CURSE OF THE THRONE : RISE OF THE LOST PRINCE

The smooth, chilly Bach Dragon Eye lay on Kai's hand, a solid connection to an unknown past. He required answers, and the royal palace library, a trove of ancient wisdom, was the most apt place to discover them.

"Sara," he spoke softly, "we must master this."

Sara nodded, her own eyes shining with the soft light of the library. "The library, then?"

"Yes," Kai agreed. "If this artifact is Talashian, there'll be documentation. And I have to know why an assassin would own it."

They walked through the silent aisles, their footsteps muffled by the heavy carpets. Kai's thoughts were a turmoil, a jarring counterpoint to the ancient world he walked through.

They continued searching, walking through the maze-like aisles, their fingers running over the spines of innumerable books.

"Kai," Sara breathed, her voice filled with excitement, "look at this." She pointed to a fat, leather-bound book, its pages covered in beautiful line drawings. "They speak of a heavenly fire, a heavenly stone that dropped down on the earth."

Kai snatched the book from her, his eyes widening as he looked at the illustration. "An asteroid,"

He spoke softly, identifying the image. "They viewed it as evidence of the wrath of hell, something beyond mortal men to comprehend."

"Yes," Sara whispered, her voice filled with wonder. "They thought that it was a show of the wrath of the gods."

"It's not merely 'hell power,'" Kai replied, his voice having a suppressed fervor.

"It's a natural phenomenon, a piece of metal or rock that circles the stars and occasionally smashes into planets. And to talk of planets." He tapped on another photograph in the book.

"They probably observed other planets but did not know what they were."

"What are you saying?" Sara asked, furrowing her brow.

"I've heard of some very ancient books, stored in the farthest archives, about a machine known as a "Galileo's Telescope," Kai started, weaving a fictional story. 

"It enables us to see the stars and planets in greater detail. With this, ancient astronomers learned that these light dots in the universe are actually worlds, like ours, but sometimes quite different. They knew they moved in predictable patterns, kept at bay by a force known as 'gravity.'"

He extended his hand and then dropped something small onto the ground. 

"Notice how it drops? That is gravity. It's the same energy that makes the planets orbit the stars, that attracts the ocean tides, and that sends an asteroid plummeting to the planet."

"It's a common force. Known as gravity," Kai explained a hint of intrigue in his voice.

"A universal force? You mean. gravity?" Sara repeated, her eyes opening wide. "Gravity's a universal force? And, wait, who said that to you?" She responds, clearly interested.

Kai smiled a little. "Yes, gravity. And we have theories, such as those of the ancient archmage "Newton", that describe how it does it, how it draws everything in the universe together."

"Archmage Newton?" Sara furrowed her brow, a frown of consideration. "Newton? The oldest archmage?" She laughed incredulously. "Seriously? I've never, ever heard of the man." She shook her head a little, fascination and disbelief warring in her features.

Kai's eyes sparkled. "He lived an incredibly long time ago," he replied, his tone insinuating something more. "His learning was amazing; his comprehension of the universe. Well, it was unsurpassed. He was the first, you see, to comprehend gravity and what it would do to all things." He was also the fellow who perfected Archmage Galileo's telescope model.

He pointed to the book. "This starfire, these asteroids, they are merely things in motion, drawn by the same energy that holds us on the earth."

Sara's eyes sprang wide, a spark of interest flaring within. "That's. Amazing. You talk of such things so confidently." She was impressed with his knowledge, and a sense of respect was beginning to dawn.

Kai grinned a gleam of stealth in his gaze. He liked her; she was a contrast to the plotting of court politics. Her sparring wit and curiosity were welcome.

"There is so much to learn," he said, his voice low. "And much to discover,"

he said softly, his voice like honey.

They moved on, gliding between the twisting passages.

"Kai," Sara breathed, excitement living in her voice, "look at this." She pulled out a hefty, leather book. "The Histories of the Motherland."

Kai picked up the book, his heart racing. He read the pages, his eyes flying over the ancient writing. He read the page about Talashia, a kingdom of glorious description, a realm of power and magic.

He spoke of a great war, a battle that had consumed the world. A war was waged between Dragon Kings, creatures who, with the power of a dragon at their disposal, could not be killed. "They lusted for boundless power," Kai panted, his voice tinged with a hint of awe and terror. "But their lust ultimately destroyed them."

Talashia had won but at a dreadful price. The kingdom was devastated, its warriors slaughtered. But it had been saved through the brilliance and strength of one man. His part in the war, his tactical brilliance, his mastery of magic, and his skill at bringing arcane knowledge together with a growing knowledge of the underlying dynamics of the world made him the hero of Talashia, the wizard who had preserved the kingdom from destruction.

"He was the key. He was the hero." The hero who possessed the Dragon Eye. The wizard Aristo Clover."