It's A stormy winter's evening, and the banquet hall is decorated in beautiful purples and golds. The evening's attendees mill about the ballroom, each with an elaborate, decorative mask on. Scara is the only person without a mask, as he sits on the golden throne in the centre of the room, looking round disdainfully.

Eventually, murmurs start to travel round the room, as there's still no sign of the Empress, or the Prince Consort. Scara doesn't let his emotions show on his face, but internally, he's terrified. If his parents aren't here, that means that something must have gone wrong with his father's illness... He stands up to make an announcement, however. As the Crown Prince, he can't show any weakness...

Scara: "Thank you all dearly for attending my 17th birthday party. I am-"

He's cut off by a huge flash of lightning, which extinguished every candle in the room. More rumours start to spread... It must be an omen... An omen related to the health of the Empress and Prince Consort...