda, Sword of Forthcoming Fate, Sword of Ryamir.
When the Swords of Fate have gathered,
Darkness will begin to shatter.
When the Sun is at its highest,
The Four Swords shall gather
Where the Four Kingdoms meet.

 

Rumored to have been intrigued by the prophecy, legend goes on to say that Luciano gathered three faithful followers from Cibynel, and six others - three from Kaiser and Ranind each - whom he personally chose to accompany him to find the other Three Swords. However, the people of Ryamir had also heard of the very same prophecy from a Seer of their own, and, just as Luciano was determined, they were as well. They wanted to gather the Three Swords first, then capture Luciano and wield his sword. But - Ilrhuir, Saylabohrr, and Ryorranda, just as Aradanis with Sivander's royal bloodline, may only be held by those whose bloodline was given to make the sword in the first place. Ilrhuir needs the bloodline of Aarngorn the Abandoned, the famous alchemist; Saylabohrr craves the bloodline of Qarlyn the Questioning, the best sorcerer rumored to have gone into hiding because she had been defeated by Sivander in a battle of spells; and Ryorranda, the fourth and final sword, aches for the bloodline of Tavinia the Tyrant, who once reigned as queen of Ryamir and personally supervised Ryorranda's forging.

 

Another fact of the legend remains, however: Rodderick was provided with a vision that completed the earlier prophecy days after Luciano and his company had left:

 

But should the Four Swords meet,
Their wielders able to formally greet,
The Forest shall be turned upside-down,
The lives of the Four Kingdoms thrown inside-out.
For when Sunset shall approach the gathering,
Death threatens those in Charisto.
Retrieve the swords, leave and destroy them in the forest.
Leave behind their memories,
Memories of their terror-wrought rule.
Should you leave after the Sun has set,
Memories of deaths the swords have caused
Will occur and the feelings you bear will have left.
No more love, but instead hate.
No more hope, but instead misery.
This is the Curse as it is foreseen.
This is how it will be, as it has always been.

Rodderick hastened, then, to ride out and find Luciano's company to warn them of the final words of the prophecy - before it is too late.

 

. . .And, thus, our quest has begun!. . .