Fantasy, A Tale of Love, Curses, and Dragons

"Qderf," cursed the Dy imp. The Dy god’s, Malix’s god, Isha was imprisoned in the cold, ancient, and doomed-filled temple, Azcara, and the dark, grey imp’s wizened body could only take Malix so much further.

Pressing its left crippled hoof upon the cracked four-hundredth stair, Malix, took another slow heavy breath. The Dy imp’s thin white hair was fading and heavy calluses had found their place on his now fragile body. Malix could not be more withered of constantly touring the land of Arcadia in order to find the temple.

Isha, ruled of the crazed-faith minions of evil, the DY, had a vision that there will be a time when Ihsa will return to the living world of Arcadia, and her evil followers called the DY will rule over all of the world. Nothing more, nothing less.

Malix climbed the last step of the Azcara staircase. The Azcara temple front doors were decorated with for warnings of how the world once almost completely died due to Isha and her evil followers. Carvings of the dead roaming the Earth. Beau-reliefs of various contorted creatures attacking the innocent. Bordering the carvings were historical instructions of a final capture of Isha and the evil god’s imprisonment here in Azcara, the final doom city of the Dy.

The imp Malix coughed in front of the temple’s dark entrance doors. A small wind blew across the temple landing. Mysteriously it seemed that there were cries from the cold underworld, the Dy world, the evil that is held inside the cryptic prison of Isha. Malix pulled out a small book from a side pocket. Opening the book to the first pages, Malix began reading from the unholy scripture.

"Azrul y tore zam biere" read Malix. The doors in front of the imp magically opened slowly scrapping the ground with each inch. Malix put the book back in his gray pocket and patiently waited for the entrance to be clear while kneeling.

A burst of dust exited the temple doors along with a scary whispered scream from inside. "All hail, Isha," said Malix, the evil Dy imp, as the world of Arcadia comes to its second grim end.
* * *
The man is a prince.
The woman is a princess.
Tonight, together, they walk for the last time as single lovers in Artok‘s royal garden. Tomorrow their two royal families, two of the most celebrated families in Arcadia, are coming together for the wanting couple. Hundreds of people will view the holy event of a union between the two, the most glorious wedding ever in Arcadia.

The man’s side of the family is from Artok, the proud ruling kingdom over Arcadia. Arcadia makes up the lands from Easter Carpe Mountains to the Karvina Sea, west of Artok. The Artok family has ruled since the leaving of Sum, the half-man, half-god who was to lay down the foundation of the world ruling system just before leaving of Arcadia. The gods were common then, but today the Arcadia lands are peacefully cared for only by the Artok family.

The princess in the garden comes from a kingdom just living under the shadows of the mighty Myna Mountain spine, Cameron Spry. The princess lives in only the best of luxuries, and their royal family only has to whisper commands to have them done for her, with all the greatest of efforts by their servants and followers. Because of the woman’s beauty, Princess Janet Huela often intimidates men from courting her. Often young squires and knights dream of their days to be in princess’s company. All of them aspiring to be the next winner of her affection. But it took a prince to finally win her love, Prince Henry of Artok.

Glasses and spirits will be raised high for the princess and the prince as hundreds of onlookers watch the ceremony of their wedding by the local monks of Evian in the greatest church ever erected in Arcadia, Shamlomain. Over one eon old and not a blemished wedding ever left the church’s front doors.

The lovers stopped in the garden under the natural moonlight. They passed a kiss to each other but the Prince Henry turned hearing something in the distance behind them.

A large, dark horse screamed into the garden suddenly. From out of nowhere three others, dawned with strange riders, followed the first dark horseman. Hooves stomped on the ground in high tension. They surrounded the couple in case they were planning to make a run from the lover’s midnight intruders.

"Who are you?!" yelled Prince Henry.

The prince looked around him unable to distinguish any of the riders as they wore black masks and long heavy black traveling robes over their body, adding even more dark shadow to all of their bodies features.

"Answer me! I am Prince-"

"Henry of Artok," said an entering fifth horseman in a flat tone. "And we know Princess Janet Huela’s name as well."

