Our legacy was very well known in the past, a civilization that's built within by the existence of mana, a power so mighty that it can even manipulate the aspect of reality itself.
With just a flick of a finger, one's desire can be granted, such a thing is what fuels our great civilization.
With mana of course comes the existence of magic. A powerful tool created by my people, and the one that paves the way to our prosperity.
Since the beginning of our time, magic is something that's like a strong foundation that shaped our daily lives, it has given us smiles, happiness, satisfaction, and most of all protection from those that threaten our very way of living.
—but aside from all the things that are mentioned, just like the moon, magic too has a dark side itself. Contrary to popular belief, magic wasn't just as simple as black and white as told in the books, because like all the tools that can be found in your shed, it too can be used as a weapon... a very potent weapon.
In exchange for all the benefits that magic has given us, it too also introduces us to fear, a fear of the end that's worse than death itself... because magic has a second nature and it's the one that we fear the most. The ability to destroy.
Although powerful as it sounds, magic is not some sort of omnipotent power, and like everything, it too has a limit, and that limitation foreshadows our downfall... our destruction...
—But the irony of everything was that we met our end in a much unforeseeable way. It was not because of our inability to completely understand the true nature of magic but was of our own fear of it. A power that is as mighty and dangerous... one couldn't help but have trepidation of brandishing it to its full potential, and because of that, it resulted in our utter demise.
**********
"This war is now going for its fifth decade now... their weapons are getting more and more powerful, and our once-reliable spells are now slowly getting negated by their growing numbers" an old man standing in a grand hallway warily speaks at the young person in front of him. "Our situation is going grimmer as time passes by, we're unable to withstand our losses, perhaps we have already lost this war..."
"Even so, hope is still not lost, we can still fight, and our city, Arcana is still standing tall, unscathed from all the destruction of the war! We can still take the fight to our enemies and meet them by the walls of this city"
"And what will happen after that? There's no way we can resist their onslaught... even if we manage to win the defense of this city what will it give us?! Nothing! They will simply return with a much greater force."
"Then what do you suppose you wanted us to do?! Flee?! Surrender?!"
"...."
"..."
"If only we can use the higher tier spells of the magic archive then we wouldn't be in this kind of situation... I still don't get it, why are we still hesitating?!" the young man named Magus cried in frustration to the old man in front of him.
"you know of this right master... our enemy is in no way holding back their might, they're waging total war on us! They wanted to annihilate us! To erase us from the surface of Ashtalt. The once-blue sky was now filled with flying monstrosities! They bombed us day in and night, and even if our forces surrender they will just mercilessly execute them! Now... answer me! Why do we, the mages of Arcana have to limit our power against these barbarians?!"
"I know how you feel but we must follow our creed of duty, using the forbidden spell on an unprecedented scale would leave a massive irreversible geographical impact on the affected area that it would render the land useless and uninhabitable for millennia to come"
"How can you even say that?! Does the death of our comrades, our friends, and loved ones mean nothing to you?!"
"..."
"Back then we were known as the five great sages, and now there's only two of us left! Even Liandra and Rias weren't spared by their barbaric act! Even more so... Marianne..." The young man clumps his hand into a fist.
"Magus your mind is being clouded by your anger! This is war, death will always be around us! The loss of one life doesn't outweigh and justify the destruction of the many"
"Marianne even sacrifices herself to ensure peace and yet they still pursue with their ambition! I still don't get it... we were the protector of this sacred city! The only five that were permitted to possess the grimoires! Why aren't we using this power to protect those we've sworn to protect? Answer me!"
"Besides protecting the people of Arcana, we also swore an oath to the god of this world to cater for all life and maintain the balance of this world! To think of unleashing the grimoires, have you gone mad?! As long as I'm still standing here I will not permit our army to destroy this world!"
"..." Magus suddenly came to a stop upon hearing the old man's words.
