In the beginning, our world was composed of five incredibly huge islands. If you were to draw a cross in the sand, you will have drawn a basic world map. An island each to the north, south, east, and west with the fifth being locked between them all. They were all heavily populated and filled with several nations packed closely together. Borders fluctuated and fights would break out but none of them escalated into full blown war. This was done intentionally to avoid drawing the attention of their ruling Kingdoms. The strongest nation on each island, the ones capable of destroying every other nation in one night, ruled supreme above all others. They were referred to as the Five Great Kingdoms.

To the north you would have found the Kingdom of Mages, known as Terroth. Their skill with the world magics was so refined that you would almost believe it to be the source of their strength, but you would be wrong. Not only could the queen of this kingdom, Zendaria, wield magic with the elegance of nature itself, she also possessed reserves of mana so deep that the oceans could not hope to compare. She built her kingdom from the ground up with her own two hands during the last ice age of the northern island by erecting a barrier over her lands that would maintain a livable temperature. Other nations quickly begged her for her assistance and only after swearing fealty, did they receive it. The few nations that were too proud to serve her did not live long enough to regret that decision. Although merciful, Zendaria would only offer her hand once. Rejecting her offer meant death, and when the ice age hit in full force the other nations happily accepted her rule. Thus, Terroth was born as the one ruling Kingdom of the North.

In the east you would have found the Kingdom of Merchants, known as Coin. What once was a war-torn and ravaged land of suffering nations was morphed into a prosperous and thriving land of trade by one family of merchants. This family saw opportunity in suffering and never missed a chance to profit. As resources were diminished rapidly to supply the ongoing war efforts, they noticed the land slowly rotting away. The fertile ground that could support farms, gouged and blood covered. The fresh spring water flowing down from the mountains, contaminated by the corpses that scattered the rivers’ edges. Realizing that all were doomed to suffer no matter who won this war they decided to put all their money forward and hire the very best warriors they could. As they moved across the lands, their warriors grew in numbers to match their deepening pockets. Those that would not join them for money were shown the true meaning of the destruction being wrought upon their lands. The few that still opposed their forces were either killed or captured and put to work. Not a single resource was wasted to them. If it could be reused, it was, and if it could not then it found another purpose. Their advance was cause of great worry to the surrounding armies as they band together to bring a stop to this merchant menace. Expecting a great battle, the two armies stood and faced each other in the center of the island. However, there would be no battle here on that day. The eldest son of the merchant family, Euroc, delivered a speech so powerful and eye opening that the masses could no longer be swayed to fight. They looked around at their nearly irreparable homeland and wept as they came to understand what they heard to be the truth. Euroc promised it was not too late to save their island and, together with his family, he guided the people of the east in their efforts of reclamation. Not ten years later, the eastern island was finally home to many nations peacefully trading amongst each other and enjoying the bountiful land they fought so hard to save. Thus, Coin was born as the one ruling Kingdom of the East.

Looking west you would have found the Kingdom of Warriors, known as Lycea. Their story is both the same, and the opposite, as that of their eastern brothers. Lands continuously ravaged by war, rivers that ran as thick and red as blood. No one remembers why this eternal fighting started or on which side blood was first drawn, they simple wish to be the ones to end it. For one man, Titan, this would become reality. Always the first to charge, and the last to retreat if ever there was a battle that could not be won. If even one of his soldiers still alive remained to fight, then so did he. The thrill of battle was as addicting to him as any substance known to man. While fighting he could not help but laugh and smile from ear to ear, flowing like the wind through the enemy frontlines. Only when his love was assassinated by the enemy did he truly reach his full potential. In one day, he singlehandedly annihilated the nation that had stolen his love from him. While standing atop the mountain of corpses he had created to sate his vengeance, he realized the futility of it all. What would be left to rule over, after destroying everyone and everything around him? In that moment he made up his mind to end the fighting he once loved so much with a show of force so powerful no one would dare to oppose him. It took only a month for his envoys to gather every remaining army in the land. Taunts, promises, bribes, anything they could use they had. Once they had gathered before Titan he used his booming voice to challenge them all. The entire mass of warriors before him, versus one man. His one condition was that they be able to stand after he struck the ground beneath them with his fist. If they could do that, then he would fight them. If they could not, then they would stop their fighting and fall under his rule. Of course, they all laughed him off, thinking he had gone insane from the war. Their leaders seeing this as an opportunity raised their arms and beckoned him to continue so that they may end the farce and return to their fighting. What they weren’t prepared for, was the shattering the occurred afterward. Titan slammed the ground with so much force, from only a single fist, that a great canyon ripped open beneath their feet and a third of their armies fell to their deaths. Upon seeing such power many chose to flee for their lives, while other remained unable to move. Titan had not intended to kill so many and was even a little surprised by the destruction he had caused as well. However, the desired outcome had been achieved regardless. It wasn’t long before every man and woman present bent their knees and vowed to do as he said. It took much longer for their lands to recover than those of the eastern island but nevertheless they did. Thus, Lycea was born as the one ruling Kingdom of the West.

