The Lost Prince: Prologue

         As the sun set beyond the scope of the mountains and the temple of the gods appeared in sight, a lone man, full of age-won wisdom, was standing, prepared for whatever the council had decided during his absence. The closer he got, the more dread he felt. His best apprentice had disappeared many cycles ago for unknown reasons, and since then there was no one whom the old sage would deem worthy to teach.
         Now the sage was standing at the entrance to the temple, once he went in he would not be allowed to leave until the meeting convened. With a sigh, the sage realized that there was no way around it, he would be expelled from the council because of his failures. It would be best to get this over with as quickly as possible.
         "Ah, so you've finally arrived, it seems that we can now begin," said the Grand Master Sage, a man that was even more ancient than was thought to be physically possible.
         As the sage looked around he was shocked to find that the entire grand council was seated and waiting for him. "What is the meaning of this? What possessed you to call the entire council here at this time? They need to protect their respective regions do they not?"
         "Calm down Wenthilio, you'll give yourself a stroke otherwise." said an elderly woman who had the eyes of a hawk. "The Grand Master has had a message from the gods themselves, so if you would be silent long enough to listen, we might learn something important."
         "If you are all done bickering . . . I would like to start the meeting now if you please." the Grand Master said rather impatiently.
         Wenthilio replied, "My apologies Ignatius, I meant no disrespect."
         "As you are all by now aware, there is a dark presence that has invaded our lands. The kings of the realm refused to fight together, and so each was defeated and forced to submit to this new power. Some cycles ago the alliance of the Medrovian Kingdom and the Rangers Corps almost defeated the enemy. Unfortunately, the fall of Sylph marked the end of that alliance when a young elf disappeared that night. As most of you know, that young elf was Wenthilio's apprentice. Recently, Medren visited me in a dream and told me that 'On the darkest of nights, when the alliance fell, a flash of light was made to tell the end of hope, of life, of all. This night of nights will soon return and bring back one who was lost that day. He will bring back the ways of the ancients and make this a world of truth.' Do you understand what this means? Wenthilio, your apprentice shall return, and he will be the next one, of that I am sure."
         "How can he, you know the legends as well as I, he may have inherited his grandfather's blood, but he is still just an elf." Wenthilio said in disbelief.
         Ignatius spoke, "Wen, I understand how it appears, but if your apprentice has the power to save our world then the one we can all thank is he who trained this elf."
         Wenthilio, still skeptical, asked, "Even if he does come back and is the chosen one of he who is above all others, how will we be able to contact my apprentice?"
         "For now, we shall leave the specifics to the gods. For our part, we will contact the appropriate elven officials who can keep a look out for him, other than that, his fate is beyond our control, it's all up to the guidance of the gods. The council is dismissed, each of us must go to our respective regions, towns, and villages and speak with those who must know of what has transpired recently.
         We are not alone in this war, the Medrovians will be influenced to fight once more for the good of all, and the Rangers will do whatever it takes to protect this land. If we can get the Feudal Lords on our side and have them fight together, then we can win. It all starts with that one elf."
         With the meeting having been closed, and the council dismissed, Wenthilio shifted his gaze to the sky and sent a silent prayer of thanks to Medren for protecting his apprentice. Six cycles is a long time to be missing, whatever happened on that night, just know that you're not alone my apprentice. You have not been forgotten about, and you will always have the strength of your friends to rely on. With one final glance at the glowing full moon, Wenthilio retreated to the seclusion of the forest. Letting himself be swallowed into the shadows of his home, Wenthilio smiled for the first time since the disappearance of his apprentice.
         Medren as well as the other goddesses and gods were looking down on his apprentice with hope, for the destruction of the elves meant the destruction of their gods and goddesses as well. The fate of the entire world is in the hands of a single elf, one who has the power to shape the destiny of those around him. It was time to awaken him, time to awaken the lost prince.