Prologue

He stood, staring out into the dusking sky, waiting for their arrival. Anxiousness could be perceived from his hunched and stiff posture.

It is time, he thought.

“Your highness…?” Deep masculine voices came from behind him.

Aaron von Etherdine, first king of the world Neona, turned to his most trusted men. They stepped forth and as a sign of respect, bowed to their liege.

“Milord, we are ready,” said a one of the men. His eyes were dark and filled with determination.

He roamed his gaze to the right, and spotted five more pairs of different colored eyes arranged from hot to cold.

They all held the same burning fortitude, similar to the one who spoke.

He nodded and turned to the other side of the room. On a long table, past velvet seats, six of his creations lay side by side.

Raising his left hand, he moved his fingers in an upward motion. Six thick books floated in the air and glowed in beautiful gold.  Aaron moved his finger once more, jerking it to his men’s direction.

To their surprise, the books dashed towards them, creating swooshing sounds as they glided through the room.

All a sudden, the books stopped and hovered in front of their amazed faces. The golden light almost filled the vast room surrounded by numerous shelves of books.

“I call them the Key Tomes,” King Aaron said in labored breathes as he sat down on a velvet couch.

The energy and magic it took to make them was unkind to his vitality, and he had trouble standing.

“Stand and hold out your hands,” he ordered.

They stood in a rigid manner, a tinge of nervousness flashing through their eyes. It didn't last long before their valiance pushed it back.

“This will hurt,” he said, “But I’m sure you’re prepared by now.”

The slight frown that formed between his brows indicated his concern.

He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want these great men to be burdened by a responsibility that should belong to his line.

Most of all, he didn’t want to involve the future generations of their own families. If only he had a choice, but he does not. There’s no escaping destiny, he thought.

Twisting his wrist, he motioned the books to land on their palms.

Once they did, the men yelled out from the burning glow of the Key Tomes. Their cries reverberated throughout their master’s study.

They fell to their knees onto the blood red carpeting of the room, as the pain traveled from their palms to the rest of their bodies.

At the same time, the golden light from the books crawled out to them, coiling up their arms. Soon, it engulfed their entire bodies.

More pain came as seconds ticked by, forcing a few of them to curl into balls of agony. It was a failed attempt to sooth the throbbing of their bodies.

The light felt like it was constricting their bodies, throwing them to boundaries of the world, crushing them against the plane of reality.

As though the light was testing them, trying to make them pull out from this heavy responsibility that will forever be attached to them and their descendants.

For a fraction of a second, it nearly succeeded.

Knowing that they will fail if they give in, they gritted their teeth and reeled their minds off the pain.

This was for their king, and the future of the world. Those two things gave them strength to hold on for just a bit more.

They ignore the tight contraction of all the muscles of their body. They paid no attention at the searing pain that formed on their reddening skin.

Their concentration did not break when their ribcages caved in, and knocked out the air of their lungs, bit by bit.

After what felt like hours, their breathing became labored as the light started disappearing. Their body temperatures rose for questionable reasons.

Triumph and a pinch of dread and regret filled them. Maybe the light somehow succeeded in threatening them. There was no turning back for them now.

One by one, they opened their eyes as their temperatures went down as quick as it had risen. All their eyes had turned into a soft golden color, the same as the shimmering yellow light from the Key Tomes.

A couple of minutes more, the Key Tomes stopped glowing. It made them look like ordinary reading materials.

The men blinked and their eyes turned back to their original colors. In a heavy manner, they breathed with half-lidded eyes as they all stood.

“Stealsan, Reigen, head for the eastern lands, Aerotora. It is where your ancestors had thrived,” Aaron said to the first pair.

“Wylun and Lysian, go to the west. Live in Heliotoria,” he said to two other men that still panted from the ordeal they had gone through.

He turned the last two, just as they bowed on one knee. “Nezeda and Theora, thrive in the southern lands, Friosan. I wish you well in that icy continent,” he said.

“I also wish the same to you,” he said to the rest. “Please heed my words and ones you reach your destinations, do as I say,” Aaron said.

“Once you’re there open the Key Tomes. More of them will appear. They will all go hide in different places. More so in libraries throughout the land,” he said.

 “There, they will choose their own masters and wait until they arrive. Enchanted Tomes will be their name” he added.

“You will keep the Key Tomes. You and your descendants will be the ones to know they're location,” he said in a strict tone.

“One day the prophecy will come true,” he said and turned back to the table.

“The Destineds with the same eyes as yours will decipher it. Together they'll unleash the powers of those Tomes to save our world.”

On it was a small gray slab of rock with a jagged outline. There were elegant stanzas on it, which formed what will be, The Prophecy of Ruin.

            He raised his hand, and once again repeated his actions with the Tomes earlier. The slab floated before it separated into six uneven pieces.

He motioned each to land at the foot of his most intrepid men.

“These will be their clues,” he said, “It will lead them to each other and they will be Neona’s salvation. Those unworthy must not know about this, for it will set havoc amongst the people.”

Aaron then gave them a weak smile, and for sure, the last he’ll ever give them.

“Until then…guard the Tomes with your life,” he said, before he turned to one of the large elegant arching windows.

From his seat, he stared out at the frosting ocean and shoreline. The cold breeze from outside caused a slight shiver to run through his body and close his eyes.

“I’m sorry…and good luck,” he whispered.

Soon enough, he heard his men leave with firm steps of strong resolve.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think about it.

Reviews

[EssenceofDaringx]

This felt more like a prologue than a chapter of a story, but was nevertheless intriguing. I'll style this review in reactionary form, so bear with me.

"His eyes were the color of the brightest shade of purple in all the lands." -- Here, I would cross out 'the color of' because it is a little redundant and interrupts the flow.

“I call them the Key Tomes,” King Aaron said in labored breathes as he sat down on a velvet couch.
The energy it took to make them was unkind to his vitality, and he had trouble standing. -- Did King Aaron just make these Tomes? Or does he just not have energy to use magic anymore because creating them practically killed him?

The slight frown that formed between his brows indicated his concern. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want these great men to be burdened by a responsibility that should belong to his line. Most of all, he didn’t want to involve the future generations of their own families. If only he had a choice, but he does not. There’s no escaping destiny, he thought. -- Something I have problem with sometimes is "Show Don't Tell", so I spot it pretty quickly. My suggestion to change this of sentences would go as follows: "King Aaron frowned slightly, a crease forming between his brows. He didn't want these great men to be burdened by so great a responsibility. Most of all, he didn't want to involve the future generations of their families. If only he had a choice. There's no escaping destiny, he thought." Just to condense and eliminate some redundancies.

These are just my opinions, you're free to do what you will. Though I hope I have been helpful. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this story!