The continent of Eicera was a place of rich plains and bountiful forests, lush meadows and glimmering lakes. Thirteen empires and kingdoms bloomed there, most of them scattered to the four winds. In the center of Eicera, however, three had grown up as neighbors, relying on one another in times of war and hardships, and celebrating with one another in times of peace and prosperity. Isala, Weiron, and Hathora were a powerful, prestigious triad that had stood strong against the rigorous tests of time. 

Prince Chanyeol was the youngest son of the Hathoran emperor. With crimson hair and eyes that were limpid pools of amethyst, a fair complexion, and a long, but lithe, frame, Chanyeol had inherited the gentle beauty of his mother, while bearing the grace and grandeur of the imperial line. Throughout the empire of Hathora, the youngest prince was regarded as a blessing from Atera, the goddess of beauty and longevity, herself. 

Behind closed doors, however, grace and grandeur gave way to headstrong inaptitude, a lack of care in that which a Hathoran prince was supposed to be. Chanyeol was the wild child, closer to the god of the wind than he was to Atera. Though uncontrolled by any, he was at the same time restrained by feather-soft bonds of silken gold. He was both wild and tame, bound and free, a captive within the walls of his father's magnificent palace. 

It was this that drove Chanyeol to sneak away, his footfalls soft upon the stairs as he crept down from his tower bedroom. Shoes clutched in one hand and a few gold coins in the other, the youngest of the princes stole softly toward the ground level of the castle and fleeting freedom. The rest of the imperial family were ignorant of his plot, and otherwise occupied. His brothers were either training with the guard or with their tutors, his sisters were with their etiquette mistress, and his father was in the throne room. With luck, his mother would be at the emperor's side, or overseeing the tending of the imperial garden. 

As he made his descent, Chanyeol stuck to halls that he knew would be unguarded, and stairways that were rarely used by any of the royal family. The gentle rustling of his robes and the muffled sound of his footfalls were the only sounds that he made, quiet enough to go undetected by anyone in the rooms lining the halls. His escape from the confines of the palace, and the watchful eyes of his guards, was almost certain – Chanyeol could almost taste the fresh air, which had a different flavor when he wasn't merely inhaling it through his opened window. 

The youngest prince still, however, had one large problem – he had to be extraordinarily stealthy when passing the throne room, and he had to get the timing just right. There were four guards posted at the double doors, and if they chanced to glance to the left as he crossed the hall, they would most certainly catch him in the act of attempting an escape. This was the largest obstacle that Chanyeol had to face in order to make it out of the palace without being apprehended, and it was steadily drawing nearer and nearer. 

Stepping off of the staircase with as much silence as he could muster, Chanyeol slipped to the corner and peered around. To his relief, he saw that the guards were looking the other way – a small miracle. As quickly as he da