Chapter Three. Regnum Mortuorum. (Kingdom of the Dead.)

Roland smoothly lifted himself from his wife and showered her face with kisses before rolling off of her and snatching his clothes up. She beamed up at him, her deep red hair whipping around in the wind as it passed through the giant barren courtyard. Before Roland could finish pulling on his boots, Enalia had stood and he now caught himself admiring her every delicious curve. Other than the fact that she was a magnificent lay, Roland had to admit, he truly did love Enalia. He drifted off into deep thought for a moment, thinking back, when his father first had told him about the new hexelle that would soon after be paired and marry Roland's best friend and the prince, Farberost. He had been brimming to meet the new girl. Roland smiled lovingly at his wife and bowed slowly, "My Queen." She rolled his eyes at him and giggled, turning in a circle so he may admire her full and naked body one last time before he departed. Enalia finished pulling on her ridiculously snug outfit and headed toward Farberost, who seemed to have disappeared with Nemph awhile ago behind some bushes. Each bush she peered around though, didn't seem to hide the king. She shook her head and pondered. Where could he have gone? She asked herself over and over, but finally setlled with the fact that he was king and the queen should not be searching for the king, but in fact covering for him. Chuckling to herself, she folded her right arm across her torso and walked toward the meeting hall, where she knew three groups would be waiting patiently. "My Queen." The halls went silent as Roland's endearing, yet rough voice rang out.

Frost and Dario now sat conversing by a fire with a few other men that wore gold and silver as his father did. Some had pipes, others were playing chess, other were drinking and some had taken quite an attraction to Frost's and Dario's conversation. "There is an army coming, Father." Frost bowed his head and sighed, "I know we will make it, not without damage though." Dario placed a hand on Farberost's left shoulder. "My son, you fear the inevitable. You fear what battle has always brought and will always bring. Do not fear my son." Frost searched Dario's face. "But Father, Helrons army is advancing with speed. They have bowmen incantatorum and Livish with them." Dario shook his head and huffed, falling back into the leather seat. "My son, when I was your age, we were in the biggest war our kingdom had ever seen. My father before me told me not to fear. It does not mean to not be afraid of anything. It means do not fear the outcome or the outcome will be fear." Dario nodded and grunted, taking a long gulp from the whiskey that sat at the ready on his lap. Frost stood and bowed to his father, "I must go, how will I find you again?" Dario stood and pulled his son in for an embrace. "My son, King of Estenia. You are now forever bound to Regnum Mortuorum. It has chosen you to live on with the heroes and greats. I will show you more at our next encounter. I will be seeing you my son, whenever you choose." Dario bowed and Regnum Mortuorum began to fade from view. For Farberost, it was almost like blinking. Except it's not. He stood for a moment blinking and letting the wind blow its way through his body. Changing from one realm to another was as real as anything Frost knew. He could feel the fire, smell his father and the burning of tobacco. The stench from drinks covered the room and some where in the combined smells was a promise of adventure and knowledge. 

As Queen Enalia took her place at the head of bellum atriis also known as War Courts, a massive field used for training. Over 270,000 incantatorum and 130,000 ulrane had divided themselves among each other. Enalia always had a way about her, that made people listen and keep calm. She was also covering for her brother and the king who seemed to have disappeared, but it's not like she'd ever tell anyone that. Enalia's eyes softened as she stood in front of her men. "Tell me -" What she was about to say, no one would have guessed, but Nemphus and Frost appeared and she scurried over to them before another word could come out. "You two." She snickered and shook her head, letting her arm do the rest of the talking as it opened the path to the front of the field. Enalia quickly nodded them by, falling in behind them. The king stood to the right of Nemphus as he took the front. "We've been here before." Nemhpus paused and gazed around at the 400,000 men and women of ulrane and incantatorum decent. "There will always be a fight for power. As long as there is light, there will be dark. As long as there will be peace, there will be war. We must remember our past though, so the future will not be as dark." He smiled then, the wrinkles in his brow proving his age, and drew his sword. The oldest of all incantatorum, he was trained in both arching and swordsmanship. Holding his gleaming silver sword high in the air, the cloud that hung heavy above their heads, parted and let a jet stream of a sparking obsidian flow. It crashed through Nemphus's entire body invigorating him completely. As it coursed through his body, the flow of the sparking obsidian began to break off into smaller streams, slowly ebbing its way to all incantatorum and ulrane.

Most younger ulrane and incantatorum looked around in disbelief. All the years they trained and all the wars they have read about were coming to life right before their eyes. As they watched, the thick flow of power abruptly stopped. A power given from the gods themselves, a lasting effect, freshening and heightening all senses along with strength, sorcery and healing. The aftermath of this occurrence was terribly noisy. Everyone had broken out into chatter and some just loud cheering that seemed to last forever. Enalia plugged her ears and smiled at the king and Nemphus. They didn't have to wait to long until Nemphus held up his hand and sheathed his sword. "The first group, gather in the Altum Pervenit of Adeci." He watched as men and women were hugged and patted. "The second and third group, divide your men for guard duty for all hours. There is a barrier that will hold them off for a few more solar's when they arrive, but be on the look out and never let your guard down." As Nemphus joined Enalia, the king took the front. "There is greatness in all of you. And there is greatness in me because of that. You will be seeing me at your side in this battle and any other battle you may fight." Farberost was as his wife, a hexelle. He was built, towering over most ulrane and incantatorum. His hair was most always ebony, though hexelle always seemed to have a color that flowed like the obsidian stream Nemphus had mustered.The two groups applauded the king as he took one last bow and headed off for the castle along with the court, Nemphus and Enalia. He couldn't help but think about Regnum Mortourtorum and the next time he could visit since he wasn't exactly sure how he got there, at all. Frost shook his head trying to clear the fog as he glided through the castle.