The moon is hidden behind the thick, brooding clouds, casting the forest into a deep, oppressive darkness.
Pant… Pant
A man soaked with his own blood, his heart pounding, sprints through the dense forest. His breath comes in ragged gasps, though the man's legs burn with exhaustion, but he forces himself to keep running.
Thump… Thump
A crisp of decaying leaf echoed each footstep accompanied by a howl of hungry wolf, a hymn and screamed of nocturnal animals and monsters. A macabre symphony of an eerie, intense atmosphere.
Thud… Thud… Thud…
From a far, the sound of heavy footsteps approaches. An army of knights, clad in iron through the forest. Neigh… Neigh… The ground shakes with each step of the horse, the sound growing louder and more menacing. The commander's voice cuts through the night like a blade, "Before him, he is heavily injured! Increase the pace!"
The rustle of hooves grew ever nearer, the man's heart races even faster, wild, frantic and the fear creeps him like a vice, cold and unrelenting.. Due to the dimness of the cursed night, the injured man snaps from the stone underfoot, he stumbled, falling to the ground. He curses followed by a word, "I don't want to die." He struggled tostand; he had no idea how many hours he had been running.
But the truth was cruel and clear: the knights had been toying with him. A wounded man, alone and unarmed, could never outrun a warhorse, nor could he hope to dodge their arrows. Yet they had let him flee, savoring the hunt. "That was fun." with a wicked grin from the Commander's face.
The commander is named Darius Eldrath is a towering giant with six feet and six inches tall.
He clawed at the soil, dragging himself upright with trembling arms, blood and dirt mingling upon his hands. "Please, spare my life."
The commander eyed the bloodied man in disbelief, then he turned to his knight and exclaimed, "The barbarian's leader…begging to spare his life, what should we do?"
The knights, mounted upon their steeds, stepped forward as one as they raised their voices in unison. "Kill him! Kill him!"
Commander, clicked his tongue while still riding his military sword, "You, ruthless barbarians have been raiding and pillaging foods of multiple villages, killed and violated innocent people who resisted... And your last word was to spare your life, seriously?"
With a swift motion, he unsheathed his great weapon—a magnificent azure greatsword, its blade six centimeters wide and stretching a fearsome two and a half meters in length. Without hesitation, the commander brought the blade down. The execution was swift—clean—as though he were but trimming grass beneath his boots. Raising the bloodied sword high, he turned to his men with a triumphant cry, "The leader of the barbarians is dead! We have won the war!"
With victorious screams, the knights echo, "All Hail to the Dutchy of Thorpes! All Hail Commander Darius!"
From the edge of the celebration, Priest Jarek, clad in a pure white robe- the cloth a fine weave of silken thread, richly wrought with golden embroidery upon hem and sleeve. With a grimed expression as he clutched his rosary tightly, "Are we done here? feel an ominous presence in this place. My divinity…something foul lingers here."
One of the knights, a young and spirited warrior named Gareth, couldn't help but voice his frustration. "Priest Jarek, you're such a killjoy! We were just starting to enjoy ourselves."
But the knight's tantrums have been cut by a mage named Allen, "As expected to an esteemed priest who followed the teachings of God Jeremiah, you felt it too."
Commander Darius who's also intrigued, known for his quick decision making, declared, "What lies ahead of us might be dangerous. Whosoever among had the courage you may follow my lead."
The elite knights, a formidable force of 500, had fought valiantly alongside Commander Darius to defend the territory of Thorpes, ruled by Duke Ashby. With a staggering one hundred thousand knights, the dukedom of Thorpes was feared and revered as the strongest territory in the Kingdom of La Magia.
Of course, the knights has no fear following Commander Darius. But his Marshal, Romeo protested, "We didn't receive an ordeal from the Duke to venture around the Cursed Forest of Monsters.
Commander Darius tapped the shoulder of his Marshal twice and said, "We will not set foot within the Cursed Forest of Monsters as that area was unexplored. We will just wander the woods that skirts its edges and I will take full responsibility."
Priest Jarek pondered to himself, 'Why would I accompany them in such dangerous place?' Though reluctant yet he dismissed the idea of turning back alone, for such a path was fraught with greater danger. A lone priest, unguarded cannot survived in forest with looming monsters.
As they ventured deeper, the woods was unusually dense with thick fog, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. The knights, riding their military horses, felt a growing tension as they marched forward., "There is nothing unusual in here, this like any forest where there are trees and greenly leaves." Said, by Gareth.
Mage Allen, vexed and retorted, "That's because you lack brains." He raised his hand as if to scorn Gareth, but before he could, a massive magic circle appeared on the ground. The circle was so large that it encompassed all 500 elite knights.
