The grand clock tower in Aivon City chimed to mark noon as the sun sat high overhead. The streets were filled with citizens going about their daily business. The side streets of the city were far busier than usual due to people being forced off their usual routes. A massive parade of people were marching down the main street in celebrating the Dragon Festival. On a side street, a young child of six years tried to push his way through crowds of people.
“Mother, please hurry!” Cerlin whined as he grasped at his mother’s hand and pulled her forward. “We will miss front of the parade!”
“Darling do not worry, the parade only just started. It will be some time before they reach us down here.” Andra Stelvo tried to reassure her son that they would not miss the parade.
Though there were plenty of citizens attempting to watch the parade, in this section of the city most people were still focused on their normal tasks. Cerlin pulled his mother through men pushing carts, women carrying baskets of their daily shopping, and guards patrolling the streets for security during the festival. Eventually they were able to make their way through the crowds and reach the edge of the main street.
“Come dear, let’s stand near this wall so we won’t get in the way of others.”
“Yes, mother.”
The low thumping of drums could be heard in the distance as the parade made its way down the main street from the Senate Hall. Nearly half an hour passed before the head of the parade was finally in sight. Cerlin jumped for joy as the parade approached and he finally got to see what he was waiting for.
The head of the parade was comprised of a group of men and women wearing black and white robes. On each of their breasts was sewn a bright gold insignia in the shape of a dragon head. These people were members of the Order of the Black Scale which was a special group of individuals dedicated to the protection of the few remaining dragons in the world. At the lead was the head of the order and one of the ten grandmaster sorcerers in the world, Vorian Dregna. His bald head and thick beard cut an imposing figure as he floated half a meter in the air upon a magic platform. Just behind him at his flanks, two men and two women went on foot and sent smiles out into the crowd. Numerous aspirants of the order followed behind the leaders and surrounded a large carriage. The carriage was heavily guarded by warriors of the order as well as a small squad from the Aivonus Republic’s military.
“They are so cool, right mother?” Cerlin stared with wide eyes at the people of the Order of the Black Scale. “I want to be strong like them when I’m older!”
“Hmph, it will be several years before we will know if you can use magic, dear. And don’t expect me to be happy about you becoming a warrior either.” Andra said harshly. “After what happened to your father I would hate for you to end up like him…”
“Don’t worry mother! I know that I will have talent in magic, I can feel it.”
Andra patted her son’s head and sighed as the carriage passed by them and they were able to get a short look inside. The carriage was covered in dozens of different decorations and was large enough to fit at least six people inside. It was pulled by four large horses with smooth brown coats and filled with its maximum number of occupants. The carriage belonged to the Grand Minister of the republic and was being loaned to the order for this event.
“I bet that you are sad I am too old to have been picked, right mother?” Cerlin giggled at his joke.
“Ha! Even with how much of a brat you are I would never give you up.” Andra laughed. “It still baffles me how someone could just hand over an infant child. Even if the order is a respectable group, I could never abandon family.”
“Are you suuuuuuuuuure about that?”
“Yes dear, I am definitely sure.”
The opulent carriage passed by the pair and continued on down the main street surrounded by all the members of the order. Behind the order came the real parts of the parade. First were drummers who were pounding out the beat of the march. Cerlin clapped his hands in excitement as the real entertainment was now coming into sight. Lines of dancers and singers flowed by as strands of different songs wove through the air. Though everything was different, all the chaotic notes from singers and musicians alike created their own kind of song. Cerlin and his mother watched the performers in fascination as they marched through the street and trumpeted out their music. Thousands of spectators watched the parade that day with glee and greatly anticipated going home to a large meal with all the special festival discounts on expensive food.
Every year the Dragon Festival was held as a worldwide holiday. Each of the nations of the world recognized the sovereignty of the Order of the Black Scale on their home of Drakema Island. Every 100 years was when the order would personally make an appearance within a city outside of their island. The ceremony to choose the Dragon Champion involved the selection of one particular infant. Each time the order chose a new champion, they would select one of the capital cities and go there to find the destined person. As the youngest nation in the world, the Aivonus Republic was just now receiving their first visit from the order. An infant, less than a year old, had been chosen to return with them to undergo training.
All of the countries of the world appreciated the Dragon Festival. It brought lots of trade to the selected city and the various governments were perfectly happy to let the order promote the festival. The Ordal Kingdom had sent an angry message to the order prior to the selection of Aivonus City. As the republic had rebelled and broken off from the kingdom some 300 years ago, the kingdom was mildly irritated that the order was willing to recognize them and chose a child from their capital. Though the Dragon Festival was held on the same day each year, the choosing of the infant for the order would soon be forgotten by much of the world. The governments would forget their squabbles over the selection of the city and return to holding their own celebrations without the order. For the next 20 years, the child would train to accept the power of dragons and become the Dragon Champion. That child would not remember the day they were chosen, nor the life that they would have had. All that they would know from then on would be the Order of the Black Scale.