"Besides, haven't we also inflicted enough damage... our army only numbers a measly hundred thousand, and yet, you alone had already dealt them uncountable casualties. No matter how we justify our cause there is no denying that the world is weeping, it wanted this conflict to end, and we must do so"
"..."
"Magus listen to me... every kingdom that has risen has to fall someday after our era has ended, a new one will rise to take the mantle of responsibility... that's the cycle we're all a part of, and that's our destiny"
Silent then filled the whole room and everything seemed to be calming down now, but it was different for Magus. Despite the old man's speech and bravado, one thing is certain for Magus and It's that the current conclusion is unacceptable for him.
As if an explosion of high-pressure steam Magus then stares at the old man with fiery anger.
"Even after all we've been through! After all the trials.... all the pedagogy and bravado you've given me... the hardship we faced... our beliefs still differ to the very end! To be honest, I've been hoping now that we're been shoved and pushed to the corner, our last bastion, that you will now agree with me to grant what's left of our people their wish to abolish the restriction of our creed... -but in the end, I'm a fool for believing that. After my crusade, I shouldn't have abdicated all the authority to govern this land... you simply act according to what is written in the book... Accept our fate to lie in ruins? Is that truly how a ruler should act?!" Amid his words, Magus snaps his finger and a small distortion in space then starts to appear in his hand, it soon takes the shape of a pitch-black staff that was adorned by twelve crystals of different colors.
"But it doesn't matter anymore... after your fall..."
"I see... so you've come to that conclusion now huh Magus! You're planning to eliminate me so that the throne of this kingdom that remains empty for two centuries will rightfully be yours..." After understanding Magus's intentions, the old man also materializes his staff.
"To think that this once poor child that I've taken from the slums a centuries ago would grow to have such ambition..."
"..." Magus didn't utter another word and instead raised his staff in the air.
As Magus imbued the staff with his mana, its crown edge then began to glow with a brilliant blue aura that was seeping out from one of the gems of his staff.
"Queen of eternal cold, Fhione, hear my call,
For I, who governs the end summon your presence.
Whisper a breath so cold as the wind of the northern end of the world.
Grant everlasting slumber to those who wish to rest,
put them in a dream so deep that they became as silent as death.
The call for the harvest of soul draws near as their warmth escapes their breath,
In your loving bosom, they shall be consumed in cold agony.
Empty vessels with no soul, flesh shall embrace their stagnation as do the lake does during the cold winter calls!
DEATH BY COLD EMBRACE!"
As Magus finishes the last word of his chant, he unleashes a beam of pure white light that swallows the entire grand hall into solid ice.
"Great protector,
be my salvation,
the guardian of life,
The left-hand shield of the one true Gaia,
Serena of the forest!
SERENE GRACE SANCTUARY!"
As the ice magic began to swallow the entire room, the old man immediately cast a barrier that shielded him at the very last moment. As the raging ice magic subsided the old man let out a deep sigh of relief as he was seemingly untouched by such a powerful spell except for his cape that became frozen solid up to his shoulder.
Seeing that a moment too late he too will be frozen gives him a perception of just how dangerous this young man is.
"Stop this right now Magus! even after you've taken the throne, the grand Deus that resides in the stone of dominion will not acknowledge your authority! Only those who have the blood of the blue rose can rule this kingdom! even more so what is there to rule?! The kingdom is done for! There's no salvation... no hope... no tomorrow!"
"Then, I'll create that tomorrow!"
"Upon what? Ashes and blood of the world of which you'll destroy?!"
"IF NEED BE!"
"Then you are lost!" The old man yelled out, but as his barrier began to expire a blade traveling at the speed of light flew from the frigid mist and pierced through the weakened shield and into his stomach.
"GUH!" an unpleasant sound of a blade piercing a huge chunk of flesh can be heard amid the silence in the great hall.
"you talk too much"
"B-Blade of Light... Marianne's spell... How di- did you..." the old man weakly whispered as his strength left his body.
"You should've known better, after all, you've-" Magus suddenly stopped in his words as a vision of Marianne's face came to his mind.
