Thick red hair formed a natural crown upon Prince Valorous’ head. Named so by his well-meaning but arrogant father, Valorous was the jewel of the Sunhold Kingdom. His lightly tanned skin was pleasantly interrupted by small patches of light reddish scales. The prince’s open yet decisive demeanor and piercing golden eyes matched well with his sunny disposition. 

The Prince wore a stylish red vest and a pair of loose trousers belted on with a thick embossed leather band. A matching leather band kept his free-flowing hair from his face.

Prince Valorous excelled in every subject taught to him: history, tactics, spellcasting, the arts of fighting, and statecraft. Even from the young age of nine his people adored him and they slept well, safe in the knowledge that their kingdom would be peaceful and prosperous through this generation and the next.

 However, he was also a rambunctious child, always experimenting with his magic, trying to create new spells, and constantly causing mischief despite his stern yet doting attendants.

Prince Valorous was kneeling behind a potted plant, waiting for his prey to make their daily appearance. He checked his notes again, fingers crossed that he had finally figured out his new trap spell.

By keying an enchantment of his own design to a specific person's aura, the prince hoped that he had reinvented spells that the ancients used to protect the tombs his teacher had taught him about. 

Several well dressed ladies glided by regally, tittering and giggling to themselves on their way to the palatial gardens. “Did you hear about Zhone Towah? He was just raised to a commander in the Scarlet Alliance! He’s such a hunk!”

 “I wish he had asked me out when he lived here.” another one said.

A third chimed in. “Remember when he dueled with Tiriel? I still don’t see how Tiriel could have won, I mean, look at the muscles on Zhone! I bet he really knows how to use them.” 

A crack like thunder silenced the ladies and heralded the success of Valorous’ spell. As they passed underneath an arch, a runed sigil started glowing, causing a torrent of water to cascade down towards them.

Shrieking, the ladies of the court cowered at the unexpected deluge. 

However, before the rain could drench the dismayed women, an almost invisible shield of air appeared above them. The shield diverted the water away from the group and on to the floor. Then a blade of wind sliced through the shining runes that comprised the spell, breaking it in a shower of sparks.

Valorous’ preemptive fist of triumph turned into a glowering look of disgust. His shoulders raised and lowered dramatically as he sighed. 

“Texnosha’s benevolence, cradle me. Flowing stream!” The prince chanted a spell. The spell rippled through the air, folding around him in shimmering layers. The magic acted like a cloak, creating a slipstream that helped him to run away faster and blur his form against identification. He darted from behind the plant. 

Before he even got five paces away, a voice stopped him in his tracks. “What have we here?”

The voice belonged to Tiriel, the prince’s favorite tutor. With a quiet whistle, the tutor broke Valorous’ compound spell with a gale of wind. Then he lifted the troublemaker up by his fancy collar.

The ladies interrupted, shrieking in anger. “Prince Valorous, you scamp!”

Another one added, “Teach that brat a lesson, Tiriel!”

The tutor had an eternally rumpled figure. Though physically fit, he had a scholarly air that led to most of the court dismissing him out of hand. Medium-length green hair adorned his head and was tied back into a ponytail. Round-rimmed glasses hid sharp yellow eyes that accented his hair. His lanky frame was covered with a long-sleeved embroidered shirt and trousers. His affinity for wind magic was currently visible as a light breeze that ruffled his hair and clothing, adding to his rumpled appearance.

“My Prince, there appears to have been some sort of trap spell laid for these beautiful ladies. You wouldn’t happen to know how it got there, would you?” Tiriel lifted the prince up so that they were eye level, while the prince tried to curl up and be inconspicuous. 

“No, sir. I can’t think of how that ancient spell got there, here in our modern times. Must have been some kind of temporal anomaly.” The prince’s excuses fooled no one present. 

“So the Crown Prince is terrorizing people again?” A stern voice rang out from down the hall. It’s owner was Councillor Enyu. He strode forward purposefully towards the group. The councillor was a short and skinny middle aged man. His manicured long mustache portrayed a disapproving scowl whenever he encountered the prince’s antics. “Prince Valorous, this is hardly behavior fit for royalty. You only anger your father and disappoint your subjects when you act this way. Tiriel, is this how you teach your young charge? By allowing him to attack people?”

