The enemy was making too much progress, and by enemies, I meant my treacherous brothers and their armies, who had turned against me like the snakes they were. When my father, the great King Arnold, had died, I had expected a peaceful handover of the throne, as I had been chosen by the Priestess Vienna to become the next king after she received a vision from the moon goddess. But my older brothers, Koldis and Kendrick, were consumed by ambition and greed, their hearts blackened by the desire for power.

As I fought for my life, the heads of my loyal soldiers lay scattered around me like seashells on a...