I wanted to write an introduction chapter but just decided to add the information in the story. So please read this chapter carefully.    
"Sehun why are you smiling?" His sister kicked his toes, gazing at him, from across the table, with her brows ceased. Her platinum hair waving from the soft breeze blowing. She rested her chin against her hands, watching him. She was the very picture of demureness. His sister might look innocent and sweet, but he knew better. As a paladin, he’d faced numerous perilous threats, yet nothing and no one during his career had kept him on his toes the way his young sister had. His fathers shared a look, then both gazed his way as though waiting for an explanation. "Yes I will like to know too." His Dad– Lan Zhan said, combing his fingers through his hair, that was the same shade as Irene's. "Yeah you've been smiling a lot for the past few days. So share with us boy, give us a reason to share your smile." Wei Ying, grinned, his none retractable fangs coming to view, wiggling his brow playfully. After a moment of staring at Sehun, Wei Ying pulled the tankard of ale, that had lost its coolness and shook his head muttering something in fae. He passed it over to Lan Zhan without a word. His father rolled his eyes, but accepted the cup as a layer of ice coated the cup. Lan Zhan was an elemental mage, with the affinity for ice, the same powers his daughter had inherited, hence their platinum hair. Wei Ying leaned to kiss Lan Zhan's cheeks. "thanks love." He took a large gulp of his ale. With a satisfied groan, he slammed the cup down, his red eyes blinking slowly and his dark wings fluttered behind him. With a smitten smile, Lan Zhan reached out to  one of the wings and Wei Ying let out a purr like sound, that Sehun was certain to get cursed at if he pointed it out. Varal was a land unlike any other. It homed different species and those even considered mythical by the outside world. Many years ago it wasn't called Varal. There were six autonomous kingdoms of different races. The now capital city Lexn– that was at the center– had been where the dragon queen had ruled her people. Once a human ruler, touched by the goddesses grace, that made her into a dragon with immense power and abilities unlike any other. Lexn had been the best out of all kingdoms. There was no hunger in Lexn– unlike other kingdoms that were mostly interested in filling their safe while their people suffered. No natural disasters, while the others faced the wrath of the goddesses. To top it all, Lexn had plenty of useful recourses, such as celestial stone that could amplify one's magical powers and as of recent was highly sought after. As years went, the other kingdoms envied and coveted all they couldn't have and thus wars begun, that lasted for decades. Until eventually all kingdoms were united under one banner by the dragon queen that ultimately became the empress and thus Varal came to be. Though the conquered monarchs were allowed to keep their tittles as kings and queens, but all answered to the empress. The empire had thrived then, without the dilemmas weighing it down like it did now. Lack of fertility, low magical powers, shorter lifespans and a few others. The dragon queen had taken five consorts, from each kingdom, to strengthen the unity. She bore children with special powers as a result. The powers of each race had ran through the imperial family till this day. Naturally her descendants had earned the right to rule the empire. However the first child did not necessarily have to be the heir. There were certain requirements to sit on the throne. One had to have at least two or more elements and other magical powers. However one wouldn't need the above if they were able to take on dragon shape which would give them immense power, one of which was, over the sea creatures like merfolk and hippocampi. According to history, there was only three royal born with that ability. The first empress, her third son and then Kai. In this generation, Kai wasn't the first born, but was the emperor because he had been born an ultimate ruler, with all the elements and other magical powers that were not tied to the elements. Most importantly he was the first royal to have a dragon form for centuries despite the curse. Which didn't make sense, at least not to Sehun, but nevertheless, he had loved and respected Kai with all his heart. Not anymore.The last time a ruler had that much power was the first empress and her third child. They were referred to as the ultimate one. And like his predecessor, Kai also took a spouse from all the races, with six additional concubines from Lexn peerages.  Within the two days after his resurrection, Sehun had read a lot on history, to better understand about the so-called curse. It was said a curse had been put on the Royal house. That effected not just them but the whole of Varal, not one single race was left unaffected. That was ed up in Sehun's opinion. The current people shouldn't stuff for the crimes of their forefathers or more accurately the royals. Well there was a hope.  