Prologue

It was the year 2269.A hundred years had past since the Great Legion War,a battle between two kingdoms,Zipang and Shambala. They were the two biggest kingdoms in the world. Each had their individual talents. The Zipaniens were a mighty empire, they were ingenious workers in gold and ivory. Each Zipanien were given an unique item at birth, one never like the other. They were called I.U.Is, which stands for Individual Unique Item. And while Shambala was equally big, their people were more advanced and they had technology like no one has ever seen. Their citadels rose high up in the skies. Their weapons were also highly advanced, laser rifles, beam shields and reflective armours that are able to reflect laser shots. During the Great Legion War, millions of people were killed because of these extremely dangerous weapons. But now, the king of each country were fighting again, clawing at each others neck. And now, there was a great risk of another war happening again...

Chapter 1

Leon Parker awoke slowly.

A telephone was ringing in the darkness. A familiar, light ring. He fumbled around for the bedside lamp and turned it on. He then squinted his eyes as he picked up the phone.

'Hello? Is this Mr. Parker?' a man's voice said.

'Yes. Who are you, and why did you call me so early in the morning?' Leon replied firmly.

'It is me, Jonathan. The king wishes to see you.' the man said, sounding annoyed.

Leon felt his face flush red. No wonder he thought the voice was so familiar. Jonathan was the King’s personal assistant. A huge hulk of a man, he had always though. He was a big sturdy man who also acted as the King’s bodyguard.

'Oh, I'm sorry. I was just irritated for being woken up so early. Please tell the King I'll see him in an hour'.

He put the phone back on the receiver and got out of bed lazily.

'I guess it’ll be another long day…' he sighed.

Leon Parker was a young man in his 20s. He was a close friend of the King. They had been known to play together as kids. But now, their status were totally different. Leon was also a member of Chronos, the most elite group of spies under the King. All of them swore loyalty to the King and pledged not to reveal any information about their kingdom even if caught by the enemy and put under intense torture.

Leon got dressed and then went down to the kitchen for breakfast. He took out two eggs and a strip of bacon and began to cook them. After eating, he went up to his bedroom and put on his watch. It was a special watch given to him when he joined Chronos two years ago. It enabled him to communicate both visually and verbally with others through a small screen which would appear if he pressed a tiny button on the side of the watch.

He then took Hades from his bedside table and put it in the holder on his belt. This was his I.U.I. It was a special gun made out of Orihalcon, one of the most precious metals in the world. Leon treated Hades as his treasure.

Leon then walked out of his house and flagged down a passing Hovercar. He muttered his destination to the driver and went in.

Chapter 2

As Leon stood outside the gates of the Isengard Palace, he marveled at its astonishing beauty. He had been here many times, but it never failed to amaze him. Built two years ago for the ascension to the throne of the king, its façade rose high up like a citadel in the skies.

Leon walked towards a small screen on the gate and placed his thumb upon its surface.

'Thumbprint scan…it never fails to amuse me.' he smiled to himself as the majestic gates began to open.

A guard on duty led him to the main hall, where he saw the other two members of Chronos, who were also his best friends, sitting down smugly on the sofa.

Eve Diskense, a loud-mouthed, obnoxious 12-year old girl with an extremely high IQ. She was the brains of the 3-man team. In fact, she is the one who plans all their strategies, and gather their information. Her I.U.I was a pocket notebook with an unbelievable about of storage space where she processes all her data. The Diskenses were a clan of spies and Eve had received training since young and had learn many spy tricks from her ancestors.

The other one was Sven, who acted like a father to the two. He was a middle-aged man who is a very skilled archer and marksman and had never failed to miss any target he sets his eyes upon. His I.U.I was a Bow also made out of Orihalcon, the bow allowed him to create a beam arrow from nothing by simply concentrating his aura.

'Hey Leon, whats up?' Eve shouted out towards him.

'Nothing much, so did the king call you guys over too? I wonder whats going on' Leon replied.

Then Sven interrupted 'I heard from the guard that we’ll be getting a mission from the King'

'What?! Not another one already…we just finished the last mission yesterday.'

'Well, its part of our job, we can’t help it.'

'I'll be sure to reprimand the King when he co…'

The door opened and the fanfare starts.

'Announcing the King of Zipang, King Linus III!' cried a guard.

'Thank you, Joe' the King said to the Guard.

The King spoke with an air of authority and stood up very majestically.

He was a man also in his 20s, somewhat the age as Leon. Everyone in Zipang respects the King greatly, as Zipang propersed much under his rule during his two years of reign.

Leon, Eve and Sven bowed down before the King in respect.

'No no, please stand up' addressed the King

'How long have we known other? There is no need for such actions anymore'

Leon then said 'Yes, my lord. May I know our reasons for being called here?'

'How many times must I tell you Leon? There is no need for such formal greetings' said the King.

'Ok.As you all know, the King of Shambala and I have been on very bad terms recently, and there might be a risk of another war like the Great Legion War breaking out again. Certainly I don’t want that to happen, so I will try to reconcile with Shambala again'

'Your mission is to take this message of reconciliation and a gift from me to the King'

'That’s fine. But what is this gift, may I ask?' Sven blurted out suddenly.

'The Black Wing.' the King said.

