There was little to no fighting at all between countries or areas until only a few years ago. But signs of trouble had been arising for a while. This country - the Portal country - had long ago been one large, united, relatively peaceful area. This didn't last, though, because immenently, some people with greedy hearts and desire for power started many small debates, which turned into fights, which eventually turned into huge wars.
These wars ended with not much resolve, until the ruler made a bold sacrifice and divided the country into individual areas, complete with borders, seperate thoughts, and different leaders. From then on, there have been a few skirmishes over borders, but things remained relatively well.
To the far northwest was the Silvera area, named for all the flowers that are able to spring in that area. This region held on to the "classic" system of the country before it was economically split. The Zan area, covering most of the west and south, was the largest of the five regions and was the most threatening of them all. The Star area, around the southeast of the contry, had the most technology and contained much knowledge that others refuse to listen to, such as keeping the peace. The rest of the land, with the exception of a tiny portion near the center, belonged to the Alek region. The remaining small area of land belongs to.... me. However, it isn't an official region like the other four. It is called the Crystal area. This place is sacred, and a document arranged by the Silvera kingdom forbid this tiny area from being conquered.
The area was once owned by a kind old man with wisdom beyond anybody else in this country. He was always defending something - a beautiful sword, I think - and only left his shelter very rarely. One of those times he left was to check on the war between Zan and Star; another pointless war had started over nothing but greed and a desire for power. This... is where I met him.
I couldn't have been more than seven years old when huge explosions surrounded my every thought, the path in front of me fogged in endless amounts of dust and debris, havoc being spewn everywhere you looked... it was terrible. I'm not even sure how I survived that incident, especially since absolutely everybody else I knew did not. Even when the dust had settled, I didn't cry or scream or do anything - I only sat down, as still as a stone statue, on the ground of where so many were killed. That old guy rescued me after he surveyed the scene - which wasn't much to stare at anyways.
He took me back to his shelter and rigorously trained me every day, saying something about me becoming the future defender of something. He also showed me his spectacular weapon - made of some of the hardest, sharpest, yet most mezmerizing minerals and items ever found. Because of that, and its strange trait of making a small, low-pitched whistle in the wind, he named it the Diamond Wind. I soon learned how to wield it and use it, and my confidence and trust in him increased until I could practically could call him my grandfather.
Everything seemed peaceful... casual... I never even thought about the warring countries again. I even believed that there would very soon be no more innocents being eliminated for no reason, and power would slowly diminish from the thoughts of others.
How wrong that idea was.
The old guy eventually had enough confidence in my skills to leave me at his shelter, completely alone, while he went to survey some situation over in the west. He promised to come back in less than a month and that I would handle any discussions to any people that would somehow venture to this nearly-hidden place (which never happened). My trust did not drop until after about two months of the absence of his return. After half a year, rumors floated around the countryside - and in my head - that something fatal had happened to him; nobody was sure if it was crossfire in a battle, an attack from the world's creatures, a natural disaster, or even that he had reached someplace sacred not in this world. Either way, he was not returning. However, part of me refused to believe this - that, against all odds, he would return and things would resume as they once were.
I heard of these rumors through a reply from King Silvera, after I had dispatched a letter that direction via a messenger bird. The food and material shipped by the Silvera region to here combined with all the things already provided allowed me to stay by myself at this shelter. I could have gone somewhere else, but I'd have to take the Diamond Wind with me, which wouldn't be a problem if everyone wasn't so money-crazed. I'd be targeted more than a rat trapped in a snake cage. Besides, I vividly remembered the old man informing me that the Diamond Wind was not the only thing he was guarding. I felt obligated to stay, to remain here and defend against corruption, to guard with all my effort even if I didn't know what I was guarding...