Hidden, Feared, Revered

In the kingdom of Nashva, magic is outlawed; it is a death sentence. Any one suspect of having or using magic is executed. Every suspected fae or demi fae is murdered. It has been this way in Nashva for over a century and a half when King Iven (also known as the great king) declared it an abomination. My mother told me a story, one about how the king had fallen in love with a beautiful Lady. She however only had eyes for the kings cousin who happened to be a demi fae. The two eventually married which left the king bitter and vengeful. Yet he still loved the beautiful Lady even if she picked another, so he attempted to ruin their marriage. He sent an assassin to kill his cousin but his love was the one who ended up dead. His cousin was heart broken and full of rage so he set out to kill the king. He failed and was sentenced to death. The king declared that his cousin had bewitched the beautiful Lady and tricked her into the marriage and then used magic to kill her. He told the people of Nashva that people were too dangerous to let live and that they should therefore be killed before they could cause any more death. That led to all known fae, demi fae and magic wilders being executed. Some tried to run others tried to hide but most were caught and killed. It has been this way for over a century and a half now.   Over the years those people that are hunted have fled. Since they started their prosecutions most of the fae sailed across the Great Sea to the Kingdom of Naria. The Fae King Akol rules Naria. It is home to humans, magic wielders, demi-fae and pure blooded fae. Since King Iven's reign they have had very little contact and almost no trade with Nashva. They do however trade with Petraes, Nashva’s neighbouring kingdom. Unlike Nashva, Petraes is a kingdom where magical abilities are prized; magic even runs in the blood of their royal family. Most of the people that didn’t sail across the Great Sea to escape Nashva fled to Petraes. Due to opposing opinions they broke alliances and have subsequently been at war with each other since then.   Although Petraes has their demi fae and magic wielders, the war is still raging. People born with magic are rare so even with them fighting they still have been unable to defeat Nashva’s army that is three times the size of theirs. Both Nashva and Petraes share their eastern boarders with the Great Sea. They also share their western boarders with the Wasteland. The wasteland is a large strip of uninhabitable desert. The only people you will find there are criminals. They live there but regularly raid the towns and villages closest to the boarder. There are patrols that try to stop people crossing the boarder but some still slip through.   The biggest danger the wasteland poses is that it is home to all manner of deadly creatures. The things that haunt people’s dreams and can make even the biggest, strongest most powerful people cower to. That is another reason why men man the boarders, to stop those creatures from leaving the wasteland.  Petraes southern side also boarders the Great Sea. Nashva's northern boarder is however home to the Rasleen Mountains. The mountain rage is huge and spans the entire northern boarder. There are limited roads though them that are known to the people of Nashva. The mountains are also home to the tribes. Not much even after hundreds of years of us knowing they are there is their much information on them. They are feared as much as both Petraes and the fae, simply because they are a mystery and according to legend have strong magic within them. And for the last century have been said to harbour magic wielders and demi fae. The tribesmen know the mountains and their secrets. They can travel quickly through them and know all the places to hide there. They keep to themselves, they follow their own laws, speak their own language and answers to there own leader. When they are among us, no one knows as they blend in in any situation. Many have tried to learn their secrets but all have failed.   Beyond the mountains is the Vale. Anyone who has gone past the mountains have never come back. They walk past the last mountain and in to the mist and are never seen again. Humans have a number of reasons why they think this is but the fae have their own legends. I was a child when my mother told me, just like every other child of the fae; that there are some that can pass through the Vale and return but only the most powerful and purest can learn the secrets of the Vale. Any other will die in the crossing. The Legends says that when the darkness comes, the chosen few will learn the truth; they will know how to safe us all; they will make bring back the light to all of Zakika; the legend also states that at the end of the darkness all will be one. I very much doubt this considering that for al to be one then bot Petraes and Nashva would have to be ruled by only one and that the people of both countries would have to be contend with such an arrangement.   