Mana. Magic. These two words have wrought countless stories and legends into existence. From mighty Dragons and world shaking mages, to heroes and holy swords. But there is always a dark side to everything. This is a tale of Gods, sinners, terror and the dark side of even the most holy of things. This world of magic and fantasy isn’t as bright and forgiving as one might hope from the stories of old.
Year 186, Draconis Era
Astra Capital City, Levin Empire
Farror
In a small shack in the middle of the great city’s outer slums, a beautiful silver haired woman was amid the labour of giving birth. Her eyes a deep and mesmerizing purple that could leave one’s soul stirred. She wore a dress of black silk, embroidered with golden dragons dancing all along her dress. High cheekbones to accentuate her already noble bearing, and plump red lips that stood out on her pale face as a blood drop in snow. Struggling and writhing in pain as her baby refused to cooperate with her desperate urges to finish letting the child come into this grand and beautiful world, she screamed. A scream from such a beautiful and enchanting woman should have made the world stop and the Heavens weep. But alas time stops for no one, no matter how beautiful or how much we would wish it to.
“Milady you must push yourself more! There is no time and Master Roran would not wish his child to be die before he saw the light of day. ‘He’ is coming and I do not think that even your magic can fool let alone stop one such as him. You will be caught soon if the child isn’t born now!” A cloaked figure exclaimed as it emerged from the shadows of the shack and began aided the silvered beauty.
“Do you not think I am PUSHING!? This child refuses to be born!” The lady coolly said as another bout of contractions and series of screams ensued. After another agonizing minute two more cloaked figures appeared and assisted the first figure with helping the Lady and trying to easing her pain. Cool damp clothes patted away her ever increasing sweat as time continued unabated.
Almost a full hour after the cloaked individuals started their task the child had finally relented and allowed nature to take its course. Life and been born in this dreary and dreadful slum. A child had been born. As if heralding the child’s birth an earth-shaking explosion sounded from the heart of Astra City. In the royal palace’s main wing to be precise. The child that was born was not like most would expect a silver haired mother to birth. He was born silent and no amount of prodding from the cloaked figures would make him answer. Only silence filled the shack aside from the lady’s panting breath.
“Give him to me!” The woman finally demanded after catching her breath and sitting up to see her child lying still in her servant’s arms and silent as the earth. Receiving her child and checking his gender and wrapping her son in her dress she softly whispered so only he could hear. “Awake my son. You must live for both your father and I in this life. I am a terrible mother and your father too hated by this world to take care of you. But my son we love more than anything in the world that is why you must live for us.”
Amidst her soft whisper tears gently fell upon the newborn. And cradled in his mother’s sweet warm embrace the babe cried. He let out a cry for his mother to know that he was alive, alive and healthy. Smiling at her precious son a soft chuckle that matched the ringing of bells left the woman’s blood red lips.
“Lady Anise! Name the young master so we may leave this god forsaken place!” The same figure called in anxiousness.
“He carries both Roran’s and my lineages… My clan will kill him and I am much too noticeable to travel and raise him. Roran why did you leave before our son’s birth?” A bitter thought escaped Anise’s lips. Shocking the three servants into silence by the repercussions that would be had if this was known to the world. “Roran’s people were Heaven’s mightiest soldiers. They dominated all foes and brought Heaven’s light to the world with military might. His first name shall honour that. His second shall honour the sky’s that my Ancestor ruled. And he is of royal and warrior blood so his last name shall bridge the two. His name shall be Lucifer, Lucifer Aeroic Khan.”
“Bringer of Light!”
“The First Angel’s name!”
Astonished whispers answered Anise’s choice of name. Her child was bound to extraordinary just from the magnificence of his name.
“He will follow his father’s inheritance, then when he succeeds he shall come here and find mine. DO not let him know of his history till he succeeds the first inheritance! You three are our most loyal retainers, take my son and raise him as your own. Love and guide him where Roran and I cannot. Please as a last wish from me, take my son and escape here so that he may live for us both.” Anise sobbed as she held out her still crying child to her aid that has stood beside her since childhood till now almost 30 years of time.
With bended knees and bowed heads the three servants accepted their lady’s wish without the slightest of hesitation. Carefully receiving the young lord, the assumed leader of the retainers quickly wrapped her new charge in her cloak and silently left the worn-down shack in silence only to be followed by the other two. Weeping at the soon distant figures of her best friend and child leaving, Anise bitterly smiled at this world’s cruelty, racism and unreasonable ostracization of its people. Looking at the rot and hole filled ceiling of the shack she eventually closed her eyes and prayed for her son’s safety and happiness should he be so lucky as to have them.
