The Legend:
Kauria's Dream

It was a terrible time. All around, whole countries were being silenced. No messenger would return. Carul had fallen to the invader nearly a two weeks before, Hyron right before it. The king wondered if Ajir wad the last country left...

And it would remain free! Ajir's magicians were the best, and his own daughter was very skilled. And she possessed the Star Pendant, he remembered. It was said to contain great power. The invader would never stand against it!

Still, he doubted. Their neighbors had fallen quickly; by the time messengers arrived at Ajir that Hyron was being invaded, the enemy had already slaughter the royal family. His greatest advisors knew nothing to prevent the destruction of his country. The Pendant was his last hope. . .

If only they knew how to use it!

And what of the other countries? Of Carul, Hyron, and Genora? Even the meddlesome King Jerrn of Lanof didn't deserve what rumors proposed had happened.

His thoughts were grim as he heard familiar footsteps coming down the hall. His spirit was momentarily relieved as he looked at Aralia's face, her pendant around her neck, protecting her. Her face kept him resolved; he mustn't let them win.

"I brought you some tea, Father," Aralia's voice soothed the turmoil within him. "It will help you relax." She handed him the blend of royal tea leaves and sat down on a stool next to the throne.

Someday, this will belong to her and her husband, he promised.

"Thank you, sweet daughter. I must take a rest." The king tried not to look so anxious and sipped the tea. Aralia frowned.

"Everything will turn out all right in the end. You just need faith," she said and took her father's hand in hers. Her calm voice persuaded him to listen and believe her. "You'll see."

"Of course it will. Any father who can be blessed with you can never doubt that." They sat quietly, and the king felt peace for those few precious moments.

Running resounded outside the throne room, echoing through the chamber. A messenger burst through the door, startling the duo. He fell to his knees with exhaustion, panting.

"Sire!" he began, "He's coming! He's coming!" He collapsed on his hands, shaking. Aralia rushed over to where he had fallen and supported him in her arms, helping him sit up. "The army!" he cried. "The army!"

The king sprang to his feet at the news. "Is our defense assembled? Where is he coming from? Where's Cran?" He sent some man to find the General, while Aralia tended to the poor messenger, who had fainted from exhaustion.

"And so it begins," the princess said softly. "And only she knows when it will end."

What was beginning, or who Aralia was referring to, no one in the palace could guess.