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A Mystery yet to be begun.
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Ritchie let out a long sigh, nothing seemed to have changed or gave them any leads on where his father could possibly be. Which led him to where he currently stood now, in front of the mystic place which outsiders considered to be a legend, stories that their parents told them to coax them asleep, the place where Ritchie spent the majority of his adulthood. Atlantide. Ritchie recalls the day it all happened, the day where his life changed forever. Almost 8 years ago today. “Fuck.” Ritchie muttered, running a hand through his unruly electric blue hair. “What am I thinking, could Atlantide even help with the problem at hand?” A year ago, a letter had been sent out to him and his brother, Brandon, addressed from the Royal Kingdom and which they grew up in, the Royal Kingdom which they haven’t been to since they started their own path. The letter had stated that they were requested at the Royal Palace, the writing rushed in a way that meant trouble. After having a long talk that night after guild training, they decided that Ritchie would report to the Castle, while Brandon ran the guild they both co-owned. They had both agreed upon not telling the guild as to not raise suspicions, which Ritchie regrets to this day, deciding that it was best Ritchie leave as soon as possible. Which meant leaving early the next morning, early enough that David still had not woken to go on his daily jog. And so Ritchie left, giving his brother a small hug before heading into the Portal. The portal that started it all.It was only as Ritchie arrived, in the evening the portal being miles away, he learned the truth.
“Sir Ritchie!” A guard Ritchie guessed to be new as he did not recognize the hair covered face. Ritchie took a long glance around before staring back at the guards, one being old with a face full of hair, another being younger, awe filling her eyes. “Good evening.” He gave a rusty, but practiced, curt nod. His hand was tensed where it stood on his trusty blade, after being gone for years he still was on edge around the place he used to call home. “Prince Ritchie!” An old woman in a cloth dress ran up to the gates, giving Ritchie a bear hug. Ritchie’s face brightened, “Ms. Prenderghast!” He laughed, she used to be his and Brandon’s maid when they were younger, always chasing them around when the day was bright. If there was one thing he missed, it had to be her. A short old woman, smile wrinkles lining her face, and grey steaks popping out in her white bun of hair. She looked to be older, but she still had the glint in her eyes when she was always thinking of a new prank to pull. “Oh Ritchie, how we missed you! Where’s your dear brother?” She cooed, letting go of the death hug she inflicted on the younger. Ritchie chuckled, taking a deep breath and letting his body relax, though his hand was still hovering above his tucked away blade. “Brandon couldn’t make it unfortunately, but I’m here in the meantime.” Ms. Prenderghast’s shoulders sank, but a small smile still brightened her face. “I don’t mean to be rude, but what was so urgent that you finally contacted us after all these years.” Ms. Prenderghast’s smile fell as her shoulders sank more. She looked Ritchie in the eyes. “You might need to sit down for this one.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------After settling down in the main seating room with hot cups of tea, Ms. Prenderghast finally took a deep breath. “Ritchie,” Ritchie looked up, “There’s no easy way to say this.” She took another deep breath, flattening her dress before setting down her tea on the dark wood table in front of them. “You and Brandon are the last hiers for this Kingdom, and the last hope for this weary town.” Ritchie almost dropped his tea, his hands shook as he ached to ask more but he couldn’t seem to make his body function anymore then his hands shaking and his eyes widening. Ms. Prenderghast, seeming to realize this, kept going.. “Your mother was found dead with your father missing as well as all the jews which kept this town afloat.” She reached out to hold Ritchie’s shaking hands, setting the tea cup down before it fell. She held onto his hands, anchoring the last bit of sanity Ritchie had left. He begged to ask if his younger sister was alright, but his voice continued to defy him. “Do not feat King Ritchie,” ‘King’, Ritchie's shoulders shook, “Princess Amira is fine, she was out at the neighboring kingdom the