BOOM
The shack exploded from an unknown source as soon as Anise finished her prayer, she was blasted into the cold dirt amidst the rubble of the explosion. Coughing up blood her already pale face from childbirth paled even more making the silvered beauty seem like a spectre of the dead in her black and bloodied gown. Slowly but surely pushing her body up after coughing out a full quart of blood Anise’s eyes turned icy cold at the feeling in the air. The feeling of mana. Of someone’s very familiar hateful magic. Glaring up at the sky as she barely managed to sit up Anise couldn’t help but curse her family for allowing such a person into her home.
“Anise my darling what are you doing here?” A voice that sounded out across the entire city echoed out. A voice that seemed to make the world stagnate by it’s power and sound. Soon a young man in shining gold armour descended from the sky to float above the slums where Anise sat glaring as cold as the 9th hell at the man. The young man’s armour was as ornate as humanly possible and seemed more for show than use. The plate engraved with an eagle, wings spread. Pauldrons that couldn’t possibly allow its wearer any sort of backward or upward mobility. Those were only the most glaring issues of the golden suit of impracticality, even worse was the ornate and lavish mantle he wore of solid gold silk a rare silk that even one yard of silk string could feed a family for a year. “Why is my darling dragonet injured in such an ugly place? Why weren’t you in the castle seeing as today is the day of our engagement.” The impractical tin questioned in an almost believably honest manner. Another reason for Anise’s hate towards this so-called fiancé, he is a man like a snake. He could stab a dagger into your heart while reciting poetry about how much he loves you.
“I will never let myself be engaged to one such as you.” An icy reply answered the ‘honest’ question of the gleaming serpent of a man.
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“ANISE!”
A loud bellow shook the earth and sky around the great city. If the voice before was described as astonishingly powerful then this voice was soul shaking. It caused crying babes to silence, whores to stop their trade, children to wet themselves and cry, injured and sick to die in a purge. It was like a God had graced the land of Farror. Anise was immediately lifted into the air floating level to her hated fiancé and seemingly bound by invisible ropes as she herself did not have the strength to stand let alone fly. Fear instantly appeared on the snake’s face and steely resolve on Anise’s as the pressure of one of the few Purple Saints crushed the area around the two. The pressure alone killing all beings in its range.
“What have you done you foolish girl…” The voice resounded yet again.
Bracing herself for the voice to kill her in anger, she responded proudly “I have done my duty.”
“YOU HAVE FAILED IT!”
“I know my duty better than anyone. Even you Father.” Anise quietly said.
“…”
Deafening silence came back in reply. Shortly after her response a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair appeared in front of her. Her father the man in front of her had appeared as if from nothing. He wore a long purple robe similar to the ancient Chinese of Earth’s shenyi. A gorgeous robe that expressed to the public the wearer was king amongst men. Similar golden dragons flowed around the robe much like Anise’s black gown, but this one made the gold dragons seem alive! Anise’s father is said to be the most handsome of men in his youth yet looking at him now the same could still be said. He possessed the air of a monarch, a strong jaw and sword like eyebrows out lined a perfectly balanced face of wisdom and strength. His eyes matching his daughter’s: a deep purple except with reptilian slit pupils.
“Anise. Whose?” Was all he said. Yet those two words echoed in every person of Astra’s mind like an unconscious command. Even Anise or the snake next to her were forced under this magical compulsion that these words had.
“Roran.” Escaped those trembling and hesitating lips of Anise as she could only resist her father’s might for a second in her current state. Losing almost half her body’s blood and using vital life essence and mana to birth her son into the world, Anise was weak. So; weak, her father could barely stop his own presence from killing her. And as the name of the boy’s father entered the air, thunder resounded in the sky. An intense hatred flashed through the golden tin can’s eyes at the mention of the name: Roran. A being he hated for being humiliated by and beaten multiple times and to top it off someone who impregnated his would-be wife! Only grim understanding showed on the King’s face in contrast.
“Your Highness, release me from your Saint Domain. I am leaving, leaving this place where one’s words are not kept.” Finally, one of the floating trio said. It so happened to be the would-be fiancé.
“You are one to talk about lies considering you are more like a snake than anything else. You, the one who betrayed your own friend after he saved you countless times just because of your selfishness and greed! Your sin suits you quite well!” Anise screamed in reply, and as soon as she finished the king sighed and released them both from his Domain while continuing to support Anise’s flight.
With a face, almost as green as the proverbial green hat he wore. The young man swallowed his rage and flew off to the north, returning to his own kingdom. After the golden gleam from the young man vanished into the horizon space warped as Anise and her father disappeared from the slums of the city. Appearing in stone cell Anise collapsed without her father’s magical support. With a click the black metal of the bars locked into place as her father appeared outside the cell, bitterly looking at his daughter. The daughter who was heralded as genius for her magical aptitude and summon of a Pride High Dragon. At the age of 20 she became the youngest in the Levin Empire to become a Green Magus, shocking the surrounding kingdoms and empires. This daughter of his was outstanding in her appearance so much that by the time she was 9 there were over 12 different crown princes asking for her hand as principal wife. Because of her beauty and talent the royal advisers elected to name her Saintess of the Levin Empire and sealing her as future icon for the people. This forced her to miss out on her childhood to learn the etiquette of a lady younger than normal for a princess.
