Shadowlands - Holy Land of the Shadow Men - 17 B.C[1]
Master of Whispers, Master Mazda, and Master Odin were all gathered on the lowest floor of the main Black Tower of the Holy Land.
These three Master Kings had finally collected enough of Raphael's blood, and now they were about to make a new attempt to gain a glimpse into the future of the Shadowlands. After all, it was thanks to the Supreme Shadowmancer Spell of these three Masters that they had always maintained their advantages in Asshai and foresaw the Sixth Calamity.
Thanks to this, they ensured that all the Shadow Men remained safe and did not suffer a single loss in the Calamity of Abominations.
But for Master Odin, the one who would be the central figure in this ritual, and who would use Raphael's blood to enhance his own Shadowmancer power, there was a high risk to his life.
"Why is the blood boiling like this?" Master of Whispers asked, observing the vessel containing Raphael's blood, collected over nearly a century.
Master Mazda, being the oldest and most experienced of the three, replied:
"He must surely be responsible for this new blood affinity; therefore, his blood is very powerful and shows signs of having a life of its own. If we didn't need every drop for this ritual, I would conduct many experiments with it…"
"Master Mazda, you have the luxury of waiting until Raphael uses your messenger again. Remember that predicting the next Calamity is our duty as descendants of the Guardians, but we also need to ensure the safety and continuity of our people against any other threats from the Shadowlands." Master Odin said in a reprimanding tone. Then, he faced the two Masters, took a deep breath, and said:
"I am ready!"
Master Odin walked and sat in the lotus position in the center of the hall; the other two Asshai'i Kings activated the ritual by chanting several magical words inaudible to outsiders. The blood of the Red Sage was spilled on the ground and soon seemed to come alive, snaking across the magical runes drawn by the three Shadowmancer Masters on the floor, illuminating everything in a brilliant red light.
When the runes were fully lit, Master Odin activated his Supreme Shadowmancer Ability, "Prophecy of Shadows," which allowed him to see the past, present, and future of all the Shadowlands, and soon fell into a trance, his soul being dragged into the world of prophecy.
But as soon as he entered a trance, Master Mazda and Master of Whispers saw something unexpected happen: a portion of the Red Sage's blood, which had settled on the runes on the ground, gushed upwards and entered Master Odin's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, leaving him with a painful expression…
The two Masters knew something had gone wrong, but now they could do nothing but wait for the effect of Odin's Shadowmancer Skill to end. If they tried to forcefully interrupt the ritual, the Master King might never wake up again…
***
Master Odin opened his eyes and found himself in the familiar sensation of observing the past, present, and future. His body had become a giant made of shadows, and he stood in the center of the Shadowland observing everything as if he were a God.
Knowing what to do, he advanced to the moment when the Calamity of Abominations began to see more details.
In his vision, he observed three Master Necromancers with special physiques opening a kind of portal to a place filled with powerful souls in the Central Tower of Stygai. Then, the three entered the portal, and the various coffins in the Central Cemetery of Stygai began to crack, the city's natural barriers crumbled one by one, and abominations began to roam freely within the city.
The beginning of this event occurred in 91 B.C, shortly before the Great Auction of Asshai.
And the breaking of the final barrier of Stygai happened in 18 B.C.
Odin had already seen this event in his previous prophecy and knew that this decreasing calendar called B.C signified a great event that would change the entire world, but such an event never affected the Shadowslands beyond changing its calendar...
Master Odin knew that seeing these past events wasn't important; he needed to know what came next!
After advancing time, he finally observed the moment when the Sixth Calamity would end!
It happened in 1 A.C[2]., and the one who would end it was the only man who returned among the three who entered the portal opened in the Central Tower of Stygai.
Odin tried to see more details of the Necromancer who managed to escape alive from the place full of powerful souls, but he ended up failing. The figure was very powerful and carried items that were above the current known Relics. The only visible signs of his appearance were his aged white hair and beard, and a pair of wrinkled hands that betrayed his advanced age…
"ARGHH"
But suddenly, something unprecedented happened within Odin's vision. An unbearable pain struck his head, and his eyes shed tears of blood.
Odin, being a Master of Prophecy, quickly understood what such pain meant: His mastery of the Shadow Prophecy ability had been expanded! And he could now see beyond the Shadowlands!
He could see the whole world!
But before Odin could look any further, he began to be guided by a red energy that had a will of its own!
He could no longer see the visions he wanted… Only those he was allowed!
In his new vision, he saw that in the 1 B.C. calendar, three red giants rose in Asshai. One departed for Westeros, one remained in the Shadowlands, and the last departed for Sothoryos!
The Necromancer he had been observing, who had managed to save the Shadowlands from the Sixth Calamity, departed for the lands of Yi Ti, disappearing from his sight!
Soon after, his body moved to Westeros, and he observed three dragons flying above, ruling the entire continent through flames and fear.
Odin finally understood the origin of the strange calendar of his prophecies!
It was an event called the Conquest of Aegon Targaryen!
Such an event was truly worthy of attention after the end of the Valyrian Empire!
Soon after, the years advanced again, while the Targaryens ruled all of Westeros, the red giant who had gone there spread red tentacles across the continent!
