Atop grey and icy crags, reaching into the sky, lies a stone-clad, bleak fort. This fort is the capital of the Grim Mountains, Fort Grimstone. The Grim Mountains is one of the six lands of the Forgotten Territories. Located at the most northwest of the territories, to the east lies Spain Lake, the the southeast lies the Poppy Fields, and to the south lies the Thundertorn Cliffs. To the west lies the end of the Forgotten Territories, the land no man ever dares to enter, the Death God’s Desert. The desert spans all the way from the northern most tip of the Spring Lake Territory, to the end of the Thundertorn Cliffs. Legend says that any man that ventures into the desert is doomed to death. Many years ago, a group of warriors ventured in, only for one to return, drenched in blood and eyes glazed over. Many wished to hear the tales of the desert, but no matter what was asked, the man said nothing. He died three days later. Because of the impassable desert, the people of the Forgotten Land have resigned themselves to fate long ago. Six lords rose from the people to rule the land, each vying for more and more power. Over the years, many lords have risen and fallen, cities and forts have been destroyed and rebuilt, but the constant play to be ruler of the territories has remained. Now, the territories have reach a fragile period of peace, allowing the land to reach its most prosperous in a hundred years, but the fear of a change in fortune remains hidden in all the peoples’ hearts.
In a small courtyard covered with a thin layer of snow, sits a girl, about 15, on a bench underneath a grand willow tree. Wearing a long light blue dress gracefully flowed down her body. Her blonde curls rolled down her head, a few strands covered her big lilac eyes. She sits there, her favorite place in Fort Grimstone, reading a book on herbs and flowers and fiddling with her dark purple gem-stone necklace worn around her neck.
“Clementine, get your ass in here now!” yelled a voice from within the cold, stone house. The stone house was two stories tall, with somewhat intricate carvings of the mystic beast, the ice-horned goat, around the doors. The ice-horned was the symbol of the Grimm Family, the rulers of the Grimm Mountains. This particular house is owned by an advisor to the Lord of the Grimm Mountains, Hendricks Grimsby.
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The young girl rises from her seat and gracefully enters the home. Sitting on an ornately carved seat is Hendricks Grimsby. He does not bother to turn his head to look at the girl walking in, he merely remains staring at the fire, during in the fireplace in front of the chair. Hendricks was about 60 years old. Wrinkles covered is face and his eyes sunk back into his skull with light purple bags hanging underneath them.
“Clementine, tomorrow, the young lord will be returning to the fort. You must get him to fall in love with you. You know what to do. Don’t even dare to fail.” While Hendricks is an advisor to the lord, he has limited authority in the land and is not a part of the immediate Grimm family.
“Yes father,” replied Clementine. She already understood her Hendricks’ reasoning. In order to rise in power and live a better life, he needed to marry her off to the next lord of the Grimm Mountains. With that, she left the room and walked upstairs to her room. She flung herself on her bed. After lying on the bed for a shirt period of time, Clementine began to determine what her next move should be.
“That bastard Hendricks, thinking I’m a pawn in his stupid little game. Eventually, I will kill you.” Clementine felt exasperated. In the Grimm Mountains, the lord forbade girls from learning martial arts or cultivation techniques. In these mountains, women were only used as decorations and breeding machines. Luckily, Clementine was a known beauty in all of the fort and was desired by many of the higher-up’s sons. That was the reason Hendricks kept Clementine around. Hendricks was not Clementines actually father, but he made sure that no others in the fort knew this truth. He needed to ensure that Clementine would rise in status and bring him along with her. “All I need to do is see the clan’s cultivation techniques for a second and I’ll be able to rise in power and kill all these bastards!”