Open Doors, Lost Kingdoms: The Expansion of Cælora

Seraphon and Darius stood on the large observation deck with their eyes fixed on the immensity of the starry sky. Their attention was drawn to the ancient astral charts spread out on a carved wooden table. These millennia-old maps contained forgotten secrets and lost roads to uncharted realms.

Seraphon placed his fingers on a point of light on the map. The dot shone faintly like a star. Darius, on his part, had his eyes fixed on the ancient symbols inscribed around the portals.

– Darius: «It's time, isn't it?»

"Yes," replied Seraphon. «Opening portals is the key to accessing the realms that will allow us to strengthen Cælora. The spiritual forces that reside there will be a valuable asset, but everything must be done carefully. The balance is fragile.»

Darius nodded. He is someone of a cautious nature, each movement calculated and each of his words measured. He had an endless ambition in him. His role was to oversee the activation of the portals but also to ensure that the expansion did not become a burden on the kingdom.

– «We have studied the old texts well». Darius said, tapping the card. «But some kingdoms are more... dangerous than we thought. Shadow demons, for example. They will not be satisfied with crossing the border peacefully. Their nature is antagonistic, their thirst for power is endless.»

Sepharon understood the risks but he was confident in the strength of the kingdom they were building.

«Those we bring in must accept a certain order. The idea is not simply to increase our power, but to shape a new society, unified in its diversity. Every race and creature that crosses our borders must contribute to this vision. Your vampires, for example, have a unique gift for manipulating life energy. Demons even if they have a sometimes unstable nature can bring a necessary brute force to counter our enemies... as long as we maintain control.»

– Darius: «And the management of internal conflicts?. Demonic clans are notoriously disgusting with each other. The rivalry between them could weaken our borders.»

Sepharon: «We must unite them under one banner. Alliances will be created in subtle ways, with exchanges of power and wealth. But above all, everyone will have to feel indispensable to our cause. None of them should feel marginalized. This will ensure that they have a place of choice in our kingdom while maintaining a fragile balance that we will control.»

Seraphon and Darius the next day called a meeting with the elders of the kingdom, it was a circle composed of creatures of power with each having a particular domain. Among them was an ancient vampire like Darius named Lirael as well as a demon named Bael whose reputation for brutality and military strategy was legendary.

The large doors of the council chamber opened with the two newcomers entering the chamber.

Sepharon: «Caelora's balance rests on your shoulders. We are opening new frontiers. New realms. But these lands will be populated by diverse, sometimes chaotic creatures. It is essential that we integrate them correctly.»

Bael: «We will have to crush all resistance in these lands. Rapid and decisive expansion is what will ensure us total dominance. The weak must give way to the strongest, that's the only way to guarantee stability.»

– Lirael: «Stability, perhaps but not without cost. Such a quick conquest risks attracting enemies more powerful than us. Diplomacy and infiltration will be far more valuable tools than brute force. »

Sepharon: «That's why we need different forces. An iron fist on one side, a velvet hand on the other. You, Bael, and you, Lirael play critical roles in this equation. Darius and I have opened up these realms. It's up to you to maintain order once they cross our borders.»

–Lirael (smiling): «What if one of them rebels?. What do we do if after everything we have put in place, they choose to challenge our authority?"»

Sepharon: «We will break them, Lirael. Or, better yet, we will incorporate them into our cause. Cælora is destined to be the home of all creatures but under one and the same rule. Yours, ours. Those who oppose will perish. But those who ally themselves with us will see such prosperity as no other race could offer them.»

Several days later, the ceremony of opening the portals began in the grounds of the great sanctuary. Whispers of excitement circulated among members of Cælora's elite. Seraphon and Darius stood in the center surrounded by the old and representatives of the new creatures that were entering the realm.

The sky above them opened with bright flashes pouring over the earth. Each portal that was an opening to an alternate reality materialized in dazzling brilliance into a new land offering the promise of unparalleled power.

Various creatures began to cross across. First, a horde of demons with nightmarish features. Second, a line of vampires with elegant features who carried ancient knowledge. Finally, other mystical and unknown creatures, some translucent and others shining with pure light like fallen celestial entities.

Each arrival was greeted with calculated respect but under the gaze of Seraphon and Darius, everything was already at stake. Cælora's ambition grew as the portals closed one by one.

Darius: «The kingdom is now larger than ever. The challenges will be great but if we play our cards right, Cælora will dominate this world.»

Sepharon: «Cælora is the future. And the future belongs to those who know how to open the right doors.»

On the other side of the kingdom, Nethrath, still as mysterious as ever was making a precise study of the arcana. His office, located in a high room was filled with time maps suspended in the air by enchantments and floating crystals that projected holograms of infinite timelines. It was a place where reality itself was distorted.

The hours were mixed here, and Nethrath never needed a watch. For him, every moment, every movement was special. He manipulated time like a second skin by stretching or folding it and following invisible threads that were woven through entire eras.

In the center of this room, a circular table was covered with ancient documents, magical artifacts, and detailed observations. These artifacts were unlike any other: there were clocks with floating hands, spheres that gravitated around an invisible axis point and scrolls that wrote themselves.

The observers around Nethrath were mages who specialized in manipulating the time streams. They were not mere scouts but extensions of Nethrath himself. Through complex enchantments, these mages could observe multiple timelines simultaneously and choose the exact moments when their interventions could be most effective and then report information without ever being detected.

Today, Nethrath received an important report from one of his observers, a young mage named Elara. She came from one of the lands that Cælora had conquered the Kingdom of Umbra. It was a realm where the magic of time blended with darkness and its task was to monitor the movements of the armies of Faerund, a neighboring kingdom that had long threatened to invade Cælora.

The wooden door opened silently, and then Elara entered with a crystal leaf in her hand. She was dressed in a dark coat with her pale hair floating behind her. Nethrath saw in his eyes distant visions and multiple realities. She handed the sheet to Nethrath without a word with her eyes downcast respecting her master's silence.

Nethrath didn't even have to look at the sheet to know what it contained. He raised his hand and the leaf was levitating in the air. He would recite an incantation and the information it contained would project itself into space and then float before his eyes in the form of a moving map.

Nethrath: «You did well, Elara. Faerund is preparing to cross the River of Eseroth in the next three days but I see in your reports that you are uncertain. Tell me what exactly do you see?»

Elara: «Lord Nethrath, I see... a disruption in the flow of time. The army's progress is not linear, as if certain events were... changed before they even happen. There are traces of magical manipulations in the areas around the river, cracks in the web of time themselves.»

Nethrath: «The traces of ancient magic... Is an outside hand manipulating the threads of reality or is it a side effect of the upheaval caused by the invaders? Nothing natural can disturb the balance of time without intervention. Someone is trying to cover their tracks. But who and why?»

Elara: «I... I don't know. But something about this distortion reminds me of the ancient rituals of the past. Artifacts, perhaps... or a power that we underestimated.»

Much of Nethrath's studies had been to understand the intricacies of time manipulation. He knew that no deformity was trivial and every distortion was a weakness in the fabric of time that had to be treated with care.

Nethrath: «We have to act quickly. Faerund must be countered before he crosses the threshold of modified time. Get ready, Elara, it's time to strengthen our network.»

CHAPTER ENDED.