1 - Arachia
'Blood is thicker than water.'
An apt saying in the world of Arachia.
"Arachia has 4 major kingdoms, three of which are named after mythical beasts - Dragonia, Phoenixia and Leonia, while the 4th one is named The Otherland. There are countless other small kingdoms scattered across Arachia, each with their own set of rules and etiquettes.
The names of these 'Big Three' are not just due to a fascination with Mythology, but are based on the first Kings of these Kingdoms and the 'Blood' they carried in them. The First King of Dragonia and also The First Magic Swordsman- the Elder Dragon whose descendants would be called Dragonbloods, The First Queen of Phoenixia and The Greatest Mage - The Wise Phoenix whose descendants would be called Phoenixbloods and the First King of Leonia and Weapon Expert - The Brave Leo whose descendants would be called Lionbloods.
The time of the First Kings of the Big Three was around 3500 years ago, when there was another blood race present in Arachia - The Plaguebloods who were the descendants of their First King - The Demon Roach who had the power to cure as well as give ailments and diseases. Roach wanted to conquer the whole of Arachia and bring it under his control. Blinded by a greed for power, he did the most taboo and unspeakable act any species on Arachia could do. He sold his soul to a 'Raksh' and in return got the power of Death in return. Raksh were other-worldy beings that were driven out of Arachia by the One True God - Yunis. Roach then set out to conquer Arachia, plundering and obliterating all other blood races which stood up to oppose. It was then that the First Kings - The Elder Dragon, The Wise Phoenix and the Brave Leo fought Roach and killed him through their powers and sealed the Power of Death somewhere in a secret location in Arachia. The First Kings returned triumphant and laid the foundations of their kingdoms.
The Otherland is a bit different, because it was formed 200 years later as a result of the continuous derogatory and racist acts of the three big blood races towards the other smaller ones. Hence, The First King of the Otherworld - The Noble Owl, unified various smaller blood races and laid the foundations of the current Otherland.
Not long after the creation of The Otherland, different blood races started coming and inhabiting Otherland while the big three kingdoms still had a sense of Superiority over the other races. Over the course of the next 1000 years, the blood races had to breed with other races due to the problems of in-breeding and finally, the people of Arachia started having multiple blood signatures in them. Due to this, the superiority complex of the big three races curbed down quite a lot and all the 4 major Kingdoms now have amiable relations among themselves. The End."
"Now, go to sleep or the Demon Roach might return to eat you." said Marge.
"I know you will save me then Grandma." said Rio with a big teethy smile.
Marge tucked Rio in his bed, gave him a forehead kiss and smiled while she went out of Rio's room.
Marge sat at the dining table in the hall and stared hard at a locket with a photo of a man and a woman.
"You miss them?" asked an old man by the door of the hall.
"Ahh Dromov. Yes. I wonder how they would react if they saw Rio now." said Marge.
"You did the right thing you know. Leaving Otherland was the right decision. You never know who could have come after Rio. Especially after what happened to Eli and Sofia." said Dromov.
"Hmmm....it is like it happened only yesterday. The memory is as fresh as it was 5 years ago. Their blood ridden corpses ....*sobs* .... All because of their blood." said Marge while trying to stop the tears.
"You have done well. When we found you and Rio 5 years ago by the shore in that dilapidated state, I was a bit hesitant to bring you to our colony here but now I believe that we found you and Rio for a reason, and one day we will surely find out why, but until that day comes, you have to stay strong and raise Rio. There will come a time when you will have to tell Rio about his parents and how they died,and also that .... you are not his blood-related grandmother. When that time comes, we will be with you. Do not worry." comforted Dromov.
"Yeah, you are right. I should fulfill my duty towards my masters. I will make sure that those devils never get to know of Rio's existence and he lives a happy life. Thats what Masters Eli and Sofia would have wanted." announced Marge with determination in her eyes.
"Good. Now lets go to the old tree. Phoenia and Leonard are waiting there, and make sure to bring that bottle of mead I lent you yesterday ." said Dromov with a guilty smile.
"Yes, yes. You and your drinking habits. I'll bring that too." replied Marge with an annoyed face.
"Lets go then!" exclaimed Dromov with stubborn excitement.