Prolog Chapter 1
Inheritance
“The world shook with terror at the mention of his name. Mountains collapse from the might of his fists. Seas would dry at the command in his voice. He is a terror of old, an ancient menace. The world of today may have forgotten long ago the blight he was. Being now nothing more than a legend of old that half rate bards would sing in their drunken stupor. It is my job, my girl to make sure that he stays a legend of old and is unable to resume his reign of terror on this world.”
An old raspy voice echoed in the room. It’s origin, an old man with pure long white hair and a long stringy beard, Wearing old tattered robes and sitting in a rocking chair.
“That job is now yours, my girl for I am old and tired. I am constantly surprised that I still have enough life within me to wake up each day, but I can feel my time is near my girl. I am not long for this world so I must pass on my life mission to you. I know you are still young, but I have faith in you.”
A young girl with blonde hair and blue youthful eyes that looked no more than 15 years of age look up to the old man with eyes full of confusion and worry.
“Grandpa you're not nearly old enough to worry about such things. You just need some rest and you be as good as new.”
She said this with a hopeful smile on her face, but that smile did not reach her eyes for She knows that it isn't the truth. Her grandfather is very old, older than most would think possible. Even by those old monsters that lead their own magic guilds standards, her grandfather was ancient. Though her memory of him 5 years ago was of him looking that of a young, strong and healthy man, but in recent years he has aged rapidly as if the force that was behind his seemingly near eternal youth is nearing its depletion.
“NO!!” He yelled, which made the girl wince.
“Cough, cough. No, I do not have the time to rest. I can feel them calling, whispering my name. I know I will not make It through many more nights. They will come for me soon like they said they would so many years ago.”
The old man began shaking and sweating profusely with a look of terror on his face. This in turn scared the girl. for in all her memories of the old man she has never seen him scared..
“GRANDPA what's wrong. What's calling you”
The old man's eyes became focused ones again. Realizing he had frightened his beloved granddaughter. He inwardly chastised himself than he reached out and hugged her with all his might that his feeble body can produce.
“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, my girl. It's nothing you should worry yourself over”
The girl was in tears at the moment, crying into her grandfather's chest. For so many years she held in her tears. Trying to stay strong, but no more. She could not bear to see her grandfather a once powerful wizard and her only living family left that she loves so much to now become a scared old man on the verge of death.
“GRANDPA. Don't leave me. Please Don't die.”
The old man was sad and angry at himself. With all his heart he wanted to grant his granddaughters wish, not because he, himself wish to keep on living but so his granddaughter doesn't have to be all alone.
“My dear girl that is something I sadly cannot do. Even with all my power, my time is near up.”
He grabbed the girl by her shoulder so he can look her clearly in the eyes.
“My girl, you must promise me something now.”
The girl now looking into her grandfather's eyes could see how serious this was to him so even though she was still tearing up, she replies immediately.
“Yes, Grandpa. Anything you want I promise you I will do.”
The old man relaxes a little. Even though he knew that was what she was going to say, it still made him happy that the only family he has left loves him so. With a smile, he continued.
“Good girl. Now help me to the cellar, there something that I must show you.”
Helping her grandfather up and to the only noteworthy thing in their house. A trap door that lays under an old worn out rug in the middle of their dining room. Removing the rug and opening up the trap door with a screech, The old man with the help of his granddaughter descended into the dark room that was only lit by the lantern the girl brought with them.
The cellar was fairly unremarkable holding little of interest just some old crates and scattered papers. The girl was perplexed. She has never been allowed down in the cellar, but from what she can see there was nothing of importance down here.
The girl gave her grandfather a perplexed look.
The old man, though understanding that his granddaughter was confused did not bother to explain. Instead, he unstably detached himself from his granddaughter and slowly walk forwards until he was just a few feet from a plain stone wall.
“What are you doing Grandpa?”
The girl asks, obviously confused at her grandfather's actions.
“Shh. My child, I need to concentrate on what's to come.”
she did as she was told and stayed quite. They stayed there in the dark in silence for what seemed like ages for the young girl, but for the old man, it felt like it was less than a second. Just when the girl was about to ask her question again the old man Suddenly moved.
He slammed the palm of his hand against the wall with such force and speed one would think a giant hit the wall, not an old man. The shock wave alone was nearly enough to knock the girl off her feet, but Surprisingly the wall showed no sign of damage.
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“I command ye door, to open the path to the cell of old, for I have the blood of the old guards in my veins.”
His voice was no longer that of an old man. No longer raspy and quiet. It was now filled with such might and such strength that one might mistake it for a voice of a god. The girl was stupefied. She has never seen her grandfather use such might before. Right now her grandfather looks even stronger and more powerful than he has ever. His eyes that were brown are now a bright, piercing green that even seem to glow in the darkness of the cellar. His long white hair was now floating in clear defiance of gravity.
Suddenly the wall that the old man still had his palm on began to twist and warp accompanied by the sound of crushing rock and dirt. In less than a minute the wall stops warping to reveal a spiral staircase going down. This was not, however, noticed by the girl since she is currently frozen in fear for she was looking at the form of her grandfather that had collapsed on the floor and was at the moment coughing up a substantial amount of blood.
“My girl, come here, help me up.”
The old man said in between his coughing fits. His voice was however enough to bring her back to reality and she Immediately ran over to help him
“Grandfather! Are you alright!”
There was none of the power that he just showed. Just an old man on the verge of death kneeling on the ground with his own blood dripping down his lips.
The girl, reaching her grandfather's side was about ready to burst into tears again.
“Grandfather! Are you alright! What's wrong. What happened!”
