0. PROLOGUE

Far beyond the lands we ordinary, powerless humans thrive in, across the dark depths of the salty, polluted oceans, in an invisible maelstrom barricade of magic not one person could see with the naked eye, is a beautiful, peaceful, prosperous realm called the Amour Empire.

If you were to stand in the center of this land, in the yellow-green grasses of Lea Field and faced west, you would be looking at an expansive stretch of tall trees. There was only one pathway in, and if you enter the darkness of this forest and turn to your right, toward the north, you would see a large busy, bustling village called Timbergrove. From Timbergrove, you would be able to travel out of the empire and to another domain. But, if you travel along south, passing the clearings and dead ends, you will pass by another village, Wildwood. Despite the name, Wildwood is anything but wild. It's a quaint, little town with the reputation for having the most awe-inspiring scholars and mages. Timbergrove, however, is loud and active in the daytime and dangerous at nighttime. Thieves and smugglers run around at night in the streets of Timbergrove, causing trouble and havoc amongst its residents.

As you pass Wildwood, you will come upon the calming currents of Halcyon, a river that runs through the empire towards the east. You can cross the bridge that runs over Halcyon River and then you will find yourself in another part of this forest. Turn right and at the top of a high hill surrounded by evergreen trees is a castle, just like the ones you see in fairy tales. The castle, Sanctuary Palace, is made of a creamy white stone with tall towers and a strangely sinister appearance. This castle looks incredibly haunting and ghostly, especially since hardly any sunlight can get through the trees' shade although there were evident paths, but in truth, the place is perfectly harmless and all visitors are welcome.

Since there was only one way out of the Enigma Kingdom, it would take a day or two to come back out. Once you do get out, you will be facing east, at a vast range of tall, jagged mountains. It would take half a few days to get to the base of the eastern mountain range. As you enter the mountains, you face a village called Eminence. This town is known for its theater, The Apex Theatre. Plays and other sorts of entertainment are performed here and only here. The wooden ampitheater is big enough to fit every person in the entire empire.

As you pass this active town and head south to the Pinnacle Palace, you will pass by at town called Massif, a town highly strict on manners and etiquette. You must follow the rules or else you will face the consequences. As you head on to your left, you will see a light grey stone castle on top of a mountain. This is Pinnacle Palace. The top of the castle towers almost resembled the mountains themselves, with sharp, rugged roofs. To get to the front of the castle would take a long time. There was a long flight of stone steps leading to the huge, heavy, metal gates.

If you're facing Pinnacle Palace and you turn south, you will eventually come upon Halcyon River and a bridge. Once you cross this bridge, you will be able to cross to the next empire, New Chalice, a realm with a large, deep lake in its center. However, if you travel up north past Massif and past Eminence, you will find the remote village of Crag Alps at the very border of the kingdom of Summit. Crag Alps is known for hauntings and supernatural activity. Due to this, the place is pretty much deserted. The residents who do live there tend to be aloof and would rather not be associated with any outsiders.

Once again, you are standing on the grasses of Lea Field, this time looking to the north. You will see a mountain with a demonic face on it. Water spewed from its mouth into a misty lake that no one dared to touch, thinking the demon with the face on the side of the mountain will reach out and grab them. This area, the lake, the waterfall, the mountain, are all dubbed the Inferno.

Getting into the mountain kingdom Macabre is an incredibly difficult task. There are no roads or pathways to get through. There's no visible entry way. You will have to do climbing and hiking to get to the castle or to its hidden villages in the mountains. The Macabre Kingdom is the the biggest kingdom in the entire empire. It also has the worst and most fearful reputation. There have been rumors that the Phantasma Palace had a torture chamber and all the runaways and missing people ended up meeting death in the castle, nicknamed "the Rogue."

The Macabre Kingdom had always remained a mystery to its neighboring kingdoms. The people of that northern kingdom refuses to associate to the people of both the Summit and Enigma kingdoms. You might say that they made a big influence of the people in Crag Alps, for you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between someone from Macabre and someone from Crag Alps.

All three kingdoms, since the beginning, were never really adversaries, but they were never really allies. It has always been this way. There were no problem among any of them. They hadn't really considered forming one large kingdom. Not one of the emperors of any kingdom had really bothered with that issue. None of the villagers really cared, just as long everything was peaceful. And it was.

But Nakago had suddenly succeeded to the throne in the Macabre Kingdom. Rumors circulated about King Tenkou's (his father) sudden death. Some say Nakago murdered him or had taken him to the torture chamber for all kinds of bloodshed. Several say Tenkou had committed suicide due to his weakness in ruling a kingdom. The rest didn't want to bother with any of the gory business and said he died of natural causes.

Well, Nakago was different from any of the others who had ruled Macabre in the past. He acted normal enough, but from that glint in his blue eyes, you can tell he has a hidden secret. No one knew him well enough to be able to predict what Nakago was going to do next.

They found out soon, however. The third night after Nakago had claimed the throne, he sent guards to every village in the empire and take as many people as he can to Phantasma. Reasons for this were unknown. The prisoners were taken to the infamous torture chambers and beaten and bruised until they passed out or died.
King Hikitsu of the Summit Kingdom and Queen Subaru of the Enigma Kingdom were both enraged to find that some of their innocent subjects had been taken away to be killed for no reason. The two resolved to declare war on Macabre. The villagers of Summit and Enigma agreed to help the knights of the Royals battle the army of Macabre. The Macabre villagers refused to take part in the war and hid themselves in their mountain homes for as long as desired. Macabre had the largest army, so getting people to fight Summit and Enigma was no problem.

All the men of the two kingdoms were ride into battle the next morning. There were already Macabre troops camping out in Lea Field, ready to challenge anyone who would come their way. The villagers and the knights of Summit and Enigma courts had one night to prepare for war, and then at daybreak, they would go off to battle.

And this is where our tale begins...