Moving south now, you would have found the Kingdom of Steam, known as Keinor. Unlike the rest of the islands, this island never experience war. At the very least, not to the extent of the others. Sure, a large fight would break out between nations on occasion, but they were so destructive that neither side wanted to drag it out. This was because of their technology. Through nature and magic the inhabitants of the southern island had created weapons of mass destruction powerful enough to destroy their whole island if they were to wage war with them. Being that no one could act, for fear of causing mass devastation and wiping out innocent lives overnight, the southern island found themselves unable to decide who was strongest. While stranded amid their stalemate several nations noticed flying devices appearing several miles above them, hovering. No one could identify what these devices were, and no nation would claim them as their own. The masses began shouting the one question that mattered toward their leaders. Who was doing this and why? As if to answer that question herself, a lone inventor, standing at the apex of human intelligence, revealed herself to the public. Her name was Gloria and she was sickened by the nations and their hoarding of massive technological weapons. She revealed her web of drones to them as devices that would immediately detonate any superweapon that a nation tried to use, causing them to fire upon themselves and wiping them from the map. After doing so she settled down in a small corner of the southern island to continue her work in peace. However, inspired by her great accomplishment, many inventors and their families decided to follow her and soon developed a large and incredibly advanced civilization. Gloria, who had initially refused the role, took up position as their queen in order to stop their relentless pleas which interrupted her work. With her as their figurehead, the other nations quietly acknowledged her rule and diverted their energy toward useful creations. Thus, Keinor was born as the one ruling Kingdom of the South.

Now, the center island was different than the rest. Unlike the other islands which were composed of several nations competing against each other and inevitably succumbing to one ruler, the center island was home to only one nation. The massive sprawling Kingdom of Life known as Laznir. They knew a peace unlike any other island, as they had no one to wage war against. From the very start of their history they have been one nation, settling their disputes internally in a way that left everyone satisfied and happy. If there was ever a utopian society this was it. Citizens laughed and cried and enjoyed life as much as they could, while their leaders did the same along side them. With the other islands being so far apart from each other there was no chance in them attacking and as such, no need for an army. Without conflict from outer nations, they were able to focus on their own advancement and although not as much as each other nation they still became proficient in magic, commerce, technology, and even gladiatorial fighting. Overall, they were the happiest of the Kingdoms. Eventually a child was born so talented that he could rival the leaders of each other Kingdom. His capacity for magic as endless as Zendaria. Instincts for trade and combat so fine tuned that both Euroc and Titan would envy him, with the intellect to intimidate even Gloria. The people of Laznir celebrated this child with all their being and showered him with gifts enough to fill the Kingdom’s coffers ten times over. However, as his strength grew, they began to see his true being. The boy looked down on all that surrounded him as if it was nothing. Before his eyes Josiah saw only ants, busily digging their tunnels. The day he came of age, he marched into the castle and demanded an audience with the king. Any other citizen would have been arrested on the spot, but for Josiah it was different. The king agreed to meet with him, assuming it had to be important for him to barge in the way he had. Unfortunately for the king, Josiah had no other motive than the hunger for more power. It took him only seconds to slaughter the king and all his guards with his bare hands. Once he had finished, Josiah dragged the king’s corpse out of the castle and hung him from a wooden pole for all to see. With that he declared his rule over the center island Kingdom and the decline of Laznir began.