The old man did not speak. Instead, he simply reaches out and grabs his granddaughter's shoulder to use as support. The girl nearly burst into tears at that moment, seeing her grandfather failing to get up with his own strength covered in his own blood. She has always idolized him for his strength and courage, but she knows the last thing her grandfather in his weaken state needs right now is for her to break down crying like some little kid agen. so with all her strength, she held in her tears.
“Grandpa you need to rest. Let's go back up an…..”
“NO! We don’t have the time. Now help me down these stairs.”
The girl was reluctant to do so. She did not know what lays at the bottom of the stairs and she did not want to be the cause for any harm to come to her grandfather, but the look in her grandfather's eyes was of harden steel and left no room for defiance.
“If...If, that what’s you want.” the girl was shaking in fear. she did not know what to do. she could not difi her grandfather nor does she want to be the cause of any more harm to him. so her mind filled with trepidation simply shut down and did as she was told.
Helping him up, she could feel little to no strength in his body. He probably would not be able to stand without her help.
The stairs seem to stretch on forever. going down in silence, neither of the two willing to break it. The girl worried she’ll upset her grandfather even more and the man just could not find words sufficient enough to say to his granddaughter. So they both continue on in silence with their dim lantern barely illuminating their path.
“What's that light.”
The girl said without much thought, just wanting to break the silence between them and the sight of a dull light illuminating the steps in front of them piqued her curiosity. One of the main problems with building underground is when using any conventional lighting would fill the chamber up with smoke and other gasses so either the builder found a way to pump air from the surface of the lights are unconventional, meaning magic, either way, the girl was intrigued.
The old man was grateful that someone broke the near-suffocating silence.
“Just a few more steps from here lies a chamber with its own magical lighting. That's my girl is our destination. it is place only are family knows of”
The girl was still pondering the answer to her Question as they reach the base of the stairs. The room wasn't that large, around the size of a middle-class residence’s living room. The walls are pitch black and very smooth. A starch contrast to the cobblestone stairway they just came from but, what graded the girls' attention was what lies in the middle of the room. There were four black pillars that stretch the floor to ceiling evenly spaced from each other. Each pillar had an obviously magical, glowing chain wrapped around them that then stretches to the middle of the four pillars to hold an object up in the air. That object resembles a black coffin covered in glowing red ancient letters that neither girl nor the old man could make heads or tails of even though the old man has been studying them for many years.
“This my granddaughter is where the ancient menace lies. His eternal prison. ”
The girl was stunned. Her grandfather has told her so many stories about the menace. How he wiped a whole country off the face of the planet just because he could and with just one spell. How he made an entire sea freeze over. Starving all the inhabitants that relied on it. How his armies of monster and the undead that care little on whether what there are killing was a man, woman or child, would continuously march on to conquer everything in their path because of his desire to rule everything even the gods. To think such a man, no that monster was just below their house all this time. The girl was stupefied.
“It is now your job now to make sure it stays locked up just like me, my father, my father's fathers have before you.”
The girl was scared and was near hysterical. When her grandfather first said it when they were in the living room, she did not think he meant this. Her magical knowledge, though more than most only ascends to lighting a room up with magic for a few seconds. So how was she expected to stop someone that can blow up entire countries with ease? Just before she can voice her worries the old man continued.
“There is a locked chest under my bed. The key for it lies within my favorite book. The one that I used to read to you before bed.”
The old man looked to the girl for confirmation that she knows which book he was talking about.
”Adventure of the Mandelas islands?”
“That's the one. Now within the chest Lies all the wealth I have accumulated through the years, it is now all yours, but what lies under all of the gold is really what's important. You see the chest has a false bottom and under it lays a book that's been passed down in our family for many generations.”
The old man looked at his granddaughter for confirmation that she was following. Seeing that she was listening attentively and taking it all very seriously, he visibly relaxes and continues.
“The Book contains all the magical spells our family accumulated through the years, information about the menace, and what you need to do as the new hair of the book. The most important being the binding ruins that imprison IT must be supplied with mana every 20 years otherwise they will weaken and break.”
The girl said nothing. how could she? she was only 14 and is suddenly entrusted with such a burden that can shape the fate of the entire world. The old man knows it was large berdon for someone so young, but she was his only surviving kin and he had to do it now or never.
“I know you must have a lot of questions, all the answers are within the book you can read it as soon as we go back upstairs, but right now you need to promise me that you will never tell anyone except family about what I just told you. for there are those who will think they can control the powers within that coffin. They will sorely underestimate the power he still has left after all these years.”
“I promise grandpa.”
She said without a second of hesitation. this to the girl was an easy matter. She had no friends or anyone in fact besides her grandfather that she would trust enough to tell such a secret anyway. she has no friends and no other family, without her grandfather she would be all alone.
“ Good girl. Now take me back upstairs. It is late and I am tired.”
The girl simly did as she was told. It had already been a tiring day for her before all this was thrown upon her and even though she had a lot of questions she figured she can just ask them tomorrow when her mind is less wary and her grandfather is reasted.
The trip up felt longer, more tiring and the silence even more suffocating, but this time no one broke it. even by the time she was in her grandfather's room, Helping him to bed the silence stretched on. however Just before the girl left his room to go to her own the old man broke the silence to say one short line that was barely at a whisper.
“I love you Alice, good night.”
The girl which was in the doorway, stop and turn around with a large smile. This was the first time her grandfather has ever said such a thing to her.
“love you too grandpa. Good night. See you in the morning”
She then turns and left the room. She did not see the pained expression that was on her grandfather's face.
The next morning Alice walked into her grandfather's room to give her usual good morning to find him dead. to her horror, it was not a natural death, for her grandfather was the one holding the dagger that is buried in his own heart.