The prince of Winged

Far, far away in the infinite depths of the eternal universe, there existed a rich and prosperous galaxy, named Eyel, an illustrious name given by the assembly of the great wizards, and which meant in the ancient language - domain of the winged, for this galaxy was distinguished from all others by the beauty and power of this race.

The winged were a proud and talented people with destructive power, whose mother star, a planet as immense as it was fertile, bore the name Yzvalthes. A name chosen by its creator, a ruler cursed in body and mind, whose wings were broken by his own son as punishment for his sins. The latter, now emperor in his turn, poured all his magic on the once deserted lands of the planet to honor his father, and thus keep their history alive.

And so it was.

And over the centuries, Yzvalthes, as magical as ever but with a dazzling modernity, had become the center of Eyel, and in the heart of which the winged people themselves had built a high city that they gave to the imperial family as a home, and which has since been considered sacred by all.

But this empire, so great and omnipotent, arousing all the covetousness of the worlds, had as a rival a nation whose inhabitants were equally proud and tenacious, and renowned for their formidable mastery of the elements: it was the free kingdom of Aedor, ruled by the Koroth dynasty for eleven generations. These two great nations of Eyel had long opposed each other in all fields, whether economic, cultural or magical, and had always sought to reach the ultimate summit of power. And if the Yzvalthians kept a permanent lead over the Aedorians, the latter, unable to acknowledge their defeat and resign themselves to second place, accelerated their race, improving their abilities in the field of technology and spells.

However, this endless and overrated rivalry between these two titans caused immeasurable damage to the other planets, dramatically influencing the way of life and balance of their inhabitants. So much so that each Nation was forced to choose a side in order to live in a relatively satisfactory peace. It was an order of life based on injustice, narcissism, hatred and indifference - all the ugliness that could constitute evil flowed deep into the veins of all the existing systems of the galaxy, poisoning the minds and hearts of every people, and eventually making them dependent on darkness. Integrity, charity and sincerity were noble notions that seemed to be inexorably losing their meaning.

But soon, as a new day dawned over all of Eyel, unimaginable but real news spread across the lands and promised to usher in a new era for the galaxy, one that all peoples had agreed to call "the dawn of time." In short, Aedor and Yzvalthes, the two superpowers of the Eyel Galaxy, age-old rivals on all fronts, finally agreed to sign the act of peace that would restore balance to all systems. A unique and historic event that, after a universal vote, would be realized and celebrated on Aedor.

The new Emperor of Yzvalthes, hiding his sorrow and torment, prepared himself for the act of his life. But before that, he had to accomplish a very important and sensitive mission: to accompany his nephew to the planet Maldeos to entrust him to the great galactic foundation of Gaazal.

However, with each birth of light and its pure desire to spread its glittering wings to illuminate every being with its beauty, the darkness, tempting and destructive, emerged in turn to extinguish it. VARDOG, the organization of evil, led by a being as powerful as he was elusive, had recruited the most sordid beings imaginable: traitors, assassins, forgers and all those who worshipped darkness, and worse, ensured the unconditional loyalty of these damned souls.

Conscious or not, the clairvoyants sensed the coming of a great change, but it did not necessarily mean a change for the better.

In infinite space, glittering with immortal stars, and filled with planets of life, each unique in its own way, a giant ship bearing a neutral symbol - two abstract blue and white circles intersecting, crossed space and headed for the colossal artificial planet of Maldeos.

Inside the cruiser, elite guards worked dutifully in a huge operating room. A guard working on a giant screen caught the attention of the ship's captain.

"We are 6,000 octius from the planet Maldeos, sir." He announced in a neutral, professional voice. "We will be landing in half an hour."

The captain nodded.

"Good. I'll go inform His Majesty."

But instead, he stared blankly for a moment the depthless space, bleary-eyed before turning and walking solemnly to the back of the room, dissipating in a cloud of glittering dust to the highest level of the ship where the Imperial suite was located.

The commander soon appeared brightly in the private room and walked deferentially toward the being, nonchalantly seated on a huge chair.

