Prologue - Dawn of a new power

I decided to rewrite the first prologue, the ending will more or less remain the same, but I realized I needed to give you a bit more background information on the whole story. So enjoy. ^^

Big thanks goes out to my newly found beta yuuki24688. The poor thing despaired over my inability to use commas and I complement her for her patients and her incredible talent in finding the exact right words for the descriptions I have in my head. It remains to be seen, how long she will put up with me, but for the time being: Thank you very much.

Obviously none of the characters or the setting belong to me except for the stuff you haven't read/seen.

Slowly the small entourage made its way along the narrow mountain path. They had left just when the sun set, so they would arrive at their intended destination before nightfall. Soo-Won, the newly crowned king of Kouka, was riding at the forefront, very much to the displeasure of his men. But this was not a military operation and there was no danger to be expected. It was solely a diplomatic trip.

Kye-Sook had been pressuring him into doing one, going even so far as to accompany him on the military intervention against Kai-Empire, only to make sure, he would take the chance and the close proximity to pay a visit. As reluctant as he was, the king also knew his advisor was correct. Now that the five tribes had been more or less united, and he had successfully retaken Kin-Province, which had proven his military strength and prowess, it was time to turn to foreign politics. Treaties had to be negotiated, new allies had to be made and all for the good and the future of Kouka. The first step would be the kingdom of Namar.

The small kingdom of Namar was situated in the mountains between Kai-Empire and Kouka. In the past there had been internal struggles but three years ago the country had opened itself up to the world again, now ruled by a young queen. Ever since then Namar had been on a steep curve of success. It was rich and had a strategically relevant location. An alliance between Kouka and Namar would be of great advantage, especially if Soo-Won's anticipations were correct.

Kouka was on the rise as well. Soon it would be serious competition for Kai-Empire but the neighboring country would not take lightly to having its position on the continent threatened. When the time came, it would be wise to have as many allies as possible lined up. Ideally every country south of Kai-Empire, beginning with Namar.

"Kye-Sook, tell me everything we know about Namar's current political situation."

Of course, he didn't really need to hear it again. He had been going over the details in his head for the last two days, but the silence of the journey was starting to get to him.

His advisor caught up to him and started to speak.

"The current ruler is a young woman, Queen Hana. She is your Majesty's age. Her family had ruled over Namar ever since its first mention in documents. When she was five years old, a general overthrew the royal family and slaughtered them all in cold blood. Only the princess was able to escape. About three years ago she overthrew the general and took back the throne."

"Three years ago? She was only fifteen then."

"Yes, your majesty. Apart from this, concrete information are scarce. But in certain circles of royalty her name is regularly mentioned. It's said she is not only very beautiful but also highly intelligent …"

Suddenly the king stopped his horse no longer listening to his advisor. Curiously he looked around but there was nothing except the same rough and inhospitable landscape they had been riding through all morning.

"Your majesty? Is everything alright?" Kye-Sook asked in confusion. General Joo-Doh gave a signal and the soldiers stopped as well.

"Do you hear that?" Soo-Won whispered.

The men tried listening intently to find out what had their king so confused. And then they heard what the king had been talking about.

There, almost imperceptible, was a soft voice.

"Someone is singing." the king mumbled.

In awe, the men sat on their horses and listened as the wind carried a sweet melody to them. They couldn't understand the words and yet the felt the sorrow, the pain, the love, and the longing the song held. Finally the last words subsided and more than one man had to blink heavily.

They resumed their way in silence.

After another hour of riding through the rough and unpleasant mountains, they approached a single small building cut into the hard mountain. Two men leaned comfortably against the sunny warm wall, spears placed next to them, and seemed to sleep. As the group was about to pass them, one of the man rose his spear and blocked the way.

"Name and business." he mumbled under his breath.

"This is his majesty Soo-Won, King of Kouka. He wishes for an audience with your queen." Kye-Sook answered politely.

The guard finally opened his eyes, blinking sleepily as he rose to his feet and stretched his shoulders. "Is that so?" he yawned groggily. His companion still had not even moved. "It's not very polite to come without sending an advance notice." he said, his eyes fixating on Soo-Won.

"And who are you to question your queen's guests?" Kye-Sook tried to reprimand the man.