Setting the prince down on his feet, Tiriel continued holding the prince by his collar. He forced Prince Valorous to bow to the councillor and the still sitting, but at least not soaked, ladies. “Of course not, Enyu; the prince and I have a long discussion ahead of us. Ladies.” Turning away, he pulled Valorous along behind him. “Come along, my Prince. It seems some remedial lessons about our history are in order. Maybe it’ll jog your memory as to how an ‘ancient trap spell from some forgotten tomb’ made its way onto an arch in our castle's hallway”.

Dejectedly, the Prince followed his tutor, while turning his nose up to the glaring councillor and the bedraggled ladies on the floor.

The two retired to the palace’s library. It was a massive room and its walls were completely covered in shelves. Those shelves were full of wellkept manuscripts, magical tools and various historical artifacts. Magical lights illuminated the room from ornamental sconces placed along the tapestried walls. 

Tiriel beckoned the prince to sit down at one of the various stylized heavy oak tables. On the tabletop sat a glowing prism. Sitting down across from the prince, Tiriel rested a hand on the magical device. The prism started to hum as a slight breeze ruffled the pages of a close by book. Prince Valorous had a grumpy look on his face while the device warmed up.

A wave of light rippled from the top of the prism, widening until it was about three feet across and two feet tall, floating above the table. As Tiriel started to speak, a fuzzy picture appeared on the hovering screen and painted the tutor’s words.

“This world, Young Prince, is a violent place. Earthquakes, tornadoes, massive ice storms and blistering heat waves, the very environment itself seems to have some grudge against the beings that have the misfortune of living on it.”

The image cleared, showing a massive stretch of land. Trees and plants dotted the surface. Then, the land cracked and split. Violent winds tore across the fields, uprooting trees while lightning flashed and started raging infernos that burned across the expanse.

Tiriel continued. “While a few species evolved to combat the hostile environment, becoming monstrous themselves, Humanity was not one of them and suffered greatly from the world’s ire.”

The beasts of the field grew to monstrous sizes, while bone plates, spikes, and fearsome claws grew from their flesh. In front of them, kneeling and prone humans cowered defenselessly. Despite himself, the prince held onto the arms of his chair tightly, getting wrapped up in the history.

“These ancient humans, driven into a corner, begged the stars for help, and something answered.”

An expanse of stars lit up and its constellations swarmed closer. They started to form into the shapes of various creatures.

“Great Spirits from beyond the plane answered the people’s pleas and descended. A phoenix made of streaming sunbeams, dragons whose scales rippled with every color of the rainbow, a fox with nine undulating tails, a mysterious blue furred sphinx, an elk that carried a forest within his antlers, and many other fantastic beings appeared among the scattered tribes of man.”

Descending to the earth in front of the desperate humans, the shapes condensed into the creatures that Tiriel mentioned. The young boy couldn’t hold onto his annoyance any longer, and his eyes shone as the beautiful and fantastic spirits came into focus. His feet kicked back and forth excitedly.

Unable to contain his excitement, Valorous named each of the spirits as they came into being. 

A group of stars brightened and became a gleaming red and gold phoenix that silently screeched. Its voice brighted the night sky, making it appear as though it were midday. “Shalazar.” 

Some of the stars swirled and twisted around each other, becoming many colors of dragons that curled around each other during the descent. 

The first was a glorious golden scaled dragon with even larger wings, large enough to cover the sky. A golden luminescence covered his figure. “Xertonos.”

Then, the air noticeably froze as a white dragon spun down, snowflakes trailing in her wake. She was far bulkier than the others, obviously built for colder environments. “Ixthalah.”

Next, a long and sinuous teal-colored dragon swam through the air, and various currents of air became visible with her passing, twirling and rippling like the waves of the sea. “Texnosha.”

Another one dove into the earth and burst back out of it. He was colored in the mottled browns of the earth and his large mighty claws dug through the earth with ease. “Enxorah.”

