Introduction
In the beginning a war broke out between two of the largest and grandest kingdoms around, Kirpha and Sprosta. The conflict started because the kings of the time both wanted the same two things, power and money. The big difference between the two kings was that King Septimus of Kirpha sought power with the skill of reasoning and making alliances. King Ractus of Sprosta on the other hand had a some what different approach to power: through wars, cheating and scaring vulnerable villages and settlements until they were forced to surrender and join king Ractus’ growing army. The war started when king Ractus’ army finally crossed the mammoth and dangerous sea and first set foot on Kirphan soil. The invading army marched through Kirpha to the developing palace, burning and ruining villages as it went. By the time the army got to the palace, the king was well aware of their presence in his kingdom, but let them proceed to the palace grounds where he greeted them with a large number of his men.
“What is your business here, Lord General?” the king said to the huge man that stood before the Sprostan army.
“We are a small portion of king Ractus’ mighty army. The king sent us here to warn you that your kingdom will shortly be taken from you and will make a fine addition to our king’s empire.”
The king of Kirpha began to laugh.
“We will not be dictated to and I will certainly not give my kingdom up for your king or anyone for that matter. I’m sorry lord general but I’m afraid, you’ve made your long journey from the west for nothing.” The general sighed before saying-
“That’s what they all say”
“You have five days to leave my kingdom Lord General” replied the king confidently, and without another word, the general lead his men out of the palace grounds and towards the boats to depart the island. Turning around, the king strolled back towards the palace with a little smirk on his face.
The king of Kirpha was a clever and wise man; he knew the army and more would be back as soon as their king got the news of their defeat. Over the next couple of days, king Septimus had posters made to invite people to join his army; he had men to fix and rebuild the villages and small towns that had been damaged on the Sprostan army march through Kirpha. King Septimus had hundreds of new weapons built: swords, bows, arrows, axes, daggers, shields, spears. He had wooden towers build for archers to shoot from.
A week went by and no army came back to the kingdom of Kirpha, this news did not surprise the king, in fact he had expected nothing less. The journey out of the island would take four days at the least and then they had the journey back across the sea. This was the only thing that worried the king; if the unknown army had travelled many miles across the sea, then how much more developed was this King Ractus' kingdom? After all, the farthest the Kirphan army had ever gotten to were the nearby islands known as the POTS, not too far past the horizon of the sea.
A month went by and still no army returned; the king had expected to here some news of an invasion but no such news came. Time went on and on, men on the small command posts around the island became fed-up and so did the king. He tried in all his wisdom to work out why this army had not come back but despite all the different answers and explanations the king had come up with, he could not produce a reasonable answer to his questions.
Eventually, the king became tired of waiting and called upon more volunteers to advance the small command posts into castles and his blacksmiths to make lighter and stronger weaponry.
Ten years later, the king’s castles were built and weapons made, fierce dogs and obedient horses trained but the army still hadn’t come. King Septimus now had a strong army that had been trained in all kinds of craft, posters were a thing of the past, people signed up as soldiers and instructors without any request and the old alliances with the mystical land of the forest Larda gave the soldiers, the instructors, the towns people and the peasants the opportunity to learn magic and respect for the beautiful land of Kirpha.
Years went by and there was still no sign of the Sprostan army. The king, now an old man lay on his death bed, he spoke gently to his only son-
“The kingdom of Kirpha now looks to you my son, you have a strong army and a selection of alliances that will gladly answer any call for help. As I have always said, never turn your back to any enemy and always think before you act. There are faithful servants of mine who will gladly help you if you are in any need of advice. The most important piece of advice I give to you however…” and the old king of Kirpha looked at his son straight in the eyes and whispered “is to always expect to hear that the armies of Sprosta are invading once again” and with that the old man’s head fell back onto the large bed. The old and wise king had conquered all the problems he had encountered in his long term as the king of Kirpha except one, the one that still troubled him even to his dying days, the one trouble that he wondered whether the new king, his son, would be strong enough to conquer.
Why did the Sprostan army never return?
Generations and generations of kings took to the throne each presented with the same advice the first dying king had given to his son. And it was exactly five hundred and fifty seven years later that the word got to the king Septimus the 7th from the towers on the sea front that war ships could be seen on the horizon. The king panicked for a moment before remembering his father's last words: 'Always think before you act.' So he did.
Posters were reinstated upon all posts and isolated trees around the kingdom, and people came pouring into the army camps, hoping to be the hero who would finally defeat the army of Sprosta.
And it is at the time of when the boats were first spotted when our story begins.