The chief of the personal guards bowed slightly and prepared to speak when the distant, melancholic, almost inaccessible expression of his sovereign stopped him. The latter was wearing a shimmering white suit, perfectly cut, which brought out the contrast between his short and ashen hair and his slender and firm body. His lean face, neither handsome nor charming but attractive and respectful, bore almost invisible spell marks. His icy blue eyes remained vague for the time being, but his subordinates, including the commander, knew full well that they could become as cold and unbearable as the icy territories of the Venezian Empire. He was a recent ruler, for he was the youngest son of a wise, strong and generous brother who had been emperor before him. But when the latter died, his brother finally had the duty to fulfill his imperial destiny and to ascend the throne in his turn, thus obtaining all power over Yzvalthes and the destiny of a great people. Jiide was aware that he was more rigid and intolerant in his leadership of the Empire than his predecessor had been. It was obvious that in doing so, he was unabashedly showing his desire to prove himself and earn the respect of his people. He didn't know yet if this was really the case, but he was nonetheless happy to see that, despite the considerable shadow of his brother who continued to rule over him, this brother who had aroused such devotion from all Yzvalthes, he possessed the ability and stature to lead a nation. At least, that was what winning the centennial event they would soon celebrate on Aedor meant to him.

"Your Majesty?" the commander finally called, hesitantly. But when he received no answer, he felt he had to insist. "Your Majesty! Your ... Majesty!"

Jiide Jeugolk, his head resting on the back of his throne, also gazing out into deep, bright space, sighed and finally answered.

"Yes? Forgive my reverie. What is it?"

"I apologize for the inconvenience, your Majesty, but I wanted to inform you that we are less than thirty minutes from Maldeos. We can even see it already, your highness, the fifth planet to the right, the gray one, the one wonderfully illuminated by the Garvo symbol."

"I see," nodded the ruler, his face altered.

Jiide Jeugolk intensely observed the bright spot indicated by the captain, intensely illuminated by the great Garvo symbol - a dodecagon, with each corner representing a magical element surrounded by five circles, was a sign created by a legendary rebel bearing that name explicitly signifying a sign of peace and will.

"So this is the point of no return," he continued sweetly and bitterly.

Suddenly, an intense and sublime glow surprised Jiide and the commander, and made them turn their heads. A huge comet passed by them, emitting waves of bluish light and extraordinary sparkles in its astonishing and irresistible course.

"Magnificent," whispered Jiide Jeugolk, transfixed.

"Indeed, Your Majesty," admitted the commander, who was equally captivated.

The emperor followed the formidable trajectory of the flaming star with a thoughtful look, then spoke as if to himself.

"Do you know that my nephew likes comets, Commander? And besides, he controls them so easily that sometimes it makes me sorry."

After making this remark, the ruler remained silent for a moment, as if a dull pain was gnawing at him before concluding.

"But I have a feeling he won't do that again. And.... I'm sure that despite the righteousness of my intentions, I have doomed us both."

Not understanding the root of the problem, the commander did not know what to say in response and preferred to remain in a cautious silence, only nodding politely, continuing to watch the comet that was already beginning to disappear as it melted into the dark mantle of the universe.

"Thank you for the warning, Commander. You may leave now."

And before the latter could retort, he dismissed him.

"Your Majesty," the commander bowed and slipped quietly back to the back of the room, dispersing again in a cloud of glowing dust.

Jiide Jeugolk paid no attention to his faithful knight's departure. Already he was looking toward the door that led to another room where something infinitely valuable was located. Rising to his feet, he walked over to the door engraved with very special moving spells and opened it.

The next second, Jiide Jeugolk entered a large room, three quarters of the walls of which were made of glass, offering a splendid view of the space. It was a room specially designed for the happiness of a child. Well, normally, because at that moment, and to the great surprise of the sovereign, it was completely empty. A large room where only silence and abandonment reigned.

"But what's going on here?" the emperor asked himself as he cautiously advanced into the room, looking carefully in all sides.

"Oh, astonished, are you?" Asked an amused but somewhat mournful voice.

The ruler immediately raised his head in the direction from which the voice came and saw the being who meant so much to him and was the reason for this long journey, who was crouched on the ceiling, one hand casually placed there, and half of his face hidden by black crystal glasses.

"Yes, always." Recognized simply the arriving one by fixing intensely the young boy.

The latter laughed briefly at this naive answer, nodded slightly and then slowly descended. As soon as his feet touched the floor, the large room looked as it had before.

The floor was covered with a thick, soft, abstractly patterned carpet, comfortable sofas and armchairs were artfully arranged throughout, along with many colorful cushions, and beautiful magical crystals, glittering with stars, hung from the ceilings, illuminating the room and the thousands of toys, so diverse and sublime, that were piled there. The whole thing revealed without a doubt the deep love one could feel for a child. And at that very moment, Jiide was looking intently at the child in question. A young boy of about eleven years old, smiling and really cheeky, tall, slim but delicate with hair even more ashy and long than his own, and ice-green eyes, of an astonishing sublimity reminiscent of the young leaves of an enchanted forest bathed in dew. He wore a light pink outfit that further accentuated his slenderness and gait. And now he was just having fun, and even mocking his uncle though rigid and feared by all.