The fifth dragon was thin and agile. His sinuous green body curled and wrapped around itself in strange patterns. “Sednexul.”

Finally, a powerfully built black dragon with many horns framing her face and large finned wings that trailed down her back. A black smoke roiled across her form, partially obscuring it. “Korovix”

After the dragons descended, a separate constellation bounded across the sky, turning into a majestic fox that daintily sat down. It had nine tails that whipped and pranced erratically behind it. “Uretsu.”

Gliding regally down, another grouping of stars became a blue furred sphinx with golden wings and the face of a beautiful maiden. its tufted tail flicked casually back and forth. “Elenah.”

An Elk galloped down next, its antlers made of a living forest. A mane of autumn leaves cascaded down its neck. “Ishiine.”

Many other shadowed forms came down as well. 

“These Spirits, out of compassion, granted the pitiful beings some of their otherworldly powers to combat the brutal environment and became known as Patrons.”

The Spirits held out their hands, claws, or hooves, and tentatively, the humans also reached out. Light grew from the point of contact and enveloped the mortals. The humans grew in size and stature as they stood up confidently. 

As they grew, wonderous changes took place across their forms. They gained physical characteristics of the Spirits they were blessed by. Some of them grew scales and wings, others grew horns, or fur, or tails as their benefactors possessed. 

“The new bloodlines of man, emboldened by this gift, set about taming this wild and hungry planet. They settled in massive cities and raised those cities from the ground, draping them with all manner of defensive spellwork to keep the planet at bay.”

The picture showed a group of little people raising their hands and a massive chunk of earth rose out of the dirt, creating a giant floating landmass, hovering high above the ground. On the island was a beautiful sprawling city headed by an orderly stone castle formed, complete with flying ramparts and gorgeous spires.

 “The Sunhold Kingdom, Young Prince, is such a place. It, like most of the countries of Enoch, does not float in any sea, but soars through the sky, far above the earth.”

A magical dome grew to surround the city, keeping it safe as three monstrous tornadoes formed and encircled the island. A vicious wind tore at the ground, uprooting trees. Dark clouds filled the sky and a torrential downpour threatened to flood the land below the island. The peoples on the island cheered silently, safe from the environmental disasters. 

“Treaties formed between these kingdoms and allowed for a regrowth of humanities numbers. All was finally peaceful. Peaceful, my Prince, as your relationships should be, after you apologize to the Queen’s ladies.”

The picture slowly became fuzzy again, until it collapsed back into the prism. Tiriel took his hand off of the device and looked at Prince Valorous expectantly.

Valorous crossed his arms, puffed out his cheeks, and complained, “I know all that, Teacher. But they were talking bad about you again! They said you always look like a squall has just passed through. All I was doing was turning their gossip into the truth..”

 Valorous’ magical talent, fortuitously, or not, came from the union of two powerful draconic bloodlines. His father, king Raitan’s blood came from the golden dragons aligned with the sun. While his mother, Queen Liashel’s, came from the royal line of seafaring teal dragons; whose kingdom, instead of flying among the clouds, lay under the churning waves of the Vandaylian Seas.

Tiriel sighed and rubbed his temples, “Young Prince, while I appreciate your intentions, and it is true that I do not spend much time on my appearance, but some of that comes from chasing you around all day and trying to keep you out of trouble…”

………….

King Raitan grunted at his son. “Councillor Enyu tells me you’ve been pranking people again, Valorous,” 

The king and his son were engaged in training sword forms in the palace salle. It was a place that defined functionality. Numerous pieces of equipment devoted to martial training were evenly spaced around the spacious room. Magical sconces common around the palace lit up the space efficiently. The walls were polished mirrors, perfect for the self correction of those who used this space. 

Prince Valorous’ face contorted in disdain. He disliked Councillor Enyu. Though most people thought the middle-aged man was a compassionate, if cautious person, Valorous had found that Enyu had a cruel streak. When the councillor thought no one was looking, his face changed to one full of contempt and amusement towards those less fortunate than himself. He made Valorous’ skin crawl. Not to mention the fact that he ran to King Raitan every time he heard about the prince’s pranks. However, the prince turned to his father and bowed in apology.

