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Prologue - Dark Origins
“There are many who say that time will heal all wounds, but what would it take to wound someone so deeply as to change their very soul?
There have been many over time that foolishly committed terrible acts within a mask of fear. Even now, we stay in hiding, awaiting the time to face the Sorceress of the Demon’s prophecy.
The one who those of darkness believe will destroy all who live and breathe.”
(Nymira)
Marithia had long since recovered from the ancient war against Lucien and his Forces of Darkness. The land of Marithia was a large continent surrounded by uncharted wild seas in an otherwise tropical environment. The lush landscape gave Marithia’s highlands an enchanting beauty that hid the darkness within. All those who had survived had banded together against the darkness and agreed to a new age of peace.
The great Dragons suffered immense losses of life in the war, and retreated back to Trahoterra, the island of Dragons. Elves and Humans founded new settlements as their homes had been destroyed in the war and held only bitter memories. Humans took refuge in the now deserted golden city built by the Ancients long ago; a city originally founded as a castle, but was so immense in size, that an entire population could live and build structures within its walls. They called the city Greenhaven, to symbolise the protection found within its walls and the lush surroundings. A new King was crowned to rule the lands, and order was swiftly restored. However, not all Humans wanted to live inside the walls of Greenhaven, opting instead to build their own settlements which were scattered throughout Marithia.
The Elves moved to the familiar territory of the woods, and utilised their enchantments and magic to found Veldrenn, the Elven City. Amidst this segregation, Vampires, who were no longer under Lucien’s control, wandered the lands aimlessly, feeding off whatever they could find. The Elves publically declared that no Vampire would be tolerated within the walls of Veldrenn after the Vampire King had allied with Lucien’s Forces of Darkness.
The Humans were more forgiving, much to the dismay of the Elves. Vampires were allowed to live amongst them and were treated as citizens of Marithia, as long as they agreed to abide by their laws. Breeding between Human and Vampire was strictly forbidden, Vampires were allowed to feed off prisoners and animals only. Any Vampire descendants of royal blood were excluded from the agreement, and would be killed on sight.
From time to time, rogue survivors of Lucien’s army attacked settlements. They were blind to the reality that the war had already ended. Tensions remained high, but the attacks became less frequent over time.
Lucien’s defeat sent him back to the underworld, where he waited patiently, anticipating the prophecy that would allow his return. The dark underworld existed in a parallel realm that could only be reached with the aid of powerful magic. Lucien, an ancient evil, never gave a reason for starting the war, and his motives were enigmatic to Marithians. However, over the long years, many Marithians had forgotten his name, and allowed his memory to become a distant one.
Vampires quickly established a civilisation within a civilisation, blending in with Human Marithians, and steering clear of Veldrenn. Over time, beauty returned to all of Marithia’s war ravaged lands. Sadly, this peace would be relatively short lived, as the agreement was about to be broken.
*
The air was blisteringly cold, forcing their teeth to chatter and their naked bodies to shiver uncontrollably. Their skin burned as the coarse ropes were fastened around their bare wrists. Three nervous Knights kept their swords drawn and pointed at the prisoners’ chests as they forced them into position.
“Off with their heads! Heretics!” the crowd chanted angrily, shaking their fists in the air.
As the executioners tied the ropes around the wooden posts, the horizon slowly began to brighten with the first signs of dawn.
“Silence!” yelled King Gruber, raising his hands high in the air.
“In these times we must be vigilant about keeping our city free of unwanted visitors. We have fought off demons and plagues that have threatened our very way of life,” said the King.
The crowd cheered in response; Gruber waved their cheers down to continue his speech.
“We have discovered a traitor who has not only lived within our walls, been trusted by us all as a high priestess Sorceress, but has also harboured a descendant of a Vampire King and defied our sacred laws by bearing his child. This simply cannot go unpunished!”
The crowd erupted into another chant, “Punish them! Punish them!”
At the base of the nearest castle wall was a little girl, barely in her teens. She was caged under heavy guard behind the crowd, and whimpered in fear as her cage was dragged into view and placed near her mother’s legs.
Kassina’s cage was made from solid wood, save the metal bars which were clamped into place over the opening.
“Silence!” repeated King Gruber, pointing at the cage.
“This abomination, half Vampire and half Sorceress, cannot be allowed to survive and live among us. The sins of the mother and father shall be punishable to their forbidden offspring... by death!”
“No! Mummy, please save me, you have to do something!” cried the girl desperately.
Niesha looked down at her pleading daughter’s cage with tearful eyes.
“My darling Kassina, there is nothing I can do to save us. They have used Rings of Silence and I cannot use my powers...” she began.
“Silence!” the King sliced through her words.
“Niesha, to think that the people trusted you to guide them, and you thought you could hide a descendant of the Vampire King, Delano, and get away with it? What could you possibly have to say for yourself?”
She raised her eyes furiously to meet his and spoke with venom through her quivering lips.
“Danton is the man I love, who has never harmed me or our daughter. You brand me a heretic, but it is you who are about to murder an innocent child. You are nothing but a cold blooded brute, completely blinded by your hatred of anything you do not understand.”
The crowd gasped and went quiet, only Kassina’s sobs could be heard. They all looked to the King in shock.
“You dare accuse your King of being a murderer? My spies could not be wrong, and that man you bore your child to is indeed a Vampire! But I make you this promise; if, in the next few moments, Danton is not burning from the touch of the sun, then I will let you all go! How is that for a so called brute?”
“No! Please just let him go!” pleaded Kassina, shaking her cage violently.
