The Golden Rose

Chapter Five: Days of Yore

The Empire is a flourishing nation, occupying at least one fourth of the world's land. It is surrounded by the nation of Eden on one side and the other three sides by sea. The seas have helped The Empire economically, as it is quite invested in trading. It is a rich country with fresh spices, precious jewels from various mines and a wide range of aquatic life. The Empire's history goes far back. It was founded after The Great War which resulted in heavy casualties and many people were left starved and homeless. That was thousands of years ago. The first Emperor of the Empire was a man who had fought valiantly in The Great War and was deserving of his title. He was both wise and strong, a man unlike any other. He was also kind to his subjects and a strong advocate for justice. He would show no mercy to criminals and during his rule the crime rate dropped to almost zero. Soon he married a woman he had fallen in love with and she bore his children. Thus his lineage continued.

The current Emperor of the Empire, Ralph Surek Cicero is said to be the reincarnation of the first Emperor. They both possessed the same virtues, ambitions and honesty. His Majesty married young to the daughter of one of the Dukes of the Empire. Her name was Marriane Ciel Xavier and she was a stunning woman with long, black, lustrous hair and ruby red eyes. The Emperor gained a lot from this marriage as the Xavier family is known to have special powers. They could wield magic from as long as their bloodline had come into existence. The Xavier family was one of the three families that was blessed by a Spirit. House Xavier was blessed by the Spirit of Darkness. The Royal family was blessed by the Spirit of the Sun leading to the Emperor being known as the Sun of the Empire. The final house, the other ducal house except for Xavier Dukedom, House Valerio was blessed by the Spirit of Light. They were born with silver hair and emerald green eyes. Although all three families were under the protection of Spirits, it was well known that Xavier's powers were far superior than that of the other two houses. That is why the Royal family kept them close as allies and the Valerio Dukedom also cooperated with them.
After his marriage with Marriane, the Emperor gained complete support from the Xavier family and after Marriane's father passed away he also received the title of Duke. Although it was a political marriage His Majesty fell deeply in love with the attractive Empress.

Six years passed by of their marriage and she gave birth to twin boys who were non identical. She passed away during child birth leaving the King devastated. The first child who was born a minute earlier than the second had golden hair and shimmery ocean blue eyes. They were the characteristics of the Royal family and he was blessed by the Spirit of the Sun. He was named Zeke Surek Cicero. The second child, blessed by the Spirit of Darkness had onyx hair and deep red eyes. The Emperor who knew how terrible it was to fight for the throne named his first son Zeke, the crown prince. He gave his second son the title of Duke and he was called Duke Zenos Ciel Xavier. Duke Zenos grew up in the Xavier estate while Crown Prince Zeke received education and training for being the future King. Duchess Valerio, wife of Duke Orion Ren Valerio gave birth to a son, Uken Ren Valerio when the princes were born.

The Empress's seat needed to be filled so the Emperor wedded the sister of Duke Orion. Her name was Raven Ienos Valerio and she had flowing silver hair and jade coloured eyes. With this marriage the Emperor had secured even Dukedom Valerio as an ally. Empress Raven fell in love with the handsome and kind King but he could not return her feelings as he could not forget the late Empress Marriane. Her Highness Raven resented the previous Queen and despised her children, Zeke and Zenos. She gave birth to the third prince who would be third in line to the throne and he was named Nior Surek Cicero. He was blessed by the Spirit of Light and had silver hair and emerald eyes identical to that of his mother's. Empress Raven was determined to make her son the heir to the throne. This resulted in the formation of two factions, one which supported the Crown Prince Zeke and other that supported the third Prince Nior. Duke Orion and the sole Marquess of the Empire, Marquess Brandon Forte Rosario were both loyal to the King so they worked for the Crown Prince as the Emperor wanted him to inherit the throne. This was a huge disadvantage for Empress Raven as all the powerful families backed the Crown Prince and the Xavier family did not involve itself in any of the factions. What was more worrying for Empress Raven was that Prince Noir showed no interest in becoming King and was close with Crown Prince Zeke.

In the meantime, Duke Zenos locked himself up in the Xavier estate and nobody knew what condition he was in. Around the time Prince Nior was born Marquess Brandon of the Empire had a daughter whose mother was a commoner. She passed away while giving birth.

It is still quite a mystery who would take the throne at the end and to what lengths Empress Raven would go to make her son the King. The legacy of the Empire continues...