Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of an Argonian Prince ❯ Introduction ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The setting of this story is a fantasy world called Elerioth, which I have invented myself. It is a place of magic and monsters, knights and knaves, epic heroes and powerful villains. The main characters are based off of real people in my life, though certain characteristics of their personas may well be exaggerated. The main character, Prince James, is based quite loosely on myself. Other characters are based on my close friends and other people who have been important influences in my life. In the paragraphs below, specific information about Elerioth can be found. However, this introduction is intended to be a reference for readers to come back to when they encounter something within the story that they do not understand rather then an actual straight-through reading or preparation for the story. I as the author would recommend you skip over the rest of the information in this summary and head straight to chapter one after you have finished with this paragraph.

There are five continents on Elerioth. This story focuses on Bilovea, the Northeastern Continent. This continent, while it is the smallest of the five by far, has the most diverse variety of landscapes of any other continent, from temperate forests to barren deserts to swampy marshlands. In the north of the continent, the kingdom of Argion sits. The south is dominated by the kingdom of Vallork. To the east, a loose confederation of Barbarian tribes make up the country of Bovorol. To the west, the dark and mysterious Shady Marches lay. The center of the continent is ruled over by the peaceful kingdom of Cerenia. These regions are further explained below.

Argion was once filled with a wondrous race of people, appropriately dubbed Argonians, who were known for being the naturally talented in whatever field they pursued. Out of jealousy for their natural talents, the whole country was attacked by a powerful warlock known only by the name of Nicodemus. Over the years after his hostile takeover, he hunted down and killed the remaining Argonians in an act of gross genocide. Today, the remnants of the Argonians have disappeared from the view of the world, melding in with ordinary people in order to survive. The geography of Argion is mostly level plains in the north, slowly bleeding into temperate forests about its middle. Castle Argion, center of the kingdom, sits amid a cliff among these forests. To the south, the forest region begins to become hilly, making its segue into the sharp mountain range that extends through Cerenia and into Vallork in the south.

Vallork was once a region of spellcasters, ruled and inhabited almost exclusively by wizards. That all changed after the Great War, however, at which time the land became a country in and of itself. It became like any other kingdom in the world at that point, and spellcasters became a rare thing as Vallork struggled to catch up with the other nation's prosperity. Now, Vallork is a wild nation where fearsome monsters have been spawned by the magical energies left over from its more magically inclined days. The kingdom has responded to the threat not by bringing up more magical responses(for fear that this would give rise to more serious problems), but by spawning powerful knights to defeat the monsters one by one. Life in this country is a constant struggle to avoid destruction at the hands of some monster or another. Economically and politically, however, the country has a very sound existence. Its true power in the modern world is in the marketplace. In its geography, Vallork is fairly temperate in its northern regions, the tip of the mountain range that extends from Argion barely crossing its northern border. The country fades into a barren near-desert about its middle, but tropical forests can be found in abundance in the southern regions.

Bovorol is not a true nation. Rather, it is a confederation of several separate, independent Barbarian tribes. These tribes meet in a Grand Council to discuss matters of mutual friendly advice, though it is widely known that the true figurehead of this council is the leader of the Tribe of the Dragon. With the most influence in all of Bovorol, the leader of the Dragon Tribe is the closest thing the desert nation has to a king. The desert of Bovorol is a harsh place, where the Barbarian tribes have to struggle daily just to survive. As a result, they respect strength almost religiously. Conversely, those who display any form of physical weakness is shunned from society due to the belief that any tribe is only as strong as its weakest member. As a result, various small settlements exist consisting of exiled barbarians who have failed to live up to tribe standards and band together in the hopes of still being able to survive. These settlements are called the Outskirts, even though most of them are deep within Bovorol territory.

The Shady Marches are a collective of damp, murky swamplands over which very little sun rises. It is said that these marshes were once the most beautiful land in all of Bilovea, but because of the spell of a warlock, they began to deteriorate into the murky, sunless territory they are now. There are very few Human settlements in this land. Mostly, the lands of the Shady Marches are host to the hoards of lizard men and trolls that venture out from time to time to pillage and plunder settlements of other countries. No political structure can really be defined for the whole of the Shady Marches, as the groups and tribes that live within it are far too chaotic and disorganised to be placed into any one category.

