The Dark Prince (spaceandwitchcraft And Roxas)

[Roxas]

Goranth is world of many wonders and mysteries. Full of life.. Or so it was before the corruption.
No one knows from where it came but one day it was just there. Like a thick veil of darkness that transformed everything it touched. Lakes became poisonous and forests grew dark and deadly. Plants became inedible and every living creature that was touched by the corruption was transformed into a monster driven by the most sinful needs and desires.

Only the giant city of Toelsith sat safe from the corruption thanks to its high walls that reached the clouds.
Inside the city was a castle. There ruled a prince who had ruled since he was 16. No one had however seen him since the age of 21. But even then at that age, did he look the same as he had done at 16.
Now,94 years later and the world is on the edge of darkness. The city of Toelsith is haunted by a plague that is killing off hundreds every week.
On top of that, is the war and a rebellion uprising that has had enough of the nobles and their mysteriously vanished ruler who never leaves the castle and throw banquettes every night while the people have to suffer.

And it is on this night that the rebels have finally managed to breach the castle walls to kill any noble that find.

The screams of murder and echoes of fighting filled the halls as Theodore Adrus Fellknight the third ran through the large castle. His heart beating fast and hard. He had neither sword in his hand nor any actual combat experience. His royal guards were left behind to take care of the mob, but from the sounds of it, the mob quickly overpowered them.

In many places around the castles were wild fires that were about to grow out of control any moment. Theodore was no idiot. The castle had fallen and all he could do was to try to flee, hide and survive.

It was just by chance that his escape led to the library where in his moment of panic ran right into a young woman he had never seen before.
Most certainly a rebel scum like the others.
But then his his eyes were laid upon the book beside her.
"That's... " He began, looking up into her eyes. "What are you doing with that book?" He asked, knowing full well that it would be of little use to her since he doubted she could even understand it.

 

[spaceandwitchcraft]

Angelica Smith, known by friends as Angie, had not come to fight. She knew of the rebellion, to be sure, for she was of the class of the resistance, but she herself did not have strength enough for such a task as being one in a mob. Still, she had joined them, followed quickly behind, so that once the royal guards were overtaken, she had her chance to escape into the castle, to find the treasure that she searched for. She was dressed in her only decent set of clothes, a green-brown dress with a beige pinafore and brown stockings. Her hair was ebony, and her skin was dark as well, making her emerald green eyes stand out to anyone who saw her. She snuck into a corridor where fewer seemed to be rioting, soon left alone to enter the library, which was of no use to anyone. It was clear even from its entrance that it was seldom used anymore. The money the prince had been spending from large taxes were clearly of use elsewhere in the castle.

The mobs now sounded quite distant for a time. Angie was pleased at this. It meant she had time to find what she searched for. She shivered in the delight at how close she was to the discovery. Still, she only knew from hearsay what it looked like, and it was legendary, so she still had a small chance at it not being true. It was the only chance she had at returning to a life with family. She had lost absolutely everyone, but she could bring them back, she hoped. She was not the most literate, but she was far more literate than most of her class, and that was saying something. She could at least guess as to what languages the books were written in. She knew she could find it if it was real. She just needed time.

At eighteen, Angie was already far luckier than most poor women. She had managed to work in her father's former trade, understanding metal and using this knowledge to help others around her. With that, she managed to feed herself without ever needing to sell her body. She hoped that with some luck, her virgin status could bring her into a nice home one day, getting married to a man with money, perhaps. But that was something that was hard to come by, with the corruption outside of Toelsith preventing trade for nearly a hundred years. Now, very few wealthy people existed. It was the prince, and those he cared most for.

After quite a search, Angie found a large, old book, cracking, with thin pages. There was nothing on the spine, and, as she removed it, she saw nothing on the cover. It was a little heavy, but she had strength enough to bring it to the table by the entrance. She opened the book, and to her surprise, she finally found what she had hoped for: a language unrecognizable to her, like nothing she had ever seen before. The letters, whatever they were, were flawless in their inscription. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. She held the book to her chest, clutching it like a treasure as she began to leave. But with a flash of color and a sudden blow to the ground, she was knocked over. A well-clad but strange-looking young man had knocked her over. She coughed and took a breath as he spoke. As she looked into her eyes, she felt the strange sensation that there was more age than his face let on.

"I... I found this book. I need this book. What's it to you?" she asked. She did not recognize the man, and he looked too clean to be from the resistance, anyway. A royal guard, perhaps? It was hard to say.