Prologue - 700 Years Ago
Narein Kashaera walked through the rubble that was once his palace. He tsked as he gazed solemnly at all the damage surrounding him.
What were once study stone pillars were now just an obliterated pile of rubble that were strewn across the palace grounds. There wasn’t an inch around him that wasn’t covered with ruins or shattered jagged rocks. Sandstone walls, that once stood high and proud holding the crest of House Kashaera, began to slowly crumble. Dust from the battle settled gently on the broken marble throne. Smoke from the long extinguished fires rose up like the ghosts of the souls that fought valiantly in the battle a few hours ago.
What once stood as a mighty building of power, sending a shiver down the spine of anyone who had the ill fortune to have seen it, was now only a disintegrated crumbling mess. If only the people could see it now…
…If anyone was left alive, that was.
Because none of the fallen buildings or broken ornate statues compared to the number of bodies lying motionless in the midst of the falling castle. Blood from the fallen soldiers covered the stone pillars - or rather, what were once stone pillars - and the marble floors. For a palace that was in the middle of what was once a serene forest, the scent of the burning flesh permeated the air.
The slow breeze, swaying trees, rustling leaves, and the serene evening air that surrounded the palace betrayed the carnage that laid within it. It was only the silent forest around them that gave anyone the indication of the battle that was fought only moments before.
A silence that no animals or birds dared to disturb.
“Did you really have to make me do this?” Narein asked, almost as if he was exasperated.
He scratched his forehead, wincing at the throbbing pain pounding in his head. His dark cloak swished with every step he took, making him look as if he was gliding across the cracked marble floor.
He stepped over the bodies strewn about in the midst of the rubble - not sparing them even a glance. If anyone had seen Narein shaking his head now, they’d probably mistake his action for sympathy for the lives lost in the battle. Unfortunately though, empathy was an emotion Narein couldn’t identify with at the moment.
And why would he?
He was the reason they were all dead anyway.
Narein cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders trying to soothe his sore, aching muscles. He could feel himself slowly becoming lethargic. His feet faltered with every step he took. The battle was a long and arduous one. And Narein had just shown the world how powerful he truly was. He showed them what would happen to them if anyone dared come in his way.
But unfortunately, using all his power meant that he could barely stand, much less walk, at the moment.
His energy drained with every step he took towards the throne. His sluggishness was nothing compared to his unbridled glee as he gazed upon the throne. His body ached everywhere he’d been hit - enough that he knew he’d have bruises if he didn’t treat them. Narein didn’t mind the blood trickling from the wound on his arm down to his hands and down down onto the floor - leaving a bloody path to his destination.
Not that he cared at all for his other wounds.
Nor did he care for the pain pulsating from every stab or broken bone.
Narein walked to his best friend. The word ‘enemy’ would normally be used in this situation but the man currently struggling on the floor was someone Narein grew up with. Someone that Narein looked up to. The man truly was Narein’s best friend, in every sense of the word - that was until he refused to move out of Narein’s path.
Narein looked up to his best friend, Arvin, struggling in the distance from his injuries. Narein narrowed his eyes, giving his friend a once over.
Arvin’s short black hair clung to his face as the blood flowed from his head down his face. Narein couldn’t see where Arvin’s injury actually was though. Arvin clutched the gash on his ribs, shaking as he struggled to breathe. He couldn’t even seem to move his legs, however, making Narein purse his lips.
Narein really didn’t want the battle to end like this, with him fighting his own best friend. And now, with his friend gravely injured, Narein had just realized…
This was how it was supposed to end after all.
This was where all the roads of their destiny were leading to.
With him and Arvin on the two different sides of the battle. Because for all that he planned, Narein hadn’t considered that Arvin - of all people - would be the one to stand in his way. Not after all that they’d been through.
Narein shook his head, lifting his hands at the damage around them. He walked over to one of the injured soldiers, barely alive as the soldier struggled to breathe. The soldier’s eyes widened watching him like a hawk as Narein approached him. The sweet innocent smile that Narein gave the soldier did nothing to soothe the injured man apparently. The soldier’s chest heaved the closer Narein got. Lifting his hands to the soldier’s forehead, Narein let out a soft smile.
“Thank goodness. He still has enough strength.” Narein said, loud enough.
A soft relieved chuckle escaped Narein’s lips. He gave the injured man a small smile, one that slowly turned into a smirk. Narein closed the distance between them to touch the soldier’s forehead, only to be interrupted by Arvin’s shout.
“Leave him alone!”
“Hm?” Narein looked at Arvin lazily.
“Leave him alone.” Arvin said through gritted teeth. Although, Narein didn’t know if Arvin’s strained voice was from the pain from Arvin’s injuries or his barely concealed anger. “It’s me that you want. You can have me. Let him go.”