"-It's probably for the best if we end it here" Magus then pulled the blade at the now lifeless body and returned it to its sheath before storing it in the distorted space.
"I am very sorry, but this is for the best of Arcana. I knew the entire kingdom was nowhere near salvation from all the damage of the war, and even knowing that our end was inevitable, I still wouldn't allow myself to simply concede to fate and accept all this for as long as our birth city still stands"
The young man then looked at the now lifeless body and gave a bow of respect as tears began to fall from his eyes.
"Master Leo, you have been my guardian ever since I was just a child, lost in the street and feeding myself out of things that I've stolen... I have nothing in mind at that time but to survive in my harsh environment, but you otherwise save me from that kind of life... you gave me hope, a purpose, and a chance to atone for everything that my past self couldn't do. Out of nothing, you gave me everything... A ray of hope to right all that's wrong. That's why I refuse to concede to our fate, I refuse to once again lose everything especially when I still haven't achieved my goal of why I'm still struggling in this world.
—That's why... Master Leo... I'm willing to burden myself with a sin. A sin that the world will not forgive... for the future of this kingdom, and for the woman and children of Arcana to be able to see another tomorrow..."
"I'm sorry and...
Everyone, I hope you all will forgive me..."
**********
A month later after the final confrontation between Magus and Leo, on the horizon was an army of dread marching towards the capital city Arcana. The army, consisting of more than a billion foot soldiers was accompanied by a horde of terrifying war machines that are made out of iron and steel as they continuously rumble on the field.
The army pushes onwards over the great plain of Micerne, a bountiful plateau that was named after the spirit of peace and obligation with only one goal in mind... Destruction.
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Reaching their predetermined rendezvous point, the infantries that march alongside their heavily armored vehicles steadily stare at the distance as a great wall slowly rises over the horizon, at last, they've arrived at the home city of their enemy.
For them, this will be their last battle. The final bastion of their enemy, the home capital of the once-known magic kingdom.
So much life was lost just to achieve such a feat, after forty-eight years of pure conflict and a mountain of bodies, all their efforts are finally coming to fruition... or so they all thought.
As the army arrives in front of the city gate they quickly fall into the formation and ready themselves for the upcoming siege. Artilleries, tanks, and all personnel immediately form into columns creating a wide battle line that stretches as the eye can see.
Some of the soldiers also started to dig their trenches and engineering began to erect fortifications and strong points, while others organized paths for their logistic supplies.
As everything falls into silence, the army then waits for the defender of the city to strike first as a courtesy for their impending demise.
-but to the army's dismay, not a single attack from the city wall was launched. The atmosphere on the battlefield was now at its highest peak of intensity which was only made worse by the eerie silence it gives... Another hour came to pass... But there was nothing... not a shout nor a warcry there was only silence... to the commander of the army's disappointment he reluctantly decided to start the siege.
"Hear me, my soldiers! I know your journey has been long and tiresome, but I present to you all, Arcana the capital city of our enemy!
The Fate of our world now rests upon you all, within those walls is a stone on which they believe that the god of this world resides. Capture it, and our kind will live in eternal prosperity, fail to do so and we will suffer more than we've already experienced! Need not spare any sympathies to the enemy as they are the very devils that wish for our annihilation as well!
This is the final battle! The battle between heaven and earth!
—
For that, my order is simple... kill every last one of them!"
As the command to start the siege got relayed to the rest of the army, a volley of high-velocity projectiles from all the tanks and artillery roars over from their battle line and hits the barrier that's protecting the city. Following the initial attack, an endless rain of bombs fell from the sky as an armada of flying steel came into sight to deliver their payload.
As the city got hammered from all the firepower, the barrier that was protecting the city held strong and shrugged off their endless onslaught. But their attack was relentless, and as the first week came to pass, the first crack in the barrier could soon be seen.
