As he takes the old book off the shelf he blows the dust off and he lays the text down on the library table and looks over the old, worn cover, brushing his fingers across the ridges of the finely made cover as they touch the raised, golden title letters, "GRAIL".
He carefully opens the cover, it creaking as he does so and Reads the first page.
"Contained in these pages is the life history of the Royal Prince Grail of the kingdom Willow Winds."
Many years ago, a young king named Willow after the lands he was destined to rule met and married the beautiful daughter of a nearby duke of the kingdom, that went by the name of Annivel, and not long after the ancient crown of these lands was placed upon her head, she gave birth to their first son and heir, Gordon. Not long after that came along Grail, Gasto and a daughter Gwedalyn.
But as this volume states, the history written therein is about the second child, Grail.
Years of the prestigious life as the second heir with two brothers and a sister in Willow Winds was not all that wonderful as some may think. For Grail had seen more than the normal Prince.
As a young boy he spent time with his father and mother learning quickly the ways of a royal. Grail had a very good aptitude for learning, picking up weapons and fighting with them, being instructed in the ways, weapons, and fighting styles of the monk, the ways of magick, and able to pick up on the world’s news, studying fervently. Also going through the trials that made him godling, enriching him with a special ability.
As he grew into a young man there was always the problems of his parents having to deal with having a son who seemed to draw the local ladies from the surrounding towns of the summer castle on the coast to watch him swim as he did daily, working out with his hands and weapons as the ocean winds blew upon the beach. This caused his mother to require him to swim on a secluded beach, far from watchful eyes. And there were the summers spent playing with his young cousins of his father’s brother, Dargoth of Mysthia.
This daily ritual would one day help to foster his love for the sea and all its vastness.
Time went on and a rivalry within the brothers was being felt. Grail and his siblings learned what castle life was like, but there was gloom on the horizon. His younger brother, Gasto, was not thrilled with his station and the birth order and slowly tried to dwindle his competition to the throne his father sat upon.
Gasto’s first plan was while Grail was about to marry a royal lady of a foreign kingdom across the sea to make it look like he ran off from the arranged marriage. It worked to a point. He took Grail on a hunting expedition, not informing their parents. Gasto then kidnapped and sold his brother to his evil uncle Blood Baine, another of his father’s brothers, this one not readily claimed by the family for his treacherous lifestyle.
Luckily, King Willow sent out the Whisper Guild and while searching for Grail, they found Gasto in the act of conning a band of traveling minstrels into letting him hide in their midst. The Whispers took him into custody until Grail could be found.
Once they returned to the castle Gasto was charged with his crimes and placed into the castle’s dungeons. However, he was not there long as a necromancer that was an old friend freed him.
In retribution he poisoned his sister Gwendalyn and then escaped into the sewers hoping to evade pursuers and carry out his plans in the future. But he only saw his demise.
The necromancer was found by the Whispers and promptly beheaded after disclosing the whereabouts of Gasto, whom the Whispers saw that he was made to die most painfully and in as gruesome way as possible under royal orders.
Though Gwendalyn was on the edge of death, several went to find her help so that they could hopefully restore her health. Her future husband, Wroth, searched for many healers and after a long ritual brought her back to her former health.
In the meantime, Grail was rotting in a cell waiting to be sold to slavers from Ja’Thar. He was fortunately found by some adventurers and brought back home slightly scarred from his experience and learned very quickly to loathe slavery and all it stood for. Grail vowed that he would repay his uncle for his treachery and with the help from some adventurers, and the Whispers, he depleted and crippled his uncle’s ranks severely.
After the severity of these actions Grail decided to take over leadership of his father’s naval forces, building new and powerful designs and leading them to many victories over enemy kingdoms and pirates. He spent many a year at sea, his feet touching land very rarely, his way of dealing with the ordeal. The many nights at sea his dreams and thoughts filled with visions of a love once lost, then found and of a new land his eyes had never been laid upon.
After years of leading the naval forces, King Willow decides its time to send Grail to Asgard to be the emissary and to establish relations since his would be bride had already married another and this would be another way of helping him deal with his past.
After a long and dangerous journey on the Sea of Hopelessness on the newly built and commissioned, "Dream Chaser", he and his crew finally made it to the port of Asgard City.
Walking through the city and spying the queen, suddenly seeing that she was the one in all those past dreams and visions, he knew he was in the land he was meant to be and she was the one for his destiny. Seeing such unrest because of the death of the king, Grail thought it best to be a bit mysterious and wait for the treasure of his visions to trust, love and answer what the dreams had said. He took the form of a unicorn vowing to not become human again until his name crossed her lips. Then he would know it was she for him and he for her.
So he watched over this beautiful queen hoping destiny would weave its web. As he learned more her husband’s death, he took his time and came to her while she was in the forest riding letting her feel for one moment that she was truly loved.
Then came the magickal night under the light of a special star, she said his name and he transformed back into his human form and the destinies of Grail and Athena came to light and all other fates, dreams, visions, and destinies that were to come suddenly started to bring the two, once meant for one another lovers, forever together as one sharing a special link between them and opening up the rest of their future that is somewhat yet to be written.
Then came the ceremony that made Grail a king and beloved husband to the treasure of his dreams and lifelong quest, Athena.
As the last printed page is turned, he gently closes the book, places it back from whence it came, and now feels more enlightened and informed of the once boy prince of Willow Winds turned King of a distant kingdom, and being with his one and only true love he was ever be meant to have.
The rest of this history is of course yet to be written.
The territory of Willow Winds boasts over a dozen border villages which serve pimarily as farmlands to provide food for the whole of the kingdom. Each can accomdate a small legion of troops but there is rarely need for so many and only a few score are left active at each village.
Floating above the castle of Willow Winds is the Magick Academy of the Fellguard. The Academy is run by a Dragoon by the name of Roark, and he specializes with Spellswords with an affinity for fire. The Academy is held in the air with 8 Dragonfire engines and is quite capable of moving and defending itself as well as the castle. The Academy boasts a score of Masters and an average of 200 students at any one time.
A few days travel to the southwest is the human city of Milvanous. Oddly while being a port city they have been quite isolated from the rest of the world and when non-humans enter the city they become the instant talk of the town. While those within the city have seen very few members of other races they are very friendly and will only become hostile if they feel threatened.
The majority of the fleet of Willow Winds is stationed here, and just outside the city is a small base that is the home of the men who comprise the armed forces of the naval fleet.
