Soul

Prologue

Stories are often told simply for entertainment, and I won't be one to say there isn't plenty of that in my tale. The reason I'm writing this down, however, is not for entertainment value. This is the history of my country, the land of Sorcha, found on the west coast of the Northern Continent. I am scribing the tales of our most recent times for my nephews, the future kings of Sorcha and my heirs. Before I came to the throne, our country had known a rather peaceful, simple history, and it bore recording only in archives now lost to all of us due to an evil monarch. However, when my father's queen couldn't bear her husband heirs, our country fell into turmoil and I will do my best to detail our tribulations in the following pages.

         There is some basic information, however, that one needs before continuing to read these pages, and I will detail it here. I am the third-born child of King John and his consort, Lady Joya. My elder siblings are King Lukas and Queen Daya, both of whom have left this world due to our unnecessary war. They are my full-blooded siblings; hence my ascent to the throne after them. None of us were born of our father's wife, Queen Tarin, and she resented it my entire life.

       Our father was not a king to pay much attention to his people. He, instead, immersed himself in discovery and exploration, most notably in the colonization of the Southern Continent. He believed his son, my brother, could take care of Sorcha when the time came and focused on how his daughters might improve his current ability to explore and expand the kingdom. Because of this, my sister, Daya, suffered through three difficult betrothals: the first to Prince Raynor of Haslett, when she was merely twelve years old, cancelled due to my father's need for explorational financing. The second betrothal was to Prince Harding of Aswin, when she was fourteen, and the third to the king of the Southern Continent, when she was eighteen. It was with the breaking of her first two betrothals that my father built Sorcha some sore enemies.

        The Princes Raynor and Harding joined forces, after the sudden deaths of both my parents, and overthrew the kingdom, forcing my brother, King Lukas, off the throne. We retreated into exile, desperately afraid and praying for safety and salvation. I spent half my life in a royal refugee camp, in my sister-in-law's homeland of Ahsana, and it is there our story begins. This is the tale of the Great War of the Northern Continent, and the tale of how I became a queen, when such a thing was never my destiny.

      This is also the tale of a family torn apart by jealousy and hatred. I write these histories in the hopes that none may repeat our mistakes. Sorcha cannot afford another great war. I cannot afford to know that all my attempts for peace were for naught. I pray you, my nephews and their descendants, read these words with the intent of avoiding our mistakes and forgiving us for them. The Gods know I am in need of your forgiveness the most.