Dragon's Fable Prologue

PROLOGUE

Welcome Once Again

Welcome once again, friend, to the world of Deus.  A world where the legends of dragons and heroes are real.  A world of elves, mermen, dwarves, and even humans like yourself.  A world very different, yet very similar to your own.  A world where stories are more than just the ordinary tale.
I am sure you remember me from the last time we met.  I am Coeptus, the Princep of Nemus Village, in the Land of Deus.  Now, I’m sure you’ve familiarized yourself with the term Princep from before?  A Princep is the leader of a specific region in each land of the world.  Here, I am Princep of the elfin region.
My fellow Princeps and I have governed in the land in peace, and prosperity.  As Princeps, it is our duty to oversee the daily status of our regions.  Wizened with experience, we lead with honor and nobility.  And there is also the occasional duty of annual storytelling, to entertain our people.
In the past, we had celebrated a very special tale in our world of Deus.  The story of hearts.  In this story, we had investigated what is truly in a dragon’s heart.  I had told this story last time we had met, as you might recall?  Now, we must go backward in time, towards the Old Age, before the events of this story, to begin anew.
Take a seat, friend.  Come closer.  I am telling you the story.
And listen.
Listen once again to the legend of the great god Deus, the creator of the world.
In the beginning, the rulers of the universe, the Archgods, and the great god Deus created the Dragon’s Star, the heavens above, and the world.  The world was young, and full of darkness.  And so, Deus let light into the world, setting good from wrong.  He put the essence of life on it, and with it, the four races, elves, mermen, dwarves, and humans to walk upon the world.
Deus’s brother however, Malus, the dark god, his sworn protector, along with the Brotherhood of Malus, his godly kingdom, desired for the darkness as well, and cancelled out the light with his own darkness.  The world entered a time of turmoil.
Now the world was young, and did not know the will of the great gods.  With no system and establishment present before them, the people of the world sought out their own, taking dominion over the land, the animals, and their own kind.
The world entered a time of new establishment.  The Ancient Age came about, with the ancient kingdoms of all people fighting over the lands.  But they were still unknown to the will of the great gods, and thus, were in anarchy without their guidance.
And so, the Archgods prophesized the Prophecy of Dragons.  A fifth race, dragons, would walk upon the world, and so Deus made it so.  Eventually, the five races formed alliances, and the first four races would interact with the fifth.  Thus was the beginning of the Dragon Equesters.
The fifth race, dragons, shall walk upon the world.  They shall have fire, claw, and fang, for combat.  They shall have wings, for flight.  They shall have magic, for the good of the world.
But the races were still unknown to the will of the great gods.  The mystic Prophecy spread across as the legends of the few believers were clouded.  The time of the people and dragons had yet to come.  And the world was not known to the future, and its fabled future protectors.
And so, the great gods willed the birth a single being.  A mermaid.  And Deus made it so.
And so was born, Prota Ap’ola.
With the will and strength of the gods endowed upon her, she went forth, bringing together the people, showing them the will of the gods, and their sovereign rule.
And Deus made it so.
Heroes of all races, elves, mermen, dwarves, humans, astride the mighty dragons, one of Forest, Water, Fire, and Ice, each to represent the regions and elements of every land.  To protect and serve was their mission.  And for millennia, the five races prospered among the darkness, in total balance.
Deus and the Archgods established the Order of Deus, setting up the rules of which the five races were to live by.
The Order of Deus shall be absolute.  The heavenly rule will be absolute.  Thou shall respect.  Thou shall honor.  Thou shall love.  Thou shall not shed blood.  Thou shall not lust.  Thou shall not lie.  Thou shall not covet.
And Deus made it so.
The rules of Equesters were also established.
From one of the five races to Equester.  Equester to Princep.  Princep to Fable.  Thou shall honor him and her with experience, and look up to them in leadership.
Thus, the laws of Princeps and Equesters were established across each land.
And Deus made it so.
Now the world was established in order and peace.
And so the world lived by the ways of the land, and the gods.  To this day, the people honor the great gods, bowing to their sovereign rule.
Malus, frustrated at the rule of the world, seethed at the order of the world.  During this time, using his powers of Darkness, he prophesized the Fall of Deus.
The great god shall fall under Darkness, eternally bound in slumber.  His strength shall no longer uphold the world, and the world and its people will be free for the taking of Darkness.
His treachery was kept secret only to his Brotherhood, for he found it was only they he could trust to carry out his dark plan.
This Prophecy was treated as an unsettled rumor, a joke, among the Order of Deus, for it was folly to believe a guardian and brother of the great god would turn on him.
Even more distant was the supposed counter of the Archgods, who predicted Malus’s rebellion, which prophesized a riddled quest.
A certain Equester, an Equester of Time, who would lead the victims of Darkness out of the dark hand of Malus, and bring them to a new land.
The great god shall fall under Darkness, but not in death.  During the Fall of Deus, the Equester of Time shall come forth, and lead the people out of the Darkness, to a new land, to a New Age.
In Agrippae, Land of Fables, times were prosperous, under our great King Regnator, also an elfin Princep.  During those times, the rule of one elemental Equester each was not an established rule.  There, thousands of Equesters defended us from the dark threats of the world.  We believed our noble Equesters of the time would protect us.  But they fell, one by one, as an unrelenting darkness sought to enforce endless darkness, so that he could create a time of dark order, and then awaken the world as their conqueror.
Our story begins, when Quantus, legendary leader of the Equesters of Agrippae, and the last of the Old Age, and his dragon Megalos, fight for their lives, as they protects four shining stones, the last hope of passing on the legacy of Equesters, against the dark forces of the Kynigos, amoral warriors astride dark dragons.
And so Quantus delivered the sacred stones to chosen ones.  Young, worthy future warriors, one of each race, unknown to their destiny.
Now imagine this.  Imagine a mermaid.  A mermaid of sixteen years.  A wise mentor among others in Nero District of mermaids, she was unbeknownst to the destiny that would teach her of great knowledge.  She is Scolae, future Princep of Inrigo City, of the Land of Deus.
Imagine a dwarf.  A dwarf of sixteen years.  A strong fighter and blacksmith among others in Fotia District of dwarves, he was unprepared for the destiny that would challenge him of his power.  He is Mattheus, future Princep of Ardor Volcano, of the Land of Deus.
Imagine a human.  A human of sixteen years.  A great philosopher of his age in Pagos District of humans, he was unknown to the destiny of great ways.  He is Philologus, future Princep of Mount Haven, of the Land of Deus.
Imagine an elf.  An elf of sixteen years.  A young blacksmith unsure of himself in Dasos District of elves, he was unknown to the destiny that would forge him a path of strength and courage.  He is I, Coeptus, Princep of Nemus Village, of the Land of Deus.
Together, we would embark on a journey that would change us all, and the world before us, as we would find what reality and legends were in a dragon’s fable…