In the dark 13th century, in a remote land where the poor lived in fear and the rich ruled with cruelty, Ariel reigned – a young noblewoman with beauty that dazzled, and a heart as cold as coal. After the death of her kind parents, she inherited their estate – and her own dark power.
Everyone who passed near her manor avoided her. Her joy came from the suffering of others: whipping, throwing into icy waters, cruel games that some paid for with their lives. Villagers whispered that Ariel had no soul – only a cold hunger for power.
One freezing night, Miriam, the village herbalist and healer of the forest, returned from gathering herbs when she heard a rustle in the bushes. Her heart clenched with fear – but it was not wild beasts she found, but Ariel, lying in the wet grass, wounded by an arrow. Without hesitation, Miriam dragged Ariel into her hut and began forbidden dark magic to save her life.
The fire went out, mist rose, and Ariel lay still. Her breath was weak, her heart full of pain, yet a spark of something new glimmered in her eyes – the possibility of change. Pale and exhausted, Miriam whispered, "Let this change you, child… or it will destroy us all."
Thus begins the story of Ariel – a girl who was once a queen of cruelty, now standing at the threshold of a curse that will change her forever.