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*Avalian Empire, Divinus Isle, Imperial Palace*
“Your majesty!” A messenger burst into the office of the emperor, Wade Alvos II.
“Idiot! Do you not know how to knock?” The emperor spat in annoyance.
“I’m very sorry your majesty, it’s just…..your wife has gone into labor, sire!”
“Aha! At last!” The emperor jumped up in excitement. “Well don’t just stand there - lead me to her!”
“At once your majesty.”
The emperor followed the messenger through the halls of the palace to see his wife. He had been anxiously awaiting the birth of their child in the days leading up to the Dragon Festival. Normally, either he or his wife would make an appearance at the celebration but this year due to her pregnancy and his work, both of them were unable to attend. They had been expecting the baby to be born at any time and so the emperor had had a difficult time focusing on his work recently. Now that he was away from his desk with all the tedious documents to review, the emperor was grinning like a small child. He eagerly anticipated the birth of his child as the messenger lead him to the doors of his wife’s room.
The emperor returned to his office 3 hours later. His wife had given birth to a healthy little girl. Emperor Alvos was a bit disappointed that he would not have a son yet, but it was hardly a big deal for him. He sat in his lounge chair in front of a window and looked out across the city while reviewing the latest military reports. Skirmishes with the Vaizec Kingdom had been getting worse lately. The emperor grumbled in annoyance as he read the latest news of several of their scouting parties. The main location of these engagements had been upon the island of Arcus in the southern seas.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The emperor flipped through the reports until he came to an interesting page. It was a description of something that had been discovered on Arcus. A small cluster of mountains at the center of the island had hid something incredible which they had just now found. His eyes widened at the description of the location. From just a cursory search, this discovery seemed to hold great value.
“Guard!” The emperor called out to one of his personal guards in the hall.
“What is it your majesty?” The door opened and a guard entered and bowed to the emperor.
“I need you to send for Minister Jastre. I require his assistance to draft a letter.”
“Of course, sire. I will fetch him right away.” The guard turned and left to bring back the minister.
Jastre was in charge of diplomacy with the other nations in the world. Other than Vaizec, the empire had a reasonable respectful relationship with each of the other countries. Most of the relations with other nations involved trade for unique goods and products. As such, Jastre also served as the minister who oversaw the internal commerce of the empire. Watching the large clock on his wall, the emperor waited 10 minutes before a knock was heard at his office door.
“Enter.”
“Your majesty, I heard you needed my services.” Edwin Jastre entered the room and bowed before the emperor respectfully. He held a sheaf of papers in hand as well as a handful of pens.
“As you heard, I would like to draft a letter.” The emperor stood up and looked out the window. Jastre sat down in the chair in front of the emperor’s desk and readied to take down the emperor’s words.
“May I ask to whom we are sending this message?”
“This will be going to Magevale. I’m certain their collections of research and history will be able to answer my questions.” The emperor turned to face Jastre as the minister held a surprised look at the mention of the letter’s destination.
“Don’t be so surprised Jastre. Hmmmm…” The emperor stood for a moment and tapped his cheek as he thought about something. “I want this to be addressed to Archmage Adrian at Nimbus Academy.”
The sun sank low in the sky as the emperor continued to dictate his words to Jastre. The Dragon Festival on that day of the year 2634 would mark an important day in history. The birth of the princess allowed the celebrations to continue for several more days and from then on, the celebrations would have two things to focus on.
Several days later, the emperor’s letter made its way to the center of the Isle of Magic and delivered the surprising news to the Council of Archmagi. Emperor Alvos would be disappointed with the reply as the council told him to resolve their disputes with Vaizec before they would be willing to send anyone to examine the site. What the emperor did not know was that his letter had greatly excited the council and they would never deign to inform him of why.
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*Isle of Magic Surrounding Seas, Unknown Location*
After the emperor had sent his message to the archmagi at Magevale, a frenzy of activity began across the island. Among the most powerful mages on the isle were many different rumors circulating. 3 of the archmagi had left the city and traveled north to a secret location. 2 weeks after they had received the message from Avalia, a group of the most powerful mages in the world stood upon a ship overlooking a small island to the north of the Isle of Magic.
“How long will we be able to conceal this from other nations do you suppose?” One of the three archmagi spoke as they stood on the deck of their ship.
“We can start small, in order to give us time to collect the necessary materials, but we should create an illusion to shroud this entire area.” The second archmage pointed out several locations on the island they were eyeing. “The focusing crystals will need to be placed across the main entrance.”
“I still disagree with this decision to keep all of this so secretive.” Archmage Adrian spoke with disdain. “What is the point if others find out? This is still our territory.”
“Bah! You underestimate the greed of those fools who control the rest of the world.” The first archmage spat in anger. He pulled out a coin and held it up in front of his face. “Plenty of people are only interested in this. They have no desire to study history or magic which is our goal here.”
