_Winter, 299 Years After Alexander's Landing. The Imperial Palace of the Dragon Keep, The Imperial Europan City of Alexandria, the Crownlands. Two days before the wedding of Crown Prince Xavier Drake of Europa and Princess Anastasia Romanov of the Rus and the 300th Anniversary of the Dragon King's Conquest of the Mainland._

[img]http://i.imgur.com/dZ5ixxR.png[/img]


There were as many dragons as they were clouds in the sky. 

Or at least, that is what it seemed to the citizens of Alexandria and their guests. The winged beasts flew into the city from all directions, dragons of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Great dark-scaled War Drakes rode by warriors flew alongside the more colorful mounts favored by the more idle nobility. Some had just one head while others had three. Some had great wicked horns while others had spiked clubs for tails. Still others were not fire drakes at all, and were instead frost dragons, lightning breathers, or thunder shouters. Any Draconalogist worth the name would have kept himself busy for days observing the sheer variety of dragondom on display. 

And there were Draconalogists and more. Everyone who was anyone in the Empire was flocking to the city and many more opportunistic, curious, or devious soul besides. High Lords and Ladies rode with their trains of knights and servants, turning the streets into an impromptu parade of banners and colors while ships as diverse as the dragons in the sky crowded into the harbors, though those sea-bound souls took care to avoid raising the ire of any sea serpent riding Dragon Lord. The streets were crowded with merchants hawking their wares, jugglers or acrobats demonstrating their skills, children running around in delight, mages casting harmless spells, warriors wooing maidens, clerics preaching sermons, and of course thieves working the crowds or women luring men into taverns. 

Lords and Ladies of all ranks flocked from every province in the Empire. Commoners cheered and applauded the arrivals of Duchess Snow White, Lady Cinderella, the Frog Lord, Lord Beast, the Sleeping Beauty, and countless more nobles and warriors of song and story. There were even more exotic visitors. Elves, Orcs, Trolls, Gnomes, Halflings, Goblins, and other nonhumans were common enough in Alexandria but the commoners and nobles of the city alike were used to peasant creatures not nobility.

 Orc Chiefs, Elf Nobles, Dwarf Lords, and the gentry of virtually every other Europan race were in evidence as well, drawing all sorts of attention. Colorfully and eccentrically dressed Magi of all disciplines and teachings mingled with the crowds some holding staves while others held wands or even broomsticks. Demigods of every Pantheon in the Empire walked the streets as well, obvious in their celestial radiance that bridged the divine and the mortal. Some even caught sight of the Fae. Ethereal beings of Summer or Winter who defied all description and were equal parts beautiful and foreboding. The Courts often kept to themselves but it seemed the marriage of the heirs to two Empires drew the attention of the Fae Queens. 

Foreign dignitaries and travelers from the Rus moved about freely in the city, along with those from the Imperium, the Emerald Land of Oz, the Queendom of Wonderland, the Arabian Sultanate, the Raj of the Indus, and many other faraway lands besides. With their people were their beasts. Griffons, pegasi, rocs, basilisks, and all manner of creature that flew, crawled, slithered, or ran could be seen. The air itself was crowded with the excited shouts, pleased chatter, lustful advances, snide jokes, enraged outbursts, formal declarations, and whispered secrets of more than a dozen tongues from more than a dozen peoples. Never before had there been so many foreigners in Alexandria and the city's trade boomed even as some eyed the outsiders suspiciously. The population of Alexandria was normally around a million but there was easily twice that many in the city now, with more to come. 

It was a historic time on many accounts. The upcoming marriage was the first bond of its kind between two powerful nations like Europa and the Rus and its leaders. There were to be tournaments, exhibitions, and competitions in the name of the union. Archers would decide the best shots, knights would ride to find the best jouster, singers would compete with their voices, painters would unveil their masterpieces, sculptors would present their gifts, and warriors would compete in the names of themselves, their families, or their paramours. And of course there would be trade deals to be made, diplomatic negotiations to discuss, and secrets to be traded. It would promise to be a very grand time and most likely a dangerous one as well. If it all went well, then Europa and the Rus would be united by blood in an event that all hailed as the precursor of a Golden Age for the Dragon Empire and the Rus. 

