Ailith pulled the covers up to her chin as she squirmed further beneath the sheets.

“Tell me a story, mama.”

Liliana smiled as she ran a hand over her daughter’s hair. “You’re a little old for bedtime stories, are you not?”

Ailith’s little face puckered in a mock scowl, pulling the sheets up to her nose. “No.” She said defiantly, her small voice muffled by the thick blanket.

Liliana chuckled silently to herself. “Very well, my daughter, what would you like to hear?” She asked in a smooth voice, continuing to run her fingers through Ailith’s hair.

“Gobbldyguuk.” Came the solemn reply.

The middle aged Miqo’te smiled in thought, looking off to the other side of the room before returning her loving gaze upon the tiny child, nodding. “Alright, but you must stay asleep,” she raised a finger to make her point, “no more sneaking around the castle at night, making midnight visits to the kitchen and causing the kitchen master any troubles.” She placed her finger on the tiny nose. “Understand?”

Ailith pulled the covers back down below her chin revealing a wide grin. She nodded. “Yes, mama.”

Liliana folded her hands in her lap, straitening her back. She was a proud woman of relatively high standing in Ala Mihgo. Her husband, Kajyn, was one of the foremost advisors to the ruler of the city-state and an ambassador to the others. In his early days at the post, he would often times be gone for weeks on end to lands far off, but he always returned. When their two children were born, maternal twins, Kajyn traveled less and when he did, he wasn’t gone nearly as long.

In the recent weeks, his entire schedule was cleared of ambassadorial duties, being passed on to someone else for the time being, while Kajyn focused on grooming their son and youngest child, Isaac, to one day take his place as not only advisor, but also to lead the House Vadoma. Though she thought it selfish, she was glad that, for the time being, Kajyn would be safe behind the walls of their home and not on the road where any number of unthinkable dangers could arise. They were safe, all of them, at home.

Liliana nodded. “Good.” She gently cleared her throat and looked up in thought as she began the story. “Once, in a land far away in a kingdom that was prosperous and happy, a princess had just come of age when she was ready to be married. Her father, the king, had arranged several meetings with suitors from other lands to vie for her hand in marriage. But the princess’s heart already belonged to another and though she entertained her father’s choice of suitors, she did so only out of duty.

“At night, when the castle was asleep, the princess would sneak out beyond the safety of the walls, into the forest where her beloved awaited. Samuel was his name, and though he was common born, the princess fancied him more handsome than any of the suitors her father brought to bear.

“The two would while the way the hours of the night, talking, laughing, sharing stories, often outrageous ones of dragons and gnarled beasts, often times they would just lie in the soft grass on the crest of a hill, gazing at the stars, holding each other’s hand in quiet profession of their love for one another.

“One night, when the princess reached the place in the woods where she normally met Samuel, he wasn’t there. She didn’t find this strange, as she was sometimes early and had to wait a little while for him to show up. He, too, had to sneak out to avoid his father.

“After waiting almost an hour, the princess began to grow concerned. Though it was against their rules, for fear of getting caught, the princess started to make her way to the city and to Samuel’s house, so see if he was all right, when she heard a noise off in the forest. She stopped stone frozen in the warm night air, her eyes growing wide as gooseflesh crept up her back and arms. The noise sounded again, closer. The princess couldn’t move she was so frightened. And then she saw it; movement in the shadows.”

Ailith’s eyes were wide, the blanket had found its way back up her face to cover her nose, little fingers tightly gripped the edges. Liliana leaned in with a grin.

“And then there was a loud crack!”

Ailith jumped with a squeal, pulling the covers over her head as her mother’s hands darted out and began tickling the child’s sides. Ailith’s cry of fear turned into uncontrollable laughter as she tried to escape deeper under the covers from her mother’s hands.

“And do you know what happened then?” Liliana asked, pulling the blankets away from her daughter.

Ailith was curled on her side, still in the throws of laughter, happy tears staining her cheeks from the effort. She wiped away the tears with her knuckles and turned her head, finally able to bring her laughter to a halt. “The Gobbldyguuk got her!”

Her mother nodded. “That’s right, and—“ she was cut off by a distant explosion followed by a rumbling shockwave. Her head darted around to the window behind her, the red silk blinds billowing in the gentle breeze. “What on earth,” she said to herself as she stood and went to the window.

She squinted her eyes as she looked out the window, trying to see farther in the night, to try and find the source of the noise when came another explosion, much closer, much louder. Yellow and orange light filled the night sky as she saw the fire. The entire castle shook with the force of it. “By the twelve…”

Ailith, who was sitting up in her bed, frowned in fear, her blue eyes wide and brimming with tears beneath the fall of her sandy-blonde hair, her ears lowering to the sides of her head, her tail wrapped around the ankle of her right foot. “Mama…”

Liliana broke from the horrific scene she was witnessing and rushed to the bed. “Come, child, we must find your father.” She gathered the frightened girl up in her arms, put her tiny head to her shoulder as she began to sob in fear. Liliana whispered soothingly to Ailith, trying in vain to comfort her as her own fear was evident in her normally soothing voice.