A chill ran down their spine as they realized the danger. Before the magic could fully activate, Commander Darius, with his keen sense of danger and incredible speed, managed to blitz outside the circle. In disbelief, he uttered, "What in the world was that?"
One by one, the knights started to cry out in agony. Some clutched their heads, their faces contorted in pain, while others dropped their weapons and ran aimlessly into the darkness, their eyes wide with terror. The war-horse, once noble and steadfast, turned wild with fear,biting at their own riding knight, rearing and kicking in desperate bidto flee the cursed ground.
Desperate to understand what was happening, Darius grabbed one of his subordinates, a young knight named Alaric, who was trembling uncontrollably. "Alaric! What do you see?" Darius shouted.
But Alaric's eyes were filled with horror. "Monsters... everywhere... They're coming to kill me…You are a monster… Get away from me… Someone help!"
Commander Darius seized him by the shoulders, shaking him with force. "Get a grip, lad! We have faced countless beasts before. There are no monsters here!"
Priest Jarek too, stood trembling, not from magic but because of the horror he had witnessed. The mage was also unaffected. Commander Darius gaining grasp about the situation, rushed towards the Priest Jarek and said, "Cast your divine power that can envelop the sky. Do it right now."
The priest, though shaken, did not falter. With trembling hands, he clutched his rosary with both hands. He bowed his head, closed his eyes and utter a solemn prayer, "O Divine Light, Source of all truth and purity, I call upon your radiant power to lift the veil of darkness. We humbly pray in your most holy name, our God Jeremiah."
A divine light glows in the holy rosary, pure and golden that enveloped a massive amount of area began illuminating because of the Priest prayers. The knights who had been struck by the light havebeen halted by their craziness. Those who were wounded werepartially healed.
"Illusion magic, a spell that an 8th core witch of forbidden art can pull.", deduced by Allen.
"So, you are saying that Robert is responsible for this?" Gareth blurted, other knights nodded in unison, sharing his concern.
Allen, visibly frustrated by the accusation, snapped, "Hold your tongue! Even if Master Robert is the only 8th core magician recognized by our kingdom, he isn't a witch. Not someone who fought alongside the champion, Raven."
Gareth, not backing down, retorted, "Are you picking a fight with me?"
Commander Darius, not wanting to escalate the situation further, gave Gareth a death stare. Gareth knew that once they returned to Thorpes, hellish military training would be a punishment for his insolence.
"That's why I hate knights, brainless knights," Allen scoffed under his breath.
Even though Robert lived in the Far East, his reputation as a living legend was well known throughout the kingdom. Alongside the champion, Raven, Robert's name was synonymous with unparalleled magical prowess. Many considered him the strongest mage to have ever existed, and there was even ongoing debate about whether Robert might be stronger than Raven himself. His influence was so profound that nearly all mages idolized him. The surge in the number of magicians in the kingdom could be directly attributed to his inspiring legacy.
Divine Power is indeed the perfect counter to black magic. Ancient tomes revered that witches are known magicians who practiced forbidden black magic. The fact that Priest Jarek's divine power was able to dispel the effects of the black magic is clear evidence that it was a witch at work.
"That magic was one of the most massive spells I've ever seen. To cast such a spell means we might be facing an incredibly powerful 8th core witch. We need to request reinforcements."
"Runestone" a word that came from Allen's mouth.
A momentary silence fell over the group. No one dared to say a word. The idea of using a runestone for something like this was unthinkable. Runestones were extremely rare and cost a fortune, serving as the primary power source to stabilize magic towers. Using one just for this situation seemed like a waste.
"But if this is a war, this magic could easily flip the tide of battle, and we could lose. Whoever casts this spell is no ordinary witch," said Commander Darius.
Commander Darius knew he couldn't request reinforcements since they hadn't received approval from the Duchy to explore the skirt edges of Cursed Forest of Monster. However, if they could prove that this was the work of a witch, their action would be justifiable and even commended. Their primary task was to win the war against the barbarians. Though his military force was exhausted from the post-war and had been weakened by the dark magic, venturing further would only increase the risk of losing more soldiers.
Why aren't you affected by the magic, asked by Commander Darius.
"I have my way. I almost reached the 8th magic core so dispelling a magic of this caliber is a mage borderline ability." Uttered by Allen.
Commander Darius stared at Allen with suspicion and said, "Dispelling a magic without preparation? You led us here and refused to explain why you are unaffected by the crowd control witchmagic."
Allen, ready to defend himself with brute force magic, prepared for battle. Mages are known to be competitive and will bluntly refuse to share knowledge. They compete for power, as sharing knowledge could potentially help their competitors increase their core strength. This tradition has been instilled in most mage. Just as tensions reached its peak, they halted as Priest Jarek gasped in shock. pointed toward the horizon. A Magic Tower had appeared out of nowhere.