This is what drew hundreds of Dragon Lords and their mounts to the city. There were always at least a dozen dragons in the heart of the Empire but it was a very rare occasion when so many of the Dragonblood gathered in one place. Members of the royal family, its cadet branches, and its vassal houses took to the skies and delighted the masses while also making a formidable show of the power of House Drake and the Dragon Families. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, and all manner of relations to Emperor Conrad arrived by dragon, ship, or horse. House Drake was a very large and often times very divided clan, its associates even more so, but it seemed rivalries would be put aside for the marriage of the Dragon Prince to the Snowbird. 

Tsarina Vasilia and her entourage were already settled into the Dragon Keep. More guests would arrive as the wedding approached but the Supreme Ruler of the Rus had brought her family and the bride to be early in advance. Several other guests of note would be shown into the Keep as well, high clerics from various faiths, scholars from the universities, notable bards or artisans, mages from the Enchanter Colleges, storied knights, and high nobles were among the guest list and many others crowded the inns or personal homes of Alexandria's rich. They would come with gifts and well-wishes in order to secure favor or influence whatever form that influence may take. The Great Game was one all played, and the stakes could mean one's life. 

As some of our intrepid heroes, or villains whatever the case may be, approach the Keep they take note of its formidable yet majestic appearance. The City and the Keep started as a humble fort and adjoining village where Alexander made his landing. Now the Keep was a massive stone palace that could house thousands, with spires that reached hundreds of feet into the sky and strong fortifications on all sides. It was there that the dragons clustered the tightest, dozens of dragons roosted on the keep while others flew around in a circle. On top of the palace was a massive hundred-foot high statue of the Black Sun, Alexander's horned mount that let him conquer Europa. The statue is purported to be life-size though the beast itself died long ago. 

The Keep is surrounded by water on three sides, and the Royal Fleet with it's red sails and fiery flags number in the dozens of ships around the palace. The Personal emblem of Lord Admiral Donovan Drake, Conrad's Cousin and Master of the Fleets, dotted the largest vessel, the emblem depicted Dragon crashing through a wave and breathing fire onto a hapless ship. A gargantuan five-decked ship bristling with cannons and large enough to house Donavon's mount Wavebreaker and named _Alexander's Trident_, cut a formidable figure on the water. It seemed Donovan had taken time from his conquest of the Neverlands to attend the wedding. 

The road to the keep was lined with Palace Guardsmen, men and women armed with fine arms and finer armor all gold-tinted with flame patterns. Several heralds bore the standards of the Emperor and other notable Royals while others flew the colors of House Roe or House Solis and other Great Houses to acknowledge their visitors. The majestic visage of the firebird, the prized royal visage of the Rus, was flown on the castle walls right next to the demon-horned dragon of Drake. 

The Keep itself is dark grey in tint and the effort of decades of labor. Alexander's son had been the one to see it finished and it was said the castle was filled with numerous secret passageways and underground chambers, the location of which were said to be lost when the Cruel Dragon slew all the workers and architects. Nonetheless hundreds of trebuchets, ballista, cannons, and other weapons lined the numerous battlements manned by House Drake's men-at-arms. The Keep had never fallen to attack by an outside invader and for good reason. The stone of the Keep was enchanted by the strongest court mages and there were innumerable slits and murder holes for defenders to fire from. 

Gargoyles posed on various points on the keep but they were by no means mere ornamentation. Come nightfall the statues came alive, and an army of ferociously loyal and intelligent beasts came alive to help defend the Keep. Between them, the Dragons, the court mages, the royal fleet, the defenders, and any number of more secretive defenses, it was a wonder why any had ever tried to take the Keep. The train of guests pass by the massive gates and are eventually led inside the palace and into the Great Hall. 