King Raitan’s physical form was that of a seasoned warrior. Well-defined muscles rippled under his sun darkened skin. Golden scales threaded with crimson crossed his cheeks, his forearms and under his robes. His giant wings spread and closed with each movement, granting him a fluid balance that also lent each strike additional power. His curly black hair glistened with sweat from the focus and precision of his movements.

While Prince Valorous used a well-made wooden practice sword, his father used the sword passed down their line across the generations, known as the Rising Sun. Its pommel was a stylized golden starburst. The leather bound handle was red, and three sun rays spread out from the crossguard. The blade itself was magically sharp and was perfect for conducting the powerful magic of the Golden Dragon bloodline.

“If you weren’t as bright as you are, I’d have to trounce you until your attitude improved.” The King sighed without breaking his form. “Since you have excelled in every task I’ve set before you, I’ll continue to overlook your little… indiscretions.”

Chuckling a little, King Raitan continued, “Your mother’s ladies can get a little pompous, can’t they. But don’t let them distract you from your studies. Tiriel has trained you well. His fast and precise style is more suited to you than my overwhelming two handed techniques. You’ll make a great warrior one day if you keep at it. ”

Knowing that his father’s lecture was over, Prince Valorous laughed back as he raised his head, “I’ve been improving the water control spells I disassembled from the faucets, father. So then I made a rain trap keyed to that horrible Jessika. She was making fun of Tiriel again. I would have drenched her if Tiriel hadn’t caught me.”

Ruffling his son’s messy red hair fondly, the King of Sunhold laughed. “You’ll have to put those pranks behind you soon. That's no way for the royal heir to act, especially once we invite your future bride to stay with us and learn our ways.”

Turning his son so that their gazes met, the king finished, “I expect you to be a perfect princely gentleman when she arrives.”

Bowing demurely, the sparkling eyed prince replied, “As you command, father.”

Valorous stepped out of his father’s reach before he added, “As long as she can keep up!”

Putting on a grumpy scowl King Raitan chased his giggling son around the salle, pretending to strike at him with his sword.

Returning to their sword forms, the pair continued to practice for a while. 

………………………………….

While at dinner, Valorous retold his antics in detail to his laughing mother. Unlike the physically driven King, Queen Liashel was a well-recognised mage who couldn’t be more proud at her son’s love of the magical arts. 

The Queen lit up any room she entered. With flowing teal locks braided into complicated designs that complemented her smooth and attractively placed sea-colored scales, she was quite beautiful. Light makeup adorned her smooth face. Exquisitely crafted jewelry twinkled merrily in her ears and around her neck. She preferred to wear well-made but simple light robes that signified her talent in the magical arts. 

They were seated at the head of a long oaken table on a raised platform. Underneath them were several more stylishly decorated tables, filled with the well dressed nobles of the court. Conversation resonated across the hall happily. 

“That's quite advanced, Val. I’m impressed that you were able to figure out a way to make a person’s aura the trigger to a set sigil. We haven't talked about how to do that yet.” Liashel complimented her beaming son.

Prince Valorous responded proudly, “I noticed that most people don’t know how to hide their aura, mom, and it just flows out around them. So I made a hole shaped like Lady Alana’s aura in the triggering sequence of the spell. It's like our faucets, but they use anyone’s aura to trigger hot or cold water to come out. By making the activation sequence only work when a specific key completed it, it wouldn’t trigger if anyone else walked underneath it.”

Listening intently, The Queen nodded her head sagely at Valorous’ explanation. “A tidy answer to the problem of accidentally soaking everyone who walked past. Well done.”

King Raitan cut in, “Lia, don’t compliment the boy for causing mischief, even if it was done well. I’m trying to get him to grow out of these constant pranks and start acting more seriously, as our royal heir should.”

“Oh my dear husband, by acknowledging his ingenuity, we help him to grow up mentally flexible and capable of answering any unknown crises that pop up in the future,” the queen replied. She placed a gentle hand on the king's arm.

King Raitan raised his hands in defeat, acquiescing to his beautiful wife’s logic. He attempted to keep the scowl on his face, but a light peck on his cheek stole away his attempt at dignity. The king lovingly turned to his wife and kissed her back deeply. 

