Long before the Hollow Crown was shattered, before the Binding Wars consumed the lands, before even Thaleon wore the weight of chains…
The chamber was carved from bone and shadow.Candles flickered weakly, their flames twisting as if breathing.
A figure stood at the center — tall, cloaked in midnight, their face always hidden beneath a shifting veil of darkness.
Hands moved deftly over a shattered fragment of the Crown — a crescent of gold etched with ancient runes.
"They believe the Circle was unified," the voice whispered, cold and precise."That we forged the Crown to bind magic — to save the world."
The figure's fingers traced a sigil.
"But I forged it for control.For freedom.For power unbound."
A Betrayal Written in Blood
The Circle was never a circle.It was a spiral — tightening. Twisting inward.
One among them could not bear the confines of order. The laws written into the leylines.
So they betrayed the others.
And the Crown was shattered to stop them.
"I live still," the figure said, voice dropping to a hiss."Feeding the hunger.Watching the leyline bleed.Waiting for the moment when the world forgets again."
Their eyes flickered — not human, but ancient. A storm trapped in flesh.
"When the fragments are reunited, I will rise."
"And all will kneel before the true crown — the one forged by betrayal, not fear."
A Whisper to the Winds
The figure stepped back into the darkness.
A single, broken rune floated in the air — glowing faintly.
It was a warning.
And a promise.
The Hollow Crown is not just power.It is a legacy of lies.And the traitor still holds the key.