Game of Prythian

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kana's POV: 

Sleep seemed to be a rare thing. Sitting in a chair, looking out the window that showed the beautiful forests just outside. They stretch so tall into the sky the castle wasn't visible to those who came close to the forest. Clutching the book Dione had gifted me with stiff fingers, I finally opened to the first page.

The first tale was of a King, who was great in power and wealth. He was then matched by a young warrior, a Queen. In his arrogance he underestimated her. Fell in love, the usual words of romantic fairy tales.

This was folklore, a legend, and there was always a truth to them. The Queen and her lover king traveled back to their castle. The Queen upon arriving took The King's hands in her own and made him promise to never go to the tallest tower.

He promised her and she swiftly departed to deal with her kingdom. It had everything anyone could ever desire. A glowing city in the midst of a plateau that shined like the moonlight amidst the surface of the planet.

The king yearned for adventure, for days he contemplated whether to stalk up to the tower. Finally he ascended the steps to the highest spire of the tallest tower in the castle.

At the top he found an old man, chained to the floor and wall. He reached for the king, hand quickly slumping to the floor. In his raspy voice he begged, "Water." It sounded like he had not had water in years. "Water, please."

The king thought there would be no harm in giving him water. So he descended the steps, and gently got a bowl of water. The king, without spilling a drop, ascended the stairs again and offered the man a bowl of water. Going as far as to pour it into his mouth.

The old man rose from the floor cackling, grinning like the devil itself had driven him insane. "Thank you boy, even those drops of water were enough."

The crown broke free from his changed body, morphing into nothing but a rotten corpse with flesh. He snarled, "I am the Deathless, trapped here for one hundred decades by the Queen who captured me here! Thanks to you, I am now free to exact my revenge. If it was an adventure you want it is an adventure you'll get."

The immortal had then disappeared, snatching the Queen away and taking her off to his palace. In the center of the woods near a lake where he kept beautiful swans, swans that were once women but had been cursed by the Deathless.

The King, desperate to get his lover back, rode off on the stable's fastest horse. Across the kingdom, over the barren lands. For months he rode on, only with his steed for company. Until one day he arrived at the palace of The Immortal.

The king steadfastly charged right in, seeing that The Deathless was not present. The Queen begged him to run, but he picked her up and ran away. Koshei's horse was much faster, and he caught up without a doubt.

"I will forgive you this time boy, but should you attempt this again I will cut you into pieces and chuck you into the ocean." The Immortal had warned, taking The Queen back to his castle.

The King ws persistent and tried again once he saw the death Lord leave. The Deathless kept his promise and did as he said he would. Chopping him up into pieces and casting him out in the ocean. Three birds, an eagle, a falcon, and a raven gathered his pieces from the sea. And used magic to bind his body back together, resurrecting him from the dead.

The King in all awe, was stronger, faster, and healed quicker than any being had before. The eagle warned him that only if he could obtain a horse faster than The Death Lord's own would he be able to save his Queen.

The Raven provided the King with the knowledge of an old lady in the middle of lady. Who had the horse he seeked. So the king set off traveling again. He roughed the weather, until eventually he had to steal a boat to carry him to the island that the old crone lived on.