night it happened.” Ritchie let out a breath he didn’t know he held onto. He cleared his throat, his body seeming to slightly relax after he found out his dearest sister was fine. “Is- is that all?” He found himself saying, his voice shaking, he was a king now. “That is all, King Ritchie, I ask you to stay awhile, try and help us find the person who did this. I beg you.” She got down on her knees, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she held her hands out. Ritchie took her hands, and held them. Grounding the both of them, “I will, it’s my duty as the new King.” His voice cracked on king, but throughout it all, Ms. Prenderghast’s smile returned as she closed her eyes in a prayer. “First thing first, we must assess our current allies and stock.” As much as Ritchie wanted to burst out search parties, he must care for his people first. Ms. Prenderghast’s eyes watered, as pride filled her. Her adopted son would make a mighty fine King after all, they had nothing to worry about. It had turned out there was much to worry about, a year he had spent, acting as temporary king, teaching his too young sister to rule as they worried about their food supply. They had enough food to last them around 3 years, Ritchie had first estimated, but soon it dwindled down to 1 and a half years. Ritchie was no fool, he knew he had to act fast, with most guards sending out search parties along with many meetings with neighboring kingdoms, he knew he would need some extra help, magic help. Which brought him to the present, standing in front of the guildhall of a guild he had not seen in a year but it felt like more. When Ritchie and Brandon first landed in this world filled with indescribable magic, they had been cursed persay, causing them to go on a rampage which hurt millions. Before it could get worse though, they had meant Reaper, their caretaker for a while, who taught them how to control the magic they were cursed with. They found a love for magic, branching out and meeting others who also shared a love for magic. It was then decided, they would make a place where everyone would be welcomed, no matter the crimes they had committed in the past, they had called this place, Divinus Magia. It started with just Ritchie and his brother, but grew to more. And now, here stood Ritchie, his hands shaking much like they hand before, he wished Ms. Prenderghast was here to reassure him, to hold his hands tight, much like when he was a child, and tell him it would all be alright. It was silly to be nervous about seeing the guild again, his home, but he had not been able to contact them the entirety he spent in the Kingdom. Ritchie took a deep breath, before walking into the guildhall, where, if he was correct, the entire guild would be. Heads snapped up from what they were doing, as they all faced the now open doors, their hands rushing towards their weapons before their faces broke out in joy, confusion, and anger. “Ritchie!” The entire guild shouted, some getting up and rushing towards him, while others, ehm Lucas, crossed their arms in anger. Ritchie was engulfed in a tight hug, Kit, Inmo, and Mario hugged him to death. He smiled, a real smile, for the first time in a year. “Hello to you guys too.” Everyone quickly parted as the breeze of wind shifted through the area before Ritchie was engulfed in yet another hug. His younger twin brother, Brandon, arms tightly around his waist. “Brother.” He murmured into Brandon’s hair, yet he knew Brandon could hear him, the wind told all his secrets. Tears pricked at Ritchie’s eyes, and from the wet spot forming on his toga, he could tell in Brandon’s too. A sound of a loud slap echoed through the hall as both Brandon and Lucas slapped him. Ritchie yelped, “What was that for!?” He grumbled, rubbing a hand at the back of his head where he was slapped. Lucas rolled his eyes, “It’s what you deserve for making us all worry, fucker.” Ritche gave a strained chuckle as Brandon let go of him. “Listen, I didn’t mean for it to be so long. I’m going to guess Brandon told you what I was doing.” The nods and yes echoing around the hall confirmed it. Brandon ran a hand through his well kept hair as he eyed Lucas, who had his arms crossed and an angered look on his face that screamed ‘You have 5 seconds to explain.’ “I missed you too?” Ritchie squeaked, before rushing away as the room got colder. Though, throughout the run on the island, a smile was burned onto his face, yup. He was home.
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Fin, end of part one of Chapter 1.
