The Prince of Pakma walked through the halls of his palace. Or rather, his father's palace. Kangnam grew up in the splendor of royalty: ever ready servants, meals prepared by top chefs and every need at a single breath's reach. He didn't call on them much, though. Prince Kangnam preferred to do things himself because his father taught him the importance of being able. No one, not even royalty, was safe from the possibility of being left alone.

At that moment, the prince was seeking advice from his father about a particularly strange cold that seemed to be coming over him. Sure he had them before, but not one like this. Kangnam couldn't shake the feeling that something was taking over him. It was a little scary, but at the same time, it almost felt like something big would unfold. The prince chuckled at such an absurd thought as he opened the doors to the library, where the king would spend much of his time.

"Father?" Kangnam called out. "Are you here?"

No answer, but there was some shuffling off in the corner.

"Father?" Kangnam continued to look around.

"Yes, son?" King Wu finally came out from behind one of the shelves. "What do you need?"

"I've been feeling a little sick these few days."

"Have you been to the nurse?"

"No, father, this is a different kind of sickness. One I have never had before."

"What do you mean?" King Wu set his book down and stood up.

"I've been having a fever that will not subside and I've been coughing out strange black goo."

King Wu nodded with concern on his face. He thought for a few minutes before looking back at his son with hope.

"There is an old doctor on the outskirts of Dankik," King Wu smiled. "He may be able to help you."

"But father," Kangnam protested, "I don't know the outside of the royal city too well. I've only been out of Dankik once or twice."

"You're 12 years old, I'm sure you can handle yourself. I'll give you some money tomorrow, but tonight, I want you to rest. You don't look as bright as you normally are."

Kangnam nodded and bid his father good night. He turned and walked out of the library, heading for his room. The fever that he spoke of still showed no signs of letting up, which caused him to shiver. Laying on his bed, Kangnam went through his umpteenth coughing fit, and he could feel the phlegm loosing in his lungs. After scrambling to find a small cloth hankerchief, he spat into it. Another gob of black goo. He decided that he would take it to the docter for examination.

Many people were gathered with banners all around, each one with the symbol of the Light Beings' crest engraved on them. They were waved all at once as a man with a very large white hat came out of the castle holding something wrapped in a blanket. Another man was standing beside him draped in white clothing that covered his features. The man with the hat unwrapped the blanket to reveal a baby. He lifted the boy up and the immense crowd shouted in excitement.

The man in white lifted his covers enough to reveal his lips. Those lips lit a spark of recognition in Kangnam, but he couldn't place where he saw them before. The man leaned over and kissed the baby boy, after which he covered himself again. After the crowd quited down, the man with the large clerical hat walked forward to a basin of water. He lifted the baby and started chanting in an unknown language as he dipped his finger in the water and touched the baby's head. With every drop, the baby began to glow with a warm light. Kangnam finally realized that this was the Christening Ceremony.

When the King of Pakma has his first son, the child is christened to the Lineage of Light and recognized as the Prince of Pakma, the Land of Beings. The strange thing is, the Royal Family is forbidden to marry in order to keep the Lineage completely male. Any daughters or latter sons are not recognized as royalty. This made for complicated relationships and scandals when the King would impregnate several women. Most of the time, it would be relatively tame, but sometimes, a woman would be comsumed with jealousy, or the king would make very poor choices and disaster would ensue. As far as he knew, Kangnam's mother was the only woman his father had been with.

When the Christening Ceremony was officially completed, the new prince was set down on a cradle near his father. Representatives from the different peoples came forward with their gifts. From the East, the Fire Tribe brought a magnificent sword forged by their powers, and engraved with precious jewels. Coming from the North, the sturdy Earth Tribe presented a small statue, carved to perfection. Kangnam's favorite, however, was the gift of the scattered humans. Without any powers, they gathered and knitted sweater swith the symbols of every people.

There was no gift from the Western Water or the Southern Shadow Tribes.

Kangnam woke up shivering, as he had done the past several days. The dream he had was strange. He had never dreamt so clearly before; they were usually blurry and made no sense whatsoever. Kangnam could remember exactly what he dreamt and in what order, which was extremely rare for him. As he got up and dressed, he couldn't help but think that there was something off about the Christening he had witnessed in his dream. The Ceremony followed the instructions from the Pandoran priests' manual, but that wasn't it.

"Your Highness," one of the maids called from the door. "The king wishes to see you in the dining room."

"Thank you, Tiffany," Kangnam answered. "Tell him that I will come as soon as I am dressed."

"Good morning, Kangnam," Tiffany whispered through the door.

Out of all the servants, Tiffany was Kangnam's favorite. She had helped to raise the prince since he had been Christened. Although it was never blatantly obvious, there was an ease with which Tiffany cared for him. She had no children of her own, and worked at the palace for most of her life. There was no time for her to learn how to care for children. But Kangnam didn't know that.

Fully dressed, and still shivering, Kangnam walked out of his room and greeted the passing servants, each bowing and saying "good morning." The prince acknowledged them and turned to walk the halls to the dining, where a plate of food for him was sure to be waiting. As expected, he found his father and a plate for himself.

"Good morning, father," Kangnam smiled as he sat down.

"Good morning, Kangnam," King Wu said through a mouthful of fresh eggs. "How are you feeling today?"

"A little dizzy, but that usually passes before lunchtime."

"I wish you had told me about this sooner," King Wu shook his head. "I would have sent you to the doctor right away."

"I'm sorry, father. It didn't seem to be of great concern to me until I spit out that black gunk."

"What a strange cold."

Just then, the highest ranked butler came through the doors and ran toward the table looking panicked. King Wu set down his utensil and turned back. The butler placed his hand on the king's shoulder and bent down.

"Kris," the butler whispered, "you have to come with me right away."

"What is it, Joonmyun?" the king asked.

Joonmyun leaned in closer to whisper into the king's ear, after which the two stood up and hurried away.

"There's some money on the table in front of you," King Wu turned and called out. "I'll expect to hear what this sickness is at dinner."

Kangnam nodded and reached for the envelope stamped with the royal seal. He smiled as he looked at how his father and Joonmyun interacted.

Joonmyun was the only servant out of the whole palace that could survive calling out the king informally. It wasn't because he was the head butler, but because he and the king had a relationship that was more than just an emlpoyer's. Having already borne a son, King Wu sought to find a lover, one who couldn't bear children, and he found Joonmyun. Such was the tradition of the Lineage of Light since ages past. King Wu couldn't be happier with a sweet man such as Joonmyun.

After finishing his plate, Kangnam put the envelope of money into his pocket and went to get ready to go.