Now after so long both counties are still fighting with each other. They used to fight because of what Nashva does to people with magic but now it is personal. Nashva’s current ruler, my father, King Issac is hell bent on taking over Petraes for the simple reason that he wishes all with magic dead and that includes the two Petraes princes who both have a tremendous amount of magic. Prince Rhys the youngest is second in command of Petraes elite guard, whose members are some of the most powerful people, in terms of magic, in Petraes. The elite guard is made up of all men, as there are no women who have magic to rival any of the members. Prince Kaden the eldest prince is the leader of the elite guard and has more magic than most people alive and throughout history. Their father, King Angus, is void of magic and so was his deceased wife, Queen Brielle, even though her mother was a full-blooded fae. My father, King Issac of Nashva, is definitely void of magic and doesn’t have a drop left in his bloodline. My older siblings are also the same as was there mother the former Queen Dahlia. The Queen gave birth to my three siblings, first was the twenty-three year old asshole brother known as Prince Alec. Then twenty years ago she had the twins, Prince Cedric and Princess Ambrose. The Queen was said to be a kind loving woman but she was killed in a carriage accident a year after the twin’s birth. My father claimed to love her but most of his court knows that his father forced him to marry her. After her death he began to search for a new wife and this time one of his own choosing. Most didn’t mind as he already had an heir. That’s how he came to marry my mother, Queen Atarah. They married a year after the former queens death. Almost everyone hated their union, as my mother had been a member of the mountain tribes for the first twenty-five years of her life. My father however didn’t care; he saw my mother’s beauty and wanted to be the one to have it.  He was a smart and cunning man and didn’t let anything stand in his way of having my mother, so against everyone’s wishes they married. Then seventeen years later they had me, Princess Rowena. The people sing songs about my sister’s beauty but they call me mutated, freak, abomination. Since the day I was born I’ve worn a black veil. It has always covered my face and my hair. Every one thinks its because I’m deformed but it is in fact much worse; I was born with born with golden hair streaked with strands of silver and copper, a trait that is from the fae. Yet, my eyes are what cannot be fixed simply, they are purple. A colour that only powerful fae that are part of their ancient royal bloodline. It is a fact that is known by everyone in every country in every kingdom; and to make matters worse no one has had my eyes for over six centuries. The reason why I look the way I do is because my mother is a full-blooded fae. She is lucky and looks human so doesn’t have to hide her face the way I do. She died seven years ago when I was seven and before that had never told me why she married my father, she always told me I wouldn’t be able to understand but that when I was older she would explain it to me. This never happened as she was assassinated. My father blamed it on Petraes but I know it was someone within the court. Ever since he re-married and fathered a ‘deformed’ child some of the most ambitious lords have began to turn on him. He was arrogant and didn’t realise, he still doesn’t understand that since my eldest brother started his training and schooling he has been manipulated in to doing others biddings. Now that my brother is older he does as he wants but still listens to the cruel and the most dangerous members of the kings council. All three of my siblings are cruel, manipulative pieces of s**t, and they are especially bad when it comes to me. The court hates me, I am an embarrassment to my father and I am easy picking in my siblings opinion. My mother was the only person who ever loved me or even showed me kindness.  She was very powerful and had a special affinity for healing and illusions. She never tried illusions to make me look human, as she wouldn’t be able to maintain them all day and night non-stop, so she put the veil on me. I didn’t resent her for it; she did it to keep me alive. When she was still alive she taught me how to control my magic and use it to my best advantage. Mother always told me that I was one of the most powerful demi-fae or fae to ever live. Some of the most powerful fae can have control over three different elements but I have complete control of all four: fire, ice, earth and air. I can also weave average level illusions and am a powerful healer, although I can’t use it on myself so only heal at the enhanced pace that all fae heal at. I also have enhanced speed, strength, hearing, sight and sense of smell. Mother taught me how to use all of these things to my limit. She also taught me how to fight with or without weapons. She taught me another using several different weapons that I am very good at, those being the throwing knives, sword, swallow, staff, rapier, scimitar, sickle, sabre, khopesh, and crossbow. However I am extremely good with the katana, daggers, sai and bow and arrow.   