Once upon a time lived a beloved king, in the greatest kingdom this world has ever known. The name of this kingdom was Valhalla. This great king was named Freddie. He was one of the kindest and fairest of all humans, always ready to help the people of Valhalla. King Freddie's court was not the most huge, but it was composed of his three best servants. There was the smartest, the most trustworthy and bravest knight of the kingdom, Sir Brian. King Freddie loved him dearly, and as soon as he had the opportunity, he would claim that Valhalla could never be as well protected from invaders with another knight. Then, there were the most cunning and the most loyal archer of the King's army, Sir Roger. In times of trouble, Sir Roger would make all the plans to assure a great victory to Valhalla. At last but not least, the wisest and the kindest druid of the two kingdoms had the chance to live in King Freddie's court. His name was Sir Deaky. He had the capacity of preparing the most efficient potions to fight any kind of disease, and he would never hesitate to heal a Valhallan. Happiness and peace reigned in Valhalla. Living there was a privilege, and it even deserved the nickname of 'Sunny Kingdom'.

Unfortunately, Valhalla was not always this quiet and peaceful place we would all like it to be. There was a second kingdom, on the other edge of the land: Britannia. Its maleficent King David wished that he could rule the world. Not many people did meet King David in person. Those who did were still petrified by his look. One of his eyes was darker than the other, and could freeze someone's spine, just with a glance. Even after many vain negotiations, King David never gave up on his will to conquer Valhalla, and to turn it into the coldest and the most joyless kingdom. A long, long time ago, King David declared war to a third kingdom, called Scottie. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of the third kingdom, King David burnt the castle, and only one man survived. He was now living in Valhalla, protected by King Freddie.

One afternoon, King Freddie invited all the Valhallans to his birthday banquet. In the main room of the castle, a long table covered with white tablecloths was standing, offering all the guests the best meals one man could ever taste in his life. The whole kingdom was there, and King Freddie took the time to shake the hand of every guest who was present. He offered warm smiles to the children, flowers to the mothers, and help to the fathers. In the corner of the room, Sir Brian, Sir Roger and Sir Deaky were staring at the King, with the most tender expressions. An orchestra settled on a wooden platform and started to play a catchy melody, with flutes, drums and bagpipes. With all the joy in his heart, the King gathered couples, found partners for the singles, and formed a large circle with the children. He danced happily with the Valhallans, without foreseeing what was going to happen.

Suddenly, the heavy wooden doors opened in a terrible crash. Sir Brian drew out his sword; Sir Roger grabbed an arrow and placed it on his bow. The musicians stopped playing as they caught a glimpse of two strangers making their way through the room. The first one was wearing a silver crown on his red hair, and a red cape was following his every step. Behind him, a tall man in a strong iron armor was staring haughtily at the guests, who were shivering in fear. His brown long hair was falling over his ears, and his cold blue eyes were wandering in the room. Women were crying, and children were hiding, knowing those two men only too well. King Freddie let go of two children's hands and stood still, lifting up his chin. His powerful voice sounded in the room, almost making the walls tremble. "King David, Sir Mick, welcome to Valhalla. I am afraid that I did not invite you to this birthday banquet, but you can stay as long as you want to."

"Enough!" King David roared. "My knight and myself did not come here from Britannia to celebrate your birthday, King Freddie!"

King Freddie frowned, as his brown eyes were staring into King David's. "How bad, I thought we could finally bring peace between Britannia and Valhalla!"

"There will be no peace between our two kingdoms, your Majesty!" Sir Mick interrupted. "We came to you for a last warning!"

"A last warning? What is it?"

King David grinned and looked all around the room of the castle. "I want this castle, Freddie. You know it perfectly! Here is my last warning: give me Valhalla, and I will turn it into a better place. There will be no more war between our two kingdoms! I will finally rule Valhalla, and then, I will conquer all the other kingdoms of our world!"

"What will I become?" King Freddie asked calmly.

"You will be one of my best knights, along with Sir Mick, or one of my best minister."

"What will become of the Valhallans?"

"They will stay where they live. But every form of wizardry will be erased. There will be no more druids, and no more wizards. I will get rid of those monsters, and clean the world to make it pure!"

Sir Deaky looked at King Freddie fearfully, clenching his fingers over his robe. But the King of Valhalla did not seem to give up on the kingdom. "I appreciate this offer, but I am deeply afraid that I am going to refuse it once again." The words of the monarch made the guests smile in hope, but made King David and Sir Mick blench. King David's face turned red. "You asked for a war, Freddie! I will destroy Valhalla, and all its inhabitants! You should have accepted my offer! This was my last warning, but it seems like his Majesty wants to make his people suffer." King David spun round and left the castle, followed by his loyal Sir Mick. Once they disappeared, King Freddie turned to his people. "The show must go on, my friends!"

Meanwhile, on the shore of the Bron-Yr-Aur sea, a wooden ship gently landed on the wet sand of the Valhallan side. Four immigrants from Britannia landed there, jumping off their ship. There was a tall, thin man dragging the ship on the beach, with his long, wavy, black hair falling on his face and his shoulders. His dark green eyes looked pure, but full of mystery. His name was Sailor Jimmy. He was helped by a tall man wearing an armor, with a dark moustache lining his upper lip. He was known through Britannia as Knight Bonzo. Not far from them, writing rhymes on a parchment, sitting on a rock with a mandolin at his feet, was the most joyful troubadour and poet that Britannia used to know. His name was Poet Jonesy, and he was the only poet who lived in King David's court. Believing that his rhymes were actually revolution anthems, King David banished Poet Jonesy from the kingdom. Then, walking gracefully on the wet sand, with a sword tied to his belt, a white fur cape floating behind his back, and long wavy blond hair, was Prince Robert. He was supposedly the only heir of the throne of Britannia, before King David stole it from his family. However, Prince Robert was satisfied with the situation: his only dream was Valhalla.

