On the other side of the golden-hued barrier, a roar erupts from the seamless quartz palace. It’s coming from the winged Royal Lions that guarded the massive iron gates. The thunderous sound sweeps over a large lush green island called Grandel Isle. It thunders down the colossal mountain in the center of the landmass. A white golden antlered stag raises his grand head as the sound rolls past one of the many drinking holes that riddle the mountainsides. The mighty roar blasts through the thick forest that circles the bottom of the immense mountain and outward past the surrounding desert. It rolls out over the encircling blood-red sea until it reaches the three smaller islands to the north, south, and east of Grandel Isle. A fog bank to the west swirls and shifts as the sound travels through it.

The roar is to announce that it’s time for the Protector Tournament to begin, and the contestants should start their long journey to the Outer-lands. There is one male chosen from three of the five regions on the large island. The boys from the High-lands, Mid-lands, and the Low-lands are prepared by their parents from birth for this moment. The challenges are different every time. The only thing known is that they must be intelligent, reliable, and courageous.

Three mysterious mystics watch over these three regions. As they watch the boys grow, they decide which one will best represent their province. The Protector for the new Queen must be found today so that he can retrieve her from the world called Earth.

Around two thousand years ago, from another dimension, the Darkness sensed an abundance of negative energy on Earth. In the middle of this unspeakably dark time on Earth, a hope suddenly began to spread through the humans that lived there. Even though the Darkness had plenty of food, it greedily planned to attack before this seed of hope could swell.

A few days before the attack, three secretive black-robed Mystics arrived on Earth. The mystics didn’t tell the humans where they were from or who they were, only that in a few days, a creature known as the Darkness would attack and destroy them all.

To protect the Earth, the three mystics found two unique human sisters whose life force could be used to create a barrier around the world that held the portal to Earth. The Darkness couldn’t break through, though its repulsive Enchained could. Along with the two sisters, the mystics gathered others from Earth to help them survive in their new home.

In the dimension between Earth and the Darkness’s world, the Mystics formed Grandel Isle under the portal that the Darkness needs to use to claim its prize. They gave everyone an essential responsibility which would help sustain the island. Since then, Grandel Isle has been the battleground for Earth.

**

Brandon, being from the Low-lands, arrives at the meeting place first. When he gets there, waiting for him is a large quartz stone. The Great Stone always stands here, but most of the time it’s blank. Today, there are three symbols etched into it. Under each symbol is a name. The first symbol is a spear, sword, and an arrow that lap over one another in a star pattern for the Highlanders, representing the military. The second symbol looks like an open book for the Midlanders. This emblem is for the palace workers, healers, and the many other jobs that the people of the Mid-lands have to help support the island. The final one is in a starburst pattern with the various tools that the Lowlanders use. The Low-lands are made up of farmers, miners, and builders. The names under the symbols are Steven the Highlander, William the Midlander, and Brandon the Lowlander.

A boiling breeze swipes around Brandon as he looks out across the barren sandy Outer-lands. Many Highlanders have died here due to the numerous battles that played out on the sandy soil. The Highlanders are the ones that keep the Enchained from getting through to the portal to Earth. Long before he was born, the bound servants pushed the Highlanders back to the Low-lands. It was the second time the Darkness’ bound ones were able to get passed the border of the Outer-lands. The Low-lands elders talk of the battle that the Highlanders and Lowlanders stood side by side as brothers and fought for their home. Unfortunately, time changes everything, and the ties that developed during that battle were lost long ago. Hope remains that one day that bond can be found again. Brandon has serious doubts that’ll ever happen. The Highlanders today think too much of themselves to have anything to do with the Lowlanders.

Brandon looks out across the Outer-lands at the enormous rock formations. At one time, this land was full of many different animals and plants, not anymore. Armed with a vile of poison that the Darkness gave to her Enchained to contaminate the sea. Once mixed with the seawater, the poison spread swiftly and damaged it all. It surrounded the island killing almost everything in the Outer-lands. The ground from the Outer-lands slowed the poison down and filtered most of it out before it reached where the humans lived. The Lowlanders filtered out the remaining poison with a system that the Midlanders designed.

All but two unique species of plants that thrived in the Outer-lands sandy soil became extinct. At the battle sites scattered across the Outer-lands, both of the surviving plants grow.

There’s one tree, the yew. At one time, this tree had stood tall with green needles and bright red fruit that resembled berries. When the poison from the sea reached its roots, it didn’t die, but it shrank into more of a bush. Its needles turned black, and its fruit turned a dark blood red. They also became poisonous.