My mother was also a seer; not very powerful but enough that she saw her own death. Before she died she showed me all ways to escape the castle undetected, all the ways to spy on the people in the castle and wear she kept all her weapons and anything to do with magic. She told me that she would die but that I had to carry on, that I had to keep training and learning, so that is what I did. I wanted my mother to be proud so I carried on. She had left her memories so that I would know everything she did, so that I could keep on learning the way she wanted me to, so that I understood our history and most importantly so that I knew how much she loved me. The memory spell takes a lot of power to pull of and it takes the memory from one person to the other. The one who the memories are taken before will remember nothing and the one who receives them can access them whenever they like. My mother gave me her memories then she walked outside to the garden where I watched as she was shot three times, once in the stomach, one in the shoulder and the last through the heart. It was over in two minutes. I stood and watched as the guards ran after the assassin, as the doctors tried to help my mother, as my father cursed and as my siblings watched in silences with smiles on their faces. I still remember that day like it was yesterday even though it was seven years ago. They never actually caught the person that shot my mum and it kills me that they don’t know. I replay the scene but can never make out the guy I saw with the bow. I swore that if I ever saw that man again or found out who sent him, I would kill them. After her death I shut myself of from everyone, I stop trying to please them or do as they asked, I stopped letting their comments effect me and I focused on learning and training as my mother wanted me to. Over the years I haven’t just learnt how to use my magic, but how to hide it from everyone including anyone else with magic. I spent my life secretly training with every weapon my mum gave me and I learnt about our history, not the lies the court is told but the truth. When I made some free time for my self id spend it out riding in the woods, away from any and everyone. I taught myself how to track and hunt which would come in handy if I ever had to leave the castle for any reason. I also know every part of the woods surrounding the castle and the surrounding villages. However I also had the lessons my father insisted I learn which included politics, history, languages, war strategy, maths, music, art and the most hated of all etiquette. I enjoyed music and played the piano and violin and also sung. I was extremely good in all three. Better than everyone in the castle including my sister, much to her distain. I also enjoyed art, which I was also extremely good at, and languages and war strategy. Most woman didn’t learn any of these things but my father instated on it, probably because it meant yet another thing to keep me away from the important members of the court. Everyone had lessons together except me with my private and longer sessions, which I was actually thankful for. Politic, history, maths and etiquette were some of my most hated things about the world. Yet no matter how much I begged I was always made to attend. The thing I hated most were the evenings. Every night I was forced to eat with my siblings, my father and his council. Thankfully I am mostly ignored, or only insulted by my siblings. I used this to my advantage and spent my evenings listening, watching and observing everything that went on around me.  This is where I learnt about the things they kept from the court. One of those things being that the rebellion that they assured us was very small and being dealt with was much bigger than they had let on. In fact it seemed that it was a rebellion that was going against both Nashva and Petraes, and that they were far from putting an end to it. They actually had no idea where to start as the people behind the rebellion were very good a hiding and keeping a low profile. So far the rebellion had assassinated high-ranking nobles and lords of both Petraes and Nashva. They had also raided most of the food stores along the boarder between the two countries. Many boarder patrols of both countries had also been killed. The attacks had been going on for about two years but have slowly been getting bigger and getting much more attention. Instead of focusing on the war with Petraes, Nashva have been using most resources to try to put an end to the rebellion but have been coming up with nothing. Yet, that is still not the only problem both countries are facing; more and more of the creatures that roam the wasteland have started to cross the boarders to our countries. The number has slowly been rising over the past year and it is becoming a big problem as said creatures have also began to attack the villages and towns nearest the boarder, and again it is both countries that face this problem. Due to these reasons the council have started to consider an alliance with Petraes. It would mean an end to the war but I don’t know how such a thing can work as the two countries despise each and what the other stands for.   