Time seldom
stands still when you want it to. No matter how often the dark prophets warned
the inhabitants of Britannia, nobody listened. Their demise was inevitable.
There was a
time in our history where many great warriors fought an evil bound by the laws
and standards of Chaos. It was a war in which those of the Order of Light won
many times, and indeed, lost many times more. The same outcome was also for
those Order of Chaos warriors. But at this time, there was something, which was
a much bigger concern to Lord British and Lord Blackthorn. A darkness was
filling the land, and the hearts of the people. A darkness known by no other.
They say it
was a sacrifice gone wrong. Others say it was a uniting of a female red mage
(Chaos) and a noble white mage (Light), within the confines of the Alter of
Blood on the Island of the Avatar. It is there that the darkness was found
first. Trees began to die and livestock fell to their knees, gasping for what
was their last breath of air. It began at the Alter of Blood and began to
encompass the land around it. Slowly at first, with a few inches gained in a
week period, but after the entire area surrounding the alter was covered, the
speed of the darkness grew.
The darkness
crept across the lands, covering more and more of the land of Britannia. Lord
British sent out several ships with his best Knights aboard, and news never
fell upon his ears. He summoned the greatest mages of light to cast a
protection spell upon the dying lands of Britannia, and again, their mana ran low
and their hearts turned black and died.
In the Chaos
driven castle, Lord Blackthorn was just as dismayed about the happenings and
the failures of Lord British. He had called upon the dark powers of the red
mages and every spell they cast allowed the darkness to spread faster. There
was no recourse. He had to work with Lord British until the darkness was
removed from the lands. He called for the remaining red mages and five of his
remaining Chaos Knights and journeyed to British's castle.
In agreement,
British and Blackthorn joined the magical powers of the greatest mages of light
and the remaining red mages and was able to cast a successful spell upon
Britain. It was able to encompass the city as a whole and protected it from the
darkness. The spell allowed those guards patrolling the streets to continue to
protect it. However, the spell backfired upon those in the castle and banished
them to the lost lands.
The darkness
continued to cover the land and bleed into passages to the new lands. There had
been rumors of an evil presence there which continues to kill for pleasure. His
mynions are hidden to the eyes of the traveler, but the stench fouls the area
around his castle. Blood pours through the wells and death is painted
throughout the landscape. Then one night a mighty explosion leveled the City of
Baldonia, a once thriving city in the North Territory. What remained was ruins
of a culture rivaled only by Britain.
It has been
seven decades since that night. Britain has remained a beautiful and living city,
and also has Vesper, the sister city to Britain. Both remain safe havens to
travelers and adventures of all kinds. But in the other towns of Britannia,
things are not as fortunate. Some towns have been taken over by monsters.
Others have minimal civilians, and no guards protecting them.
However,
during these seven decades, things have been a bit peaceful. A new breed of
mages was born, the necromancer. It was a mage of darkness. Many feared this
pale child which had a quick understanding of the Arcane arts and was able to
perform spells not know to any of the current red mages or the mages of light.
Many times, a necromancer was abandoned by his parents, and other times, red
mages with grandeurs of power took them in to mentor these lost children.
The necromancer
children had nightmares of death coming to their families and their friends.
The dreamt of British and Blackthorn locked in a prison in the stars. They
feared the coming years. They knew he was coming.
Once again
noble knights were being recruited. A new King was established in Britain, one
of British's Royal Guards on a quest when they vanished. He stressed the
importance of a royal army of only the most powerful of mages and the most
noble of Knights. He trained young children of the arts taught to him when he
was one of King British's Royal Guards.
And as the
children grew, so did the dark prophecies of a man of blood which was growing
strong. A Nightmare of blood and his hands brought death by light.