Magic's Temptation: Prologue

Introduction to Gwen and Matthias of Sarnsgrove.

Magic’s Temptation

The screams of little Gwen and Matthias’s parents were nearly unbearable to hear, but only lasted a split second as a shockwave-like burst of pure energy engulfed them. The tall and handsome man who was their father, with fine, long medium-brown hair and ice-blue eyes, collapsed instantly, his simple clothing charred and blood-stained with lacerations but not burnt completely by the hot energy. The children’s mother fell as well, but her life wasn’t snuffed out so quickly. With darker brown hair and similarly-colored eyes, she was a fair beauty. She desperately reached out toward her horrified daughter, only to slowly become limp as a trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth.

Gwen Sarnsgrove was only a small twelve-year old girl, with her mother’s hair and her father’s eyes, standing near the doorway of their simple, rustic home to watch her parents perish. Beside her was her little six-year old brother, with his mother’s hair and eyes, but his father’s angular and strong face. “Mother…?” Matthias whispered, not quite understanding what had just happened. He made a move to run to his beloved, departed mother and father, but froze when a young man, about fourteen, approached. He looked as normal as any other boy his age until Gwen and Matthias could see his eyes. Pure crimson, like the blood of their parents.

Gwen instantly stepped in front of her brother, muttering for him to go inside. Obediently, Matthias did so quickly, shutting the door behind him as the boy stopped in front of Gwen. Fearfully, but boldly, she faced him, tears falling down her cheeks with the knowledge that her parents were dead. The boy looked upon her calmly, but heartbreak shone in those bloody eyes. He reached out, and Gwen shut her eyes tight so she would not see death wash over her. But Gwen felt herself being pulled forward to become wrapped in the stranger’s arms. He kissed her cheek lightly, and whispered: “There is a reason for this blood, I promise. There is a reason for everything.” He was so handsome, with toned muscles though he was so young still, and short-cropped hair of purest black. Gwen dared to open her eyes and look into the crimson orbs staring back, and he smiled almost lovingly before kissing her lips lightly, making her blush but not pull away.

And then he was gone, like a passing gust of wind. He’d carried more power than Gwen had ever seen before, even though magicks were no stranger to her world, nor her country of Marlowe. Even she herself carried a touch of pure healing magic, for every sorcerer and sorceress was different.

“Who are you…?” Gwen whispered as she looked past the bodies of her parents, up to the sky above the western mountains. It was a mystery she would not solve until years later.

Nothing had prepared Gwen for the life she would lead after the deaths of her parents. She raised little Matthias for fifteen years, with only the help of the housekeeper who doubled as Matthias’s nurse. However, because of their mother’s lineage a stroke of luck befell them; Matthias and Gwen were found by the Archduke of Marlowe when Gwen was 18, sent by order of the will of their grandfather, who- as they had never known until then- was King Donovon Marlowe. The King had just passed away, his wife already gone long before him. In his will, he wished that his favorite daughter’s children would become the reigning royals. Other children of the king had passed away from an influenza epidemic years before, none with their own children, and Gwen’s mother had always been his favorite even though she forsook the throne for a life with a commoner who became her husband.

Leaving their beloved housekeeper- who no longer had the strength to care for them in her old age- Matthias and Gwen were escorted to the Crown City of Hadix and the Marlowe Palace. According to Old King Marlowe’s will, the kingdom was renamed Sarnsgrove to reflect the name of the children, and Matthias was made the Crown Prince instead of Gwen being the top monarch. Matthias received a Regent who taught him and governed for him until he was 18 as well.

Now, Gwen was nearly 27, and Matthias 21. Matthias was now the stand-alone Crown Prince of Sarnsgrove, and the ruler of more land than his grandfather had been. With the help of a decisively-won war, Matthias had doubled his land when he took the south neighboring country of Karols. Since that time all of Sarnsgrove, even the newly-acquired southern provinces prospered like no other kingdom since Old Marlowe’s time. Matthias and Gwen together were amazing rulers though Matthias was not the greatest formal speaker, and had a few problems from the nightmare of his parents’ deaths. Even so, Matthias never let his past interfere with the present, and vowed to lead the kingdom to long prosperity.

 

-Taiylor Wallace

Author's Note

Enjoy!