A week later I woke up early so I could practice some of my magic and my fighting skills. This past week had gone by relatively easy, with hardly any problems with any member of the court, my family or the servants. I didn’t bother with a bath that morning as I knew I’d need one after and the sun was just beginning to rise so most of the servants wouldn’t be awake to get the water for me. I brushed my hair, that reached all the down my back when I let it down, and then put it up in a tight bun. I then swapped my nightclothes for a tight fitting black top that stopped just above my belly button and then I put on some tight but stretchy black pants. I then put on my black boots that reached mid calf and were very sturdy but also comfortable. Once I was finished changing I went to my right wall and moved the tapestry aside before using a little trick my mother taught me to do with my magic; it involved using earth magic and water magic. It moved enough of the stones so that I came face to face with a door. I then used both air and fire magic to open the door. The doorway led to a very thin staircase that led downwards. After walking to the top step I turned and used air to put the tapestry back in to place, I then used all four elements to put the wall and the door back into place. Once that was all down I used fire to light my way down the stairs. It took about five minutes and a steady pace to reach a landing that had three tunnels leading off of it. As usual when I came down here to train, I took the middle passageway. It led to another staircase that instead of going down went up. I followed to top of the stairs and then turned left down another passage that took about a minute to get through. At the end I came to a very thin upwards spiral staircase. At the very top of the staircase I came to a room that was big enough t practice all I needed it for. My mum had created the room using lots of magic, to anyone else it would look like a five by five circular room at the top of the smallest eastern tower at the very back of the castle. The oldest part of the castle that no one comes to, especially all the way up to the very top of said tower. If for any reason they did they would see a completely empty room, they will also feel an overwhelming urge to leave the room and this part of the castle and never come back to it. It took me years to perfect her spells but I finally did it and created mine own places around the castle and the woods. To start my training session I practiced some of the harder part of the elements and I practiced using them at the same time to do different things. I also practiced combining more than one element together to get a better effect. For example, creating a whirlwind that also had fire within. After practicing my magic for an hour I did my workout before training with some of my weapons. Today I practiced with my katana, khopesh, sai and crossbow. After an hour of that I put everything back in order and then made my way back to my room. Once there I undressed, put my sleep clothes back on and put my black veil on, that hid all my face, hair and neck. Once the wooden band was on holding the veil in place, I called for the servants to run be a bath and bring me my breakfast. They brought me my food that I ate whilst they poured me a bath and then once I was done they took away and left me alone. I locked the door after they left and then began to undress and remove my veil. I had to wear it whenever I was around anyone else, which was very frustrating as it made everyone I met believe the story’s of how I was horrible disfigured. As a child I always wanted to be like everyone else, but as I got older I saw what they were all really like and I didn’t what to be anything like them, so I stopped caring about anyone else. I stopped listening to the whispers and started to learn everything I could about people so that I couldn’t be blind sighted by anyone. It worked well but I stopped caring and trying with other people and now I am not friends with anyone. Most people might have minded but I found it easier and it would have been hard keeping so much from people if I were an actual friend of theirs. One thing I used to envy was that others got to fall in love but I wouldn’t get to have that. However after watching the disaster that is my sister’s marriage I’m actually grateful to not have to marry anyone. After my bath I brushed my hair and put it back in its tight bun and then I used magic to dry it and the rest of my body. Once that was done I started to put on my dress, another downside to my life was that I had to wear dresses with corsets and full-length skirts; however only wear very dark colours, mostly black. Today is no exception, I put on the dress and use magic to help get it in the place and to do up the laces at the back. The dresses corset is very tight at the front and at the bottom has a long black skirt that flows down to my ankles, it also doesn’t have any