Prologue

The night was pitched. The sky above was as dark as any abyss. Not even the brightest star had shown in the sky. This was no normal night. It was the night when everything will change for the land of Forniza, no; for the whole world. With every small breeze came the stench of fresh blood. Somewhere in Forniza, there had been a massive genocide. This was truly the day for darkness to celebrate.

Two cloaked beings walked side by side along a road. Both had similar black cloaks on, with each covering their faces along with the rest of their body. The difference between the two was one was unarmed and the other was armed, with a long staff that bore a white gem at its peak. A bird flew down and landed on the person without the staff's right shoulder. It was a crow. It held a rolled up paper within its beak. He took the paper and read it.

The person with the crow spoke. His voice was calm. The sound was like that of a late teen, but was full of wisdom. "I just got the message. Lord Xero was successful in killing everyone at the school, and our Electus succeeded in taking out Ootoko Island."

The person with the staff gave a small evil laugh, as if it was him who had performed these deeds. "Finally, my plan has come into fruition!" His voice was old and rusted. The man looked at his palm, which was covered by a black leather glove, as if he was looking into the future. "Now all that is left to do is to take control of the last four kingdoms."

"Do not think it will be that easy. I am sure that once the other kingdoms get word of the fall of Chipotle and the kingdom of Oerk, they will put up defenses. At the same time, the Sagunami plans on taking control of Forniza." The person with the bird interrupted.

"Will you not join me then? Together, we have the power to take down anyone, even Xero."

"I cannot. My loyalties lie with Xero and the Sagunami. After today, we are enemies. I warn you now."

"I see. It's too bad someone as talented as you going to waste with an organization like the Sagunami. But I respect you being loyal."

The two remained quiet for the rest of their walk. They stopped in front of a cavern entrance. The crow cawed at the cave, warning its master that something dangerous was in there. Instead of listening to the warning of his bird, the person just gently rubbed the neck of the crow, signaling it that everything was under control. Suddenly, a large sound emanated from the cave. Every second, the noise grew louder and louder. BOOM. It sounded like footsteps, but footsteps of a giant. And that was exactly what it was. Out from the entrance of a cave, a humongous creature stepped out. It had long, rotted claws on each hand that was at least a foot long. It had three yellow fangs coming from its mouth, two on the bottom and one on top, twice the size of its claws. It was completely bald, showing the unfortunate people who had to gaze upon the creature its rotting, green skin. The monster's eyes were yellow and heavily bagged, probably due to lack of sleep.

It spoke in an angry, monstrous tone. "Who dares to step on the sacred ground?" It was obviously upset about something. Every muscle in its body moved as it spoke. It looked down...way down. It stood at least fifteen feet high. It gave a small chuckle before speaking again. "I see. A little snack huh?"

The old man spoke, loud, so that the giant creature could hear. "Troll, leave at once. We are here for the treasure that dwells inside your cave. Leave us be, or you will regret it..." He gave a short laugh, and then finished, "for a few seconds."

"You threaten me! How brave of you, but very stupid!" The troll raised its arm. "You know, I like to crush my food before I eat!" The creature, with all its might, swung down. At impact, an explosion of wind, dirt, and dust spread at just the force or the troll's strength. The sound of the creature's swing sounded like thunder crashing down from the sky on a clear meadow on a dark stormy night. When the dirt cloud cleared, which took almost a minute, the troll's eyes were in shock. The back of his hand that he meant to have come crashing down on the two humans instead was blocked by a green barrier that surrounded the two. He couldn't move hand off of the barrier. It was as if his hand has become part of the barrier. "What?" The tone of its voice sounded more scared than angry.

"Spell caster..." The troll began, "I didn't know that you were a spell caster!" The troll continued to pull even though it was hopeless. "Unleash your magic now!" The troll demanded.

The old man smiled, "I warned you to leave us alone creature. Now I would rid the world of your repulsive image." The white gem on the staff began to glow a bright color, blinding the troll. "Impius Suctus!" The man casted. The light of the gem began to move, as if it had a mind of its own. It began to circle around the troll.

The troll jerked. It didn't know what to do. "What is this? What are you doing?" The frightened troll continued to pull on his arm, but once again, failed. The troll lost hope in escaping, and looked at the spell casters, "you must not enter these caves! It will spell disaster for all of Forniza!"

The old spell caster gave a small grin as the light covered the troll like a blanket. "I know what lies in this cave, and I will lay claim to it. I thank you for offering up your soul and body to me. I could use them one day in the near future." Then the light began to spin even faster.

"No, please let me go! You will not be able to control that sort of power!" The troll begged, but it was too late. A second later, all that was left from where the troll was its arm that the light never touched. The barrier around the two dissipated into the air, and the troll's arm fell to the ground like a thrown toy.

The two began to walk again at the same pace that they were going, as if nothing ever happened.

The inside of the cave looked like any other cave, but that was the idea of its creators. It had the same smell has any damp cave found in Forniza, the rocks were just rocks, and the dirt was just dirt. Everything was normal; except for the two intruders that recently entered.

"The original beings that roamed Forniza created a creature that held power that was said to make the gods seem like infants compared to it; the Custodem Pacis. It had the power to control nature itself, every aspect of it, even life and death." The old man began. "It was said that they never used it against their enemies, but only to defend themselves from any threatening force."

The spell caster with the crow on his shoulder interrupted. "I know of the legend."

"When these beings were on the verge of extinction, they knew better to trust humans with the weapon. They sealed it in a comatose state and hid it in this very cave hoping that no one would ever find it. But they took to measures of reinsurance." The old man smiled, "They entrusted their allies, the trolls, to guard the caves and to keep it a secret until the weapon would be lost in time. As a precaution, they separated the power into fifteen fragments, each containing a certain power of the Custodem Pacis. The fragments were scattered to random locations. Whoever touches the fragments will be given the power of that fragment possesses. Currently, ten of them have been fused with their host, the Electus. The other five either have not been found yet, or the Electus have not been identified yet. The one that was sent to Ootoko Island will be later captured. The Scions have something more important to do at the moment."

"So what is your plan for the Custodem Pacis?"

"Isn't it obvious, to take control over Forniza and all of the remaining kingdoms within it, and become ruler of the entire realm; killing all that stands in my way, even the Sagunami if the time arises."

"The Sagunami are not weak. When we feel like you actually pose a threat to us, we will hunt you down and kill you."

They stopped. In front of them was a huge statue of a humanoid being, but was unclear of exactly what it was. It was completely gray, so most features were covered and unidentifiable. Surrounding it was the corpse of many of the trolls that once guarded it. They probably died out by the same diseased that had affected the troll that he had just previously captured.

"Oh Custodem Pacis, soon, you will be awaken once again." The old man gently rubbed his right hand across the statue, "And I will be your master!"

The young spell caster walked to the opposite side of the room, kneeled down and picked up an object. He stood up. "I have gotten what I was in charge of getting." A circular light around the spell caster appeared from the ground. It glowed purple. "Do not forget what I had said, once the Sagunami feels you has a threat to our organization, we will kill you."

The old man smiled, "I will wait until then..." And instantly, the young spell caster with the crow on his shoulder vanished.

The room was quiet and the old man just stood silent as if he was frozen; just staring at the statue. Like a maniac, he just began to laugh. At first it was a quiet laugh, but grew into a loud psychotic noise. After two minutes of this, he became quiet again and spoke. "My plan with the Custodem Pacis is more than domination of this feeble land..."

Word Knowledge:

Custodem Pacis-The Peace Keeper

Electus-Chosen One

Impius Suctus-Wicked Suction