“Shut your trap,” yelled a guard. One guard smashed his fist hard into her cage, and another hit it with the hilt of his sword.
“Damn you to the endless fires, Gruber. You are a gutless bastard. I swear to you that my murder will be avenged and that your death will be a horrible and painful one,” spat Danton as the sun began to rise.
Danton gritted his teeth in anticipation as his skin began to blister and burn. Once the rays of the sun had breached his skin, he could hold back no longer and let out a blood curdling scream.
“No! Danton, my love! You bastard, Gruber, may your soul burn for all eternity!” cried Niesha.
Kassina broke down at the sight of her father burning. Her cries could be heard from lands far beyond the thick castle walls.
Kassina was startled when she felt invisible arms wrap around her, holding her tightly.
A dark voice filled her mind, ‘Kassina, finally the prophecy can be fulfilled. There is nothing I can do for your mother or father, but if you pledge your soul to me, I will give you power. I will make you the most feared Sorceress in all the lands. You will be able to make them all pay dearly for what they have done.’
“I don’t understand what you are saying. Who are you? What is a prophecy? Kill them, kill them all,” she sobbed, placing her head in her hands.
‘I am Lucien, the Demon of Darkness. It is said that a girl born of both darkness and light will destroy all living creatures and rule a new world under the Blood Red Moon. The seers have predicted your arrival for thousands of years. If you give yourself to me, then I will show you how to embrace the darkness, unleash the powers within you, and make everyone pay for their cruelty. But you need to decide now, as I can only save you if you allow me, and you don’t have long to decide.’
“Off with her head!” cheered the crowd with excitement.
“No, Mummy! Leave her alone!” cried Kassina.
She placed her face up against the ice cold bars of her cage, desperately trying to lay eyes on her mother.
“I love you darling, I will always...” began Niesha. Her words were cruelly interrupted, replaced by a sickening choking sound; the ringing of the blade echoing in the eerie silence.
Heavy drops of steaming blood pooled near Kassina’s cage before her mother’s head fell hard to the ground in front of her. Kassina let out a primal scream as she watched the life fade from her mother’s eyes.
“I will kill every last one of you! You will all die!” she yelled as her pain turned to a furious anger that engulfed her very being.
She shook her cage so violently that the guards had to use all of their weight to hold it in place.
“Guards, prepare to open the cage. This abomination will be stoned to death!” yelled the King.
The crowd erupted in cheers, their bloodlust exciting them.
‘Nobody who loves you remains in the realm of the living, but I will love you Kassina and I will let you grow to womanhood before unleashing your immortality. Do you want to be saved?’
“Yes Lucien. Save me, please!” she yelled.
The crowd laughed at her pleas while the guards readied the stoning pit.
‘And do you pledge your soul to the darkness, to fulfil the prophecy of the Blood Red Moon and serve me, Lucien, as your new god, and become my instrument of darkness for all eternity?’
“Yes, I will do anything. Save me!” cried Kassina.
“Nobody will save you child. It is time for you to die!” replied the King.
‘Repeat these words carefully after me. Liberate te ex inferis’
“Liberate te ex inferis” chanted Kassina as the cage was roughly dragged along the ground.
Suddenly the skies darkened with thick black clouds that blotted out the sun. The guards dropped the cage in shock when they realised it was completely empty. Kassina’s body hovered beside the cage, her eyes a fiery red and her hair slithered unnaturally in the air as if thousands of tiny snakes had grown from her skull. A voice of darkness exploded from her lips as Lucien spoke through her.
“Your world will never be the same again. The prophecy will be fulfilled!” yelled Lucien.
She raised her arm and pointed at the crowd, then turned and pointed at King Gruber.
“You will all die, and countless generations to follow will again live in fear until the time of the Blood Red Moon. Every last one of you will bow to me in a new world of darkness,” he continued.
Gruber ran in fear, escaping toward the perceived safety of his turret, locking the doors behind him as he ran.
One of the guards swung a sword at Kassina’s neck in an attempt to decapitate her. As he swung, she disappeared before their eyes. The sword landed deep in the chest of another guard, who screamed out in pain; his hot blood spurting into the air.
The dark clouds rumbled loudly as rain began to fall heavily onto the crowd. They screamed with pain as the rain turned to acid that began to melt the skin off their bones. King Gruber could only watch from his turret window as his peoples’ bodies disintegrated before him.
“By the Gods, what have I done?” he asked himself.
*
Kassina landed hard on the icy cold marble floor of the dark tower, bewildered and confused.
“Welcome to your new home in the underworld, Kassina. I am Lucien, and I am sorry for how you will feel at this moment, but the magic will wear off shortly,” he said.
She lifted her head in pain and vomited violently onto the floor; she wiped her mouth clean and cleared her vision. She could see the back of a tall figure hidden within a heavy ornate robe, decorated with images of skulls.
They were in a throne room, surrounded by Skeleton Warriors who bowed in her direction. Lucien turned around and reached down to pick her up from the floor and gave her an affectionate cuddle as she continued her sobbing.
“It’s okay Kassina, you are safe now. I will take you to your quarters for you to get some rest and warm up with some tea. We have much to discuss and you will need your strength.”
Lucien carried her gently down the dark corridors, holding her close to his chest as if he were comforting his own daughter. He laid a gentle kiss on her head and eased open the door to her new room, and tucked her into a warm bed, where she sobbed herself to sleep. Lucien stayed by her side the whole time, stroking her hair and singing her a lullaby to help her sleep. She was now his most important and cherished possession.
and rules state I cannot post a link... so... ummm.. Yeah I will just check out the rest of the forum until I work that problem out.