………….

On another day, Tiriel and his charge were again sitting in the beautifully furnished library. The magical prism was an oft used tool in Tiriel’s lessons to the young prince. The device hummed to life, its screen fuzzily growing.

“King Kavgrim’s line was blessed by a dragon whose scales were darker than the void of space. During his rule, King Kavgrim decided that he alone should rule the bloodlines of the world. By the time the other nations had marshalled a defense, this war-thirsty ruler had conquered many bloodlines.”

The figure of a powerful crowned man appeared on the magical screen. He had long midnight black hair, a well groomed beard, and pale skin. Whorls of obsidian scales acted as natural armor that enhanced the defensive gear he was wearing. His scaled chest was bare, while his arms were encased in tough leather. He had on long loose pants under a flowing half cape attached at his waist. The kingly man bore a long red blade that seemed to warp the air around it. The spines on his crown were twisted and left a spectral afterimage as he moved. King Kavgrim’s face was locked in a permanent scowl. 

A bloodied and wicked looking army expanded out behind the king, beating their shields and howling. With Kavgrim in the lead, the army charged forwards, cutting across a map of the continent.

“A heroic golden king, your great grandfather Raishan, his blood also coursing with a dragon’s power, marshalled the surviving nations to battle. Only by uniting against Kavgrim was this alliance able to drive him back to his own lands.”

Across from the violent hordes, another figure rose from a spot on the map. He was encased in golden plates. His face was only visible from his open helm. Wisps of a golden mane could be seen around the edges and poking through the bottom of the helm. Even his wings were armored, with pointed blades following down along their outer edges. He held the familiar sight of the Rising Sun sword, holding it out in a defensive position. 

The golden king raised his sword and other powerful looking kings and queens manifested behind him. A blue furred queen charged out, wearing heavy purple robes and wielding a massive weighted scepter with a roughly cut jewel at its tip. The King of Frost was next, wearing heavy white armor similar to the golden king’s and holding a spear made of ice. A whirling frosty fog swirled around him. More followed. Each was at the head of their own army.

In the picture, the two armies clashed, silently losing their lives to the tutor’s words. 

“The survivors put the evil king to death and took vengeance on his clans, destroying them root and branch, so they would never again be able to wage war on the rest of the world.”

Amidst a field of corpses, King Raishan stood before the kneeling Kavgrim, Rising Sun held above his head. A powerful swing separated the wicked king's head from his neck, and his body slumped down onto the blood soaked ground.

King Kavgrim’s fleeing armies were mercilessly cut down as they ran. The scene changed to the back of Kavgrim’s floating city, where the allied forces put it to the torch. The Island itself fell from the sky, and hitting the unforgiving ground, shattered into smouldering ruins.

“But, the dark dragon clan’s blood held the powers of shadow, and a few managed to escape the purge, using illusions to hide throughout the vast corners of the earth.”

A few people wearing ragged and bloody cloaks stole from the rubble, disappearing off into the distance. 

“Though the war was won, the allied peoples stayed vigilant, always worried that the dark clan would rise again, to try and take control of all peoples.

Several bloodied but victorious kings and queens raised their weapons together, showing their continued unity against the dark. The magical screen dimmed, and powered down as Tiriel finished. “Stories of the Dark King and his armies of Shadow were passed down, causing fear and unrest among the various rulers throughout the years. It is still a terrible crime to be born of that lineage.”

Tiriel shuddered. Composing himself he turned to his royal charge. “Your Great Grandfather and the other Kings and Queens at the time created treaties to prevent another war, and one of those treaties commands for ties of blood between the different nations. 

“Today, my Prince, we will be welcoming your future Queen, beautiful Princess Nahira, into our fair Kingdom, where she will learn our customs and prepare herself for the day that you both rule.”

Tiriel solemnly placed a hand on the prince’s squirming shoulder. “Please remember to act politely and follow the proper court etiquette we’ve been going over. She will have just arrived and may be scared, so don’t start pestering her with your curiousity. ”

The Prince agreed quickly, but he was overflowing with questions for the upcoming meeting, so he jumped out of his chair and raced towards the throne room ahead of his tutor.