A single black rose survived the poisoning, but now it flourishes in the Outer-lands. After the sounds of battle have silenced and the memorials completed, the black rose appears. In a few short days, they embrace all the monuments. Gradually saplings of the yew tree begin to grow and shade the area. It’s believed that these plants protect these sites from evil beings and spirits. None of the Darkness’ Enchained or creations have ever been able to defile these holy places.

Most of the animals were forced to migrate to the center of the island. There are a few that adapted to the new environment like the cressorn. The cressorn is a snake with a horn over each eye. It lives and moves within the sand. The cressorn’s horns detect poison. Therefore, they can avoid the infected areas.

One particular bird found it unnecessary to change. The orizons are one of three light-bearing birds on Grandel. There are cliffs that line the southwest side of the Outer-lands shores. These fouls make their homes in the caves that riddle the rock face. Deep inside the caves, the birds find gold and silver; they feed upon these metals. Orizons resemble hawks in size and shape, but the resemblance ends there. They have a mixture of gold and silver feathers that are as hard as metal. Their eyes give off a warm golden glow day or night, but their feathers only shine at night. These magnificent birds fly into battle with the Highlanders, lighting nighttime battles and using their iron claws to tear at the enemy.

As Brandon waits for the others, he thinks about his family. Life in the Low-lands is hard. Most of them have large farms with cattle to take care of and fields to tend. Others work in the mines harvesting minerals, gems, and metals. There’s also a small group of builders that take care of small building jobs. When there’s a large project, like the Low-lands’ waterfalls and the Mid-lands’ homes, all Lowlanders help.

Brandon’s family has a large farm that he and his father run. They have a herd of cattle and a few horses. They also have two large fields and a small garden for their use. If Brandon becomes the next Protector, their lives will change forever. He’d move to the palace on the top of the mountain. His parents and his sister Toney would come and live with him there. They’d receive jobs that his weak, ill mother and disabled sister could perform.

Brandon hears a noise behind him and pushes his unmanageable, wavy, shoulder-length, golden hair from his dark, vibrant, brown eyes. The person he sees is short and stocky, with short, chestnut brown hair and watery blue eyes.

“The typical Midlander, soft,” Brandon murmurs to himself.

The new arrival offers his hand. Brandon stands to his full height, six feet two inches. His large hand engulfs the stranger’s small one.

“Hi,” the stranger says as he quickly pulls his hand away at the feel of Brandon’s skin. His hands are dark and rough from the hard work of his people. “I am William.”

William’s hand is soft, pale, and weak from working inside the palace, definitely a Midlander. Steven will be lean. He’ll be strong like Brandon, not from hard work, but from a lifetime of training. He’ll have, as all of his people, very short raven-black hair and stormy gray eyes.

Also, a Highlander would never degrade himself to speak to a Lowlander, much less touch one. Due to their training, the Highlanders feel that one of them should always be the Queen’s Protector. It’s been that way for the last two hundred years. They will do anything to keep it that way.

A pounding noise brings Brandon out of his thoughts. He and William both look to where a jagged wound defiles their red sky. A dark cloud sits inside it. The Darkness is there, just waiting. The Queen is growing weak, and so is the golden barrier between their worlds. This Queen has lived longer than most. She’s held the unyielding Darkness back for a miraculous eighteen years. When she dies, their glorious barrier will die with her unless the new Queen is retrieved first. That’s why they must find the Protector today.

“He is here,” William states flatly.

Steven does not speak. He walks past them without even glancing their way. The Highlander stops and looks at a large rock formation that’s called the Dragon. When Brandon and William catch up to him, he looks straight ahead and starts to walk. None of them speak. All of their thoughts are on what lies ahead of them.

The blistering heat from the sand starts to come through the animal hide shoes after about twenty minutes, and the searing sun beats on them from above. Brandon looks at the differences in their clothing and is grateful to be in his Lowlander clothes. His pants and shirt are thin and loose for working outside. They make all of the Lowlander’s clothes in light earthy colors. The Midlander’s clothes are dyed by what they do in the palace or where they work in their small community. William’s are a light gray because his job is in the Hall of Records. They make them thicker because the palace stays cool. Brandon notices that the Midlander’s pale skin is already starting to burn.

Brandon glances over to Steven and feels a twinge of pity for him. The Highlanders uniform is heavy to help them in battle. The first layer is black cotton. Then pulled over the chest, back, arms, and legs are thick pieces of leather with metal plates attached to them. Even though Steven’s face has become flushed from the heat, he shows no signs of slowing.

After about an hour, they come to the end of their journey through the Outer-lands. Now all they have to face is the contest itself.