Prologue
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| Aurora and Phillip |
Gray Realm is, as one may predict, a cold and dreary place. From her gray shores to her gray hills and deep into her twisting gray caverns, she is a rough and uncaring land, with no measure of comfort or accommodation. Indeed the land was far from a welcome sight when first I cast my gaze on her drab visage so many years ago. A young bard was I then, with no cares or concerns my lute could not remedy.
In those days King Arthur was a mere prince, and Camelot was no vast kingdom but a stage for his struggle against the vile Morgan. Noble Asgard sat far across the seas, its frigid halls filled with jovial warriors, roused equally by the blood of their foes and the mead of their master.
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| Belle and Erik |
And of course old Avalon rested deep within the green forests, beyond the sight of unworthy mortal eyes. But I cared not for tales such as these. No, not for Thor or Merlin did I yearn, but for the tales Gray Realm might offer. For I had heard rumors of grim tidings in the land…
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| Snow White |
In those days Snow White ruled Reinheit in the West, King Phillip and Queen Aurora ruled Dornstadt in the East, and Prince Erik and Belle ruled Stolzreich in between the two. Long had tranquility lasted between the three but I had heard of mounting tensions, the nature of which I knew not what, yet in my bones I knew that a tale was a foot, the likes of which must be known in times to come! So what could I do?
Could I truly ignore the calling before me, and not ride out to meet the mysterious challenge just over the Horizon? Of course not! And so I set out for Gray Realm, not knowing of the times of joy, loss, and danger that would soon find me…