October 8th, 10:43 PM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ritchie’s eye burned as he held a piece of ice, graciously gifted by David after he punched Ritchie in the face, to his now darkening eyes. Although it hurt like a son of a bitch, he couldn’t find it in him to be made at the Ice mage, after basically being MIA for a year with no updates whatsoever, he understood while David and Lucas were mad. While Ritchie held the ice to his eye, Brandon explained what has happened since he’s been gone. Much had happened it seemed, apparently Inmo had blown up the island, resulting in them needing to build a new island which they currently were at. The island was bigger than their old one with much more of a kingdom type feel, they currently sat in Brandon’s, and now Ritchie’s, room at the island. Which was located in this castle type build, the room was simple enough, pillars supporting the roof cutting the room into two sections where it seemed on the left Brandon had made his space, with a door leading to the bathroom on the right tucked away in a corner. Brandon and Ritchie were currently in the room along with David and Lucas who watched with keen eyes. “And that’s basically a rundown of what happened.” Brandon finished, breaking Ritchie from his thoughts. Lucas whispered to David before going to sit down on the couch beside Brandon, holding his hand lightly, a smile on his face. Brandon’s face dusted pink, before he looked to the side in embarrassment. Ritchie gave a toothy grin. “Dear brother, I think there’s something you definitely left out.” Brandon grumbled, turning towards his brother with a pout. “I hate you.” Ritchie gave a laugh, he had already known that Brandon had a slight thing for their Water mage even before he left, Brandon didn’t make it difficult to see, expect for maybe Lucas. David cleared his throat, attention turning towards him. “Now Ritchie, I think it’s time for you to explain where you’ve been and why it took so long to get back.” Ritchie gave a strained laugh, before frowning lightly. “A lot happened, to start off. Apparently I’m king now.” Brandon’s eyes widened as he spurted out a small what. “Yup…’” Ritchie sighed. “Mother was killed, and Father is missing along with every penny we owned.” The sentence was directed towards Brandon, but the other two let out small shocked gasps. Ritchie paid attention to Brandon’s changing face, as it went from emotionless to shocked to.. An emotion Ritchie couldn’t put. A choked gasp fell out of Brandon’s mouth. “Mo-Mother’s dead?” Brandon whispered, more to himself rather than anyone else. Although he disliked Mother, he never wanted her to die. He looked up towards Ritchie as Lucas ran soothing circles on his hand. “You’re lyi-lying, she can’t be dea-dead... “ His eyes widened further, “Is-Is, Ami-Amira okay?” He could never forgive himself if something happened to his younger sister and he wasn’t there to even help, god. He should’ve been helping Ritchie rather than dealing with stupid problems from here. Ritchie took a deep breath, he knew it would be hard for Brandon, he had rehearsed this conversation over and over in his head for the past year, but he never realized how hard it would be until now. “Yes, Amira’s okay. Luckily she was at the neighboring kingdom when this all went down. I wouldn’t joke about something like this..” A sob tore through Brandon, Ritchie quickly reaching over and grabbing his free hand. Brandon’s feelings were everywhere, he felt guilty that he didn’t spend the time he should’ve with his now late mother. Another sob ripped through Brandon as he leaned onto Lucas. Lucas ran a hand through Brandon’s hair before looking at Ritchie, “Then why are you back right now? You’re supposed to be running a kingdom.” Ritchie sighed, taking a glance at Brandon who seemed more put together, before answering Lucas. “As I said, the main problem is that we don’t have any money or goods to sell. We are floating, but we are already in debt to the nearby kingdoms. We are quickly running out of food, that brings me here. We need help, and the only people I know who would be able to help find father would be you guys.” Ritchie looked down at his hands, it seemed selfish to come back after being gone for a year just to ask for help from his mourning brother. A breath of silence floated through the room, Ritchie held his breath, not daring to look up. “Well,” Brandon’s voice as well as his hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts. Ritchie looked up, Brandon’s eyes were determined. “It seems we have a big job to do, and we will, but first. We need to contact the other guild leaders.” Brandon brought his brother in for a hug. “I’m not letting you do this alone.” Ritchie gave a half lipped smile. Maybe things would work out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's all going according to plan sir." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fin, end of part two of Chapter 1.
October 9th, 2:56 PM
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A/N: Woo, guess who's back! Sooo, how'd y'all like this? I have no idea what to name this AU thing, at first it was going to be a hamilton AU and then this happened. But either way.. It's definitely an AU im going to enjoy world building in.