The Hall is decorated with banners of various houses and filled with several of the guests of the wedding. Skulls of famous dragons adorn the walls which reach high above to a ceiling painted with a dramatized mural of dragons warring with gods and monsters. The skull of the Black Sun smiled at the head of the hall above the Burned Throne. The Black Sun's maw was wide enough for a half-dozen horses to ride in abreast and it was said the Throne was formed by the Black Sun's flame crystallized by magic. The Hall was large enough for hundreds of occupants. 

Emperor Conrad was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Lady Marshall Evelyn Bluefire. Instead the throne was empty and Crown Prince Xavier Drake, Empress Annabelle Charming his mother, Grand Duke Luthor his uncle, Lord Admiral Donovan, the Queen Dowager his grandmother, Xavier's siblings, and other relatives were socializing with guests while the Prince was flanked by the elite white-armored knights of the Royal Guardians including Lord Commander Crow and Sir Maxwell the Daring. Notably absent was Anthony Drake the Dragonknight of the Guardians, Conrad's Cousin, and widely renowned as the greatest knight in the realm wielder of Inferno and rider of Sunburst. 

Tsarina Vasilia and her brother-in-law Ivan Tsarverich had approached the throne and were engaged in conversation with Empress Annabelle while the prince and princess to be engaged where amicably speaking with one another. The two had not seen one another before the engagement but it seemed as if they were already off to a good start. Both were youths with sterling reputations and the future of their union seemed bright. Various other nobles, generals, scholars, and mages were engaged in their own conversations about a variety of topics and the Royal Herald proclaimed the arrival of each significant dignitary to the Hall. Snow White, Cinderella, the Sleeping Beauty, Lord Beast, and others were among those in the Hall and it was a opportune time to make connections among the Court. Grand Duke Luthor also allowed a line of supplicants to submit requests to the Throne. As Vice Regent it was his right in Conrad's absence to hear such pleas.  

A few esteemed merchants had been allowed to bring their best wares into the hall for browsing and they had the best in items martial, magical, and otherwise. A few knights presided over the singing of other knights into the jousts and other warriors into the melee competitions as well as competitions of archery and other feats of athleticism. Everything save the joust was open to all. Singers and musicians played a few songs while a clerk was signing in performers into the competitions between performing artists and cataloging submissions by artisans to be displayed in the wedding itself. Several scholars and mages were looking for new students to their colleges as well as trying to secure donations to their institutions while a court mage demonstrated a few tricks to appreciative onlookers and another was signing on entrants to the magical display competitions. It was said particularly well performing competitors in any of the competitions would win quite a hefty purse as well as prestige and possibly royal employment. 

The wedding was in two days and other parts of the palace were bustling with servants getting things in order. The massive courtyard near the hall was filled with visiting warriors sparring with each-other while the great library was full of secrets to be found by scholars and mages. The palace itself had countless rooms to be discovered and the city outside held promise of great adventure and peril for those who went looking. Meanwhile across the kingdom other heroes and villains were approaching peril. 



_On Approach to Redwood Valley, the realm of Lord Colin Charming, former holding of House Roe, the Rhinelands_

Emperor Conrad, Grand Duchess Evelyn, and Sir Anthony were in the skies. Conrad's dragon Brightfire, was in the lead flanked by the smaller but faster Sunburst and the formidable cobalt scaled Blue Star. Behind them was an army of two thousand including men of House Drake and House Charming with others from other houses and independent mercenaries. 

A scant week before the wedding, Duke Cullen of House Charming has received word that the holding of his brother Colin had been usurped by a pretender named Trast. Trast had been a commoner but somehow he had gained weapons of vast destruction. Details were vague but survivors reported monstrous creatures, dark magic, and the death of Colin, his daughter, and the entire household. Now Redwood Valley was said to be in chaos as Trast lay in his stolen castle and the Valley was besieged by monstrosities and opportunistic bandits that raided the defenseless and starving commoners. 

