Introduction before the Games

There is a mighty king named Edward the Benevolent. He reigns over the kingdom of Daventry with his wife by his side, but they never had children.

The kingdom's prosperity is maintained by the presence of three great treasures, known as Merlin's Mirror, the Shield of Achille, and the Chest of Gold.

The Magic Mirror foretells the future, and is extremely valuable, as the King uses it to view the weather. This knowledge is then used to enhance the harvest, and as a result, Daventry's residents are always well fed, and the excess food is sold to neighboring kingdoms.

The Magic Shield, which is made of titanium and set with precious jewels, made the bearer invincible and granted success to his army. The King lead his soldiers into battle with this shield, and Daventry easily fights off any attackers.

The Magic Chest is a simple wooden trunk, but contained within is an unlimited supply of gold. Edward uses this to pay his soldiers, and buy whatever resources and such that Daventry could not supply. Even when gold is taken out of it, the Chest would magically refill itself, and Daventry's treasury is always full.

One day, while strolling through the castle gardens mourning their lack of heir, the King and Queen stumble across a sorcerer. The sorcerer, seemingly eager to enhance the prosperity of the kingdom, offers his services in exchange for the Magic Mirror.

The King and Queen, eager for an heir, consult the Mirror, and, seeing a sturdy youth wearing a gold crown, determines this to be the son they have always wanted. They give the sorcerer the Mirror, and he hides it away in his underground lair. Many months passed, but still the Queen are not blessed with a child. The sorcerer disappears, and the kingdom was left heirless and mirror-less.

The years wear on, and Daventry is weakened by the loss of their crops. They are forced to buy food from neighboring kingdoms, and a plague is brought into the kingdom. This plague struck down the Queen, and for many days she was bed-ridden.

On the fourth day of her illness, a dwarf arrives at the castle with a root that he claims will cure the Queen. Touching it to her lips, the Queen's eyes flicker open, and everyone rejoices. The King, grateful for the dwarf's services, offers him whatever amount of treasure he might desire. The dwarf requests that he be given the Magic Shield in payment, and the King, his wife not yet out of danger, agrees. The dwarf hides the shield in the earth in the fashion of his kind, and the Queen consumes the root.

The supposedly magical cure, despite its miraculous effects when touched to her lips, did nothing more for the Queen. Her condition worsens, and within a few days, she dies. The kingdom mourns her death, and the loss of the Shield, and neighboring countries, hearing of the weakened condition of the army, attack. Without the Magic Shield, many battles are lost, and the kingdom sinks deeper into despair.

The King is lonely without a companion, and often takes to riding with his men. On one such trip, they come across a pack of wolves surrounding a tree. At the approach of the armed men, the wolves scurry away, and a young woman descends from the branches of the tree and thank them profusely for the rescue.

The King, infatuated by the young woman's beauty, took her back to his castle, where she stays for many a day and night. Eventually, realizing that this was to be his partner in life, Edward proposes to Princess Dahlia, as she was called, and the kingdom rejoices at the thought of a wedding and, later, an heir.

But, on the night before the wedding, Dahlia steals the keys that hang at Edward's belt, and went into the Royal Treasury. The treasurer, noticing the door ajar, peers in, and witnesses in horror the transformation from the beautiful to a wrinkled crone. The witch, cackling madly, stealing the Magic Chest and flies off on her broomstick.

The King's heart is broken, and his treasury empty. He can no longer afford to pay his soldiers or buy food for his starving country, and the woman he loved is gone.

The years wore on, and Edward realizes that his days were nearing their end. He summons his closest knight, Sir Graham, and informs him of his troubles. Sending him on a quest to retrieve the three lost treasures, the King promises Graham his throne upon his death. And so Graham sets off on a great quest, hoping to return the lost treasures to his country.