-Yet despite their preparation for the siege and with all the firepower they brought for the attack, the siege went on for another three weeks, but what they achieved was just to make several more small isolated cracks in the barrier. Everything seems to be not going as to what the invading army has planned.
Another couple of weeks came to pass, and all barrels of their tanks and artillery were now glowing hot, some even started to melt from all the continuous firing, what more, their logistics were now also running low on supplies, in terms of a worst-case scenario, they could have spent all their ammunition and potentially lose this battle when their enemy decided to counter-attack.
Fortunately, just after another week of soaking millions upon millions of bombs and shells, the barrier that was protecting the city simply could not take the punishment anymore, and as another volley of artillery was fired the sound of the barrier shattering could soon be heard.
Such a shattering sound was music to the ears of the invading army, they had just finished the first phase of their siege, and without any magic barrier for protection, everything would be downhill at this point.
But as that happens, with cold white mist, a young-looking man suddenly appears in front of the city gate.
**********
"ALL UNITS CEASE FIRE!" Seeing a mysterious person in front of the city gate the general ordered the whole army to cease all actions and exit out his command vehicles.
"General, the person in question wishes for your presence" An infantryman reported which was immediately acknowledged by agreeing to the request.
Approaching the person in front of the gate the general gave a very questionable face.
"Good day supreme commander of the grand alliance coalition, Gilbert of the Alpiro Empire" the young man greeted the general "I am Magus, king of Arcana"
"King? I see so that means you're the last of the five sages... I could have sworn central intelligence said there's still two of you..." but upon saying those words, Gilbert suddenly came to a quiet and then laughed upon a realization "I see, well then, I probably must congratulate you first your majesty, but I'll cut to the chase, are you here to surrender or not?"
The young man couldn't help but laugh along with the person in front of him before giving him a serious face "Truth be told, I actually considered surrendering. But then again... what will become of us? wouldn't you just slaughter everyone in this city the moment we open up the gate? Just like what you did to Belfrio, Althea, and Sateria. Women and children alike that are still innocent to the world beyond our border extinguished... and for what?!"
"Well then, I have no further business with you" With the reply, Magus clumps his hand into a fist out of anger.
"I see... but supreme commander, it seems that there was a slight misunderstanding, I didn't wish for your presence to offer my surrender, but to offer you the chance to surrender. Lay down your weapons and surrender all your forces to me, or face utter total annihilation!" the man gave a bold statement that shocked the general and his escorts, clearly a very bold bluff.
"Don't mock me you spawned of devils, your kingdom's history ends now, this great alliance of all the nation around the world and its sixth coalition of three billion men will stop at nothing until we have wiped every last of your kind!"
"Do not take my generosity too lightly! I came here bearing goodwill from reminiscing of the past relationships we've tried to establish... do not let it fall on deaf ears... I swear I will hesitate no more after all the atrocities your men have committed! But even so, it is also not too late to start anew! So please just leave, and go back to your land... That's all I ask for all of you..."
"Were done here king of Arcana. ALL UNITS CONTINUE THE SIEGE!" As Gilbert relays his order via his radio, he then turns away from the young man to return to his post. A volley of fires soon proceeds to rain down hell on the city of Arcana.
**********
Magus upon the quick unsuccessful exchange of words now had no choice but to only give a respectful bow to the general who was now walking back to his command post.
Clearly, the person in question was a very ruthless man, he was the sole reason why many of his people were killed helplessly in a one-sided massacre, especially those cities that were first conquered by him... There's no better word to describe his action than the word gnocide.
As anger swells inside of Magus' mind, he quickly summons his staff and aims it at the man who's responsible for all his loss.
Upon seeing such action, Gilbert's escort quickly aimed and fired their weapon at Magus, but as the high-speed bullets came to contact with the young man it simply turned to dust and disappeared into the wind.
As that happens the army that had just received the radio command from Gilbert, continued their destruction of the city. But, unbeknownst to them was that inside of the city wall, not a single soul could be seen. Streets, houses, or even the keep where citizens are supposed to take shelter during a siege were all empty, everyone seems to have just disappeared and vanished. mysteriously.
