Prologue

            The sun was making its way to the west, in a couple of hours time, it would be twilight, signifying the end of the day, and soon the beginning of another. For now, the soon looked down on the inhabitants of the nation with a distant gaze, reflecting off of the ocean’s never ending surface. The sun’s golden yellow rays danced across its surface, almost as though welcoming the creatures who dwelled below to join it. A large cliff rose out of the piercing blue waters some hundreds of feet. At the top it flattened out and led into a dense forest. At least that’s how it appeared to the untrained eye, but the folk who lived nearby knew better. Well hidden by ancient magic and the earth’s trickery was a temple. In the nation of Guanshi there were three other hidden temples like it, each carrying a number of sacred and powerful magical objects. The reason for the separation was so that no one person could go to a temple and gather these artifacts and obtain absolute power. Priestesses watched over the temples, being brought up from a very young age in the teachings of the ancient life. They also patrolled the surrounding areas, checking on the leaders of other clans.

            Guanshi was the smallest of the five domains that inhabited the planet. A monarchy ruled over of each of them, whether through a tyrannical hand or through peace and prosperity. Two domains were allied with Guanshi in hopes of a peaceful alliance between the remaining two domains. The two allies were the nearby Nixey and Roakla on the other side. The enemies were the two largest domains, Sueni and Leeron. These two domains were allied with each other and hoped to overthrow the other three’s leaders and obtain power over their people. Warring between these nations had increased n severity as time passed. Guanshi was the only nation that was still incased in the magic’s of the ancient times, so Leeron and Sueni were often trying to steal the powerful pieces from the temples. Their attempts only ended in anguish, as they were never able to find all of the temples or the artifacts.

            The sun was setting now, casting a pink and orange glow on the water’s surface. The clouds were now dyed in the same hues, in addition to blues and yellows. It washed over the land, people were preparing the evening meal, and shops were closing. A feeling of peace rested in the hearts of the innocent folk. Unbeknownst to them, a sea of red was creeping onto the horizon, soon to shatter their serene lifestyle.