Winter. Cold and harsh. The winds howled, pushing along a wave of snow that swallowed up the land. The condensation froze against the windows of the Kingdom, creating a look of small cracks racing along the glass. The only body of water that wasn't completely frozen over was the ocean that laid beyond the cliffs of the Kingdom. The land was barren and cracked with little to no crops showing any product. This time of year was always so bleak and depressing in the north. Though, the rest of the year wasn't much better. Having a territory pushed all the way to the peak of the map; a frozen wasteland was a natural landscape. But, it was home. A home to Humanity.
Two hundred years ago, Humanity settled in the central part of the world. The north was all but an inhabitable frozen tundra, completely untouched by any life. The dwarves, a strong and mighty race, despite their size; Naturally in touch with earth and regarded as the best blacksmiths and miners in all the land, settled all over the western mountains. The Elves, divided amongst themselves with races such as Wood Elves, Frost Elves, Dark Elves, and High Elves - all with their respected affinities for the elements of magic, ruled over the east up until the very beginning of the Frozen tundra where the Frost Elves mainly resided. And lastly, The demons, An unruly race, known for their high affinity with dark magic and cunning tactics, dominated the south, beyond a long border of deep forest that was littered with some of the most fearsome monsters in the land.
These were the four most prominent races. There were other races such as goblins, orcs, fairies, lizardmen, and others that roamed this world but they mostly held alliances with the four major races, simply having small territories within the respected regions but no established kingdoms. Amongst the four major races, Humanity was viewed as the weakest and thus the perfect target for the Demons. Humans, although able to have affinities for all types of magic, did not have the natural talent for magic such as the Elves or Demons, leaving them with a pretty big disadvantage when it came to learning magic. They also did not have natural strong bodies like the dwarves, making their blacksmiths pale in comparison. Along with distinct personalities of each race; the natural arrogance of the Elves, the stubbornness of the Dwarves, the Malice of the Demons, and the greed of Humanity, the races often clashed in ideologies, leading to tension between each Kingdom. For the Demons, each of these characteristics made the Humans a perfect stepping stone towards world domination.
Holding no alliances amongst the other smaller races, and being viewed as a nuisance from each of the major races, the humans were seen as simple prey surrounded by a world of predators. Due to the Humans' greed, they never sought to mend any of these frail relationships, mostly continuing to strain them by their use of the other races as slaves. Viewing the other races as a means to more wealth and nothing more. This was common practice amongst the nobles, even using the commoners of Humanity as slaves, all the continue lining their practice. After all, wealth is a sign of status. Humans were by no means innocent in the fate that was to come.
With no allies, and viewed as a stain in this world by all other races, the Demons seized the opportunity to invade the Human kingdom. First, through cunning strategy and disguise, killing and stealing the identities of important nobles, slowly dismantling the Kingdom from within. Once the kingdom's internal affairs were at its highest tension, the Demons began to march their armies into Human territory. Using the Elves and Dwarves' disdain for the humans as a guise to attack them without alarming the others to their bigger plan, the kingdoms simply closed their borders and turned away from the onslaught. And thus, with the invasion of the Demon army, began a long and grueling war, leading to the near extinction of Humanity.
With their current King being killed in the midst of battle, morale was at an all time low, and hope was becoming dim. Having no other choice for survival, a knight of the kingdom from the King's Royal Guard, Valorian Aelaoria, suggested to lead what was left of Humanity into the frozen tundra of the north. Having no other choice for survival, Humanity began their reluctant death march into the desolate lands. The demons quickly took over the central part of the land, predicting that the rest of humanity would meet their ends from the Harsh cold but, under the fierce leadership of this lone knight and a few of his companions from the Royal Guard, Humanity managed to settle deep in the frozen tundra and began to rebuild their kingdom, naming Valorian as their new king.
Under King Valorian's new rule, he sought to start anew, abolishing the ideologies of the previous ruler, freeing the slaves and creating a kingdom of opportunity for all who seek it. Through his highness's rule, he brought peace to Humanity who now had to settle in the harsh landscape of this frozen wasteland. Although the other races still held contempt for the Human's, they strictly just stayed away from the territory not wanting anything to do with Humans anymore, assuming that the spark would eventually die out and the humans would slowly meet their demise in their new landscape's harsh conditions.
Now, all these years later, humanity managed to rebuild in this frozen tundra, In which a descendent of King Valorian and my Father, King Hermes Aelaoria, ruled as a pillar. Continuing to drive hope into the hearts of his people and keeping a constant light that instead of war and tragedy that has plagued the world for so long, we would reach peace with all the races and enter a new era for all. A fearless, and respected leader amongst the Kingdom with high ambitions. At least, he used to be.
Sometime around my eighth birthday, My father was stricken with some kind of disease. A disease that sapped the life out of him, leaving him frail and bedridden. He went from being a strong, valiant man to the epitome of a walking skeleton within weeks. A shell of the former hero he used to be. No matter how many doctors we hired; the long tedious operations that they put my father through, nothing worked. No one could figure out where this disease came from. The only clue to this disease was a small black ring that formed on the nape of his neck. The only thing we could do was sit back and watch as the life slowly drained from my father, powerless to relieve any of his suffering.
It's been four years since then. The people of this kingdom have long since begun to question the ability of my Father to rule this kingdom. At least, that's what I gathered from the hushed gossip of the other nobles. It seems as though they have all forgotten the accomplishments of my father and everything he has given to this Kingdom. However, I refuse to give up hope. Now, upon my twelfth birthday, I have officially become of age to begin my training to inherit the throne and restore my father's honor.