4 Elements

Introduction

The kingdom of Minamoto was ruled by Emperor Hisashi and Empress Kiyohime. It was a long and difficult struggle and they had to face a lot of difficulties to protect Mount Hotaka from the power-hungry demons and their king, Sakado. Not only had they proved themselves worthy of defending their kingdom, but they were also worthy of holding the powers of the two elements. Hisashi was the king who conquered the element Fire and his Queen conquered the element Water. The years of struggle were clearly showing on their faces. Their once youthful appearance was now replaced by wrinkles on their faces and the visible whites in their long flowy dark hair.

The neighbouring Kingdom of Mykonos had already lost their King Dianosys, who was the wielder of the element Air, to the demon attack. His widowed Queen Hestia, wielder of the element Earth, and their son and heir to the throne Percy, also a wielder of the element Air, were trying her level best to handle the affairs of the kingdom, but they were failing miserably. She had no other option but to enter a peace treaty with the Minamoto kingdom to safeguard her subjects.

The Queen Hestia was allowed to rule her kingdoms as before, keeping in mind to present a unified front and peace treaty. Every year, a gathering is held to celebrate the treaty. Each kingdom takes a turn to host the gathering. This year it is the turn of Mykonos to host the gathering. Hestia is determined to make this a grand affair, as she is planning to step down as the Queen this year and pass on the throne to her only son, Prince Percy. Emperor Hisashi was also having a similar thought that he was discussing with his wife. He wanted to step down and handover the reins of the kingdom to his daughter, Princess Mizu.

Mizu was a sight to behold. She had her mother's brown eyes and her father's red hair. As the heir to the throne she was raised as a true warrior, trained in elements,battles and politics. She could handle both Fire and Water elements, although Water was her dominant element. At the age of 19, Mizu had won many battles for her kingdom and defeated foreign invaders to maintain the peace her parents had brought long ago. Her accession to the throne was a much awaited event for all of Minamoto. Mizu had garnered a wonderful reputation among her subjects and those of the other kingdoms as well. As the whole of Minamoto was preparing for the gathering and the crown ceremony, Mizu was preparing to secure her rule by extending borders, planning strategies for developing her military base and guarding what was rightfully hers.

As she was training with her parents for elemental control, a royal guard entered the training center to pass on a message to the Emperor. A messenger had arrived from Mykonos and he urgently wanted a meeting with the Emperor. Seeing the urgency of the situation, the Emperor, the Empress and the Princess immediately rushed to meet him. Upon receiving the messenger, he informed them that there had been many sightings of demons amid the border villages and some were even seen harassing the villagers. Queen Hestia was concerned about these increased activities as they might affect the gathering. Extra patrolling was started to ensure everyone’s safety. The guards were also increased in and around the gathering to take care of the situation.

Finally, the day of the peace treaty gathering arrived. Everyone was excited about seeing their Emperor, Empress, Queen, Prince and Princess. Soon, the royal wagons started arriving from Minamoto. Queen Hestia and Price Percy were standing outside their castle to welcome their guests. Emperor Hisashi, his Empress Kiyohime and everyone’s beloved Princess Mizu came out of their chariots to loud cheers and applause from everyone gathered. After greeting the Queen, prince and the gathered subjects, they quickly returned to the castle to discuss the gathering further.

Upon entering the castle, every staff member bowed down to the Emperor and the Empress. Once again, after greeting the staff, the Emperor signalled for the commencement of the gathering. Everyone was enjoying themselves. People outside the castle were enjoying the trade stalls and games for entertainment. Inside the castle, all the generals, advisers and the ministers were discussing the year so far.

Queen Hestia invited the Emperor’s family to the annual discussion. As they sat down, enjoying the refreshments served to them. They heard a loud bang followed by the screams of the people outside. A royal guard was seen rushing into the hall to inform them about the disturbance outside. As soon as he was about to open his mouth, a large ball of fire rushed towards him and engulfed him in flames. Everyone was shell shocked to see his burnt, lifeless body fall on to the ground with a thud.