Ever Heart Chronicles- Episode 1

Darkness looms over the snowy peaks, thunder booms as a storm rolls into the lower valleys. It is weather ill matched, and something not natural. High in the mountains two Mages stand opposing one another. The first clad in silver armor his staff a beautiful wood woven over a blue stone. The second is shrouded in black cloaks and dark metal armor; his staff is black and straight as a post. Past the fog bank into the lower levels of the valleys, marches an army of ten thousand strong. All of them are heading towards the castle, which lay three valleys over in the sunny hills of Abyrion. Their steps wreak havoc on the land as grass slowly turns to mud. The wizards turn to each other as if the final moments before death were upon them. “Magnus, turn back now. You cannot defeat me while you are so very weak.” The dark wizard smirks.

Magnus tightens his grip on his staff and releases a breath before speaking plainly, “My dear Ichron, you are who is no match for me. For the light, will always defeat the dark, even if my body should perish, my power will pass on to the next who is meant to seal this fate.”

Ichron glares at Magnus with hatred divine and yells into the wind and snow, his voice booming so loud thunder follows it. “I will have the Ever Heart, and with it cast a shadow of evil over this land that no magus, Wilde, Nyphm nor Yewel will be able to defeat!”

With his last word Ichron sends down his hatred and malice on Magnus, all his power drove into one fell spell. Magnus looks to the sky to see a small break where the sunlight breaks through but for a moment. A smile graces his face as he sees this small glimmer of hope. Ichron’s magic bears down on him, plummeting Magnus into the mountainside. With his last breath Magnus witnesses a gleam of light, then several as they flit across the sky. Ichron’s howls can be heard over the mountain peaks as shards of the Ever Heart fly away into the unknown.

Magnus blows softly onto his staff’s stone as his magic leaves him soaring into the heavens. “Find my next successor, for she will save us all.” He whispers as his dying breath leaves him.

The storm clouds clear, the sun shines down onto the snowy peak revealing the green grassy plains beneath the mountains foot. A new day dawns, and a new age.

-

The sun shines brightly through the pillars of the great halls of the keeper. A small temple located in the eastern mountain range. Once, this temple was a pillar of magic. It was a place of healing and divinity. Now, with more than ten years passed since the Ever Heart was shattered and scattered across the whole of the world, and the temple has suffered. The eastern temple is home to the descendants of Magnus the Great, the wizard who fought the dark wizard Ichron when the Ever Heart was shattered. Magnus’s son Meris, is now the guardian of the temple. Meris has become a famous wizard, wandering Abyrion lending his services to many who require his help. Meris has taken up the task of finding his father’s successor, the child who inherited his power. He travels searching for the child, who will come of age in a matter of months. Magnus was secretive about his power, and why it passes; not to blood, but to another of a different genealogy.

The clouds move in casting shadows across the Great Plains. Meris taps his staff on the ground, a remnant of his father both in stature and power.

He smiles as he tips his hat forward. “You are much younger than I thought you would be.” A grumbling voice whispers.

Meris chuckles, “I was twenty-five when my father passed, those ten years since have been long. I would hardly say I am young.” he turns and looks behind him to see Ibis, his father’s old friend.

“Ibis, you’ve aged!” Meris exclaims as the two embrace.

“Alas, I have grown old but not weak as some would think.” He looks down the mountain and shakes his head, “Rumors are growing out there of a young girl who possesses your father’s power.” He points to a small farmland southwest of Arbor Town, the capital of Abyrion.

“What makes you think this girl is my father’s successor?” Meris questions, doubt clear in his voice.

“You’ll have to meet her for yourself. Go see Cyrus, he cares for the child now.” Ibis chuckles.

Meris doesn’t understand his humor, and waves him off as he leaves the mountain perch. He journey’s southwest towards the small farm town to the home of Cyrus Mudbaine, a peaceful magus concerned more with plants and trees than people. His home is grand in design, and made from stone. As Meris approaches Cyrus’s home he marvels at the surroundings. True to legend, his home is surrounded by towering oak trees, which shadow his small little cabin home. Flowers of all kinds are growing around a waist high stone-wall that surrounds the house. Meris treads carefully as some magus are, by nature, quite particular about their wards. There is smoke coming from the chimneystack, and the smell is fairly similar to a scent Meris knew as a child. He knocks firmly on the door, straightening his long coat nervously. The door opens and a bright blue-eyed, white-haired young girl greets him. He is shocked at first, as he has seen no child like her in his time.

“You must be Rowen…” he stammers, rubbing his now sweaty hand on his coat edge. The gray wool fabric is not soft to his touch.

“That’s me… who are you?” she asks quite matter-of-factly. Meris chuckles at her response. “Cyrus where are you, old bat!” Meris exclaims as he enters the home.

A tall man, older in age is standing over the round fire pit stirring something in a big black pot.

“Don’t yell… he’s cooking.” Rowen says shushing Meris. “Now what is your name?” she asks as she shuts the door.

Meris looks at her with scrutiny, “You’re quite the snuff, aren’t you?” he says, jokingly. “I am Meris, the son of Magnus the Great.”

