A Dark Omen
Irisia's eyes widened as she gazed upon the crimson comet streaking across the night sky. It gleamed with a sinister incandescence as it slashed through the starry canvas above like a vicious gash of molten blood.
"This cannot be...." she whispered to herself in a voice filled with dread.
As assistant head researcher of the Mage's Academy, Irisia was well-versed in the great prophecies of the Kingdom of Azularis.
Her enchanting violet eyes glistened with a hint of red as they reflected the scarlet glow that was now flashing through the evening sky. Her lush blonde hair swayed with the soft breeze of night as she recalled the legendary prophecy recorded deep in the annals of Azularian history:
[When the Blood Star crosses the sky, a new age shall dawn upon this world.]
[A Shadow will rise in flesh and bone renewed.]
[The balance of power will crumble to dust.]
[As the tide of Chaos sweeps across this mortal realm.]
She urgently made her way through the halls of the academy, stopping before a pair of ornate double doors that marked the entrance to the library.
She hastily entered, striding towards the deepest section of the library whilst ignoring the startled looks of the students as she passed through.
Irisia finally stopped before a bookshelf tucked away in an obscure corner of the library and pulled out a musty tome bound with black leather. She flipped open the book, flitting through the pages until she finally came across a page with a picture that depicted the same red comet she had just seen soaring across the sky.
Beads of cold sweat slid down her neck as she confirmed her greatest fear.
*It seems...* she thought to herself, *the time has finally come....*
She touched the air, revealing a virtual interface with a list of commands. She selected the
"Professor, do you see it?" she said.
A deep voice suddenly rumbled in her mind as the recipient of the spell responded: "Of course. The task force has already been dispatched to investigate. If the prophecy is true...."
"We must kill whatever has risen before it is too late."
----------------
Upon a skeletal throne built from countless human and inhuman looking bones, a figure lay slouched upon his sepulchral seat. He wore a dark cloak that concealed much of his body and face, and in a slender hand pale as snow, he clutched a silver goblet filled with a murky blue liquid.
The cloaked individual tilted his head as a sharp knock echoed from the great double doors that stood on the opposite end of his throne.
"Enter." he softly commanded, speaking in a gentle yet chilling voice that rippled across the room like a biting gust of winter wind in the dead of night.
A figure in a monstrous suit of dark red-tinted plate armor strode into the throne room. The helm was forged in the design of a skeletal dragon, with a long dragon-snout like appendage at its tip and a set of curled goat horns on both sides of its head. Similar designs covered the platemail on its body, like a nightmare given the form of armor.
The figure knelt immediately upon entering, bowing its head in a sign of absolute deference.
"My lord, I have urgent news." rasped an inhuman voice from beneath the helm.
The cloaked man lazily swished his goblet back and forth, but the mysterious liquid within somehow remained completely still. Not a single drop could be seen sloshing inside the swaying cup.
"Urgent, is it? Do tell me...." he drawled.
"The crimson star has been sighted near the Azularia Academy of Magic." his subordinate replied.
The pale hand clutching the goblet immediately froze. A crimson glint flickered from beneath the shadow of his shrouded face as a sudden spectral chill descended upon the room.
"You are absolutely certain? I hope I need not remind you the consequences of wasting my time, Karahast."
Karahast nodded his head. "Yes. We have confirmation from multiple agents, and the Oracle has sensed a great magical disturbance in the area."
The cloaked man remained silent for several moments after hearing this. Karahast did not move a muscle, patiently awaiting a response from his lord.
"The Great One has finally descended. We must retrieve him and turn him to our cause immediately, before he has time to grow. Send her."
A startled surprise crept into Karahast's inhuman rasp. "Her? She is still unstable. I do not think it is-"
The cloaked man raised his hand to silence him. "Go. Deliver my instruction."
Karahast obliged without a second word. He stood and gave a brief bow before delicately backing out of the throne room, closing the double doors on his way out.
Upon the departure of his servant, the cloaked man flicked his hand, creating an interface panel before him. He reached in, his hand and arm disappearing into the panel to grasp and pull out a black leather tome.
He stroked the cover of the tom as he mused to himself:
"So it begins...."