A soft wind blew through the sails of the ships docked at Trephin port. Waves ran up the pebbles of the beach before hurrying away leaving only their wet footprints. ‘Tonight is the night’ the wind and the waves seemed to say. The night that Prince Destran and Princess Aria became of age. The castle above the beach was lit in celebration, a ball was beginning.

It was not twelve years ago that the Kingdom of Fantandein was at war. Race fought race, there was no mercy as they all fought for the possession of the Stone of Sanfadier. It was only after the stone had disappeared that King Stephan discovered it had been his own brother Sethos that had orchestrated the Great War. Lilian, Sethos’ wife, had declared the plan to the King and he had acted fast. Not fast enough to save Lilian’s life, as Sethos killed her with his dark powers and ran with their child, banished to the wastes forever. The King had suggested a treaty amongst the races, and as they stood round the parchment on the outskirts of the forest, Stephan felt a great sadness. He had lost so much for the power to see. He looked at his wife and children. Would he have risked them? As the parchment was signed, the races disappeared back to their own homes, taking with them their dead and wounded. The war was over. Stephan took his family home, and vowed he would never again risk so much for something that meant so little. His only connection to the stone would be to protect it, even though he himself did not know its location.

The people of Trephin made their way to the castle. In celebration of the eighteenth birthdays of his children, King Stephan had opened the castle gates to all in his land. As they climbed the path, some of the sea faring folk felt the wind blow through their beards. They nodded knowingly at each other. The Sievere were watching from their waves tonight. The wind was full of hope, interest and a wariness of the future. The men shrugged in their Sunday best, the women checked their hair, and the children skipped at the new breeze from the sea. Yes, the Sievere were very intent on the castle, and the folk wagered that every race and creature would be waiting with their ears on the wind to hear of the events of the night.

The castle gates opened and golden light spilled out. Wives checked their husbands were still neat and clean, and then the city folk marched in true sailor form in to the main hall.

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Author guidance for This exercise

An Encyclopedia to help you through Fantandein: http://www.protagonize.com/work/fantandein-an-encyclopedia
The Map: http://art4stargazer.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Fantandein-278000344

Characters:

Name: Destran
Race: Human
Description: Dark hair and bright blue eyes, straight nose. kinda big, but it looks good on him, he's a bit of a stiff, (at least in the beginning) it comes from all those leadership lessons and the fact he's gonna have to rule someday. He usually wears stuff in navy blue and silver. When he was younger he was best friends with Yara, but they've grown apart a bit since then.
Weapon: Trained in all kinds of weapons, prefers swords and knives.
JSimmons

Name: Yara
Race: Sievere
Description: She has waist length silvery blonde hair that falls in waves, and blue eyes which change shade depending on her mood. Her ears are slightly pointed at the tips, and she has pale skin which is unblemished. She is 5"8, seemingly delicate and speaks softly as though her voice were the breaking of waves on pebbles. Her lips are light with a slight coral tinge and she loves the water, although she has always had a desire for the land. She is calm and thoughtful, but when presented with an enemy her eyes turn stormy, her hair becomes more silvery and she attacks with all the strength she has and without mercy. As a little girl she wandered out of the nursery caves and met the Prince, who was playing on the beach. From then on they met to play, then to talk as often as possible.
Weapon: A small ¾ blade with intricate markings from the handle. Silver and studded with blue gems in the hilt.
Stargazer

Name: Lyra
Race: Sievere
Description: Waist length pin straight blonde hair and blue eyes which turn black when she is upset or angry or discontented in any way. She has a long temper and keeps her cool but when enraged people fear her wrath. 5"8 in height, has a warm heart and likes to see the best in everyone even if that means that she is sometimes naive.
Has been very good friends Yara since she was very little and comes from coral reef by castle Hava
Weapon: 3/4 blade which was owned by her mother and her grandmother and her greatgrandmother and has been pasted down from mother to daughter for generations. Engraved on the blade is Lyra's name and on the handle is an intricate design of flowers interwining into each other. This blade is one of a kind and is recognisable as Lyras and she carries it wherever she goes.
Imprinted Heart

Name: Valak Ru'um
Gender: Male
Race: Vaan
Weapon: Double Bladed Spear (http://www.edgeimport.com/images/7348173649659.jpg), Bow
Description: Around 4 foot 10 inches tall, his hair is medium length, black and is all over the place. His eyes are completely black, and his teeth are sharp and yellow. Ruthless in battle, and just plain evil at any other given time. He is respected by his people, regardless of how he doesnt respect them. He wouldn't help anyone who isn't of his kind, unless paid to do so. He doesn't find his race superior, however he doesn't find any of the others any better than his. He can get violent, but most of the time he avoids unnecessary fights. His size and speed make him a hard target to hit in battle, and his ugly appearance can scare even the bravest of warriors. Just as proficient with his bow than he is with his spear. His alliances lie on the side with the most money. Used to be a general in the Vaan army before getting bored and going freelance because the ending of the Great War of Fantandein left him bored, and he wanted to kill. He is from the Lost Marshes.
Mr.Fisherman

Name: Zahkon
Race: Falath'Nakan
Place: Forest of Illumini
Gender: Male
Markings: Blue
He is 6ft tall. He has a well-built body, very strong and fit. He has very high stamina levels.
He has jet black hair, which is shoulder length and is tied in a neat pony tail with Juju veins. His eyes are completely white. This allows him to see at all times with no problems. He has an amazing sense of smell developed from years of living in the forest. no top.
brown soft leather shoes that come up to the top of the calf-make running quietly very easy and also sneaking.
soft leather trousers. mixtures of browns, blues and greens-camouflage
brown leather belt-holds his knife. holds his quiver of arrows.
*he holds his bow when running. if hunting or fighting and he has the bow strung he can just put it over his back to let him to use his hands or his knife.
Weapon of choice: Bow
He is unbeatable with a bow. He only misses if he wants to intimidate and scare off rather than kill. Also carries a small blade in his belt.
He has an ice cold personality due to being abandoned as soon as he was able to fend for himself for fear that he would follow the path of the previous person with blue markings. He is bitterly determined not to turn out like his predecessor. Unaware that he has a gift for magic.
Wolfe

Name: Jack Valenstar
Race: Human
Description: 6 feet tall, dark brown hair and a small scar on the bridge of his straight nose. Blue eyes and a stiff mouth, has his hair combed back but would usually be quite long, long enough to cover his eyes. Bit of a dick to be honest, he antagonizes people for amusement, not a bad guy but is quite selfish and lazy. He is loyal and has a morally correct view of things, not seeing any difference between any of the races. Wouldn't do anything bad but wouldn't go out of his way to do something good, he would rather stay on the sidelines and sarcastically cheer his friends on, but a ferocious and near unbeatable fighter when he is forced into it.
Weapon: Primary is a simple double-bladed sword, secondary is a boomarang (for annoying purposes only)
Maximillius

Name:Brena
Race:Human
Description: Long curly brown hair, green eyes, wears brown pants tucked into black boots, a black corset over a white puffy-sleeved shirt.
Weapon: Hunting bow, and small axe.
Mycayla

Other humans:
King Stephan: Destran's father
Queen Sophia: Destran's mother
Princess Aria: Destran's sister
Sethos: Destran's evil uncle.
Desdemonda: Destran's cousin
Villagers
Other Sievere:
The Sea Lady/Una:Priestess type leader of Sievere. Yara's mother.
Levina: Sievere who drowns humans.

updated Jan 27 by Stargazer