When Laucian was 25 years old (equivalent to 9 years old for a human), tragedy struck. Queen Enwel Xiloscient was travelling back to Elysium from the Isle of the Gods, so named because most of the Draconian religions were headquartered on the island, which was really more of a continent. She was seeking advice from the High Priestess of Isis. Things with Lucian were becoming worse, and she was considering a divorce. One night, as she was just about to close her eyes to go to sleep on the ship, she heard the captain call out, “All hands, on deck!” She went above to see what was going on.

A ship was fast approaching them, and it was clear that this was an unfriendly vessel. It bore the flag of the Bloodguard, the most feared army to roam Draconia. Calling them an army is a bit generous. They were little more than mercenaries, though even that is generous as they are not for hire. They serve only Apothis, the evil serpentine lord of Chaos. At sea, they are little better than common pirates, and on land they are a menace to all society. As the ship drew nearer, the captain of Enwel’s vessel stepped up to a magical megaphone and called out, “Turn aside or be destroyed! This will be your only warning.” The approaching ship was undeterred. In fact, the boom of several cannons was heard, and three cannonballs flew toward their ship, smashing into the hull. In response, the captain ordered the crew to return fire. Before they could do so, the enemy ship pulled alongside their own and several grappling hooks were launched, hooking the elven ship and pulling the two together. The men from the enemy ship began to board and a full fight soon broke out. Enwel tried to get below, but her path was blocked. Just as she thought her life was over, a dragon flew overhead. She breathed a sigh of relief; everything was going to be okay. But, to her surprise, the dragon did not stop, but continued on its journey.

The soldier who stood before Enwel had a wicked grin on his face. He seemed to recognize who she was. He raised his sword and Enwel knew there was nothing she could do to block the impending blow.

The captain of the Bloodguard ship strode across the deck, surveying the bodies of the fallen elves. At last, he stopped at the body of Queen Enwel Xiloscient, looked at her for a moment, and then began laughing mercilessly. He ordered his men to bring her body with them and they soon pulled away from the elven vessel. They sailed to just outside of the waters of the Supreme Republic of Talle, where they laid Enwel’s body in a landing boat and sent it towards the harbor. The captain wanted to send a message to the people of Draconia that the Bloodguard was still very much alive.

A group of fishermen from the Supreme Republic saw the seemingly unmanned boat and rowed over to it cautiously. When they saw the body laid inside it, they tied a rope to the boat and rowed it to the shore. One of them ran and fetched the Harbor Master, who recognized the body in the boat. As this had the potential to turn into an international incident, all haste was made to inform the President, who arrived a short time later in the Presidential Airship. He instructed his men to investigate this matter fully, and to take the body somewhere safe. He boarded his airship and told the captain to head for Elysium. This was not going to be an easy diplomatic conversation.

The watchman waived a green flag at the airship which was signaling its intent to land. It displayed the flag of the Supreme Republic and on the stern bore the Seal of the President of the Supreme Republic. When the airship landed, King Lucian went to greet the President as he descended the gangplank, accompanied by his guards. They shook hands and went into the palace to talk.

When the President told Lucian what had happened as far as he knew, the King flew into a rage. He demanded that the body be brought back to Elysium at once. The President explained that this was impossible until after the Supreme Republic finished its investigation.

“Investigation?!” Lucian exclaimed. “The only investigation will be done by my men.”

“I’m afraid not,” the President said, calmly. “The incident may have occurred within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Republic and I’m afraid I cannot allow a foreign state the ability to conduct an investigation within my country’s territory.”

“To hell with your policy,” Lucian responded. “This is my wife and the Queen of Elysium.”

“And once my investigators have finished with the body, it shall be brought back here at once to be repatriated. I will personally make sure of that.”

“See that you do, or Elysium will have no more dealings with the Supreme Republic.”

When Laucian was told the bad news, his mind couldn’t process the information. All he kept saying was “when’s mom going to be home?” Finally, it registered, and he burst into tears. He ran from the room, through the palace, and to his own room. He fell onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He didn’t want to believe it; his mother, dead? She couldn’t be; he needed her. He wanted to show her the spell that he had been working on with his tutor. His wails of sorrow were so loud that not even the pillow could muffle it. He was crying so much he found it hard to breathe; his chest was so tight.

