Nearly three months ago, the King died. Upon his death, twelve promising youths were scouted out and sent off to the Aloock Islands for a miniature war game. Since that moment, battles have gone off across the islands, with numerous winners and losers. But now, as the war reaches its apex, only five of the twelve remain. But the war has now been placed on hold as a Crusade has been called upon the potential resurrection of a Greater Demon. Now, four of the candidates must come together to bring an end to this disaster before it can truly begin.

  “Master Finian, we are almost in position,” A woman says, approaching a blond-haired, blue blue-eyed young man sitting atop a makeshift throne.

  “Good. Bring us in closer to that island. The Shadows ordered us to sail around these islands. If I’m right, the other remaining candidates should be around here, waiting in the shadows. We’ll take one island and make it our base for now. The enemy will come through this area, and we have to be ready for them.” He leans on a sword and stares ahead, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

  “As you order Master Finian.”

  Finian Evenboer sits upon his throne. The only son of House Evenboer, once a renowned family of warriors who gained fame and infamy in their time. They gained a noble title and land to rule over under the King’s reign some fifty years ago. Finian continued in his family’s tradition and set out to become a powerful warrior. Fighting monsters, exploring dungeons, and spreading his name. He returned home in time for war, deciding he’d take the throne for himself and show everyone his might.

  “Are you sure this is a friendly call?” A tall elven man walks forward, standing next to Finian.

  “Come on, Larrel. You have to learn to relax. Besides, the Shadows said the war was on hold until this incident was resolved.”

  “And we can trust the others to hold true to that agreement.” A young woman dressed as a witch floats above Finian on a broomstick, looking down cautiously as he glances up at her.

  Finian shakes his head. “Come on, Celine. I thought you had more faith in me than that.”

  “It’s not your I’m worried about. It’s the other candidates. How many are left now, anyway?”

  “Not counting the one consorting with Demons four.” Another voice rings out.

  A pair of twins approach the throne, both nearly identical as their long brown hair nearly touches the floor. They both look towards Finian as he stands from his throne.

  “Paula, Paulus. You two have woken up. This must be a grand incident to awaken the Gemini Twins.”

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  “The Mana in the air is dangerous and toxic. Soon, disaster will be upon us.” The pair say in unison.

  “Fin!” Celine yells out.

  “I know. We have to take this prediction seriously.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll think of a solution. If you're tired, you can return to sleeping.”

  “Until the crisis is resolved, we cannot return to slumber.” The pair state.

  “Damn, this must be serious them,” Larrel says. “I’ll ready my blade just in case. If need be, I can set up a dialogue with the other remaining Elves.”

  “No need. If a dialogue was needed, then the Shadows would act. We are to wait on standby for now, I believe. Until the moment is right, we should….”

  As he sits, a woman runs from the controls. “Master Finian, we have sightings of a ship. No, wait, two ships.”

  “Are either of them airships?”

  “No, sir.”

  He smiles. “The calvary is here.” He approaches one woman. “Give me a spyglass if you could? Also, point out the ships for me.”

  She nods and hands him the spyglass. He peeks through as she identifies the ships, and he smiles. Handing her back the spyglass, he turns to his gathered aides and returns to his throne happily.

  “Well?” Celine asks.

  “What was it?” The twins ask in unison.

  “From the look on his face, it's good news.”

  “I’ve confirmed our allies in this endeavor are trustworthy. The first is Pallan Anselm of the Western trade union, and the second is Zeng Hai from the East. I knew of both of them from school, so I know both their characters relatively well.”

  “So, they can be trusted not to attack us and instead go after the actual threat?” Larrel asks.

  “Indeed. Both houses have a reputation for being clean of any stains aside from one. And they have shown to be of robust character. I hear Hai has taken to adding commoners to her retinue. She wouldn’t act foolishly at this stage. And Pallan is a stick in the mud for the rules. We couldn’t have more trust in our allies without communicating with them.” He states. “They both understand what’s at stake here and wouldn’t dare do anything to risk this thing getting out.”

  “That leaves our fourth missing ally.”

  “Glyn Mattox.” Finian leans back in his chair with a smile. “Out of those remaining, he’s the one the Shadows mentioned.”

  “Right. something about him infiltrating the enemy base and leaking this information out to us and being stuck in their base. Kid’s likely dead.” Larrel says.

  Finian shakes his head. “I doubt that. He’s alive.”

  “How can you be sure?” Celine asks, lowering herself.

  “Oh, I know. We are siblings, after all. Just like the others here, we all have the same father.” Finian smiles.

  “The one stain both houses have. Or more accurately, both houses share.” Larrel says.

  The twins nod.

  Celine sighs. “I really hate that dad of yours, you know.”

  “That’s fair. I’ve never met him myself, but his reputation is awful.” He sits back and laughs. “But we can have time for jovial jokes later. The enemy should be in sight soon.”

  “Sir! We’ve spotted the airship.”

  Finian stands. “Okay, everyone, we’re not facing the usual battle. We’re not fighting bandits, monsters, or other candidates. Right now, we’re standing down the ancient enemy of all life in this world. Demons. You know what that means?”

  “No holding back,” Celine says.

  “Complete annihilation.” Larrel crosses his arms. “Those monsters will never be forgiven for what they’ve done to my people.”

  “That’s the spirit!” He proclaims, standing from his throne as he stretches out his arm. “Now all hands. Let us begin this crusade!”

  As his order rings out, everyone across the ship hears his words and springs into action. The battle to decide the fate of the world begins once again.