Ether (Prologue)

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived in the trash filled streets of New York City, in an apartment that seemed to clean for the filth around it. With a cardboard crown upon his head, he ordered his toy soldiers to attack the innocent menagerie of stuffed animals.

"Charge!" King Xander yelled, from atop his great glass horse. He thrust his spear forward towards the infantry in front of him. With their silver eyes fixed on the magical Animals of Ether, they advanced quickly across the green plains of the great kingdom. With every step the sinister soldiers took, the grass under their feet died, killed by the evil spirits inside. See, Ether hadn't always been like this. In the beginning, it was a beautiful land, full of crystal clear rivers and towering castles made of precious metals and glass. The kind - Xander - was just a boy then, pure and untouched of the malicious forces outside of the kingdom. When he was 11 years old, his parents were lost in the forests on the boundary of Ether. In denial of their deaths, he ran bitterly to the forest, where he was captured by an nefarious witch. She turned his soul to ashes, and his heart turned dark along with it. When he came back to the kingdom, he was old enough to properly rule, and the citizens had no choice but to follow his every vicious command. But, there was a group who's hearts were too strong to be conquered. The Animals. They were as old as time, smarter than the King, and stronger than steel. They revolted against the king, refusing to follow him; and were banished to the outer lands of Ether. There, they planned and plotted until they had the right idea. Fight. Fight well and good and until the others tire and fall. And that's exactly what they did.