Deep within the underground ruins, where stone walls silently preserve the memories of ancient battles, a grand hall pulses with dark energy. It is here, amidst the flickering reflections of crystals lighting forgotten runes, that a man with a clear plan steps forward—Zartan. He walks slowly but inexorably, as if fate itself is unfolding beneath his feet.
Zartan, his voice echoing in the depths of the hall, suddenly declares:
—"Reaper, you must do one thing!"
At once, from the center of a pulsing dark sphere, as if it were the very heart of the hall itself, a powerful phantom begins to stir. The Reaper, a massive figure with a gigantic scythe in hand, slowly rises toward his creator. Yet, when his eyes meet Zartan's blazing gaze, two ancient forces collide in the air.
The Reaper, his voice rasping like the death itself, cuts through the darkness:
—"I will not obey your commands, mortal!"
At these words, the tension in the hall sharpens immediately. Zartan leans forward, his voice gaining a cold, resolute edge:
—"You will, whether you like it or not! Have you forgotten that I can make you obey, not ask!"
An epic battle begins instantly—between two forces as old as time itself. The Reaper hesitates at first, his dark essence vibrating under the power of the mighty spell, but the pride of ancient evil refuses to yield without a fight. The sky above the hall seems to darken as the Reaper's scythe begins to shimmer with lightning, carving a path through waves of magical energy.
The enormous dark sphere pulses even more intensely, as if its rhythm beats in time with the clash of these two mighty forces. The air crackles with bursts of energy, and every sound—from the echo of the scythe's strike to the cold rustle of stone tiles—becomes part of this battle for power. The Reaper, it seemed, was not only fighting against the command but against his very nature, which yearns for the freedom he once had.
Zartan, filled with unshakable confidence, stands above all, his face lit by a barely noticeable smile of power. He knows that this conflict is just the beginning, and that anyone who dares to stop him will break the sworn bond between life and death.
And then, at the climactic moment, as the Reaper's scythe, like a lightning rod, slices through the air, the ancient force witnesses how Zartan's command crosses a boundary, and every drop of darkness gains a new, cruel meaning. The world will no longer be as it once was—it will prepare for an era of chaos, where Zartan's will becomes the law.
At the heart of the ancient trading hub, where life pulses with every step, sprawls the city of merchants—a place where representatives of many races gather: humans, elves, dwarves, centaurs, and other uncharted creatures. Here, amidst vibrant market stalls and the scents of exotic spices, history and modernity intertwine in a true symphony of life.
At the city's center, in the square that silently holds ancient legends, stand majestic gates—crafted by the skilled hands of dwarves, they have become symbols of the steadfastness and might of the people who created them. These gates, woven from stone that bears the marks of ancient oaths, seem unbreakable, standing guard over the centuries.
At the threshold of these sacred gates stood Kano, observing the pulsating rhythm of the city. His calm gaze met the dignified figure of Rudgard—a representative of the ancient line of dwarves. With pride and severity, Rudgard held his sign before the guards, loudly declaring:
—"I belong to the ancient line! These two—are with me!"
His words, like the tolling of a stone bell, rang over the tiles, as if nature itself had received the signal. And at that moment, the ground trembled—the unbearable earthquake shattered the city's calm, as though the mountains had awakened from a dormant force. The sky was split by lightning, cutting through the darkness, creating an atmosphere of inevitable destruction.
The majestic gates, witnesses of centuries of heritage, trembled and slowly opened, revealing a path into a city that had never known indifference to change. Merchants who lived by the gates—representatives of the most varied cultures, immersed in their daily tasks—instantly abandoned their stalls and rushed for shelter. The revision of sounds and images: cries, the noise of panic, bewildered faces reflecting the understanding that this moment marked the beginning of something unknown and powerful.
Amidst all this chaos, Elgot, one of the mages, felt the full force of the earthquake. Every tremor of the earth, every crack in the stone seemed like the voice of ancient memories, reminding them of the unyielding power of the past. A wave of internal cold swept through his soul, like a premonition of the great struggle to preserve the legacy and strength that had sustained this people through the ages.
This whirlpool of rhythmic shocks of the earth, lightning, and cries became the connecting link between ancient traditions and the new threat that loomed. The merchant city, where every stone and every street spoke of ancient wisdom and courage, was preparing to face a storm that would change the fate of all its inhabitants in an instant.
Kano and Elgot slowly walked through the narrow streets of the underground city, escorted by stern guards toward the king's palace. The sounds of their footsteps echoed in the stone corridors when a guard suddenly shouted:
—"As soon as my words rang over the stone tiles, the mountains shook like never before—everyone scattered, as though a monster had attacked!"
In the hustle, someone tore Elgot's hood off, and the guards immediately noticed the mage they had been ordered to bring to the king. Kano, unable to hold back, shouted in a sharp voice:
—"After him! He must be saved!"
And so, they were slowly led to the palace.
Finally, after a long journey, they arrived at the great square that Kano had seen in his vision. Before the entrance to King Dorwald Silverhand's palace, embodying power, luxury, and influence, a quarter of the guards and servants had gathered. Inside the throne room, where the king sat upon his magnificent throne, an unspeakable tension already reigned.
The king rose and loudly proclaimed:
—"Who do I see?"
After a brief pause, he cast a sharp glance toward the newcomers and, smiling with a loud laugh, added:
—"A vagabond who owes the whole city to the great mage, Elgot! And who is this beggar with him?"
Kano couldn't hold back and immediately replied:
—"I am not a beggar, I am Kano Rom, and we've simply come to buy something in the city of dwarves!"
The king laughed even louder and asked:
—"Has the mage gotten money? But I see no carts of gold to settle your debts! Do you remember, Elgot?"
Elgot sighed quietly, trying to find a way out of the situation, but Kano prophetically spoke again:
—"Dwarves are so greedy and arrogant—they should think more about others!"
Then the king, growing furious, began his speech:
—"You know what the human child hears about the suffering of the dwarves! Humans made us pay for bread as if it were a house! We lived in barns with the cattle, worked harder than slaves! When the plague hit our cities, we had to abandon our mines—everyone saw us not as a destitute people, but as a bag of gold, for which bread was paid at such a price you could buy a house! We worked for food and shelter, lived like animals to survive, and only to someday return to our cities!"
Kano, for a moment, wanted to interrupt, but the king did not stop:
—"And you sat here, counting your profits, while the human kingdoms were taken over by a freak who crawled into power! You survived thanks to the humans, but for Queen Lianisa—you did nothing!"
After a short pause, the king asked:
—"You have a fine sword—where did you get this thing?"
Kano calmly replied:
—"It is a gift from my people, my friends."
The king of dwarves said:
—"If you survive, I will forgive his debts and give you the right to move freely between the cities of dwarves and trade as you wish. But on one condition: you must survive, or at least kill the evil that has infested our mine. It does not allow us to work—many have gone in, but none have returned!"
Soon the king waved his hand, and the guards began dragging Kano and Elgot through the labyrinth of corridors leading deeper under the city, where breathing became difficult, and their lungs tightened with every breath. Finally, they reached the doors of the mine, where they were thrown in, and the heavy doors slammed shut behind them.
A dwarf guard shouted:
—"The exit is on the other side!"
Kano and Elgot were left with questions and anxiety, and they ventured into the dark mine, where the cold blue light of crystals pierced every corner.