Over the following years citizens became increasingly afraid of their new king. Consistently abducting people for gruesome experiments and arresting anyone who spoke ill of him, Josiah had gone mad in their eyes. Together they built a small rebel army and marched into the castle hoping to dethrone him and restore their great Kingdom once and for all. Josiah laughed as they attacked him, well over three hundred men and woman who pushed into the castle wave after wave. Eventually the bodies were stacked too high and they could no longer enter. When that happened Josiah had decided he no longer needed to maintain this charade. He cleared the bodies with one wave of his hand and walked out into the courtyard. After a moment of surveying the land he began chanting in a dark language that no one had ever heard. The magical energy surrounding the castle began to shake as the sky gradually darkened. Having finished his chanting Josiah turned to the soldiers opposing him and waved his hands once more. Dark tendrils of an evil magic extended from his fingers and stabbed into their chests before they could escape. Frozen in place their faces wore an expression of pure terror. After a moment of stillness, they began to move in the opposite direction. However, they now belonged to Josiah. His newly created slaves then marched across the lands killing and burning everything that they encountered. As word spread of the evil army marching outward, citizens fled to the shores and built as many ships as they could. When the army grew too close, they set sail in every direction. They hoped that someone would survive long enough to find help.

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Very few ships made it to another island. The journey was too long even on calm waters, let alone the storm ridden oceans they had to cross. The fact that they survived the year long journey itself with as little supplies as they had was a miracle.  That would be their only one though. Every nation on every island merely pointed them in the direction of their ruling Kingdom. Once they arrived at the various Kingdoms it had already been another six months and by that time the Kings and Queens had been awaiting their arrival. However, not a single one of them lifted a finger to help. The journey was too far, and the price was too high. They stood to gain nothing and lose everything if they did believe the words of these refugees. If that man, Josiah, really did exist then they were better off leaving him alone. Spirits crushed, hopes gone, the survivors decided to integrate within their new lands. Over time the center island Kingdom of Life, Laznir, became known as something else. The stories told by the refugees earned their homeland a much more sinister name. Death, the Barren Kingdom. As years passed on, Death became a folk tale and the great leaders pushed it to the back of their minds. They grew old and their power began to wane.

When Death was just about forgotten, the citizens of each island noticed a change in the air. Breathing became difficult, and the winds had grown stronger. Everyone felt a sense of growing unease, but no one could figure out why. Gloria and her Kingdom, Keinor, were the first to figure it out. She hurriedly sent messenger drones to every other Kingdom she could in order to warn them. Her warning was short. He is coming. Josiah had figured out a way to summon all the islands together. The Kingdoms learned of this and panic quickly broke out among their citizens. It took all their time and resources just to manage the fear-stricken population, leaving nothing left to find a solution to their problem. Even if they had the time, not even Gloria could figure out a solution, nor was Zendaria strong enough to stop Josiah’s magic. They could only struggle to survive as their islands were slowly ripped apart while being dragged across the planet’s surface. For the longest year in their lives they survived earthquakes, sink holes, and the sundering of their lands. Whole chunks the size of large settlements would often break off and sink into the ocean or remain in place creating a chain of smaller islands. When the day finally came that their islands crashed into the center the whole world shook for hours, and many lives were lost.

Enraged by what had transpired and how many of their people’s lives were lost, the Kingdoms’ leaders finally began to act. With no oceans blocking their path, they could march on Josiah and end him. They rallied their armies, readied their weapons, and promised their Kingdom the vengeance they sought. No matter how strong Josiah was, they were certain he would fall to their armies. They marched out toward the ruins of Laznir, toward the Barren Kingdom of Death.

There was no mistaking the borders when they arrived. As if a line was drawn in the earth itself, on one side their armies and on the other nothing but blackened sand as far as they could see. Winds blew cold and heavy with the smell of rotting flesh. Cautious as they rightfully were, they sent forward a scouting team. The moment they crossed the line into Death’s territory a massive amount of magic sprung forth. From the sand crawled out thousands of horrible creatures of another world. Skeletons, ghouls, giant spiders made of flesh, corpse golems, shades, and various other twisted beings clawed their way to the surface. The scouting party was dead before they could process what had happened. Of the Kingdoms’ armies, about one third deserted immediately. The ones that remained struggled to keep their last meal down while they watched their leaders nervously. Eventually the order they had been waiting for came. They sucked in a deep breath and pushed forward with all their courage to face the army of the damned.  

They lost many hundreds of fighters before realizing that these monsters could not be killed by normal means. There were only two ways to prevent them from rising and continuing their onslaught. You either obliterated them until nothing was left, or you burnt them after rendering them immobile. There was one thought that permeated every living being during that war and that was; This is hell. This war would come to be known as ‘The Burning Night’ since there was so much fire and smoke that the sky was blackened. The fires were the only source of light to fight by for weeks as the battle dragged on. The lack of sunlight left everyone pale and their eyes grew wild and squinty from struggling to adapt to the lower light level. Sleep was nearly impossible, even in shifts, and healing was rushed through the magics and technology provided by the people of Terroth and Keinor. This left their bodies deformed and haggard but allowed them to continue forward. After several days of this, the weak willed broke and either fled and lost their wits and became useless. Even fewer went completely insane and began attacking their own friends and family. By the time the broken and disorganized armies finally reached the lone castle that towered over all it was hard to tell if they had become monsters themselves or not.

