. . . .Long ago there was a great and good king who ruled all the land from his fortress of Yellowcastle. The people lived in peace and prosperity for as long as he reigned. When he died, the kingship was passed on to his son. The full extent of the royal authority was divided between the son and his three stepbrothers, who the old king had loved as his own children.
. . . .The king's blood son, Reginald the Crusader, was given half the kingdom as his personal domain. Furthermore, all decisions affecting the governing of the land as a whole were his to make, and his alone.
. . . .The eldest stepson, Roland the Black Falcon, who was the oldest of the four, was given control over a fourth of the kingdom. His region bordered Reginald's to the west. As the oldest, Roland felt that the crown should have been passed on to him instead of Reginald, and he eyed his stepbrother's position with envy.
. . . .The next-eldest stepson, the oft-depressed Frederick the Black Monarch, was given most of the remaining quarter of the kingdom. Like Roland, he was deeply ambitious, and he wished to take the territories of both of his elder brothers as his own. His private domain bordered those of Reginald and Roland to the west and north, respectively.
. . . .Finally there was Alistair the Dungeon Master, youngest of them all, who ruled the smallest and least-profitable land, which bordered Reginald's to the west and Frederick's to the north. Despite a brilliant technical and strategic mind, Alistair had little ambition in the way of land and wealth, but he deeply longed to be respected and looked upon as an equal by his older, more powerful brothers.
. . . .The kingdom remained peaceful for only a few years after the partition. During those quiet years, Roland built a mighty army whom he named the Black Falcons, after himself, and he also amassed an astounding war treasury. Then, when the time was right, he attacked Reginald's lands without warning. Reginald sent his proud army of Crusaders to fight back the onslaught. The war waged for some time. At last, however, the Black Falcon army was pushed back. With their ranks halved and their supplies exhausted, the Black Falcons retreated into their own domain and remained there.
. . . .The Black Monarch, however, impressed by the Black Falcons' attempt and certain he had learned much from their mistakes, was emboldened. He was preparing to send his army of Black Knights out to seize the ill-defended Black Falcon territory, where the Black Knights would build their strength before sacking the Crusader court. But then, suddenly, the Black Monarch fell ill and died. Because he had no son and his daughter, Princess Elisa, was far too young to take the throne, the Black Monarch passed his lands, his wealth, his armies, and his dreams onto his younger brother, the quiet Dungeon Master. Now in possession of an unmatched fighting force, an overflowing treasury, and a territory large enough to rival those of the Crusaders and Black Falcons, the Dungeon Master took up his late brother's mission. Thus there was war on three fronts, as the original conflict between the Crusaders and Black Falcons continued, albeit less ferociously than before, even as both the Crusader and Black Falcon armies were fighting the Black Knights at the same time.
. . . .And this was not all that was going on in the kingdom. In the Crusader lands, a band of outlaws had formed. The members of this band had watched as the power of the Crusader king grew, yet the lot of the common people never seemed to improve. Frustrated by the injustice of this, these outlaws built a home for themselves in the forest. Using the cover it provided, these Forestmen began robbing the nobility and giving the stolen booty to the poor townsfolk. The Crusader king tried to squelch the movement, of course, but with the help and support of the peasantry, the Forestmen were usually able to escape detection. . .at least, until it was too late for the Crusaders to do anything about it!
. . . .Meanwhile, in the lands united under the Dungeon Master, a similar movement came about. These bandits, however, cared little for the common man--their only concern was for their own well-being. These cut-throats, who called themselves the Wolfpack, would steal from anyone: king or noble, knight or nobody. The Wolfpack hoarded its stolen booty in its hidden fortresses high in the mountain lakes. Although the Dungeon Master sent many of his best men out to round up the Wolfpack, few of his men ever returned with prisoners. In fact, few of them ever returned at all.
. . . .This was the situation in the kingdom for many years. Periods of war would follow periods of uneasy peace. Sometimes all three brothers fought each other; at other times, two would rally against the third. There were even instances when all three banded together against a common foe. However, despite the years of fighting, each brother remained in largely the same position where he had started.
. . . .Finally the Dungeon Master wearied of the fighting. He went into the mountains which lay on the far eastern boundary of his land. He sought the ancient sage Majisto the Wizard who, according to legend, had the power to control fire-breathing dragons. The Dungeon Master finally found Majisto after many adventures, and the two struck a deal. Majisto would help the Dungeon Master become the unrivaled king, and in return, the Dungeon Master would keep Majisto's occult activities a secret from the religious and royal authorities who sought to destroy him.
. . . .With Majisto's help, the Dungeon Master created a new unit in his army--the Dragon Masters. The Dragon Masters attacked their enemies using the dragons tamed by Majisto. With this fearsome new weapon, the Dungeon Master was unstoppable. Even the Crusader king's new and elite personal guard, the Royal Knights, were unable to put a stop to Majisto's reign of terror. Meanwhile, the Forestmen, seeing opportunity amidst the chaos that had engulfed the kingdom, spread their operations into the territory of the Dungeon Master. They settled in the Dark Forest, amassing riches previously only dreamed of and causing righteous havoc on an unprecedented scale.
. . . .At long last the Black Falcon grew tired of being in the shadows. Having heard whispers of discontent in the ranks of the Dragon Masters, he sent a spy to infiltrate the group. Hence he learned that the captain of the Dragon Masters, Basil the Bat Lord, was fed up with the Dungeon Master's sometimes clumsy leadership. What was more, Majisto's long-time apprentice, a woman named Willa the Witch, was eager to strike out on her own and practice the dark magic Majisto had forbidden her to utilize.
. . . .The Black Falcon made handsome offers to the malcontents, and they quickly joined his side. Basil and Willa, at the Black Falcon's behest, began building their own team of Dragon Masters. These they called their Fright Knights. In order to mark their allegiance to the Black Falcon, the Fright Knights made their emblem nearly identical to that of their king. . .but with a fearsome bat in place of a falcon.
. . . .The Fright Knights decimated the Dragon Masters and Royal Knights, and they kept the Dark Forestmen and Wolfpack in check. Quickly the Crusader king and Dungeon Master gave up their war efforts and focused all of their attention on defending their own lands. When the Black Falcon king called for an end to the fighting, the other brothers quickly agreed. However, as they had feared, the terms of the new peace were harsh. The Black Falcon was to be crowned the new high king, and the other brothers, though they would be allowed to govern their own lands, were to be made subject to him. What was worse, both brothers had to forfeit large portions of their territory. Although they loathed the terms, they had no choice but to agree. And so, the Black Falcon became lord supreme over the entire land, and a new era began. . . .