Without further hesitation, Liliana quickly went to the chamber door and vanished into the hallway as another explosion rocked the castle.

Isaac idly chewed on the tip of his pencil as he read through a book on trade routs and taxation rates and how they apply to the different regions, what got taxed what and the different caravan’s and their respected city-states. He was only half paying attention, it was late and he was tired. He dropped his pencil in the spine of the book, pushed his chair away from the table, and stretched his head back, leaning against the back of the chair. After letting out a tired sigh, he stood and, pushing the chair back under the desk, made his way to the study door. He was hungry and wanted to get a snack before heading off to sleep.

The door handle was cold to the touch. He gently threw the latch, trying to be as quiet as possible, and opened the door a crack to peer out into the hallway. He didn’t see anyone and opened the door enough to stick his head out. Looking both ways, he found the hallway empty. He opened the door a little more so he could squeeze through, then turned and closed it just as gently as he had opened it, thankful for the well oiled hinges. His father hated doors that squeaked, saying that it was a product of poor upkeep and had ordered them oiled once a month.

Isaac darted quietly, moving on the balls of his feet, towards the next intersection. When he reached it, he slowed to a halt. He gently crept up to the edge and peered around the corner. Good, he thought, no one’s around here either. He took one last look over his shoulder before making the turn, once again moving quickly, but quietly.

Before he was able to fully turn his head around to see where he was going, he ran into something. He was unprepared for the abrupt halt and as a result, was knocked down, landing flat on his buttocks. Isaac rubbed his back and looked up into the eyes of his father who towered over him, his arms folded across his face a displeased expression on his face.

“Isaac,” he said in a deep, commanding voice, “what are you doing out of the study?”

Isaac rose carefully to his feet, still rubbing his back. “Well, I uh… I mean, I…” A piercing look from his father silenced his mumbling and Isaac immediately stood at attention, his back straight, his arms at his side, his eyes downcast. “I was hungry, sir, and it is late.”

Kajyn raised a bushy eyebrow, his ears perking up a little. “Tired, is it?” Isaac nodded. “And hungry?” Again the child nodded. Kajyn rubbed his bearded chin in thought between the index finger and thumb of his left hand. A small smile came to his lips. Clearing his throat, the deep sound echoing down the empty hallways, Kajyn clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk a slow circle around his son.

“What are the major city-states?” He quizzed in an authoritative tone.

Isaac’s head straightened. “Gridania to our direct west, shrouded within the Twelveswood. Ul’dah to the south in the desert land of Thanalan and Limsa Lominsa, far to the west by the Rhotana Sea. To travel there, one must pass The Cieldalaes islands, through the Straight of Merlthor’s lower tip.”

“And the surrounding country side?”

“The land of Vylbrand; O’Ghomoro. All grassy plains, cousin to Coerthas wherein lies Ishgard, the city state who stands neutral in the threat of the Empire, home of the Dragon Slayers. Agalatia’s Spine is the largest mountain range in the region.”

Kajyn continued pacing, completing another circle around his son before coming to a stop in front of him. “Aren’t you forgetting one?”

Isaac looked up to his father, at a loss for an answer. He quickly scanned his brain, trying to remember all he had learned in the few weeks since he had started studying. Then it hit him. His ears perked up and his head straightened, his smile beamed.

“Sharlayan, in the north western region of Aldenard; Dravania.” Isaac thought for a moment. “Oh, and of course Ala Mihgo, our home, located in the central region of Gyn Abania.”

Kajyn slapped his hand on his son’s shoulder, giving it a firm shake. “Very good my boy, very good indeed. You learn quickly.” He let out a deep, throaty laugh. “You’ve a bit of your old man in there after all!”

Isaac smiled, squinting one eye as his father tousled his hair with a large hand that nearly covered the entirety of Isaac’s scalp. Isaac’s nose and eyes more resembled his mother’s than his fathers, while his sister, Ailith, was the exact opposite.

“Now, what’s say we go pay the kitchen a visit, eh? I hear there’s some left over almond pie and honey scones.”

The entire castle rumbled with a low, moaning roar. Both Isaac and Kajyn looked down the eastern hall. Bits of stone fell from the ceiling, trailed by a coma of dust that rained down over their heads.

“Father, what was that?” Isaac asked, moving slightly closer to Kajyn’s leg.

“I’m not sure, must have been a small—“ This time, an explosion could be heard and the halls shook so violently, Isaac was knocked off balance. Kajyn’s powerful arm shot out and caught Isaac. If not for his father’s quick reflexes and good balance, Isaac would have again met the floor.

“Come, boy.” In one swift motion, Kajyn picked Isaac up in one arm and carried him down the hall as another explosion rattled the confines of Ala Mihgo.