Janet looked at the newest rider wearing a dark blue robe and blue boots, coming out northeast at the vulnerable lovers, when he mentioned her name. "What do you want?" the princess asked in fear of her life. "My jewelry is at the castle. I have nothing with me. Neither does my fiance’ have any of coins. We are here without any luxuries but our clothes. Please leave us alone. Please!"

The horsemen ripped out sword blades and pointed then at the lover’s necks. "The Princess comes with us, tonight. Not your coins or jewelry." said the fifth rider and dismounted. Carrying a sword of his own he moved toward the princess to take her.

"No!" the Prince yelled and the horse men moved closer to place the swords’ deadly tips even closer to their captives.

Prince Henry with his right hand desperately grabbed the hand of the fifth rider’s deadly sword and twisted it until it released onto the ground. Henry released his knee upward into the gut of the fifth rider twice and then smashed the villain on the back of the head until seeing him fall to the ground, hard.

The horseman to the west of the prince dismounted and the south horseman quickly did the same. Both swung sharp blades at the prince, planning on separating him from his sword. The moonlight was there to light the fight.

The prince’s new sword from the ground sword swung against his opponent’s attacks making close calls to their upper body. Princess Janet made a run for her life. "Get her!" groaned the fifth rider to the still saddled horseman. "Forget about the prince! Get the girl!" he grunted. "After her!"

With gust the horsemen took off like a set loose arrow pointed at its target. The princess ran away but ran up against a green ivy wall in the romantic but now deadly garden. Trapped.

The two rampaging horsemen left their horses to grab the princess. The prince made a mistake and let down his guard when seeing his princess being manhandled by the horsemen and lost his sword in his own fight. The garden battle was lost completely.

The princess was pulled to the leader, the fifth horseman, where she was put on the back of his horse threatening her life.

"Your finance’ is to be the bride of our master, young prince," said the fifth rider. "Tell your father that this is not the only interest of our master, Master Cord. He also has a full army with a dragon at its side. Soon he will attack your kingdom and rule as a king over your lands. You have time to decide.

"Let Flanx rule without war or after an uneven battle. Either way the dragon will be our deciding weapon over everyone. We will destroy your leaders if you fight against us. The choice is your father’s."

"And by the way, "said the leader. Bam! He struck the prince on the back of the head with the blunt handle of his sword, knocking the prince to the ground unconscious. "That’s a goodbye gift for hitting me, you royal piece of stool." The princess gasped as he lover fell to the ground.

"I don’t know where we are going," she said.

"Your new home, my lady," the fifth rider, looking over the princess with certainty that his ruler would be very pleased with his new bride.

"We are leaving," said the leader to his men. With the stars and moon the only witness to their crime, an unconscious body was left behind in a trampled moonlit garden with no future left to find freedom inside its flowering borders.
* * *
His eyesight was blurred.

Slowly lifting his head he noticed only faint outlines of his surroundings. The royal, wooden, hand-carved furniture in his room first took formation in his sight. Prince Henry was in his bed and he didn’t know who put him there. Slowly making his way to his feet Henry pulled on a velvet cord that made a silent bell ring for servants.

The room wasn’t spinning too badly when he first stood but took cautious steps as his legs gained confidence. He put on his robe to cover himself. Walking in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom, Prince Henry looked over his condition.

There was a bandage covering around his forehead, making it difficult to know of his full think black hair underneath. His blue eyes looked like they were healthy with no signs of being punched in the face too hard to cause a black eye. His nose was still there in one piece. His face was beginning a beard which meant that he had been in bed for about six to seven days since his run in at the garden with his fiancé’, Janet.

"Janet!" Henry yelled remembering the kidnapping of his lover and pulled even harder on the silent bell to his servants. "Sam, where are you?!"

At his fastest pace, Sam, the prince’s head servant arrived at the prince’s bedroom door. "Your highness, you’re awake!"

"Yes, but what happened to Janet, Sam? Is she safe? Did the guards stop her kidnappers?" Henry asked and felt a little dizzy from standing as he put on his purple robe with the family crest of a roaring lion and the upright sword of virtues. Henry’s family crest was on almost all of his clothing to remind people who he was and station, second only to his father Adam Artok, the king of Arcadia.

"It’s best that you here the story from your father," said Sam. "I take you to him now." He led the prince out of the bed chambers and down various grey stone stairways to the 1st floor of the royal family’s treasured castle. A place that was protecting the royal family firmly until just last night.