After a while, he heard a knock at the door. He didn’t do anything; he didn’t want to talk to anyone. In the back of his mind, he registered the door opening. He felt a hand on his back. He looked up. It was his sister Aya. She was the youngest after Laucian, at just 50 years old. Her eyes were puffy, and it was obvious that she had been crying as well. Laucian hugged his sister, wishing it was his mother. Aya wrapped her arms around her little brother; she wanted to continue crying but knew she couldn’t. She had to be there for Laucian. He was the only one that mattered now.

In the wake of tragedy, people will do incredible things. Some are good and some are bad. After the Queen’s death, Lucian turned sour, even more so than usual. The Supreme Republic completed its investigation; actually, when they found the abandoned ship that had drifted ashore, they realized the serious international implications of the situation and turned over the investigation to the Draconic Confederacy. Enwel’s body was returned to Elysium where it lay in state for a week as people came to mourn. Laucian hardly left the side of the casket. The Elven Temple of Anubis then performed the funeral rituals that were customary in Draconia, and she was laid to rest. The King insisted that he be the one to accompany the body to the cemetery. According to custom, only one person was allowed to do so. However, in Enwel’s will, she specifically designated Laucian as the one to accompany the body that far. Lucian demanded that since he was King, his orders ought to be superior, but the Temple Priest did not agree, and since the Temple and the cemetery were sovereign soil, the King had no real authority to contest the Temple Priest. Laucian watched as they laid his mother’s casket in the burial chamber of the Royal Tomb. He then followed the priests and monks out of the tomb and back to the Temple of Osiris, which adjoined the Temple of Anubis. They all climbed back into the carriage and set off back to Elysium.

Besides his sister, the only one that Laucian really got along with during this time was Lucian’s brother Celore. Celore Xiloscient was Lucian’s youngest brother. Celore had spent several years away from Elysium serving as the ambassador to the Supreme Republic. This was not his first choice, but it was a bitter necessity. Celore also happened to be a close confidant of Enwel, something that the King had become all too aware of. This led to an altercation between the brothers as Lucian thought that Enwel was having an affair with Celore. To get Celore away from Elysium, Lucian made him an ambassador. Now, Celore was back in Elysium, having returned for the funeral.

Celore was talking to Laucian in Laucian’s room. They were talking about Enwel and Laucian was just explaining about the time that he and Galdore had hidden themselves in various decorative suits of armor around the castle to scare people and how his mother had scolded them when they nearly gave the old cook a heart attack. The two were laughing about this. Just then Lucian entered the room.

“Figures,” Lucian said, bitterly. “First my wife and now my son.”

“What do you mean?” asked Celore.

“I mean you ostracizing my own son from me,” Lucian said.

“I’m not doing anything of the sort,” Celore said defensively. “Laucian just seemed like he needed a little cheering up. That’s all.”

“Oh, that’s all, is it?” Lucian responded. “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re trying to turn my son against me just like you did my wife.”

“For the last time,” Celore said, his temper rising too. “Nothing happened between me and Enwel. I would never do anything like that. We were just friends.”

Lucian grabbed Celore and slammed him against the wall. “I know what you did. I know the way you looked at her. You wanted her, you wanted my throne, you wanted everything I have. And now you want to take my son from me. Well, I have one thing to say about that.” Lucian punched Celore in the face, breaking his nose. Celore yelled in pain. Laucian was confused; he didn’t know what was happening.

Celore said, “please Lucian. Not in front of your son.” But Lucian didn’t listen. Instead, he screamed, “You turned my wife against me! Don’t you dare think that you can do the same to my son.”

“You turned Enwel against you yourself,” Celore responded. “Through behavior like this. You don’t think she stayed with you because she still loved you. The only reason she stayed was because she didn’t want to lose her children.”

Lucian ran at Celore, tackling him to the ground. Lucian’s hands were at Celore’s throat, choking him. Laucian was screaming, still confused at what was going on. Two guards rushed into the room. Seeing what was happening, they rushed to pull the king off his brother, but Lucian said, “stay back.” There was nothing the guards could do; they couldn’t defy a direct order from the king. Celore’s face was starting to turn blue. Laucian looked at the guards and said, “do something!” And seeing the desperation on the prince’s face, the guards knew they had to act. They pulled the king off Celore, who gasped for air, his neck already starting to bruise. His nose was broken and he was bleeding profusely. Lucian was still struggling against the guards, ordering them to let him go but the guards ignored him. They knew they would probably pay for doing so later, but the look that Laucian had given them was such that they knew they had to disobey. Lucian saw the look that his son gave him. He stopped struggling and the guards let him go. He turned to Celore and said, “I have a new assignment for you. Ambassador to the Draconic Confederacy. You leave in the morning. Don’t return unless I call for you.”