It was a small island, sitting quietly on the edge of the great ocean Okeanos.
The island's area wasn't large, in fact, it could barely be called more than an ordinary speck of land in the sea.
Its scenery was unremarkable. Compared with countless other islands scattered across the waves, there was nothing special about it.
An ordinary coastline. Ordinary beaches. Ordinary vegetation. Ordinary flat terrain. Ordinary local products.
Even to the most adventurous of sailors, this island held no value whatsoever.
Yet this utterly forgettable island, one without a name, without a place on any map, had, as of late, become unexpectedly crowded.
Visitors came from all over Greece: seasoned explorers, mighty warriors, demigods with divine blood, and experienced magi.
As if overnight, this remote corner of the ocean had turned into some kind of tourist attraction. One group after another braved the treacherous waves in small boats, landing upon the island's shores.
But not a single one of them ever returned.
In the island's only usable harbor, dozens of abandoned boats tethered to the docks stood as silent proof.
Their disappearance spread swiftly through the land.
"The Island of No Return", that was what people called it.
According to legend, a terrifying monster dwelled there, bringing calamity to humankind. The brave souls who ventured to the island did so to slay the beast and prove their valor.
But as more and more of those heroes vanished without a trace, the island's notoriety grew.
People began to believe that the creature on the island was far beyond the reach of ordinary men, that only a true hero could hope to destroy it.
And so, the island became an irresistible lure.
After all, who didn't want to prove themselves a true hero?
Soon, slaying the monster on the island became less about protecting others and more about earning glory.
For ambitious warriors seeking fame overnight, the greater the number of lives the island claimed, the greater the renown awaiting the one who finally triumphed.
Because no one had ever returned alive, the monster's appearance, nature, or power remained a complete mystery.
Yet the more mysterious it was, the more it tempted them.
What if I defeat it?
What if I become famous in a single night?
What if I'm the one destined to succeed?
There was no shortage of those willing to gamble their lives on that thought. And thus, the nameless island became a black hole that devoured human lives.
From all corners of Greece, eager heroes came rushing, each desperate to prove themselves, and none ever returned.
By now, no one even questioned the obvious: if that monster had never left the island, how could it possibly have harmed anyone?
Could a creature that lived quietly on a remote island, minding its own existence, truly be called a monster?
But such logic no longer mattered.
Because if everyone said there was a monster, then a monster there must be.
If everyone said it deserved to die, then die it must.
As long as its death could earn them fame, what else was there to consider?
And thus, the cycle of death continued.
For the fishermen along the western coast of Okeanos, the sight of yet another small boat setting sail toward that cursed place was nothing new.
They had even seen robed magi, mysterious, scholarly, and solemn, set out for the island before.
But someone like the man before them, so young, so extraordinary, they had never seen.
"How many is this one now?"
A dark-skinned fisherman, bare-chested and muscular, asked the companion beside him.
"The forty-fifth? Or forty-sixth? I've lost count." The shipwright in a short tunic hammered nails into a half-finished boat as he answered casually, "He paid in gold coins, fine ones. Must be a rich man from one of the city-states."
"I don't get these people," the fisherman said with a troubled look. "They all know going there means death, yet one after another, they still go. Not one's come back alive. The only one benefiting is you."
"I'd rather my business were worse," the shipwright muttered, his voice heavy. "They're all fine young men.
Buy a boat from me and never return... What I'm building isn't a boat, it's a coffin. They're all around my son's age…"
His hammer stilled mid-strike, and silence hung between them.
"Yeah… fine lads, all of them. Especially this one, so young, yet so wise. He could've married a king's daughter, I swear. Why would someone like him throw his life away?"
"Ah, "
"Ah, "
They both sighed as they watched the small boat drift farther and farther away, the tall figure standing upon it growing smaller on the horizon.
That figure was Alaric.
As the Headmaster of the Mystra Academy and the chosen of the Goddess of Magic, Alaric had long resided on the island of Colchis.
There, he lived among the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Love and Beauty, leaving most affairs to his subordinates.
But now, he had left Colchis behind, left his divine companions, and even postponed an important discussion with Helios, the sun god of the previous age, and the Oceanid Perse, concerning the founding of a nation upon Colchis.
Because this journey carried great importance.
He had come to personally seek out potential candidates to serve his two goddesses.
Like the warriors who ventured toward the nameless island, his destination was that very same "Island of No Return."
Yet his purpose was entirely different.
For the one he sought, his chosen target, was there.
Even Alaric had to admit, the island's location was exceptionally remote.
Even aboard a magically accelerated boat, it took him a full day to reach it from the nearest shore.
It was indeed a small island, so small one could see its boundaries at a glance.
Upon landing, Alaric was met with a dense forest.
Without hesitation, he walked straight ahead.
The one he sought was within that forest, she, or rather they, resided in the temple hidden deep within.
The forest wasn't large. After about ten minutes, the stone temple came into view.
Once, it must have been grand and majestic. But now, what stood before Alaric was but a ruin, cracked bricks, weathered columns, long neglected by any hand of restoration.
Yet as he approached, he felt it, a distinct, sacred power.
It was the power of divinity.
Within that temple… dwelled a true god.