At the age of 15 after 6 brutal years of ‘training’ in the ways of a lady and magus Anise left the Levin Royal castle to adventure and experience the world like most young people gifted with mana. After 1 year of training she met with a young man named Cailren, another royal scion out adventuring. AFter many twists and Cailren’s persistence that rivaled a bloodhound, the two eventually travelled together throughout Farror. After 2 and a half years the two found a warrior bloodied and limping fighting a Rank 3 Mid Order Thunder Grizzly. A Beast they had received a bounty to hunt for a nearby city. Armed with only a halberd the injured warrior used light magic to slowly heal himself while fighting the Grizzly. The Thunder Grizzly is an extremely aggressive Beast that attacks any living being that appears in its territory, regardless of the difference in strength. As one that was raised in the likeness of a saintess Anise quickly went to assist the warrior with her powerful Pride Spirit materializing and engaging the Grizzly in savage combat allowing the injury ridden warrior to rest and recover. Soon Cailren began his assault as a Red Squire his strength was not high but his Element was extremely hard to deal with: Lightning. Able to stun foes and also one of the fastest of the Elements Lightning users are notorious for their sneak attacks and that is what Cailren did. Slashing the tendons of the Beast with his most powerful strike and aided with a sword only a royal could ever use he disabled the Beast’s right leg. Allowing Anise’s Pride Dragon SPirit to Suppress the Grizzly, and thus enabling the halberd warrior to use his remaining mana to smite the injured and suppressed grizzly, killing it with a rending slash to the Beast’s unguarded neck.
This shocking battle was what would eventually lead to the warrior with the halberd: Roran, and Anise falling in love. Causing the greedy and pompous Cailren to betraying the only man who would treat him as a best friend for a year and half. Roran was a taboo in Farror, and Cailren knew that from their friendly talks resulting from Roran’s trust. Roran was, well is a pure blood Nephilim, one of God’s Abandoned Children or earlier known as Heaven’s Mightiest Soldiers. A race that was exiled from Heaven and soon hunted by inquisitors on the land of Farror, where the Light Element and Heaven’s influence is strongest. It had been 5 years since Anise left her home in the Levin Empire and she needed to return to check before her father sent out soldiers searching for her. With her two companions in tow she returned home to Astra City.
Being with Anise for 5 years allowed both Roran and Cailren to know her background. This gave Cailren a savage idea to separate the two and allow him to have Anise all to himself. He secretly sent news to his home and to Anise’s father telling them of what had happened over their 5 year adventure. Stating to Anise’s family that she was manipulated into loving the continent’s most hated race; a Nephilim, and that she was returning to announce their love. While saying to his family that he had managed to conquer the renowned saintess Anise Levin’s heart and that he was going to announce their love to her father, but a nephilim and somehow stole her heart using evil means and he was trying to save her. Both these letters set two empire’s military and royal families into action. Levin, did nothing on the surface but internally they created a trap that not even a fly could escape from. While Cailren’s home of Warrik; sent over a delegation including the emperor, Cailren’s father. Cailren’s father was a Blue King and mighty warrior skilled in the art of the katana and known for being able to fight those above his level in strength relying purely on his blade skill. This betrayal led to Roran barely escaping alive, missing an arm and internally bleeding. His current life and death unknown to all and Anise and Cailren’s engagement.
In the present, Anise’s father couldn’t help but sigh at the situation. His bloodline and posterity sullied by the most hated Nephilims. The Levin Empire was founded by a High Shadow Dragon that had turned human with it’s immense power. This had caused the royal family of Levin to be the descendants of a true High Dragon and a Shadow Element one at that. The Dark Element and its sub-elements were not inherently seen as evil by the people of Farror only those that committed evil acts. Yet racism is still strong in the various empires and kingdoms of the continent as seen by Roran and Anise’s pitiful situation. And now an abomination of their holy and pure Dragon bloodline had been tainted by Heaven’s unwanted berzerkers. The humiliation Levin would face because of his willful and genius daughter. How could He, the Emperor of Levin, face his ancestors now!? After staring at his now unconscious daughter for almost 15 minutes the emperor could only painfully sigh.
“I hope your abomination at least becomes something worthy of your sacrifice and our family’s honour, Anise. Because if not we are all doomed.”
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Hope you enjoyed the start of my hobby lol leave a comment and rate please! More coming this weekend