Wind whistled through the opened windows of the barren throne room; at its centre stood a wolf, a rabbit, a rat, and a bear, the representatives of the four clans. The wolf stood tall, proud, a blue tunic with a white, eight point star covered his chainmail armour. He was Thane, the prince of the Wolf Clan, the Winter Wolf. To his right stood the rabbit representative. Elegant and graceful, she stood with a light yellow umbrella in one hand, and scroll in her other. She wore a rather frivolous dress, especially in comparison to the other representatives; but this reflected her status at the council and within the court. Her name was Amber, the Far Seeker. Once the heiress to a powerful noble family; she now seeks adventure, though her courtly duties keep her grounded in Armello. Next to her stood a rather short, though dapper, rat. Through one ear the rat had two gold ring piercings, while he wore a slight grin on his face. Upon his white shirt he wore a rose brooch, which held his red cape together. He was the Grinning Blade, Mercurio. Quick wit, and a fine taste for woman, the Grinning Blade has a host of fans, and enemies; but that's the price of being a rat. Finally beside Mercurio stood the largest of the representatives, a bear of a size that could rival that of the king. She stood amongst the representatives humbly, looking at the king, waiting for him to speak. In her hands was a gnarled staff equal to her height, a crook in the top surrounding a wyld infused spirit stone. She was Sana, the Forest Sister. A shaman and sorceress, she is both humble, and kind, though determined to her duty to serve nature.
And opposite them all, sitting upon a grandiose throne elevated above them all by a few steps was the king himself. He was much larger than most of the delegates, a lion who had united the clans under one banner in his hayday. Upon his head sat the royal crown, crafted by rabbit smiths, smelted from rat gold, blessed by bear mages, and gifted to the king by the wolves. Upon his body he wore the golden armour reserved for the king beneath his purple cape.
Forty minutes had passed since the council had convened; forty minutes had passed and nothing had been said. But the delegates still stood tall, waiting for the king they had pledged allegiance to. A few more seconds would pass before the king opened his mouth to speak in his low, grumbling tone.
"Why are you all here?" The four delegates looked at each other in surprise, the king had called the council, why would he be asking why they were there?
"With all due respect, your majesty. You called the council." The wolf spoke up, his tone cautious to avoid setting the king into a rage.
"I never did such a thing," the king rubbed his chin, he was deep in thought. "This must be a plot. To seize my throne! Begone, all of you, before i call upon the guards!" There was slight mumbling from the rat, but the delegates agreed, bowing slightly before leaving the throne room.
Now sitting alone upon his throne, the king gazed across the barren throne room at the closed oak doors. What was going on? What had happened to his throne room? Where was the blue, yellow, red, and green banners that had flown down the walls from the vaulted ceiling far above? The stained glass windows that had kept the wind out of the keep? Or the purple tapestries that had shown his story to unify the clans? What had happened to the king himself? The once proud, gracious, intelligent, and powerful king who had united the clans, and had been a symbol of unity. Oh how far he has fallen from grace, a symbol of unity he was no more. He felt different, distant, something must have been changing him; something that he could not let anyone find out about. So reluctantly the aging king stood and made his way across the throne room, slowly, there was a slight discomfort whenever he took a step. It took him a few minutes to cross the barren room, but eventually he made it. Using what little energy he had left, the king grabbed the sliding lock and pushed it into place, falling over in the process. With a heavy thump, and a heavy grunt, the king collapsed to the cold marble floor.
Thane, Amber, Mercurio, and Sana dispersed and went their separate ways once they were all out of the throne room. Thane headed north, leaving the capital of Armello to head towards the imposing Lycanthrope mountains of the north. Amber found herself heading west; out across the plains towards the small town of Rivermire to rest and gather her thoughts. Mecurio headed south towards one of the most infamous brothels in the capital; a key safe house for those of high importance within the rat clan. Finally Sana headed east, leaving the capital behind to return to the forests the bear clan called home. As these heroes dispersed, and the dark of night began to spread across the skies, the winds began to change. They no longer came in from the south, but instead they began to blow in from the north.
Change was on the horizon; can Armello weather the coming storm?