Mystical Alliance — Matthew Allen Dickerson

In the ancient past, six nations forged an alliance bound together by mystical energies. Peace and prosperity reigned until the key to unlocking its power was discovered. A wave of destruction was unleashed, crippling civilizations, obliterating kingdoms, history of these events nearly lost to the flow of time. A century passes before a power that remained dormant reveals itself in the form of a sphere-shaped jewel. Benjamin Madison, the son of a merchant, discovers an object that inspires him to begin a journey far from the comforts of his home in search of what he feels to be his destiny. Fera, an elf maiden who has guided Benjamin since his birth, volunteers to be his guardian on his journey. The pair is soon joined by Gertrude, a brilliant inventor with ties to the ancient world that she has yet to discover, and an absent-minded gnome named Gregory. Riding upon a steam powered carriage, they travel across realms far beyond their homelands, inhabited by wizards, elves, gnomes, dwarves, and the mysterious minotaur tribes. Where they travel, they are confronted with the the scars of the past, the devastation wrought upon the land, and a world still in mourning of old wounds. Nations who once greeted one another as friend are now filled with hatred and distrust towards one another. Who was responsible for such destruction? How did global conquest and godhood slip away before its presence faded from the world? It is more than destiny that guides them, the power within the magical stone may be attempting to heal the six realms or plunge them into eternal darkness.