War is a curious machine that takes time to get started, but once it did, it was difficult to stop as well. War between the kingdoms was not new, but it had never been on this scale. If anyone knew the perils of war, it was the king of Chornus, for he holds the record of every home burnt, every life lost and every nation brought to its knees in the name of war. And yet, here was his kingdom readying itself for war. He had pushed it as much as he can, giving time for his sons to grow-up, but the threat of the western lands simply cannot be ignored.

The world was divided into 8 kingdoms. To the north were the kingdoms of Mizal and Kazen. The kingdom of Mizal was ruled by the emperor of ice and wind who needless to say was the father of both Xiumin and Suho. They had one more brother, Sehun, who has the power of wind. Together with his two wives, the northern emperor controlled the seas and the rivers starting from the northern glaciers. Once a prosperous kingdom it had fallen into bad times due to the philandering ways of the emperor.

To the south were the kingdoms of Ogan, Molniya and Prost. Ogan and Molniya were ruled by a wise and kind but unambitious ruler. As a result both countries were small but prosperous and content within themselves. The Southern emperor was a long term ally of the Eastern Empire as evident by one of Southern princes, Chen, being betrothed to Yixing, prince of the East. The eldest son of the Southern emperor, Chanyeol, just took the position of king of Prost at the death of his dear uncle.

The West was ruled by one huge empire, simply called the Werden, headed by general Yifan. Initially, the west was also ruled by monarchy but then Yifan and his generals Kyungsoo and Luhan emerged as a force of peoples will. The west was long suppressed under a tyrant and it fell into ruins far worse than any other kingdom. People died of famine and draught and there was nothing any other nation could do without starting a war with the most powerful monarch at that time. Yifan, Kyungsoo and Luhan were mere soldiers. But they rose in rank and executed a coup that overthrew the monarchy. They used magic to inherit three of the four powers of the last emperor on to themselves and sealed away the last. Yifan took the power of flight, Kyungsoo that of earth and Luhan that of will. The last, the power to rule all powers, they locked away in order to ensure that it can never be misused again.

The Eastern empire was made of a wealthy and rich nation full of natural reserves. It was a land of healing and light, the two powers over which the king of the Eastern lands ruled. It was made of a single large kingdom called the Ister. Ruled by a mighty and just emperor, Ister was most peaceful and prosperous of all the kingdoms. The king had two sons, Yixing, betrothed to Chen of the Southern kingdom and Baekyun, the fairest of all the princes. The Isters including their royal family mostly kept to themselves and were generally peace loving.

These four kingdoms surrounded the kingdom of Chronus, the middle kingdom. Chronus was ruled by the God of time and hence, held sway over all other kingdoms. The lands were untamable and worked according to the will of their ruler. By the king of Chronus never misused his power. He was friendly with all nations and had given refuge to the ruling clans of all the lands whenever needed. His sons were well loved by all the lands and were powerful in their own right. Jongin his eldest was the first to ever possess the power of teleportation while his second son inherited his power over time. But times were changing and Chronus has been receiving messages from its spies on the movement of troops from the Eastern front.

The Werden was expanding but its resources were few. If Yifan and his generals intend to retain control over the nation, they need to feed the masses and ensure peace within itself. But the Werden was newly formed and hence prone to a lot of infighting. Luhan had lead his troops to battle twice already and captured 2 small cities that were on the borders of Chronus. The first time, Chronus was caught unaware and the two cities were swiftly taken. The second time, by luck a Northern delegation was staying in Chronus and consequently came to the aid of their neighbor in keeping off Luhan. Half way through the battle it was clear, Luhan’s power of will was able to control much of Chronus’ forces. The Northern emperor had quickly summoned his second son to Chronus. That was the first time in 13 years, the prince of water was seen in public. His beautiful dragon form roared across the sky, breaking the dragon line of the Werden for the first time ever. Luhan was forced to retreat but retribution was soon expected. A quick peace treaty with the Northern emperor, who was only too happy to exchange his son for supplies, brought Suho back to the land where he was once humiliated and chased out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“It’s drafty in here, please get off the ledge and come inside.” Suho turned and looked at his half-brother. It has been two months since they arrived at Chronus. Suho no longer disliked Xiumin. The man had tried hard to earn Suho’s trust and Suho was beginning to believe that he was genuine.

“The ice prince complaining about the cold. What a disgrace?”

“And the water prince hiding from Gods and humans alike, what kind of disgrace is that?”

Suho sighed and stepped inside the tower closing the window behind him. Xiumin lit the lamps and sat down with a bundle of food.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I am perfectly capable of hunting and cooking my own meals.”

Xiumin looked up at Suho with a smile and went on to spreading butter over a piece of bread.

“I know, but I want to do this as long as I am here. It’s the least I can do for my brother.”

“Must you say such things? It sounds so weird.”

“Yes absolutely must. It’s a mandate that every younger brother must hear such things from their elder brothers.”

Xiumin started laying out the food.

“Suho?”

“Hum?”

“I can hear you at night you know. The nightmares…. “

Suho looked sheepish. “I am sorry.”

“No, there is nothing to be sorry about. I just want to help. Do you always get them?”

“No, not always. I used to when I was younger. I haven’t had them in years.”

Xiumin looked thoughtful and said “So… it’s this place? Is it the Prince? You have been avoiding both of them at all cost…”

“Maybe, look brother, I don’t want to talk about it. I was here once when I was way younger and I am yet to come to terms with somethings that happened.”

Xiumin stared at him for moment and then chuckled.

“What?” Suho demanded.

“Nothing” Xiumin giggled and then outright laughed.

“WHAT?”

“You just called me brother.”

“I didn’t”

“Yes you did!”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Yes you did!”

Suho rolled his eyes at that but started eating the food that Xiumin served. Just as he was finishing, there was a knock on the door surprising both of them. The Eastern tower was far away from the main palace and so far, none had disturbed them. Thinking it could be the keepers, Xiumin went to the door and opened it.

“May we come in?”

That voice was so familiar to Suho and yet sent a panic down his spine.

“Yes of course my prince.” Xiumin bowed and let prince Jongin and prince Tao inside.

Suho stood up abruptly and made a dash for the window, but Jongin teleported himself just in front of him so that Suho crashed into him. A blinding panic rose inside Suho and he struggled to get away but Jongin using his height and strength held fast.

Memories of voices calling him a monster came rushing up his throat making it difficult for Suho to breathe. He struggled to pull some air into his lungs but nothing came and he struggled to get himself free of the hands holding him but he only felt more hands around him. Sluggishly he could hear voices around him, but his mind did not register. Dully he thought he was going to pathetically faint. He thought he heard Sehun calling him just before he out.