The beginning of a story

Once upon a time there was a handsome but troubled prince named Bastian. Very soon Bastian was to become Kind over all of Parellia and he had yet to find a bride. More importantly though, he had yet to understand what it really meant to be King.

One of Bastian's biggest troubles was his lack of humility. As the only son of a very proud King, his personal opinion of himself was rather bloated. As a boy he showed great strength and intelligence to the delight of his parents. "He will no doubt be as great a King as I," boasted King Norlu. Bastian's mother, Queen Clari, noticed early on how quickly Bastian became prideful and thought too much of himself. She tried her best to encourage him to think more of others, "for a great King is a great servant." He always listened to his mother, but her words never quite reached his heart.

King Norlu was so busy taking care of the Parellia that he didn't know of his son's great pride that was slowly setting him up for failure. He did, however, marry an extraordinarily wise woman. The Queen had come up with a plan before Bastian's eighteenth birthday. She explained to the King that if something wasn't done before Bastian became King, all that Norlu had worked for to establish an iron kingdom would be lost. He certainly didn't like the sound of that! The King was very disappointed that he had neglected to build the character of his own son. He knew that Queen Clari was the wisest lady in the kingdom and so he entrusted her with the task of changing the attitude of the future king.

Bastian had a natural talent for music. He could play any instrument beautifully after studying it for a month, and his voice was lovely to the ears. For his 18th birthday, the King & Queen presented him with the most glorious guitar he had ever seen. The was no ordinary guitar mind you. It had been specially hand crafted by the King's carpenter, who had served the King since before Bastian was born.

TO BE CONTINUED...