Zerulius sat at his father's table sipping his wine slowly and savoring every bit of it as it hit his lips and slowly fell down his throat. His father sat next to him and his brother Octavio sat on the opposite side of his father. It was his father's 59th birthday feast and it seemed to be dragging by very slowly without his mom. She had disappeared about a year ago without so much as a hair found. Stranger still was the effort to find her - if you can even call it that. Zerulius and Octavio had nearly gone mad at the lack of will power and manpower used to try and locate her. After about a month their father, Du Stoppo, seemed to give up on any search for her, which had disturbed both Zerulius and Octavio very much.

They had both unconsciously seemed to consent to the fact that their father had begun sliding into the abyss since his wife became lost. He now talked less and went on long, mysterious journeys from which he wouldn't return home for weeks.

It was a surprise that he even agreed to this feast at all, although Du Stoppo would not allow anyone besides Zerulius and Octavio attend, which seemed even stranger considering the large amount of friends that he once had. Yet Zerulius enjoyed just being able to sit with his father and brother alone, which had not happened in ages - well before Zerulius joined the United Krin Army (UKA).

Zerulius had been working for krin in one form or another since childhood. When he was about five he was sent to krin's Happy Camp for Boys where he was taught the 734 reasons why the most important thing in life loyalty to krin; master and savior of the world. Zerulius was taught that if you truly believed this in your heart you would go far in life, and he had. By the age 30 he was the youngest military strategist ever.

Zerulius took another sip of wine, and looked ahead at the large double doors directly ahead of him. The room was large with only one table in the middle of the room facing the doors. Octavio looked impatient as if waiting for this to end in order to go somewhere. Du Stoppo ate his chicken fast, then kicked up his feet and rested them on the table.

"Tell me father where have you been lately your never home," Zerulius had waited all night to ask this question. "Around," his father replied flatly. Octavio started bouncing his leg up and down as he often did when bored. "Got ants in your pants boy," shot Du Stoppo annoyingly. Octavio stopped and flashed his father a look so disrespectful that it may have been met with the back of Du Stoppo's hand, had the moment not been interrupted by the sudden flinging open of the hall's double doors. In walked two men clad in green and gold, the royal colors of Krin.

They were well armed with shields and swords and they soon took up positions on both sides of the dinning hall. Next came the trumpeters who played a quick Da da da da and then the royal announcer "Introducing the fabulously beautiful giver and taker of life, the savior of our world, the grand, exalted krin. The announcer soon yielded as in walked four extremely muscular men carrying a throne in which sat a small, thin man with light skin and untamed, brown hair. Also clad in green and gold, krin wore an almost humorously big crown that, if nothing else, accentuated his tiny stature.

Furthermore, this crown, which he insisted be referred to as the Light of the World, appeared to be altering the shape of his face and angle of his ears, but this was something that all pretended not to see. The last person who politely suggested that perhaps the Light of the World may be too heavy or too cumbersome for the beautiful, grand exalted savior of the world was only ever seen again in pieces. At the first sight of him, Zerulius and Octavio both flew out of their seats and bowed as low as they could, not noticing that Du Stoppo continued to eat his chicken with his feet up.

The large, plush throne of krin's was set down and he walked on his own accord towards the dining table. Du Stoppo still did not bow, nor did he appear to pay any heed. In a slight panic, Zerulius tugged on his father's shirt-tail and whispered "bow, father", but Du Stoppo still tarred away at his chicken, not flinching as krin grew closer.

"Well hello Du Stoppo, don't invite your ruler king and general to your birthday?" Du Stoppo sat still now but put his rather large piece of chicken down.
"Invite you to my birthday and negate the fun of having you hunt me down," he spouted sarcastically.
"Still have a sense of humor I see Du," Krin retorted in a very friendly manner as he now stood directly in front of Du Stoppo.
"Why would I hunt you down Du Stoppo?" he asked. Du Stoppo stared back at krin with a look of utmost hatred and whispered to krin something that the still-bowing Zerulius could barely hear.
"Because I know what your doing to your citizens!" Du Stoppo sprang to life and thrust a dagger that he had hidden under his shirt directly and deeply into krin's chest. The four muscular men rushed forward but just as they were about to reach the table and surely inflict much pain on Du, krin gestured for them to stop. They immediately complied.
"Well if there's one thing I know its when I'm not welcome at a party," krin opined with a slight grimace as painfully yanked the dagger out of his own chest and tossed it to the floor, making a huge clang that reverberated throughout the shocked hall, as all now were frozen and eerily silent.

Zerulius now saw the most emotion from his father in nearly a year as Du Stoppo's face morphed from defiant disgust to fear and awe as krin simply turned around, walked back across the hall towards his throne, sat down, and was carried away. Still bowing, the sons barely noticed as the father slumped back in his chair, picked up his wine glass and slugged it down in one swift gulp. In a near instance, Du Stoppo collapsed to the ground with a thump. Zerulius and Octavio both rushed to his side but it was evident immediately that he was gone - dead as a doornail. Many questions now surged through Zerulius's mind. Octavio picked up the wine glass and carefully sniffed it. Zurulius watched as a look of recognition came to the face of his brother.
"Poultry peach", he said with sadness, knowing this is one of the most lethal poisons in the known world.
"Brother I fear there is a great deal we must learn about what has just transpired." Zerulius looked up at Octavio, who could not have summed up the situation better.

