The Queen's Festival
-Held the day before the coronation of the new queen and her king consort
--Princess Samara and her husband, Kaze, are being crowned Queen and King
-Festival has a special significance this year
--Great War occurred exactly one year ago
--The final battle was fought where the location of the festival is, the Sanctus Castellum, a citadel in ruins from that battle
--One tower remains intact.
---The Sword of Light, the source of protection for Alenia and it's allies from their enemies, and the symbol of Alenia's victory in the war, is on a pedestal on the balcony of the tower
-Samara and Kaze enter the citadel.
--Samara solemnly looks up at the Sword of Light as she enters.
---She was the one to place it there.
---She and Kaze are considered war heroes for their acts of bravery in the Great War
-A group of citizens begin to dance to music being played by a band of minstrels, and Samara and Kaze join in.
The Forest
-Samara and Kaze sneak away from the festival and wander off into the nearby forest
-Samara leads Kaze to a tree with hundreds of glowing flowers, each one a different color
--The tree is called the Tree of Monarchs
---Each flower represents a past queen, and the color represents how their reign was (red = bloodshed, white = peace, etc.)
---Tree was planted by the first queen of Alenia, Queen Celestia, the day before her coronation
-Samara points at a flower that is still a bud.
--That's her flower, which won't fully bloom until she has become queen
-Samara begins to climb the tree, and Kaze follows
-They reach the top of the tree, where there is a dazzling view of all of Alenia
--Samara tells Kaze "This is our land, now."
-Samara notices a man putting a tap into the tree and withdrawing sap from it into a small potion bottle.
-Samara stops him.
-He apologizes and introduces himself as Mudd, a traveler of worlds.
-He asks Samara and Kaze for their help, and explains what happened with the Book.
-Samara and Kaze hesitate, but then agree to help him.
-Mudd gives Samara the bottle of sap, and tells her that the sap has healing properties, and can give them strength when they are weak
-Mudd opens up a path to the Book, and Samara and Kaze enter it.