"Know that even in death your sins will not wash away!"
As Magus held his staff high, it began to release an Aura of bright green from one of the gemstones, Magus then began his chant.
"I call for the keeper of the northern wind,
Zahpyhr, the whisperer of the million blades.
In my name cut those that oppose my will,
Silent those who disturb thy peace,
And erase those who are against my wish.
no mercy for the wicked,
no salvation for the cowards,
For they are to serve for the banquet of killings!
GALE EDGE VORTEX!
As Magus finishes his chant, with a snap of his fingers a strong gust of wind then begins to appear above the sky and immediately heads straight towards the person he despises the most.
As the wind made contact with the general, it then quickly began to show its true nature as one of the tier eight spirit art of the magic archive.
As if millions upon millions of invisible dancing blades had just suddenly appeared on the battlefield, the harmless gust of wind then transformed into a large vortex of deadly currents that indiscriminately cut through anything in its path, be it iron, earth, and ultimately bones and flesh.
Carrying its caster's anger, Gilbert's body was mercilessly shredded by the wind to its cellular level that it immediately turned into unrecognizable bits.
After the spell subsided, what was left of Gilbert and his escorts was nothing but a speck of red dust that was wildly fluttering in the air.
Despite his success in killing the person who orchestrated the death of his people, Magus has no time to savor the joy of his kill and with an angered heart magus raises his staff once again and prepares for his next spell "Truly, I wish for you all to forgive me..."
"Forgive me Risvelt... Marianne..."
...
... ...
"Entropy... Fhione... it's time, I am ready..."
"Yes my lord" a pair of feminine voices then echoed out as the blue and black crystal of the staff began to emit a strong light.
"I ruler of the end summons you the guardian of eternal frost,
you who they call the hunter of the northern end of this world,
The trusted hound of the Fhione,
The beast among the living beast,
And the one they feared as the world's ender!
In my name, swallow those who do not heed my call,
And punish those who have wronged my cause.
Freeze their soul over the blanket of hail,
for their warmth of hope be swallowed by cold and despair.
Stagnation for all the living and non-living,
Not a step forward.
Not a step back.
Non shall move upon the hammer of my judgment!
All life will cease to exist.
Rivers will run stale,
And the wind shall embrace eternal cold and dejection.
Cursing this world in an eternal cold, plains shall turn to a canvas of white!
For I longed for this icy hell to break loose and freeze over the world a million times!
...
... ...
... ... ...
Beast of the Cold End...
Absolute zero!"
As the chant was completed and the spell activated, a frost cloud that stretched over as far as the eye could see then started to form over the sky, not long after the temperature started to rapidly drop as snow and hail started to pour.
**********
Witnessing the sudden drop in temperature the attacking army was alarmed by the sheer magnitude of its power, not once had they encountered something like this in the past, it was clearly beyond their speculation.
To think that there exists a magic spell that was able to control the weather was simply unthinkable and unheard of for all who have no affinity to aether and mana, but no matter how hard you deny it, such spells did exist, though normally those spells would only be under the sealed tier nine to fifteen classification in the magic archive. -but this isn't just a normal weathering spell, instead, this spell falls to the highest classification of all spirit magic that's ever been classified.
'Absolute Zero' also known as the world ender, is one of the eighteen most powerful spirit spells that was ever recorded in the history of Arcana, and these kinds of spells are what the people of Arcana have always dreaded... the grimoires or so they called it.
As the frost cloud continues to brew, the ground is now also beginning to be blanketed by a thick layer of snow. Upon the continuing hailstorm, A roar was then heard, a premonition of what was to come for the worst.
With a thundering roar from above cloud grew louder and louder... it soon then came to an eerie silence, but what came next was a powerful shockwave that rattled the battlefield. Even tanks that were half-buried in the hail and snow were all flung up as high as ten meters from the ground. With another deafening roar that took all the attention of all the soldiers on the battlefield, a menacing dragon of pure white and blue emerged from the break of clouds and introduced itself to the battlefield in a spectacular view.