Burying their father was easy considering he broke off almost all of his ties before he died. At the funeral there were four people; the sons Zerulius and Octavio, along with Zerulius' friend and protégé, Donald Cook III, and Peatro, Du Stoppo's loyal and close friend. The four men stood in silence as the gravedigger buried his death case under piles of Rhodesian dirt, a substance totally unique to this region.

Peatro looked nervous almost like he had committed a crime. Donald stood quiet, Octavio looked ready to go. After a few minutes in silence Peatro spoke;
"I have to go you have my condolences". Octavio gave Peatro a strange look and after a few moments Octavio walked towards Zerulius and whispered in his ear.
"I need to speak to you alone!" Zerulius thought this was also odd but did not argue.
"Donald, I'll meet you at the Oscar pub." Donald gave a look of objection but didn't argue.
"What is it Octavio something troubling you?"
"Remember how father acted before he died?"
"How could I not, he disappeared for a month."
"Well after he died I went to his house, I figured I…I could figure out what he had been up too." Octavio had an unsure, perhaps dishonest look on his face.
"The house was broken into! Someone was looking for something."
"Why hadn't you told me this earlier?" Octavio again had a dishonest look on his face.
"I didn't want to bother you till after the burial." Now Zerulius knew Octavio was lying.
"We both agreed not to enter father's house until after his burial."
"Yes, well you know how things are, Zerulius. Money gets tight rather quick now days and some women have very expensive taste." Zerulius wanted to punch his brother. He should have known that this conversation would come down to money or women with him.
"How much money did you take, Octavio?" Octavio plainly didn't want to answer this question.
"What does that matter, Zerulius? Father's house was broken into!"
"How much?" Octavio still didn't want to answer this must have been a good amount.
"Just tell me Octavio!" "A couple hundred chums or so." {1 chum is roughly a dollar US. So now you understand a hundred chums was no laughing matter.}
"You better hope father left you that money." Zerulius was now very angry and turned without another word to his brother who stood still with an ashamed look on his face.

Zerulius was so flustered that he didn't give the fact that his father's house was broken into a thought until opening the door to the Oscar pub. Donald sat in a corner drinking a tall glass of ale by a small barrel that stood in for a table. The pub was very nice family owned and a very respectable family at that. Zerulius walked over to Donald and gestured for a chair to be brought over.

"What did Octavio have to say?" Donald asked curiously as the waiter brought over a chair and Zerulius sat down.
"None of your business!" Zerulius snapped back rather harshly. He quickly realized this and quietly took a few deep breaths and rephrased his answer.
"I should say it was nothing of importance, really." Zerulius leaned back and stroked his small but growing beard and added; "Although he did say my father's house was broken into." Donald looked a bit more interested at this.

As long as Zerulius had known Donald, that was roughly since the age of ten he had loved a mystery or adventure. Donald had been orphaned at age five and was picked up by ruthless group of thugs called the Green Burrito Gang of Greencook. This group had no problems with a little child labor, so Donald washed clothes, did dishes, cleaned the animal shelter or worse. All of this may not of been so bad except for the fact that he was also undernourished and whipped when he didn't complete his jobs by a timely hour, a timely hour being whenever the gang needed something done.

Day by day Donald began to learn and listen to the gang he remembered the exact times when members got home or when they went drinking. He knew that there was only one way out, but being only eight years old, he lacked the strength and the means of eliminating the gang. So it was by chance that he met Zerulius two years later. Zerulius was training a small division in the Majestic Krin Army that specialized in urban situations - police, if you will. These men were vigourously trained to use lethal force whenever possible. Zerulius had never liked the aspect of killing so it was strange that what he was good at was planning battles. had never had anyone truly care for him not since he was orphaned and that was out of memory. So when Zerulius offered him a home he was a bit confused. Zerulius told Donald that he would come home with him be fed clothed and sheltered, but only if Donald went to school and completed all his years there. Donald had no choice at this point the dump wasn't a very nice home.

One day Zerulius's group received a letter from the Commisor of a small settlement along the Greencook corridor. The warlord gang assigned to the settlement euthenized - or brutally murdered with no surviving member - and the locals were fearful that another, even worse gang, such as the intiminating One-Two-Three Boys or the pillaging Big Bill's Posie would surface in the void. So Zerulius deployed his small battalion to keep the peace until new orders can be dispatched from the beautiful, grand exalted savior of the world. Most members of this batallion had never been on such a mission, and they spoke aloud about the prospect of being received as heroes by the young ladies of the settlement. But when they arrived, the were greeted by only the gruesome sight the corpses nearly a week ripe. To Zerulius, the smell was reminiscent of many horrible and quite unmentionable things that he rarely let into the front of his memory.

An investigatiion the corpses showed that, oddly, they all had been stabbed with household beast-jammers, or "forks". Naturally, Zerulius placed the Fork Fighters from the tropical Fut Beach on top of the list of prime suspects. What in the world these barefoot sand-steppers from the lush fringes of the mightt jungle were doing here in the harsh, rugged, dry mountains of Greencook Zerulius had not the slightest clue. Then he found footprints leading out of the murder seen Zerulius followed them to a trash dump where he found a young Donald Cook. Donald had obviously committed the murders there was no ifs or buts about it but Zerulius couldn't bring himself to arrest young Donald. He felt such pity for the young boy he decided to take the boy home with him.

At the age of ten Donald had never had anyone truly care for him not since he was orphaned and that was out of memory. So when Zerulius offered him a home he was a bit confused. Zerulius told Donald that he would come home with him and be fed, clothed, and sheltered but only if Donald went to school and completed all his years there. Donald had no choice at this point the dump wasn't a very nice home.