Henry turned around a corner with the servant Sam and approached a solid closed oak wooden door decorated with the same family crest as the crest on most all of Prince Henry’s clothing. The close room’s door was not a familiar one to the prince. Henry searched the reading on the gold engraved plaque next to the door. It read "Royal Artok Library".

The library was one of the greater rooms of the Artok’s expansive castle, which was hadn’t been visited by the prince in ages. Not since his early studies as a child learning his lessons from royal tutors. Several years had gone by but the large office still held a sense of wealth of knowledge that made him exhausted while young. One time even falling asleep sitting in the library hallways while cramming for a tedious exam that was the day next. But now the large library was filled with other men.

The captain of the guard, a few lesser known soldiers to Henry in full uniform, and a monk, the library’s caretakers. Henry’s father, Adam Artok, was sitting at one very large table speaking to the others suddenly interrupted by Henry and Sam’s entrance into the cherished room. Everyone turned to see Henry enter with Sam and it was a very sullen face on the king until realizing that one of the person’s entering the room was his son. Bruised but alive.

"Father, " sighed Prince Henry Artok when seeing his father in his old studies. There were several books on the table. All of them seemed to open to various pictures and lessons. Most of the binds on the books were dusty and old. King Adam Artok stopped what he was doing and walked quickly to his son to hug him knowing that his son had survived the fall in the royal garden the week before.

"Son, thank god you’re alright," complimented the king. "We were worried about you for the past week."

"I’m fine, father. I’m little bruised but I’m ok. Janet though. What has become of her? Is she here?" asked the prince, holding tightly to his father for support. "I asked Sam but he said that you would have those answers for me."

"She…is gone. The criminals that did the damage to you are gone with her. They kidnapped her and we only have one clue as to where she is now." Said his father and handed Henry a chair to sit on around the apparently weary officers and monk at the long library table. The prince looked at each of the men in the room standing around the table and they all nodded their heads that it was true. The princess had been kidnapped regardless of the castle’s best defenses.

"One clue? What do you mean?" asked Henry to all the men.

The captain of the guard, Sir Fred Smith, placed what was apparently a long letter of some kind in front of the prince. It was before rolled up. It was a ransom note for the princess’s life. If the prince did not give into the criminal’s demands the princess would die. And their demands? Absolute power over Arcadia. The king and his family would be stripped of their title and sold into slavery as the criminal’s would take control over the world. Plus they had a strong arm that would defeat any army that came after them – a fully developed, red scaled, fire-breathing dragon. The signature on the ransom note was that of someone named Jason Cord, the future ruler of all of Arcadia.

"This..this is impossible!" The prince then looked at the serious faces. They had a plan.

"Yes, Prince Henry. There is hope. But it will take some careful planning and work to accomplish," Said the monk at the table.

"How are we to defeat a dragon?" asked Henry.

"Our army is best against many a foe but our hand are not completely tied against this new dragon threat to our freedom and the royal family." Prince Henry looked over faces of the people in the room. They were all hopeful but the royal family and the kingdom of Acradia would have a grim fate if they failed.

"So what is the plan?" asked Henry.

Henry’s father spoke up. "We needed something just as fantastic to defeat the dragon and it looks like the monks have the answer we have been looking for to defeat our evil enemies.
There is a legend that even though the dragons and most powerful against any weapons there were suits of armor once made to control the dragons actions. Worn in the presence of a dragon, the person with the magical suit on can control the dragon’s thoughts and actions. If the person wearing the dragon suit of armor says or thinks ‘breath fire’, the dragon breaths a gut wrenching amount of fire on its foes. The suit is the key to our victory if ever attacked by John Cord, our extortionist.

Prince Henry was given a leather book library book open to pictures and description of the dragon suit of armor. "Do we have one?," Henry asked.
"No. But we know where to find one, "Said the monk.
"Pieces of it actually, "said Henry’s father. "Pieces that were sent to separate destinations as the last suit was used for evil purposes, but we might be able to use it for good."
"So when do we leave." Asked Prince Henry. "I’m not in the best condition but..."
"You will stay here as I’ve already decided." Said the king.
"But Janet...I must find her." Said the prince. The king and his men looked over the princes condition and all of them agreed that there was no place better for the prince than safely in the castle’s quarters.
"But I insist!" demanded the prince. "Bring on all of you doctor’s opinions! I will not be the one to fall behind in this war to save Princess Janet!"
"Son.."
"Who is with me?!" stated the prince.

