prologue.

Sometimes during dusk, when the weather was just right something breathtaking would take place. If there were just enough clouds, and if you were in the right spot you would have a cinematic view of Cikal.

The colors from the sunset would reflect on the white stones of the city, turning them every color of the setting sky. And in that moment the city appears even more whimsical and ethereal, with its flowing architecture and orange-pink hues.

But this moment only lasts for a minute or two on random day of chance. The marvel was a treat to watch, making anyone smile.

And so, Lunya found herself watching the setting sky, waiting for that moment. Her day, up until that moment, had been one let down after another. She was hoping to see this spectacle, to bring a smile to her face.

To most, the reflecting colors on the white stone reminded them of more pleasant times, when the Abertrothen Empire was not threatening their borders on one side, and the Rymcytan Empire on the other.

To Cikalans, their shining city brought on a bittersweet nostalgia.

So Lunya waited for the changing colors to paint themselves on the White City. To her surprise, they did.

First orange washed over the city, indiscreet and quiet, followed by the clouds overhead which brought on shadows of different shades of orange. In the Far East of the city, purples settled on the wall. And then all the way to the Far West yellow was bright on the walls. Settled in between blue and pink were splattered, creating a masterpiece on the white stone.

There was a collective inhale from the Cikalans watching the sunset, because, yet again, all were in awe of its beauty.

It was all over too quickly though, the oranges and pinks quickly turning to purple then dark blue into the night. Everyone let out the breath they were holding on to and rushed to finish everything up before it got later.

Lunya heaved a sigh and began to head for the Palace. The excitement for her night did not end here, as she wished it would so she could go home and rest.

No, tonight there was a celebration in Cikal. Already in Center Square she could hear people cheering in the nighttime parade, something she was to miss out on. Instead of enjoying the parade with her friends, she had taken a job at the palace for the night.

Since the celebration was for the Cikalan Republic, a new senate being elected, there was a feast due in the Palace. Desperate for money, Lunya took a job that vaguely described some sort of waiting and cleaning job.

The crowds around Center Square were thick, cheering and shouting for the home they loved so much. All in Cikal were proud of their home, however small it was. Not to mention, at a time like this, Cikal needed all the support it could get from its people. Cikal needed young boys of seventeen to be willing to join the army without complaints.

Right now, Cikal needed something positive.

However thick the crowds were, though, Lunya made it into the palace. Thankfully for her, the parade was to go around the city and end at the palace.

She then joined the congregation with the rest of the citizens that had volunteered to assist in that night’s feast. All of them were gathered in a formation of some sort, gossiping about anything that was relatively interesting.

This thing, gossiping, Lunya could not join in. She was anything but a gossiper, due her extended time spent working in a job where no gossip was shared or offered. So Lunya backed away a little and began to look around the Palace.

Everyone was gathered by the kitchens, to bring out the food was Lunya’s only guess.

“Hey, you,” a guard called, catching Lunya’s attention. She gave the guard a look that said, “Who? Me?”. The look made the guard a little frustrated, causing him to say, “Yes you! Come here,” more sternly than before.

Rushing over, Lunya stood before the guard waiting for him to continue.

“Have you worked in the Palace before?” he inquired.

“Yes, I have,” she answered.

“I need you to do me a favor. Warent here forgot to bring some wine down for the feast. If you would go to the wine cellar and fetch a few bottles, as many as you could carry, it would be greatly appreciated.” He flashed a few coins in her eyes.

Holding back the urge to roll her eyes at the lazy guards, she smiled. “Of course.”

Then Lunya made her way to the grand spiraling staircases that went up and down for floors and floors. The floors of the palace were shining, impeccably clean. Why, they were so clean that Lunya could see her shadow as she ran down the stairs, making it all the way to the bottom.

The wine cellar was easy to find, because she had been there before for other jobs. She headed for the fifth door on the right, large wooden oak. But when she pulled open the enormous door, what had once been walls and walls of wine were replaced with books.

“That’s strange,” Lunya muttered, shutting the door and peering up and down the hall.

A few doors down she heard some voices, and, assuming they were servants, made her way over to them. Perhaps an actual servant, and not paid worker, knew where the new wine cellar was.

As she got closer, though, she realized the voices speaking sounded quite vicious. She became alert, hoping one of the servants hadn’t gone out of control. Tip toeing to the door, she pushed it open a little and peered inside.

“I am afraid you have it all wrong,” a voice said easily.

“I’m not,” the other countered.

“What do you think will happen to you after this? That you’ll be revered and live?”

“I haven’t thought about that yet.”

Inside where not two quarreling servants as she had guessed. It was the consul of Cikal and a general of Abertroth. The Abertrothen general’s armor was on and he had his sword in his hand. The consul, Emidean, looked as though he didn’t see the threat, or care about it.

Lunya’s first instinct was to jump into the room and protect the consul, to get this murderer, this assassinator away. And before she could think through the impulse, she was pushing the door open and running inside.

Before a shout could even escape her lips, and before the door slamming open could register in the general’s mind, Emidean was impaled.

“No!” Lunya gasped in shock as she heard the general’s sword clang against the stone wall behind Emidean. The sword had sliced right through him to the other side.

At the sound of Lunya’s voice, the general turned around swiftly to see who had caught him in the act. At this point, however, Lunya’s vision was going blurry and everything began to fade.

The clang of the sword seemed to echo in her ears over and over again, never-ending until her eyesight went black and she felt her knees buckle beneath her.