Once, there was a king who was bonded to an griffin, and he had a beautiful wife that he loved like no other, more than life itself.

He ran his kingdom with justice and fairness, and all of his people loved him. He had everything he wanted, except for a son.

Eventually, his wife, a unicorn bond, bore a child. He ended up getting two twin boys, two beautiful twin boys with ice-blue eyes, golden skin, and dark brown hair. His life couldn't be happier, and the kingdom in that time was never in war, was reveled and respected by all others, and the subjects glowed. Only one threat faced the kingdom.

It all started when a dragon raided a villager's livestock, despite recent treaties with the dragons. The dragon Queen sent her regards, insisting it was merely a stray, a rogue. Being the just and fair King he was, he agreed and kept the treaty. He did not want a war. But apparently the dragons had other ideas.

One fateful, stormy night, a horrifying screech tore through the sky and a dark shadow blotted out the moonlight. Two gigantic, bat-like wings spread out, and a thundering roar shook the kingdom. The shadow shot to the castle, and the guards were at the ready, but they were not enough.

Bolts of lightning revealed frightening images, the rain savagely beating down in torrents on the falling castle. Firelight glinted off of rough scales like shields. Concrete bricks cut and crumbled like butter through razor sharp claws. Teeth like blades snapped shut, and a long, strong tail mercilessly demolished towers, killing hundreds.

Another scream pierced through the night, this time from a human. The queen. The king rushed to her chambers, sword in hand, but it was too late. The room was destroyed, and a large gap was ripped into the stone wall. Blood splattered across the room, painting the world like rubies, and a bejeweled crown lay dejected on the floor. In the distance, a dark figure could be seen winging away.

The king fell to his knees, weeping. The dragon had attacked cruelly, unprovoked, and had left him loveless and wifeless, his kingdom queen-less, and his sons motherless. Later, he died of misery, but before that, the set a test for his two young sons, merely one year old children.

He took a treasured family heirloom, an emerald necklace that had been passed down through generations that was known as the stone of knowledge, and had his most trusted knight hide it somewhere far away.

He also ordered that, when he died, his two sons would be sent to two separate places in the ten kingdoms, two places where they would live out their lives as orphans until it was time for them to learn of their destiny and find the heirloom. The one that the emerald chose would be the true king, destined to lead the kingdom to glory and to rid the world of dragons.

When the king died, the kingdom descended into darkness and poverty without a ruler, awaiting the return of their lost princes.