Chapter 1: The Echo of the First Light
A hundred centuries ago, the world of Aethelgard was a tapestry woven from the very threads of magic. It was a time of myth, a time when ancient spirits of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire danced among mortals. The very air was alive with possibility, and the power of creation was a birthright. Juliana was the master weaver of this tapestry, a sorceress of unmatched power who was loved and revered. Her heart, however, harbored a hidden ambition that burned brighter than any flame. She sought to create a fifth form of magic, one born not of nature, but of her own will.
She called it The Shadow, a magic fueled by chaos, discord, and the darkest recesses of the human soul. The very moment Juliana wove this magic into the world, the tapestry of Aethelgard began to unravel. Rivers turned to poison, winds became violent storms, and the very ground beneath their feet grew barren. The whispers of the Shadow magic seeped into the minds of men, turning neighbor against neighbor, and the world descended into madness.
Horrified by what Juliana had unleashed, the ancient sorcerers of Aethelgard rose against her. In a final, cataclysmic battle, they managed to sever Juliana from her power and banish her spirit into a realm of eternal shadow. To save the world from total annihilation, they were forced to make a terrible choice: they sealed all magic away, locking it behind a veil of forgetfulness. Magic became a myth, a legend, and the world moved on, ignorant of the power that had nearly destroyed it.
A hundred centuries passed. The land of Aethelgard was now a kingdom of steel and stone, where kings and armies ruled. The tale of Juliana was just a bedtime story, and magic was a word whispered by fools. But the ancient prophecy remained: "When the Shadow returns, the last light will rise."
The Shadow did not return in a single wave, but in a creeping tide. The first ripple was a fraction of Juliana's power, rediscovered by two cunning witches, Ariana and her accomplice, Tia. They infiltrated the royal court, and with a mind-manipulation spell, they began to sow the seeds of chaos from within, turning King Ottachi into a tyrant and his subjects into a squabbling mob.
But in the king's court was a young man named Arthur, the last descendant of the lineage of light. The spark of pure magic, a gift from the ancient sorcerers, was locked inside him, a ticking time bomb of destiny he was afraid to unleash. It wasn't until his friend Elias, a scholar with a hidden knowledge of the ancient book of magic, urged him to act that Arthur finally embraced his power. He cast a counter-spell of pure magic, a wave of light that broke the witches' spell and freed the kingdom.
With their magic nullified, Ariana and Tia were powerless. The king's guards easily captured them, and for the first time in centuries, the kingdom was truly free. But the victory was short-lived. The witches were only the beginning. Their petty chaos was a mere tremor compared to the great earthquake that was to come. The defeat of the witches had awakened something far more sinister, a new threat that sought to claim all of Juliana's dark legacy for itself.