Leon was shocked. The Black Wing was a magic black feather found eight years ago buried under the very same spot the castle was built on. It grants the wish of anyone who holds it. It was considered a national treasure and was exhibited in the National Museum in Zipang.

'The Black Wing?! But that’s a national treasure, we can’t give it away just like that' shouted Leon in protest.

'I understand how you feel, but the King of Shambala is known to be very stubborn, and he would not do anything unless there is something in it for him. Of course, the feather is not to be used by anyone, not even the King himself. It will be placed in the Grand Gallery in the Ivory Palace where the King of Shambala lives' the King replied calmly.

'I'm sure you know the Black Wing is a very precious thing which will be targeted by many other countries once you leave Zipang. We will be happy to provide you with all the weapons and equipment needed to defend yourselves. But knowing the three of you, it certainly won’t be a problem. The journey there will be long and tiring, so I’ll leave Eve to take care of your plans. Is this all right Eve?'

'Yes, of course.' Said Eve.

The King and his guards then turned to leave.

'We'll be leaving tomorrow at dawn, please get everything ready by then, we'll meet outside the entrance of Zipang.

Chapter 3

With the Black Wing safely inside a box in Leon’s haversack, the trio left for the kingdom of Shambala.

'So how will we be getting there?' the inquisitive Leon asked.

'By one of the palace's Hovercars, of course, theres no other way to get there. Except if you want to walk a few thousand miles, that is. First, we'll pass through the kingdom of Henesys, we'll see if we can borrow any transport there. Once out, we will go through several towns. Kerning Village, Perion Town and then Ellinia Town. We’ll have to be careful at that last town though, because it is famous for bandits and rogues. No other people live there. The entire journey will be 5 days at most.' Replied Eve.

'Heh! I'm not scared of some bandits, we're Chronos remember? The most elite group of spies in Zipang?' Sven said.

Later at evening, they arrived at the kingdom of Henesys.

'Wake up, guys. We've arrived at the kingdom of Henesys' Sven said to Eve and Leon.

They had fallen asleep halfway during the ride. But then suddenly, the Hovercar's engine made a loud whirring sound and then died off.

'Oh great! Our Hovercar's spoilt. Let’s hope we can get another one inside the city.

Inside Henesys, they split up to get some resources.

Leon went to some weapon stores to get some ammunition for their weapons.

Sven and Eve went around and got some food for their journey. They then met up at an inn and stayed there for the night.

At breakfast at morning , they continued their journey. The previous night, Sven and Eve had managed to persuade a Hovercar rental store to loan them a Hovercar for a few

days. They asked the manager to send the bill to the King of Zipang himself.

For an entire day, they drove all the way to Kerning Village. Then it took yet another day to Perion Town. Leon and Sven took turns driving the car while Eve either navigated them or slept most of the way.

Until the time they reached Ellinia Town, they had no problems at all. Up to now that is.

Chapter 4

'Whew, we've finally reach Ellinia Town, the last stop until we get to the kingdom of Shambala' sighed Sven.

'But where is everybody?! This place is deserted, I don’t see anyone here.' Exclaimed Leon.

'I told you before, this is a bandit village, there are no other people other than those scums.’ Said Eve.

'Shhh! They might hear you. I don't want to start a fight with those people.' Hushed Sven.

'You have to learn to relax a little, Sven. There’s nobody here except for us.' Claimed Eve.

But then suddenly, a voice boomed from behind them 'Well, then you won’t mind if we scums rob you, take out your money and valuables now!'.

The voice came from a huge man behind them. He was surrounded by almost a dozen other bandits. He was probably the leader of the bandits.

'We are the Latira Bandits. Now, please do not resist and we will not harm you, just get out all your valuables and lay them on the floor. Resistance if futile, you will be killed if you even try.' The leader of the Latira Bandits said.

'It seems as if we have no choice. They don’t know who we are.' Smirked Sven.

'Well, it seems you guys want to die. Kill them, MEN!' shouted the leader.

The Latira Bandits charged at them.

'C'mon. Let’s go Sven.' Said Leon.

And in a matter of minutes, the Latira Bandits all laid on the floor, bruised and wounded.

Some had bullets and arrows through them and even one had a decapitated head.

'Hmph, serves them right for attacking us like that. We better be careful though, there might be more of these bandits.' Eve said.

As they traveled through the town, more and more bandits ambushed them. Nevertheless, they were all easily defeated by the Chronos. Finally, they reached the end of the village.

'This is it. The road to the kingdom of Shambala.' Said Sven.

In the far distance, they could see Shambala. As legend had said. There were building towering high above in the clouds. They could also see tiny Hovercars flying around the place through roads around the city.

Epilogue

Upon entering the city, they were stopped by the guards. Hearing their story, the guards decided to bring the three to see the king of Shambala.

Inside the Ivory Palace, Leon, Sven and Eve were led to the throne room where the king was.

The King of Shambala was a tall, lanky man. He appeared rather good-natured and didn’t seem like the stubborn person the King of Zipang said he was.

The guards then went up to the king, bowed and muttered something to him.

'I understand that you have been send here by Linus, the King of Zipang. Yes, I myself do not want a war to start out again. As King, I want what is best for my people and I do not want more people to be killed. So, as the King of Shambala, I hereby accept this message of reconciliation and your gift, the Black Wing.' Announced the King.

And at long last, the kingdom of Zipang and the kingdom of Shambala were reconciled.

The End