The was a pause. The men looked over the princes condition again. His head was in bandages, he had been unconscious in his bed for several days, but no one thought to deny him the right to defend his future bride to be. He was a good swordsman as well and if anyone wanted to win this battle to save Arcadia no one would be more deserving than the prince.
"Very well," Said the king, sighing, depressed of his decision. "I give you permission to go."
"Wonderful." Said Henry.
"But let me say. This will not be an easy journey for you. There are many dangers to this journey. Many trials that will push everyone’s limits."
"Let’s just hope we are in time, Father." Said Henry, knowing his risks.
"Then let’s be off then," said the King’s soldier’s captain. The book that Henry was given was closed and now it was time to get ready for travel.
"I’ll stay here at the castle with the majority of the army. You will be accompanied by a smaller party of soldiers for protection and a monk for knowledge of how to get the pieces of the dragon suit of armor," said the king. "May the gods be with us."
The men all left the library to get ready to travel to their first destination, the island of St. Grande.
* * *
"Will you be my prince?"
Prince Henry looked around himself and his horse. Someone from somewhere was trying to talk to him and he could not place the location of the young voice. Prince Henry looked about find no one his age but found a young cherub like girl in a formal school uniform waving to the prince.
"Are you speaking to me?" asked Prince Henry. The small girl, dressed in a uniform for an afternoon at the local village school, a small ways from the prince, looked wide-eyed at the prince. "Yes," Said the little girl, full of romance for her handsome hero.
The prince, unable to give a reply of ‘yes’, gave a nod to one of the playing boys near-by, the same age of the little cherub girl, saying "Well, wouldn’t you want to be his prince?"
The ‘princess’ looked to where Prince Henry was nodding to and held her nose. "No. He is Charlie Fisherman. He smells from his father’s fish farm. No. You will be my prince. And we will live in a castle together and live happily ever after."
"Sorry, little lady. I see a lot of fish in your future instead."
The men snuck on the prince, done preparing their horses for their trip, and began to laugh at him.

"Nothing like having a conversation with the local princess’s, eh?" said Tom Firret, one of the following soldier of Prince Henry, who was just finished saddling on the horse he was to ride to save his own true princess, Princess Janet, the woman he was supposed to marry before being kidnapped and held ransom for complete power over all of Fantasia. If the prince and his party of local heroes don’t get a move on soon, the fate of the world of Fantasia will rest in the power of an evil warlord,John Cordt, who dared take on the world with deadly red fire-breathing dragon.
"I guess, "said Henry Artok.
"Worrying about the princess will do us no good, your highness. You have to remain focused on the horizon that the fate of the world will be saved by us. In addition, you and your princess will be reunited again for finishing your wedding that was interrupted by the enemy and his dragon," said Tom Firret. He was an older soldier of the group, knowing some history of how battles and wars are against unfair odds.

"We have a plan, my lord, "said Tom. "And you will see victory in your future. I swear it." he said, giving the prince confidence in their plans to save the princess.
"The right moves will still have to be made. We are five pieces short of the five gems that are necessary in open the portal to the dragon armory of Nie. The Island of St. Grande will be our first pick for gems. I’m hoping that we will make our way there without being seen or discovered. There are going to be tons of hoops that we have to jump through before finishing this gem quest but I have confidence that some might be easier than others."

"Actually, I am too thinking this. Some of the passages to pick up the gems of Nie are only but puzzles to figure out. So old that I would wonder if they are just sitting there in caves and such to be picked up easily with no work at all." Said the monk traveling and guiding Prince Henry and his crew of hero’s through Fantasia to the gems of Nie. He was much older than the rest of the traveling party. In his old age he would be no help in battle but still sharp enough to get Prince Henry places all across Fantasia without much trouble to the rescue party.
"Sounds pretty easy then..in some places," said another solider, Marshal Philips. Marshal was keen with directions when traveling in Fantasia. Level headed for a mind of the physical elements of Fantasia, Marshal was still uncomfortable with the idea of magical armor and magical dragons.