The throne room was enormous, with massive cloth banners dedicated to each of the noble houses adorning its high walls. Glowing sconces decorated the walls while massive chandeliers hung stately from the ceiling.

Two magnificent thrones rested at the top of a series of steps. These steps were engraved with glorious scenes of the battle against the Shadow King, where golden armored warriors beat back the hordes of darkness. The thrones were built to look like a pair of golden wings that carefully held their royal inhabitants. 

King Raitan and Queen Liashel were both wearing their crowns, golden circlets with towering peaks and sparkling diamonds. The Rising Sun lay nestled in a groove designed into the king’s throne at the base of the wing. 

Today, the full court was assembled. Gloriously dressed lords and ladies stood attentively, waiting patiently for the prince’s arrival.

Bursting into the throne room, Valorous intently peered around, looking for the princess who would be his bride. Most of the people present were known to Prince Valorous and his eyes slid right past them. Until, his gaze settled on a little girl who was holding onto a woman’s skirt. Intelligent purple eyes gazed back at the prince and her head tilted inquisitively. 

Princess Nahira descended from Elenah, the Sphinx Patron. The girl had velvety sky-blue fur and graceful cream-colored wings. Her tail teased back and forth unconsciously as she stared back at Valorous with warm and attentive purple eyes. An adorable little button of a nose wiggled curiously at the prince. She wore a light purple dress with an open back for the freedom of her wings. Jewels sparkled at her ears.

“Ah, Valorous, as impatient as ever,” said his mother while smiling indulgently. 

An embarrassed Herald belatedly announced the prince while King Raitan glowered. Councillor Enyu turned disapprovingly to the person next to him and spoke something softly. Sparing no time for any of that, Valorous strode directly towards the Princess. He stopped less than a foot away and looked deeply into the Princess’ eyes. The silence stretched as everyone waited for the prince’s reaction. Just as Nahira opened her mouth to say something and break the quiet, Valorous abruptly knelt with a flourish. 

“My Princess, I have the honor of being called Valorous, First Prince of Sunhold, your betrothed to be. The sun shines brightly upon our meeting. I bid you welcome to my kingdom, may you dance across the skies of Enoch, your blessings be multiplied, your rests consoling, your allies be fortuitous, while your enemies labor long and in vain. By the blood of Xertonos and Texnosha, let it be so. ” 

Nahira looked a little confused at the strange boy’s odd formality, but automatically presented her hand as she was taught to do in these kinds of situations. 

Instead of kissinging it, the Prince’s expression changed from serious to mischievous as he stood up, grasped the princess’s hand and shook it excitedly. Then he started to drag her away, while talking several times faster than his previous speech.

“Father says I should act more dignified, and Tiriel is always lecturing me about following etiquette, but we are friends now so none of that matters. Let’s leave the adults to be bored and find something more fun to do. More importantly, can you fly with those wings, do you lick yourself clean like a cat, can you do any magic, do you want to see this spell i invented the other day, how old are you…” 

Blinking once, Nahira grinned, showing sharp little teeth.

“You should, are we, okay, yes, not telling, yes, yes, eight, do you have any pets, can you fight, are your scales rough, do you have to shine them, who’s Tiriel….”

Tiriel paled after seeing how quickly they became friends. He started considering the possible antics that two royal children would likely get up to. The Queen dimpled adoringly while the King sighed at the instantaneous camaraderie between the betrothed.

Queen Liashel placed a loving hand on her husband's arm and tried to console him. “Now come dear, we were young once. Why, I remember when we first met, and how we would scamper along these very halls. And you have to admit, despite Valorous’ pranks, he is quite the model prince.” 

King Raitan grimaced. “The boy is too smart for his own good, wasting his time on tricks and artifice when he has our combined magical power to bring to battle. His lack of seriousness will bring trying times to this kingdom if he isn’t taught to be properly serious and carry his kingly burdens. Tiriel, I expect his martial training to increase in intensity. Maybe it will wear out some of that excessive energy.”