The curse was breakable. Amazing right? Don't even get Sehun started. It was ed up still alright. The curse could only be broken when the dragon emperor/empress found their Pearl. That important that still hadn't been found and Sehun was trying to get his head wrap around. Some people believed the Pearl could be anything, a person, an animal or even an object. But mostly believe it was a person. Like how it was believed to be consort Rue in the past. Poor Kai. Maybe that was why he had so many concubines, desperately searching for that Pearl, that would enable him to break the curse.  Don't think about Kai. Sehun scolded himself. Okay back to Varal and all the amazing races. At the cold Northside of Varal– Oli where the spirit users. People with strong spiritual animals in them, that allowed them to tap into the life force of the animal kingdom, essentially allowing them to harness their abilities in a higher range. Sonic blast, speed swimming, superhuman agility, superhuman senses; hearing, smell, super speed, wall climbing, thermal insulation, underwater breathing  and many more cool an animal could have. They had been more powerful before the curse in the past. Each spirit user was able to live for a thousand years and call to every animal in existence. As of recent years, each spirit user could call to one animal or two, while on very rare occasions a person could call to more than four.  People with such powers were the Park brothers. Jimin and Chanyeol. Their lifespan was said to be three to five hundred years now. They worshiped the goddess of moon. Lore, the southern side were the fae. Fae were creatures with human appearance and butterfly wings, some with small stature, all had magical powers, and for some a penchant for trickery.  There were two categories of fae, seelie and unseelie. Seelie fae were lovely, cheerful, friendly, and helpful. They were typically willing to help and most likely honorable. Unseelie were mostly hostile and wicked in temperament. The were thought to enjoy torturing and harming others, were easily offended, and should be avoided. A misconception. Even other fae tend to avoid the unseelie, which was why they opted to live in a separate part of Lore. Well Sehun was yet to believe those things said about the unseelie. Thus far, he had only met one, his father Wei Ying. And said father was nothing like how they were thought to be. Wei Ying was a great loving and caring father, albeit overprotective of his children. Two physical appearance that all unseelie shared were their red eyes and darker skin shade.  Fae had the longest lifespan and still did, live on forever until killed or unless the Fae choose to become mortal (rare). In the fae country creatures like gnomes, fauns, and goblins were common. The fae worshiped the goddess of spring and fertility. In the past they had the highest fertility rate, having babies as often as they breed. It was a given considering they were the children of goddess of fertility. And the gender didn't matter both males– depending on the species– and females could carry a child. As of now, it was something that had become extremely rare. Two– five fae were born every decade. Hella, the west side belonged to the Fire-Hounds. Fire-Hounds were huge ferocious dogs, with shaggy fur as black as the night, the size of a calf, standing at four feet at the shoulders, lean and muscular, with padded feet ending in sharp, black claws. They moved in utter silence, leaving no prints behind whatsoever. Their most frightening features were the glowing, fiery red eyes. In human form their eyes were yellow or green. The one race you wouldn't want to mess with for many reasons, one of which was their ability to turn feral and absorb a person's soul. They would often physically rip their victims to shreds in order to absorb their souls. But it didn't happen often, a Fire-Hound had to be extremely pushed to the edge before they lose control. If you want to experiment it, just try giving their pup/mate the bad eye. They were voracious, tenacious, clever– super intelligent, almost impossible to trick or distract, and when angered they were willing to improvise in order to get to their prey. Once a hound had the scent of its target, it had it for life and would never give up the hunt until one or the other was dead. Persistent as . Being bogeymen of Varal aside. They were the most loyal and fearless of all races, they would never stab you in the back, they rather take their chances facing you than use malicious methods other race would use. To gain a hound's trust was hard, but once it happened, nothing could shake it off, they would never betray you. They couldn't be swayed or bargained with, either once they decided you're worthy. And they take a mate for life, no divorce in their dictionary. They didn't give a if their mate happened to be a common folk or other race. They would love and protect them for life. As magical creatures and the children of the fire goddess, the Fire-Hounds possessed many supernatural abilities most of which were pyrokinetic and thermo kinetic. Strength, durability, fire breathing. Teleportation, that enable them to dematerialize and disappear at will, as well as render themselves completely invisible. They could generate some kind of black aura around themselves, making them appear made of smoke or shadows – eh now that Sehun thought of it, they were somewhat similar to shadow guards in that aspect. Fire-Hounds were incapable of being harmed or slain by most forms of conventional injury, including firearms or blades.  