Cruicuria. A massive kingdom known to lay between the Othucian and Zeaterran provinces in Telyssia. Long ago there was a mighty king by the name of Taeg who reigned in that land. He was blessed by the gods with the gift of sight and used his prophetic knowledge to rule with a steady hand. The fifth year of the king's reign was a trying time for both him and his wife, Naia. They had been trying and failing to conceive a child for many moons. Finally, the gods blessed them and saw fit for the queen to give birth to a special baby boy. Their only heir. Aerrerdin was cherished by his parents and all those who inhabited the Ilryian realm. Royal families, including nobles and high-ranking officials, from all of the other kingdoms came to acknowledge his birth. They even presented him with gifts of jewels and fragrances from the deepest wells of their respective lands.
When his son was just a babe, King Taeg walked with the lupine ancestors in the astral realm during his hours of sleep. He conversed with them and they showed him a troubling vision. He saw his childhood friend, Prynceton, running for his life. The village of Cerullis, where he lived, was under attack. The Novisere, a dark breed of elven peoples, had come to lay waste to the village and the surrounding forest known as Etherium as well. When the king awoke from his dream-like state, his wife asked him what was wrong. She too had been startled out of her own sleep. He relayed to her what he had seen and made his decision. He would take a small band of warriors with him to aid his friend and all those who lived in Cerullis. He left his son in the care of his wife and nurse, urging her to lean on the advising of the council in regard to the ruling of the kingdom in his absence.
The village of Cerullis was two days ride from the capital. The king with his warriors made the journey in a day and a half in earnest to aid their fellow Cruicurians.
When they arrived, there was no sign of the decay and destruction the king came to see in his mind's eye. He was bewildered by the ambient peace surrounding him. Prynceton greeted the king and his band of men in merriment and surprise, for it had been many moons since a royal had paid a visit to the northern tip of Cruicuria.
After King Taeg explained his reasons for such a visit he realized that something was terribly wrong. He had been misled by his gift or so he believed.
Now Prynceton was well versed in the magicks of this land and was able to aid his friend in these matters. They both analyzed every aspect of the king's dream and came to the conclusion that his gift had been tainted by one of his most fiercest of adversaries. The infamous Shadow Witch had induced the deplorable visions he saw. She had been trying to get the capital in her clutches ever since King Taeg was but a prince and the change in kingship did nothing to deter her in her quest for power. It was she who wanted the king out of the way to have a clear shot at her goal. For deep in the heart of that beautiful city was a powerful relic that, in the wrong hands, could disrupt life in Telyssia forever. All that King Taeg and Prynceton had ever known could be gone in but a twinkling of an eye.
With these realizations the king and his warriors made haste toward Kalrius, their beloved capital. The hooves of their steeds galloped hard and fast through the Etherium Forest and the Black Jungle. The journey was arduous and lengthy with the many notions running through the king's mind proving to be more of a distraction than motivation. His anguish and worry overloaded his thoughts during this trek back home. Upon arrival, the sight that greeted them mirrored that of the Taeg's dream. The true meaning was not that Cerullis needed aid but his own city. Kalrius was a picture of death and ruin. The Novisere had banded with the Shadow Witch and brought terror to his home.
King Taeg immediately rode to the palace. At this moment he thought only of Naia and Aerrerdin. When he reached the throne room the sight that beheld him ripped through his heart, leaving only misery. His wife was laying on the floor, her robes in tatters and covered in blood. The king tore his own clothing in despair. He could just hear her panting breaths as her life force slowly ebbed away from her weak frame. She muttered words of love and sorrow, for their son had been hidden away in the city with one of his most trusted nurses and the queen's most cherished friend. Naia charged her king with finding him before it was too late.
The king was at a loss. His son was somewhere among the wreckage and the Shadow Witch was no doubt making her way toward the land's most powerful relic. He had to choose. The wrong choice would rock the entire realm to its very core.
As Queen Naia's last breaths left her body, King Taeg knew what his choice would be. Just as he was about to leave, a rumbling could be felt all throughout the palace. A bright light shown from the ceiling. It was too much for him to endure for he looked away and almost missed seeing his wife's body being lifted into the air. He reached for her, but he was yet again too late. The gods had taken her body, soul, and spirit, but for what purpose he did not know. With a resigned sigh, he took off in a mad sprint as he looked high and low throughout the ruins searching for his beloved son.
A piercing shriek brought him to the outskirts of Kalrius. The Shadow Witch was standing over a woman holding a child. In her hands was the very relic he was supposed to protect. In fact, it was the Codexi do Tyantu. As the Shadow Witch read from the aged text, the woman was lifted into the air.
Rage coursed through the king's body, so much so that his form began to change. In his stead was a large wolf the size of a fully-grown stallion with royal blue fur, blinding silver-tipped ears, and paws that appeared to have been dipped in blood. He let out a fierce snarl and with claws outstretched, he charged toward the witch. She lost her concentration, dropping the woman holding Aerrerdin in the process. Faster than anticipated, the king overpowered the Shadow Witch. Despite the usage of her magick, she was no match for King Taeg in this form. His flews stretched widely as his razor-sharp fangs tore into the witch's arm, ripping it out of the socket. She shrieked in pain and rage, she knew her end was upon her. He snapped her entire being up in his now bloodied maw as she baited him with promises of retribution and reincarnation. However, in this state the king was ravenous and her words fell on deaf ears... her fate was already sealed. With a mighty crunch, the woman was dead. Her body dissolved into thin air and with it the tome.
Without a second thought, the king returned his attention to the poor woman who gave her life to protect his boy. With a mournful howl, he returned to himself. Creeping over the woman's body, he realized, much to his surprise, that the corpse was crumpled around Aerrerdin forming a protective barrier of flesh and bone.
The king now understood bitterly that the safety of his own son was no longer guaranteed anywhere in the realm of Telyssia at this time. Knowing what he had to do, he put on a charade carrying the babe deep into the heart of the city. Anyone that was still alive could see that the king was distraught with the supposed death of his son. He praised the lupine father, Rahaelon, the god of creation and the dawn, for keeping his son content and quiet for the duration of his march to the very place that used to hold the ancient tome. Ironically, it would now be used to save the young heir. He would utilize the leftover energies from the relic's holding place to send Aerrerdin to another land. A place very few Telyssians knew existed.
The official story the king would tell would be one full of sorrow and bereavement for the loss of his wife and son. Only his fellow brothers in Triatu, an archaic line of wolven families, would be allowed to know the truth.
And so, using an incantation in Beilyan, the ancient tongue of the wolves, King Taeg transported his son out of harm's way in a small bassinet with nothing but a blanket and a piece of parchment. On it was the name Inzo Dominick Thompson.
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