Duke Cullen had been terribly enraged by the news of the death of his brother and niece and, as father to the Empress, demanded the throne's help in bringing order to the region. Lady Marshall Evelyn had volunteered to lead a force and Conrad, never a renowned fighter, had surprised all when he elected to step in himself. They had gathered other nobles and hired on several sellswords to put down the rebellion, even emissaries from the various visiting parties allotted token men to the sortie. It was one of the only Imperial Operations involving soldiers from so many other lands. 

Among those to fight were Prince Charming, Sir Wilhelm Roe who was Evelyn's brother-in-law, and Sir David Beast the oldest Son of Lord Beast. The scouts had reported many stories true. The forests were largely aflame, the rivers were choked with bodies of the dead, and the air was clogged by ash from burned villages. The chaos and destruction wrought by Trast had attracted Ghouls, Bandits, Witches, and even Werewolves and Vampires and other dark beings or criminals. All of Colin's men were either dead or fled and Trast held Castle Redwood with his peasant army of malcontents, content to leave the Valley to burn. There was no sign of the supposed weapons and there were around five thousand of the rabble camped outside or in the castle. 

Conrad and his relations were to go with Duke Cullen and attack Castle Redwood with the main force of 1,500 men. The Castle was a sturdy one but it was widely believed that with three of the greatest Dragons living it should be no contest even if they were outnumbered by the bandit lord and his men. They would liberate the Castle, look for survivors of House Charming, and capture or kill Trast. 

Prince Charming was to take Sir Wilhelm, Sir David, and the rest of their forces to clear the main village near the largest river as well as the nearby farms and forest of monsters and bandits and relieve the commoners. If Charming begrudged his considerable martial talents being wasted on such an assignment he gave no notice. Instead he lead his forces to the outskirts of the village.

The men and women found themselves on a hill looking down across the fields to the village. It was a large town, with almost three thousand commoners living there. Or at least there had been. Several buildings burned and there people were being murdered in the roads while others desperately locked themselves inside their homes. Trast cared nothing for the people and was letting thugs have the run of the town. Several nearby farms were also destroyed and it was said that the nearby forest is where people were being preyed on by werewolves and ghouls. It was said that a Vampire family and a witch coven had taken over significant portions of the village. 

Prince Charming on his horse spoke briefly with Wilhelm and David before addressing the assembled men, "Our assignment is simple. Bring order to Redwood Village and stop this madness. Spare the innocents but leave none who raise arms against us alive. Sir David will lead a sortie of a hundred men into the forest to clear the wood of monsters while Wilhelm will lead fifty men to secure the surrounding farmlands. I will lead the remainder to eliminate the bandits as well as the reported Vampire and Witch enclaves. But we don't know what we can really expect to see and I want all to be at the utmost alertness. There may yet be worse things about." 

And so the force was split into three, and our heroes among them to their assignments. David lead his men into the forest, he dismounted as he changed into a seven-foot tall furry beast. All in his bloodline had the ability and he was the perfect man to sniff out supposed werewolves and other monsters. David crouched to the ground and sniffed, "Follow me. I have a strange scent." He cautiously advanced into the too dark and too quiet forest where the sun was blocked by the tall trees. 

Wilhelm and his force saw nothing at first only death and destruction. Bodies and burnt crops were the norm as they passed the first few farms. However they soon came upon a large country manor that seemed to be mostly untouched. But there were no souls in sight. Wilhelm grunted and pointed out a dozen men to investigate before riding off to other farms. The men he sent saw a great house belonging to some wealthy merchant but utterly devoid of anything to suggest living. Everything was completely untouched. That's when they heard the soft sobbing which seemed to come from up the stairs. 

Prince Charming and his forces were mounted overlooking the village. There was a large gang of thugs in the road, wantonly burning and beating and raping. Screams and shouts echoed across to the men and women and Charming grimaced before drawing his sword. He shouted, **"FOR COLIN!!!"** and charged on his warhorse into the village with his men. They immediately laid into the bandits and thugs and left many dead before them but there were many more to go. As they waded through the road, a small chapel was newly aflame and screams could be heard inside while nearby an inn held a gang of bowmen who started letting arrows fly at the king's men. The battle was begun.