With his clenched fists on his hips and his proud expression, Prince Robert's eyes attentively looked all around the beach. His thin lips stretched into a wide grin. He drew out his heavy sword, which he lifted up to his lips. He kissed its blade and raised it above his head, pointing it to the sun. "Valhalla, I am coming!"

In the castle of Valhalla, the birthday banquet of King Freddie had been cancelled, right after the unplanned visit of King David and Sir Mick. King Freddie was sitting on his throne, his hands covering his face. Sir Roger was standing beside him, trying to reassure him about the situation.

"I am afraid that this will be the end of Valhalla, Sir Roger" the King whispered.

"This is impossible! If a war was to be declared, Valhalla will win it! Our army is stronger than this of Britannia, your Majesty!"

The King turned his head and smiled weakly to his archer. "We should not underestimate King David's army, Sir Roger. Do not forget that it destroyed the third kingdom of the land!"

"I do not forget it, but we can defeat the army of Britannia! Sir Brian will defeat the knights of King David, and he will also defeat Sur Mick! Thanks to the magical elixirs of Sir Deaky, we will heal the injured and the dying! As for me, I will shoot all the archers!"

The King smiled, and ran a hand across his face. He slowly removed his crown and stared at its diamonds. "I admire your bravery, Sir Roger, but I am afraid that all this is vain."

When the King stopped his sentence, the heavy doors of the castle opened, and Sir Brian appeared, drawing out his sword, and bowing down to the King. "Your Majesty, four strangers arrived to the castle and wish to meet you!"

"Let them in, Sir Brian!"

The knight stood up and bowed briefly, before walking out of the room. The King sat up on his throne, and Sir Roger stood still beside him. Then, the four men announced by Sir Brian entered the room.

They were the four immigrants from Britannia, who landed on the shore of the Bron-Yr-Aur sea. Prince Robert was the first to kneel down before the King, followed by Sailor Jimmy, Poet Jonesy and Knight Bonzo. King Freddie stood up and lifted up his chin. "Welcome to Valhalla, strangers! I am King Freddie, and this is my best archer, Sir Roger."

"What an honor, your Majesty" Prince Robert replied, "let me introduce to you Knight Bonzo, Poet Jonesy and Sailor Jimmy. I am Prince Robert, legitimate heir of the throne of Britannia."

Sir Roger stiffened and frowned. "From Britannia! Your Majesty, they are our enemies!"

"Enemies of Valhalla? We are not, my Lord!" Prince Robert grinned. "We only are four immigrants, fleeing from Britannia!"

King Freddie rested a hand on Sir Roger's shoulder and walked up to the four strangers. "Prince Robert, if you are the legitimate heir of the throne of Britannia, how come that you are reduced to the status of immigrant?"

"King David stole my throne. He threw me in jail, but I managed to escape, and with my friends, we ask for the right to live as citizens of Valhalla."

King Freddie sighed and stood before Prince Robert, who stood up. "I admire the risks you took to achieve your goal, but I am afraid that Valhalla will soon belong to Britannia. Or worse, be destroyed by Britannia."

The four immigrants gasped and shared worried looks. "Did King David declare war to the kingdom?"

"I am afraid that it might be true."

"We can stop this war!" Knight Bonzo shouted. "I have been trained with the army of King David! I know its weak points!"

"Great! However, I want to make sure that your intentions are pure and good. This is why I am giving you a request. You will cross the land to Britannia, and try to persuade the King to give up on this war. If you are to meet people in need on your way, I ask you to help them, whether they are from Valhalla or Britannia. To make sure that you will not betray Valhalla, I am sending my most trustworthy knight with you, Sir Brian. He will look after you during this request. If you succeed in this mission, I will give you a special reward."

"What is it?" Sailor Jimmy asked in a quiet voice.

"As a reward, I will give to each of you the status of Valhallans, plus a special place in my court. You will become Lords."

The four immigrants smiled and looked at one another. "We accept this request, your Majesty" Prince Robert said.

King Freddie smiled and spun round. But the voice of Poet Jonesy sounded in the hall. "Your Majesty, I am afraid that I am not skilled enough for this expedition." Every man in the room turned to him. "I am a poet, only a poet. I do not know the art of fighting, nor this of persuasion! I will be useless."

King Freddie sighed and walked up to the worried poet, placing his kind hands on his shoulders. "If I am right, poets manipulate words, don't they?"

"They do, indeed."

"I experienced a lot of things in my life, Poet Jonesy, and I can tell that words are powerful weapons. You cannot injure someone physically with them, but you can seriously injure his soul and mind. Do not underestimate words, they are more powerful than you think. If you manipulate words, then you are ready for this expedition."

Poet Jonesy bowed down to King Freddie and thanked him with an insecure smile, before the King called Sir Brian's name. The knight appeared in the hall and bowed down. "Sir Brian, you are going on an expedition with these four immigrants from Britannia. You are going to King David's castle and try to negotiate with him, so a war will be avoided. If you meet unfortunate people on your way, you will give them a helping hand, whether they are Valhallan or Brittanion. You will make sure that they will not betray Valhalla, and that their intentions are pure. Am I clear?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

The King turned to the five men standing before him. "Sir Roger will stay with me, and will prepare the plans for a possible war, with Sir Deaky. Now, go, immigrants, and may you survive to the expedition."