Narein gave his friend a tight smile. “Don’t worry. I’m coming over to you. I just need a little…” Narein trailed off, pursing his lips and scrunching his eyebrows as if he was trying to find the right word. “Sustenance.” He said, dismissing Arvin’s protests before turning to the soldier in front of him. “I, honestly, don’t know if this will hurt you or not. Either way, it’ll be good for me. So, I do not care.”
That was all he said, before Narein placed his hand on the soldier’s forehead. He could see the soldier’s eyes widen as he struggled against Narein’s grasp. But there was no use. Narein had already felt the soldier’s life force brimming in the injured man’s chest. A life force from another person that Narein alone could access. It didn’t take Narein long to access it either. Months of practice had assured him of that.
Months of practice perfecting using another living being’s life force to sustain his own.
The soldier’s struggled against Narein’s grip; his punches, getting weaker as time ticked by. Seconds turned into minutes as the soldier’s eyes slowly glazed over with each attempt to escape.
All that struggle was in vain, however. It didn’t matter that the soldier in front of him was dying and slowly turning gray. Every breath that the soldier took was a struggle; every attempt at getting Narein to stop, getting weaker. Narein could feel the life source from the soldier slowly seep out and into Narein.
Filling him up.
Rejuvenating him.
Narein, on the other hand, had never felt more alive.
He could feel the wound on his shoulder stitching itself up, the life force from the soldier slowly healed his other wounds. He could still feel the soldier struggling against his grasp - barely, that was. But all that struggle was futile. As the seconds passed, Narein could see the cloud form over the soldier’s eyes. The man’s weak protests subsided as his hands lay limp beside him.
With a final breath, Narein sapped the last remaining life force from the soldier, leaving the once injured man to fall to the ground unscrupulously. Narein didn’t care for the soldier any longer.
But that was ok. The soldier served his purpose.
Sapping up a person’s life force… that was getting easier for him. Narein could still remember the time when that was probably one of the hardest things that he’d accomplished. He’s started small, of course. Taking the life of ants, first. Then, the bigger animals like rabbits and squirrels. The lynx was an accident, of course. He only had to take the life of the lynx when it attacked him one day. But his first human…
That wasn't a mistake.
No, that was intentional.
He reveled when he saw the life deplete from his first human, smiling giddily as he felt the man’s life fill Narein up. It gave him a high like no other. No amount of Icthum root could give him the euphoric feeling. But for all the euphoric feeling taking another person’s life force provided, it had been hard. Taking from a human was far more difficult than Narein had imagined. It was even harder when they were struggling and he couldn’t get to them.
But now?
Narein looked at his handiwork. The soldier laying on the ground, motionless, turned completely gray and devoid of life.
“Thank you.” Narein tried to tell the soldier as sincerely as he could. Although, that emotion was betrayed by the smirk Narein gave. Narein kicked the soldier’s leg to make way for him to walk to his friend.
Narein tilted his head as he looked at Arvin, stalking towards him, as he scrutinized his friend. Arvin’s glares did nothing to stop his slow gait, however.
“I have to give you credit.” Narein said. “You’re the only one not afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of cowards.” Arvin spit out, hatred laced with every word.
Narein clutched his ribs tighter as if every word sent jabs of pain through his chest. That wasn’t completely an act, of course. Hearing those words coming from his best friend certainly hurt.
But he scoffed it off. Narein lifted his hands as he turned around. “Me? A coward? You came to my kingdom with an army. I was able to do…” Narein looked around at his castle again. “This. And you think that I am the coward?”
Narein stopped only a couple feet away from his friend. Although Narein still considered Arvin to be his friend, it was sad for him to think that Arvin didn’t think of him as such.
“This could have all been avoidable.” Narein said just loud enough for Arvin to hear. Not that there was any other soul in the palace that could hear him. “How many times, Arvin? How many times did I have to tell you to leave me alone? I made you a deal. I told you I’d leave you and your kingdom alone if you let me be.”
“Leave my kingdom alone at the expense of all the other kingdoms. How many people have already suffered under you?” Arvin struggled to even talk. But that didn’t stop him from snarling at Narein. When Narein didn’t answer, Arvin’s expression turned softer. “You still have the chance to change this.” The desperation in Arvin’s voice was undeniable. “You don’t have to do all this. I’ll be there for yo-”
“No!” Narein roared at the man. “No, you won’t! You never were!”
“I know! I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. But you can change this now. And I’ll be there every step of the way.” Arvin pleaded. He lifted his hand clutching his ribs towards his friend.
Narein scoffed again. “Try to change me? No, it’s too late for that, my friend. I’d say I’ll show you exactly how much worse I can be. But I’m sorry, you’ll not be alive to see it. You’re already a pain now. I can’t have you thwarting my plans for the future.”
Narein closed the distance between him and his friend. He crouched down to his friend and raised the dagger. “At least I’m giving you the grace of dying. Don’t make me take your life source.”
And with that Narein brought the dagger down onto his friend, not realizing that with that one act, he’d started a war that would last almost 700 years.
700 years of tears and bloodshed.
Earning himself the name of the Dark One.
All of which led to this point where the story starts…