Tiriel bowed in acknowledgement, while doubting that the king’s plan would have any chance of success. “As you command, my King.”

The teacher bowed again, and hurried after his young charges, hoping that they hadn’t already found some shenanigans to get up to.

……….

Princess Nahira quickly settled into her new life with the prince. 

“Hurry up, ‘Hira! They’re almost here.” Prince Valorous ran as stealthily as a nine year old could, rounding corners with exuberant abandon.

Nahira giggled with excitement as Valorous leapt over the invisible line of their trap.

“Get back here you scoundrel! Give me back my hat!” a breathy voice gasped from behind the prince. “Grab him!”

A pair of measured footsteps rhythmically pounded down the hallways, making an interesting counter-melody to the staggeringly uneven tread of the voice’s owner. They turned the last corner, revealing themselves to be a palace guardsman and one of the royal pair’s teachers.

The teacher was a small wrinkly old man. He was quite embarrassed to be bald and normally covered himself up with a gaudy purple hat. His fancy clothes matched the hat in sheer gaudiness, but the man himself was a sour old stick in the mud. He was bent over as he tried to catch his breath. 

“Ah ha! It’s a dead end! You’ve cornered yourselves! You don’t have anywhere left to run!” heaved the panting bald man. 

Confronted with their pursuers, Valorous and Nahira tried to cower convincingly. 

As the guard passed their hidden trap, nothing seemed to happen. But when the unsuspecting teacher stepped over the line, a row of roots sprouted forth from the floor. The roots continued growing and ensnared the older men. As one of the roots tangled his foot, the teacher tripped forward and fell into the unsuspecting guard with a frightened squeal. 

Both of them fell to the floor and struggled as the roots birthed vines that continued to reach and curl around their horizontal forms. Their thrashings were in vain as the insidious vines tightened and trussed them into immobility. 

Nahira and Valorous couldn’t hold in their mirth anymore, and fell to the ground themselves. Their laughter rang throughout the palace as pretty blue flowers sprouted from the vines. Their trapped pursuers looked quite fetching with their red faces paired with the colors of the flowers.

The children rolled around snickering and snorting until tears fell from their eyes. After a few moments, they got control over themselves and stood up. 

Valorous picked the hat up from the ground and hung it from a vine. “Sorry you got tangled up in this, Marko. Get it, tangled?” he said to the innocent guard while chuckling at his own joke. Turning his attention to his teacher, the prince poked him lightly in his forehead. “Master Golbano, I thought you said that you’d never fall for a trick made by a couple of kids. Disappointing.”

The Prince and Princess high fived each other as they walked past the bound pair. “I told you I could set the trap to trigger for the second person to walk by. And I got it to attach itself to the first person to pass it as well. So I get your dessert tonight, Val.” Nahira nudged the prince.

“I would never go back on my word, ‘Hira. You know that. And seeing the looks on their faces was totally worth losing out on my dessert tonight.” Valorous held his hand out to the princess.

Nahira grabbed it, and holding hands they strolled out of the hallway together.

Princess Nahira was full of the zest for life, and that quality defined her magic as well. Whether she was healing scrapes, tripping guards with roots, or drenching the heads of their unsuspecting teachers, Nahira thrived in her new environment. Her joy and laughter helped to warm the hearts of the castle's inhabitants. and even those directly targeted by the duo’s antics couldn’t stay mad after seeing the two happily together. 

True to Tiriel’s internal prediction, no matter how gruelling the martial training, how strenuous the mental task, neither of the children ever tired of their antics. This wasn’t to say that either one of them shirked on their schooling. Both of them took their studies just as seriously as they planned out their endless lighthearted schemes. 

In the past, Valorous’ curiosity had helped to keep his interest in the curriculum that Tiriel had laid out. But with the addition of Nahira, a competitive streak manifested in the young prince. The two strove in all subjects and pranks to find ways to outdo each other. 

Though harried by the inexhaustible energy of his students, Tiriel doted on them excessively and was proud of them both. Like Queen Liashel, he was confident in their ability to take command of the future and continue the prosperity of the Sunhold Kingdom.