The last territory is the theocracy of Cerenia. Though it has neither great armies or great magicians, its splendor is second to none. Cerenia is home to the famed Crystal Palace, the fabled location where the Lord Protector, Thedonaus, first made his presence known to humanity and center of the modern church. Though the conditions with the common people are relatively bad, there hasn't been a peasant uprising in nearly 300 years because of their blind devotion to the church. The country has served as a peacekeeper and negotiator between Argion and Vallork for as long as the two have existed, for a fierce rivalry between the two has existed nearly as long as the kingdoms themselves. Geographically speaking, Cerenia has one of the most mild climates in all of Bilovea. It has a mountain range that runs completely through it, and it is dotted by rivers and lakes in its vast area of gentle planes and rolling hills.

The most widely practiced religion in Bilovea is centered around two deities who are rumored to be brothers or, as most believers say, half brothers. The first is Thedonaus, the Lord Protecter, who is the embodiment of all things good and just in the world and the source of all white magic. The second is Malekius the Calamity, bringer of all things evil and the source of black magic. Naturally, most intelligent beings praise Thedonaus as their lord and master. However, there are some cults and even whole species that are attracted to the power Malekius promises his followers.

In the church of Thedonaus, there are three types of religious leaders: Priests, Monks and Clerics. The least of these followers are Monks, who focus inwardly on the focus and perfection of themselves in pursuit of the ultimate following of Thedonaus' word. The second of these leaders are Priests, who lead the congregations in praise and worship of the Lord Protector. Greatest among these followers are the Clerics, who are close enough to Thedonaus that he grants them supernatural powers, which reflect the role that the particular cleric is to play in the church. Often times, these powers come in the form of healing and protection magics, but occasionally the powers of a warrior will manifest within a cleric. In the past, these powers have always come about at a time of great conflict and strife.

The church of Malekius is a different thing entirely. As the religion is shunned and often outlawed in the civilised lands of Bilovea, the only structures that stand as his temples and churches exist in the Shady Marches. Men in the civilised world worship the dark deity in secret, constructing private altars within secluded areas of their homes for their worship. As such, each individual worshiper acts independantly of the others, and there are very few occasions on which the Dark One's followers gather(in sharp contrast to the twice-weekly gatherings of Thedonaus' church). Most often, these rituals include some kind of human sacrifice; the holier the sacrifice, the better the ceremony is said to be, and clerics are especially prised as sacrifices to the dark god. The most devout and faithful of Malekius' followers are given supernatural powers that rival those of a Cleric's, though these powers almost always involve some sort of incredibly destructive art.

In Bilovea, there exists a great ammount of magical power. There are two theories of where this magic comes from. Clerics claim that the two gods, Thedonaus and Malekius, are the source of all magic. However, there is another sect of people who claim that all magic users, the gods included, draw their power from a mystical energy source known as the Mana Stream, which is created and sustained by all life. Those who believe this theory of magic are said to pracice the art of the Arcana, and though there are few Arcane spellcasters left in the modern world, most that follow the Arcana are more powerful then Clerics at similar stages in their training.

The magic in Bilovea is based around six colors, Red, Green, Blue, Brown, White and Black. The colors Red, Green, Blue and Brown represent the elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth respectively, while the colors White and Black represent the alignments of Light and Darkness respectively. Note that the alignments are Light and Darkness, not Good and Evil; Arcane spellcasters believe that it is the manner in which a magic is used that determines weather it is good or evil, not the magic itself. Due to the nature of what these colors represent, most spells are classified into two colors. For instance, most Red and Green magics are also Black, while most Blue and Brown magics are also White.

The Arcane spellcasters of Bilovea are organised into different titles, which stem from what type of magic they practice. White magic users begin their careers as Wizards and Witches, then progress into Mages. The most powerful of White Magic users are called Archmages. Dark Magicians are called Sorcerers and Sorceresses. They do not progress in rank as they progress in strength, for giving titles based on such things shows plainly the limitations of the user to his/her enemies. This end is viewed as counter-productive among the Dark Magician community.

There is one final category of magician. This type of magician only comes about very rarely. Nicodemus is the first that has come about in nearly 100 years. Most are female, though the occasional male has been known to appear from time to time. Most magicians are only able to harness the power of either the White or Black spectrums of the mana stream. However, this type of magician is able to not only call upon both, but to do so at the same relative time, casting white and black magics in quick sucession. These types of magicians are called Warlocks. To date, there has never been more then one Warlcok in existance at the same time.

Often times, magicians will combine their magical training with some form of martial training, usually in the use of staves. However, there are some sorts that choose to mix spellcasting with spears, axes and even swords. There is an elite group of sword-using spellcasters that actually use their swords as a channel for their magic much as a regular wizard/warlock might use a wand. This group of casters is known as the Spellswords. Spellswords serve no single kingdom, having acted instead as the self-proclaimed protectors of the whole of Bilovea for ages beyond knowledge.