Chapter Four: The Story

“In the beginning, there was Light and Shadow.”

Amalia’s voice was a soft caress that carried to the ears of everyone on unseen and unfelt winds. As she spoke, a white ball of Light bloomed in the darkness, bathing the room in brilliance. But the shadows were not banished. Instead, they seemed to intensify, becoming almost tangible.

“It is in the Light’s nature to create, and so it did. Dominion was born.”

There was a pulse from the ball of white that floated in the middle of the darkness. From it flowed land, a transparent, brilliant image of white blanketing most of the room. Some of the children, their eyes wide with wonder, reached up tiny hands to clutch at the image, their wonderment growing as their hands passed through it.

Amalia’s voice grew even softer, the sliding whisper of a blade on cloth.

“It is in the Shadow’s nature to slowly corrupt and consume all. So it did, spreading across the land.”

The shadows began encroaching on the land, causing thick veins of shadow to bulge within it, eventually shattering the image into shards of white.

“Desiring to protect its creation, the Light formed guardians from its substance. Tasked with beating back the Shadow.”

Splitting off from it, smaller orbs of light rushed forward, causing the shadows to recoil from them.

“Thus free to create, the Light formed the waters and the skies. It made the sun and the moon. So it was that night and day was created.”

A brilliant orange, pink, and red ball blazed over the land. After some time, it faded, replaced by a pale orb, full and soft, pulling and calling to the waters below.

“The Light desired to create something more like itself, beings who could appreciate his creations. It made the dragons.”

A roar filled the air, and many jerked or cried out. Large creatures sprawled over the land, with brilliant scales of every shade and broad wings that beat at the air. They breathed fire into the air.

“Still, the Light was not satisfied. Something was missing. It created the first people, eternal and beyond mortal beauty.”

Some males and other females began to pop up on the land. They raised their hands, swaying.

“Much to the Light’s delight and shock, its creation created something of itself—the first songs. So the Light named them the Lyrlalae, or the Singers. It gifted their music with a power to create, to shape all its own.”

Pushing their hands forward, the figures began to weave, motes of light puffing from their mouths. Trees, grass, rocks, mountains, and more began to sprout from the land. Raising their heads to the sky, stars began to dot the night sky.

Amalia’s voice turned soft and sharp once more.

“But the Shadow was not yet done. It was an insidious thing, and it began to seep into the Lights guardians, twisting their substance into something darker.”

Twisted, dark, monstrous things that defied explanation began crawling over the Light’s creation. Children cried out, clutching at their parents.

Off to the side, Ash saw Nick roll his eyes.

“These dark creatures ate away at the land, consuming all they came across, their once pure purpose distorted into a perverted thing.”

A dragon cried out, consumed by the dark creatures.

The Singers looked worried.

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“The Light went to the Singers and tasked them with creating a prison. Using their powerful voices, they created a world separate from Dominion. The Nevervare.”

A world of utter black formed opposite of the vast land.

“Working with the Singers, the Light imprisoned the creatures within. But now he lacked guardians to defend what he had made, so the Light kept the Shadow at bay itself, in tandem with the remaining guardians.”

The great orb floated into the darkness, surrounded by the other small orbs; the Shadow could not overcome them.

“For a time, there was peace, and a strange thing happened. From the waters came lifeforms. Those lifeforms evolved over the eons, and the mortal races began to walk the earth. Men, elves, dwarves, and Visenium. They began to roam across the land, building, growing, and changing as time marched on.”

Buildings, villages, and society began to spread across the land.

“Through this time, Shadow had become dimmer and dimmer, but something strange happened. As Shadow dimmed, so too did the Light. It was with this that the Light understood. Neither force could exist without the other. For Light to exist, there must be Shadow, with the reverse also being true.”

We all watched Shadow and Light dimmed, with the Light’s creations beginning to warp as the Light slowly faded.

“Knowing that Shadow would corrupt and consume all if it stopped, it proposed Shadow. They would work through proxies. Should Shadow win, Light would leave all it had created to Shadow. Should Light win, Shadow would recede and cease its consumption of Light’s creations. Shadow agreed. It was with this pact that the conflict began.”

Light pulled away from Shadow, its guardians vanishing.

“The Light returned to its creation, finding that its newly born people had warred with the dragons, and the Singers had vanished. Dismayed, it went to the mortals and explained the coming conflict. It brought peace to the war through a pact between mortals and dragons. So, the Dragon Lords were formed. They flew the skies, slaying monsters and maintaining peace through Dominion. From among them, the Light chose an avatar to dwell within.”

“The Hero of Light!” A child cried out in excitement.

Amalia smiled slightly at the young girl,

“Indeed. The Hero of Light united the mortal world. But the Shadow was not to be outdone. It tempted and corrupted mortals, turning them to its purposes. One of these was a great wild dragon. Shadow dwelled within it, corrupted creatures of the land, giving birth to kobolds and other fearsome creatures.”

Lizard-like monsters sprouted up, and a massive dragon, black, twisted, and cold like Shadow, rose, a colossal army before it.

“The mortal world prepared. Building siege engines, advancing their magicks, shoring up defenses.”

A dark, visible wind, colder than a winter storm, passed through the land, settling over it like a chilling weight of unseen monsters.

“A war was coming. A war unlike any this world has ever seen since.”

That colossal army began to march across the land, razing everything it could and killing all it found. The image before them undulated, fear and despair radiating over them all.

Fear was writ on every face.

But the armies of Light rode out to meet the coming tide of Shadow.

The Hero of Light was flying on a great white dragon, blade raised high.

“The Hero of Light brought forth his armies, and the clash of these epic forces was so great the world shuddered.”

At her words, the image vibrated, threatening to tear itself apart.

“No one knows how long the war lasted; it is said to have been eons. Others claim it was hours. But no one disputes how it ended. The great dragon, the Evil One, had been defeated. The Light had won.”

On the battlefield, the armies of Light cheered, raising weapons high. The Hero of Light stood proud, his great white dragon raising its head, sending a burst of brilliant white flame from its maw into the sky.

“But the Shadow would not relent, for it was a sore loser. It refused to honor the agreement.”

A mass of Shadow erupted from the fallen dragon, gathering itself into a massive ball, ready to consume all.

On the field, the Hero of Light shook his head.

“The Hero of Light had known this was possible, so it had prepared for this. Raising his hand, he cast a great magick.”

The gathered ball of Shadow and the dragon it had resided in rose into the air and shoved through space and time with a mighty push and a burst of light. It was pushed so hard that it was shoved outside of it.

“The Light had created this place outside of creation, and in the Shadow weakened defeated state, the Hero could seal the Shadow there. But it had a cost.”

Stumbling, the Hero of Light fell to his knees, the great dragon slumping beside him. His armies gathered around him, looking horrified. The Hero of Light held out a hand.

“Without Shadow, there can be no Light. This remains true of great magic such as this. Such a thing requires sacrifice. One the Hero was glad to pay, for so he had come to love his people and the world the Light had made, he gave his life and the life of his dragon for it.”

The Hero of Light collapsed.

He was dead.

Sobs could be heard throughout the room.

Amalia’s voice turned soft, reverent,

“From that day on, the armies carried this story. They have passed it down through their families, carrying it from generation to generation. We have come to know it by one name.”

Here, the storyteller paused, and then the fire roared in the fireplace, lighting up like a beacon that bathed the room in a jubilant glow.

“Remembrance Day.”

No one spoke for several moments.

Slowly, someone began to clap, and others followed; the whole room erupted in applause.

At precisely that moment, the door burst open, shattering into splinters.

That’s when the screaming began.