Long, long ago when there were still fairies and unicorns, there lived a nation of elves in a big forest called Elvewood. Elvewood was a bright and cheery forest, filled with twittering little birds and other sweet creatures. The Elves had a wise King named Garth. For the many, many years that Garth had been King, there had been a war going on between the neighboring Gnomes and Dwarves. The Elves were not fighting in the war because they thought the war was just a foolish thing. This was so because so many people had died in the Elven War (many years before King Garth) and they wanted nothing to do with the Gnomes, or wars. One day, when Elven Prince Ander was out hunting with his friend Merry, he saw some movement in the bushes and shot his bow and arrow. He went to see what he had shot. When he went to the bushes, two burly gnomes grabbed him. He screamed for help, but his friend Merry had already dashed back towards the castle when he had seen the gnomes. While Prince Ander was being dragged off, kicking and screaming, Merry was just reaching the castle. Merry went inside the castle and raced for the meeting room where he knew the king would be. When he reached the meeting room he burst into it, right in the middle of a meeting discussing a new law.
"What is the meaning of this!?!?" roared the King, sounding like a lion. "Excuse me, Your Majesty. But, I was just hunting with your son, Prince Ander, and two gnomes grabbed him!" Merry said quickly, before the king could say anything else. With that, a gasp circled the room and the King sank down into his chair. "What should we do, My King?" asked Lord Enoch. "Each of the three Lords here will send two of their best Elven hunters to search for my son," said the king quietly. "But Your Majesty, we have no idea where the Gnomes took your son." said Lord Enoch. The King said to Merry, "Merry, my dear boy, did you happen to notice in which direction the two Gnomes took my son?" Merry replied, "I think it was towards the north, Sire." "The only place in that direction is Gnomewood, Your Majesty!'' said a frantic Lord Thiel. King Garth replied patiently "My Lords, if we do not find my son, there will be no one to be King when I die."