Josiah greeted the four rulers as they emerged from within the ranks of men and woman. He knew them by name from watching through his minions as they fought, much to their dismay. Wanting to end this fighting as soon as possible Zendaria, Titan, Euroc, and Gloria stepped forward and demanded that Josiah face them himself. One versus four. They knew as well as he did that they had no chance if any of them fought him one on one. When he agreed Zendaria attempted to place a barrier in order to prevent their soldiers from intervening. Josiah waved his hand and shattered it before she could finish. He wanted them all to watch as he proceeded to utterly humiliate their leaders. Euroc was the first to fall, having no remarkable combat abilities. Although her technology was sufficiently advanced and powerful, Gloria too fell to her knees unable to land a single attack. For several minutes afterward Zendaria and Titan fought side by side, one defending against Josiah’s magic while the other held off his physical blows. Hope began to swell within the hearts of their soldiers as they watched, only to be crushed in an instant. Josiah had decided he was bored and so ended the fight by grabbing them both by their throat. No matter what they tried, they could not break free of his grasp. He turned to face their armies and mouthed to them, come. Screaming filled the air a moment later as they rushed forward to free their Kings and Queens. Titan roared to his warriors to stop but they would not listen. Zendaria too called out to her mages only to have her voice drowned by the screams of rage. Josiah tossed them aside, slamming them into a wall, and met their armies head on. His power was unimaginable, killing dozens with one blow after another without needing to use his magic at all. Despite not needing it, he chose to fire several bolts of energy into the ranks which jumped between soldiers like black lightning. Hundreds of soldiers rushed toward him, and not even one managed to survive let alone wound him. Watching his warriors die so easily only reminded Titan of the pointlessness he fought so hard to put an end to in the past. His rage boiling over brought back the strength of his youth as he stood once more. Zendaria felt a similar anger welling up inside her as she took her place beside Titan. The two of them had fought in many battles together during this war which allowed them to fight without speaking. Titan rushed forward, borrowing the sword of a fallen warrior along the way, and swung with all his strength. Josiah blocked with his own stolen weapon but was knocked back several feet. Surprise colored his face followed by a twisted smile of amusement. It didn’t last long however as Titan stepped out of the way allowing the massive spear of ice that Zendaria had launched to shoot past him. Josiah managed to dodge it at the last second only to find Titan waiting for him with another powerful swing. Finally, after so many had died, Josiah found himself bleeding from a gash in his shoulder. Laughter filled the air as he examined his injury. This was the first time he had seen his own blood and it was as black as his soul. Unease settled in their hearts once more as Titan and Zendaria backed away. Josiah muttered a few words they could not hear before pointing his weapon in their direction. Lightning sparked from the tip of his sword and he disappeared. Titan only managed to deflect his blow on instinct, his body reacting before his mind could process it. The force of their collision sent a thunderous boom echoing through the sky. The fight that began afterward was so powerful and so intense that the very landscape was changed forever. The bodies of the soldiers were unavoidably swept away while the walls of the castle were crushed and scattered. Zendaria’s incredible magic left craters of ice randomly as far as the eye could see while Titan and Josiah’s powerful swings would bring new valleys into existence. As the battle continued, the air grew hotter and the ice melted quicker. Soon the sky had grown darker and their blows were no longer the only thing echoing loudly through the air. Lightning had begun to strike with increasing frequency and rain was pouring down on their exhausted bodies. Fearing that he might actually lose for once, Josiah pushed past Titan and grabbed Zendaria by her throat once more. Intending to use her as a hostage to end the fight, Josiah pointed his sword to the ground. He demanded that Titan drop his weapon and serve him. Titan looked into her eyes and found the answer he needed. Zendaria rapidly expended all of her magical energy and entombed herself along with Josiah in a block of ice. In that second, Titan put all his power into his arms and launched the sword into her chest straight through her back and into Josiah’s heart. The ice shattered around them and Zendaria screamed out in pain. Josiah pushed her and the sword off and kicked her away several feet before falling to his knees. With his final breath, Josiah laughed and passed a death sentence to the world itself.

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