Long ago there was an extraordinary creation known as the silver harp. A silver glass-like harp that contained an extraordinary amount of light whose power was exhibited in the form of playing a beautiful tune that could match up against any form of darkness and do so for eternities. It was made by five potions masters who combined their most powerful light brews into one to make a light so bright and so powerful no darkness could put it out; the perfect light to suppress the power of an evil king named King Selbatire who was destined for a very great dark and evil things. He was born with darkness within him and the older he got the more that darkness grew and became his strength. He used it to pillage villages, conquer kingdoms, enslave women and children and wipe out entire armies. The potions masters knew that once he fully transformed on his fortieth birthday, it would be extremely difficult to challenge or defeat him and so a few days before his birthday the potions masters teamed up and they subdued him. They appeared in his dark kingdom of Isla Barahan and attacked him with specifically crafted potions. Smashing the small glass potion filled viles onto different parts of his body weakening him, numbing him and putting him into a deathlike slumber. King Selbatire tried to fight back but the combined power and light of the potions overwhelmed him and that day the impossible happened; King Selbatire fell and his dark reign came to an end.

He was placed in a chamber deep underground the kingdom of Dothlium with the harp playing its lovely tune and releasing beautiful silver waves into the air that circled and filled the room; keeping King Selbatire completely powerless and imprisoned in his slumber. Now the harp was strong but almost equal was King Selbatire's power dark and so for the harp to be effective at keeping him in his slumber the harp absolutely needed to be in close proximity to him. If something were to happen and the harp was to leave his side, the dark king would awaken and unleash the very evil everyone had feared for many, many years.

Years passed and the region remained quiet and peaceful; with each kingdom living in harmony with one another and moving on like the dark king never existed.

In Dothlium, however, one potions master never forgot, it was her duty to monitor the dark king and make sure he remained in his slumber. Her name was Hudgruff and she was small in stature with a head full of long white hair and always wore a navy blue robe; the uniform of all potions masters. She had lived many years but never looked a day over sixty; the potions she was constantly in contact with kept her youthful.

Dothlium was a small sized kingdom surrounded by thick lush green forests and was made up of the king’s three story high castle built by the lake, a village with small stone but cozy houses, a large market where all sorts of foods, clothes and items were sold and extensive green fields where different kinds of crops and fruit trees were grown. The inhabitants were a warm people of different colours, shapes and sizes. The women wore simple flowing cotton dresses and the men a pair of cotton trousers and shirts. The royal guards wore full navy blue gear; a pair of trousers, long sleeved shirts and dark brown leather chest armour, gloves and boots.

In the village was Hudgruff’s lab; a small building with many shelves stacked with different kinds and colours of potion viles, dried up plants and herbs, sacks of powders and grains, a store room where extra resources were kept and a variety of books. In the middle was a large table where all sorts of equipment needed to brew the potions were as well as glass flasks, beakers and test tubes, burners, balance scales and assorted utensils.

Hudgruff was by the table brewing a potion mixing all sorts of powders together whilst her two interns Ken and Gill were sweeping the floor and wiping the shelves respectively. Just then there was a rumble in the ground and they all instantly turned to each other wondering what it was. It carried on and got louder. The items on the shelves and table started to shake and rattle.

“What’s going on?” Ken asked.

“It’s an earthquake, quickly under the table,” Hudgruff said and they immediately abandoned their work and got under the table. The earthquake carried on, becoming louder and more aggressive. The chandelier on the roof and the items on the shelf rattled and shook even more with one of viles even falling off the edge and shattering on the floor; poofing into an orange smoke.

“The viles, they’re all going to break,” Gill said.

“No they won’t,” Hudgruff said and came out from underneath the table. She ran and grabbed a vile from the middle shelf with a colourless liquid inside it and immediately opened it and started to sprinkle its contents into the air. Upon the liquid touching the air it instantly turned into a pale blue gas that quickly began to spread.

“Quickly Hudgruff!” Ken shouted as the earthquake carried on and Hudgruff finished sprinkling all the contents of the vile into the air. She then threw the empty vile bottle to the side and went back under the table as the pale blue gas was now a thick pale blue cloud covering the top half of the lab. Still the earthquake went on and the items on the shelves continued to shake and rattle and fall over disappearing into the cloud.

Outside the people of Dothlium had their hearts in their mouths. Many of them ran for their lives whilst others pressed themselves against the walls and hid themselves under doorways. In the market people were running and knocking into each other and stands scattering fruits, vegetables and the other sold items everywhere. The earthquake continued and cracked the middle of the street open with the crack heading straight Hudgruff’s lab. It ran up the side of the wall and roof passing above the chandelier handle and loosening it. Snap! The chandelier fell and like the many viles falling over disappeared into the cloud with no sound of it shattering.

“Hold on!” Hudgruff shouted as the earthquake carried on. The windows shattered and the people outside continued to run to safety.

At the castle, a water fountain of King Molar’s statue in the royal garden cracked at the feet and fell over; splashing into the water as inside the castle, in King Molar’s quarters, King Molar was fast asleep in bed with two half naked women covered only by bed sheets. The empty glasses of wine on the table rattled and fell over; smashing onto the floor, King Molar’s metal armour suit shook and fell to the floor, breaking into pieces and his chandelier on the roof aggressively shook to the point of almost snapping off but still he and the women were asleep, heedless to what was going on.