"So you shamelessly confess my greatness and your total inefficiency in the face of it! You are a pretty good ruler after all, dear uncle."

After spouting this cruel nonsense, the young Esper turned and walked away while handling countless small cubes of different colors and constitutions, and assembled them on an imposing blue crystal table. Stopping in front of his moving toy, he reached out and transformed the cubes into a huge miniature battlefield that took up the entire table, and on which an obviously bloody war was now taking place. Myrhes discarded his dark glasses and then knelt down in front of the table and watched the merciless battle carefully.

"And what are you doing now, baby?" asked Jiide tenderly.

Myrhes looked up at the emperor for a moment with his surprisingly clear eyes, then back to his battlefield where the war was breaking out in all its horror.

"It's obvious, uncle," his nephew replied nonchalantly. I have re-enacted the Boyok War.

"Boyok?"

"Yes!" nodded the young heir, focused on the miniature battle. Don't you remember it? The king of the South who coveted the pure waters of the North, standing out here with his brave and foolish warriors in their glittering golden armor. And the king of the North who wanted to obtain and exploit the gold mines of the South, whose army is in blood red armor. So they went to war.

Jiide laughed mockingly as he too followed the bloody battle that was fiercely fought in a lost nursery in the middle of space.

"It's pretty pathetic," he judged lightly as he walked over to the glass table, and sat down across from his nephew who was so handsome and princely but whose uncontrollable and complex nature did always terrify him completely without his ability to admit it. So to try to convince him that he was not afraid, he continued to speak naturally.

"For my part, darling, I much prefer Kioppe's conflict."

"Kioppe?" Myrhes raised, surprised.

"Yes, Kioppe," the ruler confirmed. The ruler with the power of ice, who defended himself wonderfully against his greedy assailants, and for that, was able to annihilate and freeze half of his city with a secret and very powerful spell, like a magical explosion, in order to preserve the other.

Myrhes blinked, bringing his fingers to his temples in concentration.

"I had heard somewhere that the legend was not genuine. That the ruler had darker, more radical motivations in using this forbidden magic."

"Who knows indeed," the emperor shrugged and continued. "However, true or false, that does not stop people, spies, stalkers or researchers of all kinds from believing in it and attempting to seek out this terrible power."

"To use it in turn for their own gain." Myrhes suggested in a mocking tone. "That is, if they ever manage to discover it."

At these words, Jiide frowned slightly and smiled.

"Yes, but tell me, you sound quite dismissive when you talk about my favorite conflict!".

"Of course I do!" exclaimed the prince with a brisk gesture, as if he were speaking of the obvious.

"And why is that?"

"Well, I don't know about you, Uncle," he began, still wry. "Probably, are you really open to this kind of... things after all. But I don't like these fights or other types of confrontations, where the winner is already decided in advance!"

Stunned at first, Jiide Jeugolk finally burst out laughing.

"Really!"

His laughter redoubled again, which provoked an unbearable pout from his beloved nephew. The latter, moreover, continued proudly.

"Yes! I think it's a little too easy. And there's no need to mock my concepts. Because I don't know where the fun is in the game if the result is already obvious. It's like when someone tells you the end of a book you've spent days reading without interruption. For my part, it makes me want to change what's wrong."

Hearing those last words, but especially the tone of voice, the ruler trembled imperceptibly and all amusement disappeared from his face and mind. He pressed his lips together for a moment, then resumed, this time with an artificial smile.

"I must say that you have quite convincing and reasonably radical arguments. So much so that I oscillate between the two camps. Also, I admit that most of the time, predicting the end of a fight is boring. But sometimes, a few rare and terrifying times, it's kind of wonderful and... relieving to know that you're going to win for sure. But I'm also fully aware that you must be the last person capable of understanding this, precisely because of who you are. And it's easy for you to condemn those who think that way."

"If you say so." said the prince with an annoyed and contemptuous pout.

"What a difficult and even unbearable child," the emperor thought with an inward grimace, while contemplating him further. Certainly, at first glance, his nephew was of an exemplary clarity, almost magical, if he could afford the word in this description, so much his beauty and his presence, allied to a masculine delicacy, enchanted and attracted people, while intimidating them and preventing them from getting too close. But probably more than anyone else, the current ruler knew that behind this natural facade, wrapped in magnificence, was a young man, certainly, but so unpredictable, cruel and almost insensitive. If he hadn't seen with his own eyes what he was capable of, he wouldn't have believed it himself. The worst part is that Myrhes didn't even hide it anymore. But hadn't this fact been verified over and over again over the centuries, that monsters always bewitched more people than saints?