Prologue
A simple kiss under the falling cherry blossoms.
I can’t help but ask myself...
When did this all begin?
An adventure so great...
A single tear is shed.
“Hey... Great-Grandfather?”
The young boy approached the aging man as he sat in the rocking chair, glaring out into the distance. The old man’s gaze turned to face the young boy, glaring down upon him, a smile spreading across his wrinkled face. His hands stretched out to the boy, who stood there on the front porch of the old, wooden house. Bringing the boy into a warm embrace, the old man kissed the top of his head.
“What is it?” the old man asked politely.
“Can you... Can you tell me the story of how you met grandma?”
His eyes grew misty as he stared back into the distance. How... How he met
grandma. How he met the love of his life. He looked like a senile old man, there, staring into the distance. He could hear the sound of his son’s wife, the boy’s mother, calling him inside, to wash his hands for dinner. The old man did not look up as the boy retreated into the house.
How I first met her...“Hey, mom?” the young boy asked his mother as he entered the house, walking towards the kitchen, where a young, busy woman was setting food upon a table. “Do you know what’s wrong with great-grandpa?”
“Why?” she replied, raising her eyebrow, “What’s he doing?”
“He’s just looking into the distance there. Is he okay?”
“Leave your great-grandfather alone, honey. He’s gone through a lot.”
“What do you mean?” the boy asked.
“Well,” she replied, “It’s a long story, honey. Now, go get washed up for dinner.”
The boy sighed, looking down as he retreated towards the bathroom. But on his way there, as he walked through the living room of the wooden house, he saw his great-grandfather, standing there, smiling down at the boy, his teeth crooked, falling out.
“Do you want to hear a story?” the old man asked.
“What kind of story?” the boy replied.
“The story... of Opposing Kingdoms.”
It was a warm day in spring, when it all began. The weather was nice. Sunny. A gentle breeze. I remember, clear as day, standing there, in a green valley. That’s where it all began. It was on that day. Little did I know... How much was going to change, from then on.I was thirteen, a mere boy, by all accounts. I didn’t have the slightest clue about the ways of the world. All I knew, was that it felt good, feeling the sun beating down upon my skin. I was standing there, in the valley, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing upon my face as I stared out at the endless expanse of green hills, all I could see in any direction. It felt so good to be so...
Alive.We were on a training mission. My brother and I. Kai... He was my twin brother, and sometimes, it felt like we weren’t just twins. Sometimes, it felt like we were one person in two bodies. We shared practically everything. We had, for as long as I could remember. We shared the same bedroom, the same clothes, the same books. Kai... He was a part of me, the only true family member I had -- we were blood.
I didn’t understand it back then. What had happened, I mean, to the rest of our family. All I knew was that there had been some kind of disaster when were were babies, and that they were all dead now. Kai and I were the only ones who had survived. It was because... Because Konjan found us.
Konjan was like a father to us. He had raised us. He had taught us. He had given us hopes and desires and dreams. He was the only thing close to a father I’d ever had. And to me, that was good enough. And to Kai, too. And so, our family grew by one, and we weren’t alone in this world.
Konjan had found us, long ago. He had been wandering in a foreign land, when he came across a village hidden through the woods. The village... It was on fire. He searched through the burning village, but he couldn’t find any survivors. And then, he heard our cries. Kai and I. We were newborns, crying. He found us, in a crib inside a house, unharmed. He saved us... And from that day on, he was our father.
At least, that was the story we’d always heard.
I heard Konjan’s voice from behind, and turned to face it. He and Kai stood there, upon the hill. In the sunlight, I could clearly see how much Kai and I looked alike. We had the same brown hair, the same slim build, the same golden eyes. I could also see how tall Konjan was, with his black hair tied in a pony tail. I wondered, why did he wear it like that?
“Kaleb,” Konjan spoke softly to me as I walked towards them, to stand on top of the hill, “Come here.”
When I reached the top of the hill, Konjan pointed it out to us. The sun set. In the distance, there was a cherry blossom tree, with pink pedals dancing upon the ground. It made me a little sad. The pedals fell to the ground, sinking, as their lives ended, but life went on. Would that happen to me someday? Would I, too, fall to the ground, carried away by the wind into the unknown?
“Are you ready to go home?” I heard Konjan ask us.
I turned and looked at my brother, Kai, and then back at Konjan. We nodded.
“You remember the spell... Don’t you?” Konjan asked us.
“I... I think so,” I heard Kai reply.
Dimensional teleportation. It was an advanced spell, and Kai and I were novices to the art of
magic.
“I don’t think we’re ready,” I said, “It’s... It’s an advanced spell. What if I can’t do it?”
“I have faith in you,” Konjan replied confidently. “Try it. I’ll be right here, even if you fail.”
I closed my eyes.
Magic... Gather the magic in the palm of your hands. Envision it. The place you want to go. Envision home. Close your eyes... Concentrate... I can do it. I can do it... I can...I opened my eyes, hopeful, but I saw nothing but the sunset and the cherry tree in the distance.
“It didn’t work,” I pouted.
Would he be disappointed in me?“Kai?” Konjan asked.
I turned my head to see Kai, eyes closed, trying, but still, nothing happened.
“Maybe tomorrow, boys,” Konjan replied.
Konjan closed his eyes now, and after a brief moment, I could feel the wind pulling Kai and I away, and Konjan too. We were swept away in the tide. It was in that moment that I realized that... We, too, were like cherry blossoms, being carried away in the wind. What I wanted to know was... Where were we going next?
But that’s when the screaming began. 