"I am nothing but a lowly guard, your lordship. My name is Oran." he bowed slightly mockingly in front of them. The other guard snorted and promptly ended up with the hilt of his partners spear on the head. "You have been impolite and I ask you, why should the queen see you?"

At this Soo-Won stepped forward. "You are correct, I should have sent a messenger ahead. It was thoughtless of me not to consider it. It was a spontaneous idea to pay your queen my respects. I apologize."

This was a political game. Coming unannounced had been risky but necessary to set up the pieces for later negotiations. He was not here as a beggar. He was the king of Kouka and an alliance would be to both countries mutual advantage.

"Well, I suppose since you are already here, I am really in no position to turn you away." the guard named Oran gave in. Without anyone noticing, the other guard had disappeared and was now handing over the reigns to a horse to his colleague. After that he returned to his previous position and closed his eyes again, seeming to effortlessly slip back to sleep.

"If you would follow me, I will bring you to the palace." The guard said to Soo-Won. "And you don't sleep away the entire day." he called to his friend before turning the horse and leading the group from Kouka into a dark tunnel in the mountain side.

The other guard just held up his hand in greeting, "Sure thing, sir." he mumbled mockingly.

The tunnel was short and on the other side they were welcomed by a surprising sight. Nothing reminded of the rough and unwelcoming landscape of the mountains. In front of them lay a rich and green country. It had a large valley with a beautiful lake glittering in the sun, surrounded by yellow fields, deep woods and green meadows and in between several bigger and smaller villages. In the distance a large number of buildings gathered around a magnificent palace.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" the guard, Oran, smiled at the speechless men.

"Indeed, it is." Soo-Won agreed.

They followed a narrow path down the mountain into the valley.

To their surprise, nobody seemed to be bothered by their presence at all. They smiled at them warmly and greeted Oran, sometimes with rather inappropriate jokes. He laughed and joked back. Everybody here seemed to laugh and smile. Not even the children were scared. They ran up to them and followed them part of the way until their mothers called them back to work. One little girl even approached Soo-Won and gave him flowers.

The valley was far larger than expected and it took them hours until they finally reached the main town and the palace and nowhere did they meet an unfriendly face. The people of the land wore genuine cheery smiles as they got on with their lives that was brimmed with laughter with little to no large conflicts to face.

Such was the atmosphere until they arrived at the palace. An elderly woman wearing expensive, but practical clothes that clearly identified her as an important member of the palace, welcomed them with a suspicious look.

"Greetings, Lady Baya. Where may I find her highness? She has important guests." their guide asked the lady with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Angrily she hissed. "I have changed your diapers, young man. Don't you call me Lady! And you know very well the princess is always in the gardens at this time of day."

"Of course, how foolish of me. By the way, these are ..."

"Don't need to know, don't care!" She interrupted him and then turned to the men. "You will have to leave you weapons at the main gate. Inside the palace, nobody is allowed to carry a weapon. No exceptions!"

"Lady Baya, I'm sure ..." Kye-Sook started.

"No exceptions, I said!" she interrupted. "Your weapons stay out, or you stay out!"

Oran smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid there is no going against Baya's word." he explained while giving his own spear to the waiting guard.

Soo-Won gave his men a sign and rather reluctantly, they disposed of their weapons and left them with the guard at the main gate. When some of the men stayed behind to guard their weapons, Lady Baya frowned annoyed.

"You show them the way, Oran, while I prepare the rooms." she ordered and started to walk away as the guide saluted mockingly.

"Couldn't they have given prior warning?. All the additional work! And what do they think? We have hardly any use for their nonsense weapons. Who would want that anyway?" she mumbled angrily under her breath. "Lya! Mala! Where are you, we have work to do!"

The next moment she disappeared around the corner.

Oran laughed. "I have to apologize. Baya basically fed and cleaned us all when we were children and nobody dares to say anything against her now. All the embarrassing stories she could tell. I shudder to think of it." he grinned. "Now, if you would follow me, I will show you the gardens so you can speak to her highness."

Soo-Won, Kye-Sook and Joo-Doh followed the young man, while the soldiers stayed behind, clearly uncomfortable without their weapons.

The gardens were of exceptional beauty, for flowers in all imaginable colors were planted in dazzling clusters in the small acre of land and an intoxicating scent filled the air. They followed a small path that led directly to a large old tree which was the centre of the garden.