The only thing that could sufficiently kill a fire-hound was a paladin's magical forged sword and of course the dragon/emperor's magic. Their durability was why they were mostly hired as guards, a job they did with pride and honor. Unlike fae, only the females could carry a child, but it didn't stop them from taking same as mate. They were mostly panual. Which meant it didn't matter what their mate came in form of. The Fire-Hounds were one of the few lucky bastards that didn't need a celestial stone to boast their magic. Lucky right? Nah, far from it. It hadn't been a joke when it was said no race was left untouched. Their own curse was in form of lack of mates. And it was a huge deal considering the importance of mate to them. In the past, a hound finding their mate had been the easiest as a walk in the street, literally. One moment they're strolling down the street, passing by another person, the next their nose flared eyes glowing red, and that's it, they found their mate. That person that just past by? It was them. However now, only a handful could, and even those that did, could only reproduce if their mate was a female, just ing any female wouldn't work. Falling in love, and ing after the wedding wouldn't work too. Nope, no cheating. The Goddesses couldn't be deceived. There had to be that soul bond. The end game? They also lack fertility/kids. Something all races had in common. They were a few Fire-Hounds chosen by the goddess as her champions, that could even predict the deaths of people. Often referred to as Bearer of Death. These particular hounds could inflict excruciatingly painful wounds, which never healed. Endgame? do not ever be on their bad side. Though Sehun had never met a chosen champion, but he had met many Fire-Hounds. Two people from Hella– that were fortunately his friends– were Bang Chan and Baekhyun.To say the Fire-Hounds were Sehun's favorite race was an understatement.  The country bordering Hella and Oli– northwest region known as Gol housed the skin walkers. Sehun didn't know much about them because they were private people. They could traditionally transform into wolves, tigers, coyotes, owls, or crows, but they were said to be able to turn into any animal so long as it was native to their region. But it was said due to the curse they were having a hard time, holding a shift without the celestial stone, that they usually wore as necklaces around their necks. Those Stones didn't come cheap. It meant only those with power/wealth could be called real skin walkers. They had the shortest lifespan. Lived up to two– three hundred years, as of recent. In the past it was said to be more than that.  There were still few rare skinwalkers, powerful enough that didn't need any stone, and even possessed the ability to 'to steal the face' or shapeshift into another person. How this ability was acquired varied, many believe a Skinwalker could steal someone's form by looking them in the eyes, while others believe they could only access this ability after they killed a person. Sehun had met one at the order, Zitao. He was one of those few mentioned. Though they were not close, but Sehun had admired him from the sidelines. They worship the Yang goddess. The second place for Sehun's favorite, goes to the kitsune.  The east county, Peño homed the Kitsune. The exceptionally beautiful people– so ing pretty– that could shapeshift into their true appearance, a large fox creature with multiple tails. They accumulate tails throughout their lives that increased the strength of their powers, and the most powerful of their kind were said to have nine tails. With the curse and all, that unfortunately was history. Now the most powerful kitsune, had four tails. Which as far as Sehun was concern seemed unfair– well Sehun was biased sue him, they were his second favorite. At least they should be allowed to keep seven or maybe six, okay five, and he wasn't going lower. Five should be it. But he wouldn't let that dampen his mood when it came to kitsune. Other than being pretty, they got a lot of cool . The beautiful creatures possessed a multitude of abilities like other supernatural races, such as enhanced strength, speed, and agility/reflexes; a natural aptitude for weaponry and combat, that's the part Sehun loved the most. However, they also possessed additional powers, typically elemental in nature, which vary depending on the specific type of Kitsune in question. Three out of six Sehun had met were Thunder Kitsune. And the one he was more familiar with was Felix, Hyunjin's best friend, that happened to be Kai's consort's distant cousin. Felix, the little