How it all started

Once upon a time, in a small village called Marysville which was nestled in the mountains, there lived a young man named Ryker. He was the only child and son of his parents who were very poor but honest farmers. His father taught him values and integrity and also trained him to become a very brave warrior. His poor parents later died and left him to inherit their farm and all the animals in it with a small house where they had lived together.

Ryker was a skilled warrior and a loyal friend to the village leader, Lord Thane whom he had saved from an ambush. Lord Thane trusted Ryker with his life and treated him like a brother, in fact, he made Ryker a warlord. Lord Thane had a younger sister who was judged the most beautiful girl in the entire village. Her name was Celeste.

Many men wanted to marry Celeste as she was the reigning beauty queen and also a sister to the ruler of the village. Men came from far and near but she always found them wanting. She refused all advances even from chiefs of different villages and Lords and nobles. She wanted a man she could grow with and refused to settle for less.

Lord Thane's advisor, Malakai approached her with lots of gifts and promises projecting himself as the best candidate to be her husband but she rejected him as she saw him as a very shifty character. Being gifted, she saw that he wanted to use her to get the leadership of the village. She gave him all sorts of excuses for not accepting his pursuit and he left dispirited.

One fateful day, Ryker went to the palace to see Lord Thane who had sent for him to hear his thoughts on a continued border dispute with a neighbouring village. Since the summons was urgent, Ryker left what he was doing and set out for the palace. On arrival at the palace, Ryker collided with Celeste. He helped her up and apologized as a gentleman and she was struck by his demeanor and aura. His comportment blew her away.

Celeste fell in love with Ryker and started building a future with him in he mind. Eventually, after sometime had passed,she summoned courage and confessed her love to him. Ryker was surprised but accepted her feelings though he felt he was not qualified to be with her as he was not very rich. He equally loved Celeste and so they both approached Lord Thane and sought his permission to become a couple. Lord Thane granted his permission since Ryker was known as a very hardworking and brave warrior.

This made Malakai very jealous and angry when he heard the news as he also wanted Celeste for himself even though she did not want him . Malakai decided to deal with Ryker who he saw as a love rival and stumbling block on his path to success and so he started plotting and planning.