sleeves. It is completely black but with some lace on it for decoration. I wear my mothers necklace that she told me was always past down to the most powerful of the families generation, which happens to be me. When she gave it to me she told me to always wear it but don’t let anyone see it, so I let it full beneath the corset. I put on a second necklace that I leave for everyone to see and then put my shoes on with yet more help from magic. I choose another pair of black boots that stop just below my knee and lace up at the front; they also have a high heel so that my dress doesn’t drag on the floor. I can walk perfectly in any heel on most terrains due to my enhanced agility, thanks to my fae blood. When I’ve finished with my shoes, I put my veil on and then the wooden band that keeps it in place. Once I’ve got everything in place I leave my room and head to my lessons. As I’m walking there I see a lot of people heading towards the Grand Hall where my father does business and where we go for meetings that involve the whole court. Before I even get to the library, where I have my lessons, I see my tutor going towards hall. When he sees me he turns and walks towards me. His name is Marco and we both hate each other. My father specifically appointed him as my teacher and it probably was as a punishment for us both. When he reached me he didn’t even bother with a greeting. “ The king has called a meeting in the Grand Hall. Everyone is to attend. He sent a messenger to inform me that he wants you to meet him now before the meeting.” He informed me in a voice full of distain. “ I will go right away, thank you for informing me. Should I come back for my lessons after the meeting?” I replied in a condescending tone that did its job in angering and annoying him. “ No, no lessons for the rest of the day. Be back here at nine in morning tomorrow and don’t be late or you will have three times the amount of work you normally do.” He answered with a hint of anger. With that he turned away and started walking towards the hall without so much as a word. Not wanting to keep father waiting, I headed toward where I knew he would be at this close to the start of a meeting. Five minutes later I was knocking on the door of the council room that’s closest to the Grand Hall. After I hear the clear sound of me father telling me to come in, I open the door and enter. I take three steps into the room and pause, bow and then begin to speak. “ I was told you wanted to see me before the meeting begun.” I address my father. The room is large but it is full of fathers council my siblings and some of the more influential of the lords. As I speak the rooms falls silent as everyone turns to look at me as I wait for my father to respond and tell me why I’m hear. “ You are hear as I want you to sit at the front of the hall with your siblings.” He answers simply. “Why?” I question in a confused voice. My father hates to be questioned and his reply is said in a neutral tone with an undercurrent of anger. “ Because I told you to. So you will do it and you will not question me. And now if you are done we are ready to enter.” With that said he gets up and enters the hall. My siblings and then the lords and council enter next leaving me at the back as the last to enter. Once everyone has finished bowing and are all sitting again my father begins the meeting in another neutral tone that he uses to hide his feelings on the subject in question. “ Good morning, and thank you for coming. The matter we are to speak about is very important and fragile at the moment so I ask that no one speak until I have finished. As you know the rebellion has been getting louder and louder and id becoming a problem for both Petraes and us. The creatures from the wasteland are also wrecking havoc on both of our boarders. These are becoming big problems for both countries and neither of us is equipped to deal with, so we have been negotiating with each other. We have finally come to an agreement and will be forming an alliance. One of the terms is that any magic wielder, fae or demi fae found in Nashva will be exiled to Petraes unless they have committed a great crime. We will be combining armies and resources. One of the final terms is that a member of the Nashva royal family will marry Prince Kaden of Petraes. As my daughter Princess Ambrose is already married, my youngest Princess Rowena will be married to Prince Kaden. The Prince will be arriving in a week’s time with his elite guard as the Petraes delegation. They will be staying for a few days and will marry in both customs before leaving to head back to Petraes capital. There Prince Kaden and Princess Rowena will marry again before King Angus.” I sat there frozen in place as I felt like my world was crumbling beneath me. I was being forced to marry! I may be an outcast with no friends but being forced into a marriage was beyond any of my worst nightmares. I’ve seen how married women are treated and I loved that because of what everyone thinks I wouldn’t have to become one of them. In one moment my entire life had been ruined beyond repair.