In the shadow of the tree and on a richly decorated blanket sat a young woman. Scattered around her were countless papers and documents and she was so focused on her work, she did not hear them approach. That gave the group the chance to study her.

Just like her garden, the young woman was of exceptional beauty. Long, thick, black hair fell gently down her shoulders decorated with long silver threats and little flowers. Her slim but very feminine figure was wrapped in a long, elegant, midnight blue dress. The sleeves and the neckline were decorated with delicate silver embroidery. She almost seemed like a fairy from another realm, sent to this world to tempt man.

As they stepped closer they realized she leaned against something, but not against the tree. Curled around her lay a majestic white tiger. Its eyes were closed and it seemed to be deep in slumber, but there was no mistaking the power and the danger radiating from the animal.

Suddenly another figure stepped out of the shadow of the tree. A boy, not yet a man. He did not mind the tiger as he approached the young woman and the tiger only blinked once and, recognizing the boy, returned to sleep.

"Your Highness. Oran has arrived with your guests." he spoke to her while leaning over her shoulder.

The young woman looked up surprised. A smile lit up her face when she seemingly recognized Oran and her deep blue eyes glittered happily. Breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes, that seemed to pierce the onlooker's very soul. Elegantly she rose to her feet, minding all the paperwork as she treaded carefully not to step on them and she walked over.

Oran sank into a deep bow. "Your Highness, may I present, King Soo-Won of Kouka and his advisors, Lord Kye-Sook and General Joo-Doh. They wish for an audience with you." Then he turned to Soo-Won. "Your Majesty, her Highness, Princess Hana of Namar."

It was without a doubt an unorthodox introduction. Who expected to meet the ruler of a kingdom for the first time barefoot and in a garden instead of through an official introduction involving endless ceremonial and preparation and yet … had they not wanted to surprise Namar, when they decided not to send a messenger ahead? Somehow it felt like they were more surprised by the encounter than the princess.

"I'm honored to welcome you to Namar, your Majesty." The Princess of Namar had a polite smile on the lips.

The three men bowed respectfully.

"The honor is all mine, Princess. And I apologize for our sudden intrusion. We were in the area and I heard so much about your country I could not pass the chance to see it with my own eyes." Soo-Won spoke.

"Of course you could not." she agreed still smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

Kye-Sook's sudden intake of breath interrupted the conversation. Without the two nobles realizing it, the white tiger had joined them. He was now standing next to the princess leaning its heavy head against her leg.

"Oh, please do not worry about Jadga. She is very tame and would never attack anyone without my expressed order." the princess gently stroked the mighty animal between its eyes, which purred with satisfaction in response.

"You see, the tiger is my family's heraldic animal. Every child of my family receives a little tiger to care for and be protected by when they turn five years old. Jadga here is the last reminder of my family I have left." She kneeled down next to the tiger. "Aren't you my girl? Yes you are. Always protecting me, my good, good girl." The animal threw itself on its back and showed her belly, revealing a delicate silver collar with a blue amulet around her neck. Growling the tiger urged the princess to scratch her and the princess obliged happily, smiling honestly for the first time.

Finally the tiger had enough and trotted away, disappearing into the depth of the garden.

"Now, how about we depart to somewhere more appropriate and where I can offer you some refreshments." The princess offered and led the men into the palace.

Later that night Soo-Won paced up and down his quarters. He was restless. Sleeplessness had become a natural occurrence for him ever since he had killed King Il. It seemed like the loss of his beloved friends had not been the only price he paid for the throne. For now he had been able to keep that secret from the people around him, but he doubted his deception would hold up much longer.

Over the past months he had gotten used to laying awake and following his restless thoughts. The kingdom, a potential war with Kai-Empire, and ever so often Yona and Hak. Losing them had been more painful than he had anticipated. How often did he secretly wonder if there might have been a different way. A way that would not have robbed him of the only two people he cared about that were still in the living realm, but it was useless to wish for a different past. He had chosen his path and the only thing left to worry about was the future. Forcefully he turned his thoughts to a different matter.

