Colour throne

The Beginning

My name is Lenard Danson and I'm part of the Green Kingdom located in the western area of a nation known as Gala.  My father Mason is a great general among the Green Kingdom. Or  I should say, he was. There was no one at home with me since my mother died at birth and my sister went missing a couple years ago. My father was my last member of my family that I still hoped to be alive. But those thoughts were crushed once the messenger came this morning.

     A messenger came to my door this morning, bringing dreaded news. My father had been slaughtered in the war against barbarians invading from the north. This had apparently happened a long time before, but the last surviving member of his army had trudged through the swamps and caves of northern Gala, trying to return home, for two years.

     I sat on the desk in my fathers old home, deeply thinking about the news. Part of me knew that he was never going to come back since he explained to me before going that it was the most dangerous mission that he was ever going to go on. But part of me believed that he was still alive, somewhere out there. But I know that isn't true.

     I decided to go to the royal library to clear my mind. It had always helped before. I wasn't a very good reader, but I had always loved books since my father once told me that my mother was a  librarian at the same library. I walked to the royal palace.

     Supposedly, the royal library was located on the ground level, but the most sacred and important books were all located underground, behind very heavily armed doors and vaults. While I was walking there, I thought deeply about the news that a messenger had told me a few days before. Apparently, a kingdom on the western coast of Gala called the Red Kingdom had declared war on the rest of the nations. After a few days, Red Kingdom armies marched onto mainland soil and took down one of our most important trade camps. King Pelias, our King, had an emergency meeting right after and the council decided that they need to ally themselves with an Kingdom at the southern coast called the Gray Kingdom to stop the war.

      I finally arrived at the golden plated doors of the palace. Several guards pushed it open as it weighed a lot. I walked on, turned left and finally reached the library. The library was nothing very impressive from above. There were a few tall shelves and a few chairs and desks for reading. A few dim candles lit the whole room. I walked forwards to 2 guards chatting at the corner.

      "I need to get to the royal library," I said.

      "Yes, sir!" one of the guards replied.

      The guard nodded to the other guard and together, they walked over to one of the candles. One grabbed it from the stand and the other guard walked over to the wall. He pushed a brick in and the other guard threw his candle inside. The candle went out in a silent hiss. Suddenly, the whole wall opened, to reveal a ladder leading downwards. I nodded respectfully to the guards as I grabbed the iron rungs of the ladder and slowly descended down.

     When I reached the bottom, I got off the ladder and looked around. Even though I've been to the library several times, the sight still amazes me every time I come. Rows and rows of golden shelved went on and on for as far as I could see. The shelves were so tall it nearly touched the cavern ceiling far, far above.

      At the middle of the library lay an iron vault, with over 10 heavily armored soldiers patrolling around it at all times. I've always wanted to see what was inside, but the guards would never let me. Still, I've always tried. I approached the vault slowly and asked the guards.

      "I need to access the vault," I said in my best commanding voice.

       The guard nodded and pulled open an hatch that was so well hidden I never saw it before. Inside was a ring full of keys. I counted at least 100 before the guard took it out. Each key was exactly the same as the other ones, yet the guard took one specific key and pushed it into the vault lock. The door swung open with ease. I stared at the vault, dumb folded.