Just then the earthquake faded and the rumbling came to an end. Everyone stopped and slowly began to come out from where they were hiding, breathing heavily and wondering to each other whether the danger was over or not. In King Molar’s quarters, he and the two women were still asleep; completely oblivious to the harm they could have been in.

Inside Hudgruff’s lab, Hudgruff, Gill and Ken were still under the table. The rattling viles went quiet and a calmness came to all the land.

“I think it's over,” Ken said.

“It is come on,” Hudgruff said and the three came out from underneath the table. Above them the pale blue cloud had completely cleared and all the items that had fallen off the shelves, and the chandelier, were floating in mid-air. Roof debris too. The potion was a suspension potion to make sure no damage came to her valuable ingredients.

“Fast thinking Hudgruff,” Gill commended.

“Yes well done,” Ken agreed.

“Thank you, are you both alright?” Hudgruff asked.

“We're fine,” Ken replied.

“Good, go check outside and make sure everyone’s alright as well.”

“What about this?” Gill asked pointing up at the suspended items.

“I'll take care of them go.”

“Alright,” Ken said and the two walked out the door as Hudgruff remained looking up at the suspended items. She then walked into her pantry and a few seconds later walked out with a wooden staff in her hand. She stretched it into the air and began to poke the items one by one dropping them out of the air and grabbing them in her hand.

Underground in King Selbatire’s chamber, King Selbatire lay as innocent as a baby in its crib; as he had for many years. The chamber was a small completely closed stone room with a stone bed where he lay in a grey robe, floating wax candles that provided decent light and on one of the walls a stone shelf where the silver harp sat. Only this time it wasn’t there. The harp was gone. On the floor right underneath where the harp sat was a large crack obviously caused by the earthquake; a crack large enough for the harp to fall through. The harp had fallen through and it was a fate that would soon lead to the downfall of every kingdom in the region because the harp had not just fallen through but it had done so into the great river; a massive body of water that ran underneath the kingdoms and emerged from the ground into another river all the way on the other side of the region. The harp didn’t just fall through it was lost. And King Selbatire’s dark power knew it instantly; beginning to regenerate within him already his right index finger twitched.

In Rodath, a kingdom in the cold north, Princess Xariah stood in front of the mirror getting prepared for travel by her three maids; one was doing her make-up, the other combing her hair and the other straightening her long and flowing lavender gown. She was a twenty-five year old medium toned black woman with long curly dark as night hair and gorgeous brown eyes that were teary and filled with a cold distant glare. Her father King Hammond had married her off to King Molar as a way to unify both kingdoms. Dothlium was a kingdom of farmers and had diverse crops that Rodath was in desperate need of especially in the winter when the cold killed everything they planted. This way they could have food all year round and not worry about starving. It was for the benefit of his people that he did it but of course Princess Xariah did not see it that way. She felt like her heart had just been ripped out of her soul. At least if King Molar was of a similar age group as her but he wasn’t; his prime years were long behind him, he never watched what he ate and his large beard looked like it hadn’t been washed or brushed in months.

Just then a knock came to the door and King Hammond, with a king’s crown and fur cloak hung over his shoulders, let himself in.

“Good morning my dear?” King Hammond said and Princess Xariah just stood unresponsive like she didn’t hear him. “Your escorts have arrived.”

“That will do thank you,” Princess Xariah said to her maids and they bowed and quietly left; gently closing the door behind them. She stood there for a while trying to gather herself; she couldn’t even face her father.

“Listen my darling I . . .”

“If this is you trying to convince me for the hundredth time that you forcefully bestowing me upon a man I do not want to be with is a good thing then I don’t want to hear it,” Princess Xariah interrupted. “I don’t want to hear any of it.”

“My love . . .”

“You’re shipping me off to be wedded to a complete stranger like unwanted cargo, do you know how insulting that is?” she turned to him and said, slightly raising her voice.

“My dear please understand this is for the good . . . .”

“Of our people yes a people that are your responsibility as king and yet here I am making the biggest sacrifice of them all. It’s not fair.”

“My love . . .”

“No, don’t you even try to sympathize for me because you have no idea how I feel; you have no idea how it feels to be sold off like some worthless object by your own father.”

“Xariah?” King Hammond desperately tried to reach out to her.

“You hear me father and you hear me well. I will never forgive you for this and I promise to be miserable for the rest of my days hoping you feel this disgust for just as long so that you always remember how betrayed your only daughter,” Princess Xariah said with heaviness in her words. She had never felt such an ache before; it was like her own father plunged a knife right into her chest.

“My dear please calm yourself. He is a very wealthy king. You’re going to have everything you’ve ever wanted there.”

“I don’t care about wealth father; if you know me like I hope you still do you know that wealth has no place in my heart. I treasure what is real and what is human, what is pure. I treasure love but none of those things will ever be mine will they?” she said in a raised voice once more and King Hammond with his head low just turned to his side. “Who are you?”

King Hammond’s eyes flooded with tears as actual tears ran down Princess Xariah’s face. She quickly grabbed a napkin from her dressing table and patted the tears away mindful of her make-up and then collected herself with a deep breath.

“Now if you will excuse me my escorts await me,” Princess Xariah said and walked out the door, slamming it hard behind her. King Hammond remained throwing his head forward and placing his hand over his eyes; this was something he would never have in a million years suggested because his daughter was his life but it was what King Molar demanded in exchange for his aid and so though drastic it was a decision that just had to be made. They had been through a hard time during the previous year’s drought and he could not stand to see his people struggle the way that they did again. Still it did not make what he was going through any easier; he felt like he had sold his own soul.