CHAPTER 2 "I saw an old story unfold"
My mind went blank for a second. Wasn't the author's name Raphriam? Is somebody playing a trick on me? No, why would someone waste time like that.
"Why are you dazed? Here's the letter," Nicole said, handing me the letter.
Taking the letter from her, I closely examined it, it seemed fine so I carefully removed the wax seal. The letter stated the following:
[Dear reader, as I see you have brought my book to your humble abode and read up to my final words. I congratulate you for treading the path of yore.
Though a difficult and horrifying path, it will make you understand the value of the past and the weight of the unknown future. May we meet soon enough at the start of Chaos.
– Raphriam Abraham, the one who trod the path of yore.]
The letter was weird, and the contents sounded like nothing more than a bunch of gibberish. This was supposed to be a joke, right?
"Nicole, did you see who sent the letter? Maybe it's a joke or something," I inquired, my face felt tired as I thought about all the scam letters I recieved this past few weeks.
"No, I don't know," she protested. "It was there in your mailbox when my parcel arrived."
She pointed at the stack of old books kept neatly on her work table. Since she was a historian, she had many old books sent to her for translation purposes. She was pretty knowledgeable too, so I took the chance and asked awkwardly.
"Um, so if there was..."
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
"Was what?" she asked, seemingly excited.
"Well, if there was a book which had the year of Elves written on it, what could be the reason behind it?"
"Oh, that. Well, who knows," she replied in an annoyed tone. She paused for some time then continued, "Maybe it's a fake to scam people into buying it or a translation of a record written or found during the year of the Elves." She didn't explain further. I was thankful because if she did continue, it would have taken hours before she stopped babbling.
"Thanks, Nicole." After thanking her, I ran to my room to continue the book.
*********
Elves and Giants, the two races being the origin of many magical creatures like the Merlock and the beastman, are a well-known story. But where did 'they' originate from, and what was this world like before these human-like races, along with humans who fell from Heaven, populated this world? These questions shall be answered in this book.
Chapter 1: Origin before Genesis.
Let's start with the dawn of time, in the age of fire, when Eden still danced in the Heavens. Our world lay barren, devoid of life or even a whisper of a cloud. Humanity, then immortal and towering amidst the celestial splendor, dwelled in a realm beyond our comprehension.
They celebrated festivals with higher beings on a regular basis. Amidst a festival of revelry, the daughters of man caught the eyes of Angels, beings of divine grace. They took mortal brides, a union that was both a celebration and a tragedy.
From this union, born of heavenly desire and mortal flesh, came forth a calamity veiled in the guise of fortune.
As the angelic offspring tore from their mothers' wombs, spilling forth blood that birthed the witch, a darkness unfurled.
These children, blessed with celestial might yet bound by mortal frailty, became known as Nephilim — creatures neither wholly angelic nor wholly human.
Witnessing this abomination, the Angels cast out the Nephilim and their kin, condemning them to the mortal realm. With them came the Baldm Witches, born of the resentful blood of their mothers. The first of the Nephilims and Baldm Witches were vile, steeped in corruption from the Great Eye, but a second generation emerged, clinging to sanity amidst the Chaos.
********
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Vergil, want to have dinner at my place?" I heard Nicole shout, inviting me to dinner at her place. I closed the book and went to have dinner. The next chapter had a pretty good name. "Birth of a Hero," I muttered softly.