The day had been interesting, to say the least. Princess Hana had been polite, kind, and entertaining. Every bit the ruler she was. She had elegantly evaded every attempt made by Kye-Sook to find out her opinion on current political matter, without being impolite or losing the kind smile. Indeed, she had been so charming, the usually clever and observant advisor had hardly realized her unwillingness to commit to anything.

King Soo-Won stopped in his tracks and sighed. Being locked in his room drove him insane. He needed to move. Silently he slipped into a robe and left his room. He walked down the dimly lit corridors, past the countless tiger statues that seemed to be everywhere, letting his thoughts roam free. Their first target was his current location. Namar.

Namar and its queen or rather princess. No doubt Princess Hana was very intelligent and very guarded, but not as intelligent as she seemed to think herself to be. She might have been able to charm Kye-Sook and Joo-Doh, but he would get from her what he needed … For the sake of a strong and free Kouka.

Suddenly he heard someone approach from behind. Soo-Won looked around, searching for a hiding place. He did not wish to be disturbed in his solitude. There, a small door, probably a servant's passage. Quickly he slipped inside. The door not completely closed, he saw two guards passing by, obviously on their usual round. They were chatting and smiling.

The king of Kouka shook his head and closed the door. It was truly surprising to see how peaceful this place was only three years after a revolution. Hopefully Kouka would do as well.

He turned around and stopped. It was not a servant's corridor after all.

He was in a small but richly decorated room. Beautiful carpets covered the floor, long banners of expensive clothes fell from the walls and elegant pillars carried the ceiling. Incense filled the room with a sweet nostalgic scent and candles spilt just enough light to grant vision. There were was a table with old worn out books, dresses in all possible sizes neatly and cleanly packed. At the end of the room there was some kind of altar.

Soo-Won came slowly closer. Over the golden altar hang a picture. A family portrait.

This had to be the former royal family. Princess Hana's family, specifically. A father, a mother and five children. The mother was the centre of the picture. The same long jet black hair as Princess Hana cascaded down her shoulders over the apparently expensive dress; kind, brown eyes so full of love rested on her children. To her left a young girl of maybe twelve years with long brown hair, her gaze just as gentle as her mother's. On the right another girl slightly younger than the first, but her spitting image. Her eyes were full of mischief as if any moment she would play some kind of prank. In the back a young man of maybe sixteen. He looked up at his father with adoring eyes. Soo-Won recognized this look all too well. It was the same way he had looked up to his own father; one filled with respect and adoration, perhaps even worthy of worship.

Slowly his gaze wandered to the father and stopped. Crystal blue eyes. Even more intense than his daughter's and yet so very familiar. So strong and direct, there seemed to be no keeping secrets from these eyes. This man must have been truly frightening when he was still alive. Princess Hana's father! The former king!

Soo-Won looked for Princess Hana. There she was, right at the bottom, kneeling in front of her mother. A little girl of no more than five or six years with her mother's jet-black hair flying unruly around, a hairpin half fallen out, and her father's piercing blue eyes. Next to her was a little boy of the same age, her mirror image in a small boy's body. Twins! The boy and the girl had their arms tightly wrapped around each other with wide smiles on their faces. The close bond between them was unmistakeable.

This was the picture of a truly happy and whole family. A family that had been destroyed by one man's hunger for power. Pity for the princess filled Soo-Won's heart. He knew how it felt to have lost everyone important to oneself without being able to do anything about it. His father, his mother, his friends. In that moment he felt closer to the young princess than he had felt to anyone since he had learnt the truth about his father's death.

Simultaneously he started to feel like an intruder. This room, this altar was clearly something very personal, something no outsider was ever supposed to see. With one last look at the happy family he slipped out again.

The sun was already beginning to rise. The red of the dawn slowly creeping into the blackness of the night … red and black … Yona and Hak. Annoyed with himself Soo-Won forced his thoughts in a different direction. There was no use lamenting about the past. What had been done, had been done and now he had to live with the consequences eternally. Yet a feeling of uneasiness slowly crept up on him and he wasn't able to shake it completely. Something was coming, he just didn't know what.

Pondering, he returned to his room, determined to find at least a few hours of sleep. Later this day the diplomatic game would begin anew and, though he was sure he would get what he wanted, it was never a good idea to enter a negotiation unfocused.

So, here we are, the new prologue, what do you think? It actually got a bit out of hand here. I don't think I've ever written such a long chapter for anything. xD