Odin strained to look and see what was at the tip of the tentacles, but failed!
Soon, the years advanced very quickly!
Black flames spread across the territory of Yi Ti, initiating a great war. The red giant of Westeros abandoned the territory of the Seven Kingdoms, crossed the seas, and joined this new war.
But even after leaving, its red tentacles still controlled everything in Westeros!
Odin then watched a terrible war between dragons begin; the Red Shadow left Yi Ti again and returned to Westeros to engage in this new war.
Odin struggled to observe more of this dragon war, but from that moment on, he could see nothing more…
His vision darkened, and he lost consciousness. When he awoke again and opened his eyes, he realized that his vision had been divided into three different visions:
In one of the three visions, he floated above the world, outside the planet, like a god observing a small blue sphere! He could observe the starry sky in the surroundings, the moon, and the sun; the greatest highlight of this vision was a flaming rock that crossed the space on the outskirts of his world!
In the second vision, he floated above the largest and oldest forest of Essos; he recognized this particular forest because it had the greatest magical fauna and flora in this world. Being a place much explored by Masters of magic seeking magical resources.
In the third vision, he was inside one of the Conqueror's castles. In this vision, he saw the current Targaryen King, named Aegon Targaryen III, observing a young dragon that had just been born.
Odin had already confirmed that all three events he was witnessing simultaneously were happening in the year 153 A.C.
In the castle, accompanying the newly born dragon, were several important figures from the Council of the Seven Kingdoms, who looked at the young dragon with great expectations. Among the important figures, there were some with bloody red eyes, but Odin seemed not to notice anything strange about them...
Soon, a Maester of the Citadel carefully approached the newborn dragon, which appeared to be quite weak, carrying a small piece of meat in his hand. He had a cruel smile that no one seemed to notice, except Odin. Besides seeing its smile that wasn't a smile, the Master Shadowmancer could also see a poisonous liquid dripping from the small piece of meat offered to the little dragon.
The young dragon ate the meat with great effort, due to its weakness, but as soon as it finished the meal that should have strengthened it, it seemed to grow even weaker. In a few minutes, or perhaps a few days, Odin couldn't say... The small, frail dragon shocked everyone by ceasing to breathe and then dying.
Its death was not just any death of a young dragon; it was also a tragic event that would mark history as the last dragon to be born…
At the same time, while the young dragon was dying, Odin watched the flaming rock approach even closer to his world and then slow down, almost orbiting the planet at a very slow and long pace, and the oldest forest in Westeros was completely burned down by a group of masked people led by a man in colorful and flamboyant clothes.
As these three events unfolded simultaneously, a loud crack was heard across all continents by all magic practitioners, and all the dragon candles in the world went out…
Odin, being an experienced Master Shadowmancer, knew what that sound and that feeling meant!
It was the end of all magic!
Not only that, it was a coldly calculated and planned event!
Whether it was the flaming rock that crossed the starry skies, the arsonists in the primeval forest of Essos, or the man who poisoned the dragons, they all planned and conspired to make this happen!
Master Odin used all his power and forcefully broke the three visions and found himself once again floating above Westeros, his head aching terribly, his eyes bleeding even more, and he was about to lose consciousness.
He knew that to end the current prophecy, he needed to return to the Shadowlands and escape this vision, returning to his physical body! He needed to warn the other Master Kings of the danger!
As his astral body flew across the seas, Odin observed the world during the tragic event known as the end of magic…
The Mages who were waging battles suddenly found themselves unable to use their basic magic spells!
Magical artifacts in the hands of apprentices and heroes were transformed into worthless pieces of metal!
Powerful Relics lost parts of their power!
Valuable magical plants were drying up and dying all over the world!
Magical Bags became ordinary bags with all their contents lost forever!
Pups of magical beasts were being born prematurely or even stillborn!
While other magical beasts and mutants with low intelligence died instantly for no reason from mysterious illnesses!
The most terrifying sight of all that Odin witnessed was seeing the powerful Shadowmancer Masters aging rapidly and dying! They could no longer feed on the energy of shadows to live forever!
The same happened to some Bloodmages; their immortal races now had much shorter lives!
Worst of all, as Odin approached Asshai, he saw that the end of magic had been a spark that ignited the flames of war; the red giant who had remained in the city of Asshai was fighting a black giant of similar height who had ten shadows.
At the same time, giants of varying colors and priestly robes rose in the City of Shadows, entering the war between the two giants and dividing Asshai into three territories. In the midst of these three warring groups of giants, the small Shadow Men cowered in terror as the three groups attempted to devour or control them…
"I need to warn… I need to warn everyone in our tribe, I need to… of the dangers…
…NO… I—"
When Master Odin finally returned to the outskirts of his people's Sacred Land, desperately trying to awaken, he lost consciousness and fainted within the vision of the prophecy…
Outside, Master Mazda and Master of Whispers saw the ritual's energy end and Master Odin's body fall unconscious, never to awaken again, leaving the Shadow Men completely unaware of the terrible future that awaited them…
The end of book 1!
Thank you for reading The Asshai's Bloodmage!
****
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[1] B.C Before the Conquest
[2] A.C. = After the Conquest