Archmage Adrian sighed deeply as the three of them continued to argue. They debated what methods would be most effective in concealing this area from prying eyes. It was not a regular shipping route, but they believed it was impossible to be too careful. While the three argued, several other mages sat below decks surrounded by writing tools. They were cataloguing all of the discoveries at this site so far. Around half of the mages were dedicated to copying the various runic letters that had been found and the others were looking for ways to defeat the protective enchantments.
Dark clouds blossomed overhead and a curtain of rain came crashing down from the sky. The three archmagi retreated to their cabins inside the ship. After they left, a thick bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. The light shone for long enough to reveal a gigantic door set into the side of a cliff. The tiny island was practically one large hill with a sheer cliff facing toward the ship. A sizeable section of the cliff had collapsed from an earthquake and revealed part of the door. The discovery was made nearly a month before Emperor Alvos sent his letter. When the archmagi received his information, they moved to immediately secure this area and begin their investigation of it.
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*The Primordium, Tower of Order*
An enormous tower made of chalky blue stone stood within the vast landscape of the Primordium. On the ground floor on the tower was a vast chamber with a throne. Upon this throne sat the giant figure of a woman. Her skin was the color of shining steel with a bright polished sheen. Her height towered over the others in her realm at nearly 15 meters. Currently, she was emitting a loud rumbling sound as she slept with her legs draped over the side of her throne. A door at the side of the room opened and a thin figure approached the woman.
“My lady, I am sorry to disturb you but there is something that needs your attention.” The attendant tapped the woman’s foot as that was the highest point on her body that they could reach.
“Mmmmm… Ah… What’s going on?” The giant woman lifted her legs off the armrest of her throne and sat upright while yawning. Her heavy metal body shook the floor under its weight.
“A messenger from Deepfel is here to see you mistress.”
“Oho, so that vile bitch wants to speak to me then? Her arrogance always rubs me the wrong way.” The woman tapped her fingers on her throne as she contemplated her options. “Oh very well, open the gate and bring the messenger here.”
The attendant bowed and moved to execute the woman’s orders. Several minutes later, a large portal opened in the center of the vast room. Three figures stepped out of it and approached the foot of the throne. Two golem guards stood behind the leading figure as they came to stand before the woman.
“Greetings, High Shaper. My queen has sent me to initiate direct contact. She hopes that you would be agreeable to this.” The messenger lowered his head while raising up a black orb to show to the giant woman.
“Very well, initiate the spell.” The giant woman furrowed her stony brow as she waited for her least favorite being to appear before her.
The messenger placed his other head over the orb and incanted the activation spell. After he did so, a large projection appeared in the air above the orb. The image showed a very similar scene with a woman sitting upon a throne. It was impossible to tell her height as the entire projection was magnified but all of her features were easily discernible. Her face was that of a human except for the entirely black eyes and the pointed teeth. Thick black hair was bound behind her head and she wore a robe of black and grey. Her hands were clasped and resting on her lap and could be seen to be comprised of only bones. A mischievous grin adorned her face as she sat there and stared at the giant woman through the projection.
“Hello Prizzy dear. I am sure you have heard the news by now?” The robed woman snickered as she broke the silence after a few moments.
“Silence your giggling Mina. My servants are certainly capable enough to bring me the news; as you would already have known.” The giant woman folded her arms across her huge chest and frowned at the projection. “What is your purpose in this contact then?”
“Awww… Can’t I just want to take some time to chat with a friend?” The woman spread her arms and tilted her head innocently. Her grin continued to widen as she kept staring.
“Oh shut it, we haven’t been friendly since this whole foolishness started.” The giant woman spat in anger and pointed a finger directly at the projection. “If you hadn’t sided with those morons we wouldn’t be in this position.”
“Well it’s too bad that you don’t understand my actions after all this time.” The woman tapped a bony finger to her cheek and smirked. “I had hoped that after all this time you might have figured out my reasons. I am sure you would agree if you knew.”
“Enough of this farce. Contact me again if you have a real issue to discuss.” The giant woman raised her right hand and released her magic. A torrent of flame burst forth and incinerated the messenger holding the projecting orb. The last image of the woman was of her laughing as the projection disappeared and the messenger was turned into ash.
The giant woman snapped her fingers and a side door opened. A servant rushed and kneeled before her to await orders.
“I will be returning to my forge for now. Give the word that I am not to be disturbed until I am finished.” She stood up and conjured a massive portal at her side.
“As you wish my lady.” The servant stood up and bowed. They stood and watched as the woman stepped through the portal and disappeared. The moment she was gone they set about their orders to leave her alone for some time.
At the time of this conversation, the first battle of a war was taking place. Soldiers and constructs from Sanctum forced their way into the Abyss and marched for Doom’s End. The treacherous hellscape of the Abyss afforded the demons a home field advantage and they were able to hold the forces of dawn at the borders of their realm. With this first battle, the 5th great divine war had begun.