The elegant wind of Faelok suddenly stopped, and the once bright red sun turned black, turning the world to a shade of purple. Vannese looked as if she had stopped breathing, fear filled her eyes as she slowly turned around to see a figure made of pure shadow, its body twitching unnaturally. Bones could be heard cracking as its arms, legs, back, and neck twitched to the point of breaking before twitching back into place. The creature's only notable feature was a large, crooked, shadowy smile. The sound of the wind was replaced by a whispery laugh that echoed, making sounds as if thousands were laughing all at once.
"I uh... I think it's time to leave."
Jeff managed to speak nervously. The creature stopped all movement for a mere second before exploding forward. Its legs moved unnaturally, like a marionette controlled by an amateur puppeteer. Its arm reached out, and its fingers curled around Jeff's neck.
His eyes widened in shock. The creature had just cleared hundreds of feet in seconds. An icy cold shock jolted through Jeff's body. His vision faded to black, and soon, the sound of the world disappeared; he was in a void of complete silence.
A firm breath could be heard to his right; Jeff quickly spun around, only to find nothing. Reaching out his hand, he felt a wall all around him. He began to panic when an ethereal voice whispered in the darkness.
"I feel you... so much pain, so close.... Just a push, I think."
Suddenly, a scene began constructing itself in front of him. Jeff felt himself start to shrink, his clothes turning into a blanket, and he lay on the floor. Two people could be seen in a field—a woman and a man. He didn't recognize them, but he felt a connection with them, as if they were family.
They were panicking, grabbing items, and storing them in a cart in a half-hazardous manner. In the distance, a loud screech could be heard coming from a tree line a few feet from them. They both stopped what they were doing and looked toward the forest.
Hundreds of glowing white eyes looked back at them. The two looked at each other first, then at Jeff.
"Take him, get him out of here."
A frightened but brave voice escaped the man's mouth. The woman quickly ran over and picked up Jeff. Over her shoulder, he saw an army of men in greenish silver armor riding some black beasts with two sets of front legs, one set of back legs, and a terrifying maw filled with yellow, rotted teeth. Before Jeff could even think, he was suddenly ripped out of the strange, magical scene and found himself on his Knees. Vannese quickly grabbed his hand, yanked him to his feet, and ran towards the door. A piercing screech filled with pain could be heard as they entered the door into the natural realm. As quickly as the Etherial door opened, it slammed shut. Jeff stared at the door without uttering a single word; his mind was racing, seeking an explanation. What was that thing? Who were those people?
"A... Shadow Lich... In Faelok.. how?" Vannese stood shocked.
"Those of corruption have never reached Faelok before.... How?"
"Corruption? As in Corrupt magik, you can't survive the use of corrupt Magik; everyone knows that. What do you mean?" Jeff looked upon Vannese with pure, disturbed curiosity. Vannese stepped back, horror and fear filled her eyes.
"No, only the humans of the walled city die when using corrupt magik.. Your people, the humans magik here originated from the ancient druidic magik of the elfkin, it's evolved within them and become something new. It's as if it's bound to their very souls. The magik is unique; there's nothing like it in the world beyond the wall. When the people here attempt to use corrupt magik, it creates a conflict within their bodies like a battle of archaic forces."
As Vannese spoke, she made her way up the stairs and grabbed a book from a shelf, and opened it. Vannese began to speak.
"We call it Silven, A new form of magik, one that intertwines with one's soul rather than inhabiting their body like the five Archainum. This makes the new Silven Archainum quite powerful. However, it fights and rejects the other Archainums, making it hard to use them, but for some reason, it treats The Corrupt Archanium like poison, and in its struggle against it kills its host." She handed Jeff the book, set on a page with an image of a humanoid with a strange greenish energy within.
"Silven, we just call it magik, and there are various forms of it. How do you classify those?" Jeff looked at Vannese with curiosity, A curiosity that seemingly eclipsed the shock of what he just saw, as if nothing happened at all.
"That's not important now, that thing that attacked us, it wanted you.... he's awake. They said this would happen; they said he would return. What happened back then was an atrocity, and he wants revenge. I'm Afraid I can't explain, it's not the fae's place. Im sorry"