Three countries. Five kings and queens. One war, one truce, one disastrous backlash. Five wrongful deaths.

In a world now recovered from the ravages of war, three sons wage secret wars of their own. Three quests for revenge, three journeys for the truth. The first seeks to reclaim what is rightfully his. The second, to fulfill his mother's final wish. The third patiently awaits his day of reckoning.

What's done is done. The past cannot be reversed. The battle for the future begins here. The fates of these three men have been set in stone, their courses already in motion. Only two will survive.

An entourage of four (one disgruntled quasi-royal, one introvert with a destructive secret, one overly helpful intruder, one crusader of righteousness) is drawn together by the long fingers of destiny. With two kings at their side, they will settle this war once and for all. In this battle, the question is not who's right.

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For over two hundred years, Arias exported oil from the barren, mountainous western region, primarily to Oblivia. As the world's largest superpower, Oblivia managed to coerce more than its fair share of oil out of the less powerful Arias at the first discovery of the latter's rich oil fields. Oblivia's economy skyrocketed but became increasingly more dependent upon the imported oil.

The Arians soon learned that a cozy profit could be made by tacking on a hidden tax and periodically increasing the amount. Each year, Oblivia unknowingly paid more and more for their oil. Arias rode the wave of oil profits to come into their own among the world powers.

When Oblivia finally discovered that for two centuries, they had been paying enormous hidden taxes, they demanded a lower price. Arias refused. Oblivia could reach its arm across the sea to monopolize the oil, so in turn, Arias could charge high exporting fees. Oblivia sent its own ships across the sea to import oil, but Arias retaliated with heavy docking fees. Since Arias had also become a superpower, Oblivia lost its leverage. But Oblivia could not afford to lose the oil; it was the heart of their economy. They were prepared to go to war for it.

Althenas, to the north, had no interest in oil. They did, however, want to maintain their role as the second largest superpower. Oblivia needed the support of Althenas to crush Arias.

The king and queen of Oblivia, Dell and Miel Nebuli, signed an alliance with Queen Tzamereck Cuini Banes-Alexander of Althenas, and openly declared war on Arias. Several years of bitter fighting followed, culminating in a truce when all three countries had suffered losses too heavy to justify prolonged war. All hostilities were to cease between the three countries, and all alliances abolished. But Arias delivered the coup de gras to Oblivia: taking advantage of the power shift during the war, Arias forced Oblivia to relinquish their control over the oil.

Oblivia shrunk into the shadows and Arias succeeded it as the largest superpower. (Althenas, miraculously, retained most of its original power.) Two years after the signing of the truce, King Frederick III and Queen Wilhelmina of Arias were murdered by Oblivian assassins on Oblivian territory. Their seventeen-year-old son, Frederick Anders Rhine IV (or Keifer, prior to his coronation) eliminated the possibility of war with one vengeful blow, assassinating the king and queen of Oblivia in return. Keifer allowed ten-year-old Prince Zane Dellari Roake Nebuli to live, who fled the castle only hours later. Arias gained control of Oblivia with no further bloodshed. Less than two years afterwards, Queen Tzamereck committed suicide and was succeeded by her then ten-year-old son, Maoltuile Tiernan Banes-Alexander.

The three countries are now at peace. The war is over, but the story has only begun.