"world ender... Zero... No... Lydia..." Magus looks into the sky in awe as he witnesses the magnificent white dragon that he has summoned. "Lydia! Hound of Fhione... Please... grant me my wish... swallow this forsaken world into its cold... bitter... end!"
As if hearing its caster's wish, the dragon named Lydia bowed to Magus before letting out another deafening roar and beginning its rampage across the battlefield.
"All units focus on that creature!"
"Arghh!"
"I can't feel my legs, I'm frozen help!"
"Mama save me!"
"-why aren't you firing!"
"I-I can't the gun froze up!"
"-God save us all"
"Guuuaahhh!"
Chaos and despair consume the battlefield and with every flap of the dragon's wing, cold chilling wind bursts out to the field freezing the ground solid.
Frozen End - Lydia Scene [https://i.imgur.com/P3lQCfx.jpeg]
Turning its attention to the countless numbers of machinery and soldiers across the plain the ice dragon let out another roar before swallowing the army in its sight with its deadly breath.
As the cold mist from the dragon's breath subsides, as if in some kind of art exhibit, rows upon rows of ice statues of infantrymen, tanks, and artillery soon emerge.
—Frozen hell. That's the only word that can describe what happened on that day. A point in history in which not a single blade of grass will ever grow again for millions of years to come...
After witnessing the carnage Magus let out a depressing sigh as if regretting everything, But nonetheless, he knows that what he did was something that cannot be reversed and that the ice dragon will not stop at anything until all part of the world is covered in ice.
Standing over the city gate two figures then appeared beside Magus, one was a spirit resembles that of a silver-haired woman that was adorned with a bluish ice crystal dress, while the other was a similar spirit but this time was adored with pitch-black hair, a pair of raven wings, and was veiled with a dark dress that oozes an incredible amount of malicious aura.
"My lord, you've unleashed my hound to the world, do not expect a single blade of grass to grow for all eternity... Tell me... why... -Why burden yourself with such a load?!"
"For my people to live on" Magus replied.
"I've contracted many mages in the past, they all come and go, different faces, different aspirations, and goals, though there is one thing they all have in common, they all end the same way. Swallowed by the guilt of unleashing a fraction of my power to the world, they ended theirs..." The spirit named Fhione then caresses Magus's face with her hand "-It's something that I couldn't bear to watch no matter how many times it happened, especially for you who freed me from my eternal prison... So promise me... promise me to not have any more regret from this point on"
After that Fhione then returns to her blue crystal that rested on the crown of Magus's staff.
"And what of the kingdom Arcana?" The black-haired spirit asks.
"The kingdom will live on by its people... as for this city. It will now lie as a relic of the future's past, reminding them of what had transpired here"
"I see"
"May our fall be the spark of our return in this forsaken world once again...
I have sinned and cursed this land, but I promised you all, we will return to this world once again"
----------------------------------------
We then, greetings my fellow novel junkie. If you made it through this point I would like to first thank you for taking up this novel.
As for an introduction, I am Vincent, families and friends refer to me as Vinz, my pen name is Frostier and as far as I know I'm just your average guy who's obsessed with literature.
This book, "Legend of Arcana: The Legacy of the Forgotten" is my first novel, so you could say I'm an amateur.
This novel has been a passion project of mine for a very very long time. I had already laid out a solid plan for this series (Yes this is going to be a series), especially for its world-building.
One thing that I'm really concerned about is my grammar, English really isn't my first language nor my forte so really I hope that I'll be able to deliver this story properly.
One last thing, credit to my Illustrator Ein VTM for creating my cover art and the illustration of Lydia.
Yeah, I guess that's all for the prologue, The Frozen End.
If you have any questions you can leave them down here and I'll try my best to respond to all of them, of course minus the spoilers.
I hope you all will join me on this journey as we tackle the world of Ashtalt.