Rowen looks at him with her wide bright eyes, hair long past her shoulders and twirling in her fingers. “Don’t know who that is.” She states walking away to stand next to Cyrus. He gives a boasting laugh and pats her head, he hands her the spoon and points to the contents in the pot.

“Stir, little firestarter.” He cackles.

Cyrus turns his attention to Meris who is less than pleased with the manners of this supposed recipient of his father’s power. “You know,” Meris puts his finger in the air, “I had hoped she’d be sweet and soft spoken, but much to my surprise, she is exactly like my father in every sense.” He sits down and sighs in disappointment.

Cyrus pats his shoulder and pulls up a chair beside him, “She is exactly like your old man, almost a copy of his soul, though that is not possible. Yet, she inherited everything of his. She holds all his power, though his spirit is gone.”

Meris shakes his head, “That doesn’t make me feel better.” He puts his hands to his forehead and looks at Rowen once more. “I have made it my mission to find my father’s successor, but now that I have found her I am at a loss as to what I must do.”

Cyrus smiles, “Oh, I know all about that.” He holds up a shard of a multicolored, clear stone. “This is a small sliver of the Ever Heart, it’s the stone your father died to protect. Rowen, like your Father, has a connection to these shards. She can find them and make the Ever Heart whole again.”

Meris shakes his head, “I don’t know how the Ever Heart was shattered, but my Father died trying to take down Ichron, so he could not use its power for great evil.”

Cyrus nods, “Yes, it’s true. If one of evil intentions were to possess the Ever Heart, he could use it to corrupt all the hearts in our world and send them down an everlasting road of evil and chaos.” Cyrus lifts the shard to the light and it sends colors onto the floor, “As Guardians it was mine and your father’s job to ensure that did not happen.”

Meris nods as if he’s heard the story before, “I know all this Cyrus… what bothers me is Ichron used to be good, he too was once a Guardian. Will she have enemies that might match her?”

Cyrus looks at Rowen and sighs, “Where there is light, there must also be darkness. I would assume she has competition and I suggest you find the Ever Heart pieces with much haste.”

Meris shakes his head and stands in fury, “She is just a child! I cannot expect her to use her potential just yet.”

Cyrus chuckles, “She is young, but a child she is not. Rowen is thirteen this year, she is just smaller than most her age.”

Meris chuckles, “Thirteen is still young. I cannot in good conscience take her on a quest that would be so dangerous.”

Rowen turns and jumps down, leaving the pot over the fire. She walks up to Meris and smiles. “With all due respect Sir, I was destined to find the Ever Heart pieces. It is my quest and I must uphold it.”

Meris shakes his head, “How can you be certain?” he sits once again, coming closer to her eye view.

Rowen puts her hand on Meris’s cheek, “In my heart, there is a small place where I feel warmth for you. Love for family. The same can be said for the Ever Heart, every day I feel it out there in the vastness.”

Cyrus chuckles, “I told you, Rowen is the only one who has a connection with the shards.”

Meris sighs, “Why can’t you find them? You’re a guardian too.”

Cyrus walks over to the now boiling pot and stirs its contents quickly, “It has been many years since I felt the Ever Hearts presence. It chooses who it reveals itself to. My guess, because it was shattered it is now vulnerable.”

“It can’t feel… it’s a stone.” Meris chuckles.

Cyrus nods, “It has no soul, it does not live and yet, it chooses who can sense it; almost as if it had a small soul in it. I don’t assume because we don’t know much about its origins.” Cyrus turned away from the pot and smiled, “We only know it is powerful, and that kind of power in the wrong hands is never good.”

Rowen taps Meris’s shoulder, “Like your father I am a firecaster, with the potential to learn Mesmer magic and lightening magic.” She smiles as a small flame appears in her hand, “I can make small and large flames now without feeling tired or weak.”

Meris smiles, “Are you trying to convince me that you’re ready?” he asked as his hand gripped his staff.

Rowen nods, “I’m telling you I am ready to learn more as we journey. There are several shards that I feel are close, as we find more further from home I will learn more.”

Meris looks to Cyrus and nods, “Very well, but I will add another to our party. I know a good Slayer, Ryker, who will protect Rowen outside of my presence. We can catch up with him in the Capital if I send word today.” Meris rubs the back of his neck, "That is, provided he's not drunk in a ditch somewhere."

Rowen claps her hands together, “Perfect! I must retrieve the Asho Blade from Solone, she is the Vasila of Abyrion.”

“You expect the great Vasila, the guardian of our realm to hand over a blade to you?” Meris exclaims surprised.

Rowen nods, “She will know to give it to me. It’s the only way I can open the tombs and crypts where some shards may be hidden.”

Meris smiles as if he knows what she is talking about, but continues to be confused. He looks to Cyrus who just shakes his head with a smile.

“Just do as she says, and it will all be fine.” Cyrus chuckles.

Rowen sighs, “I will need help learning those new abilities I mentioned earlier, but also using good emotions while I use them. I have to be careful not to use power in anger."

The two look at each other and Meris smiles, “My father taught me how to control my power before he passed, I will in turn, teach you.”

Rowen and Meris share a familiar look, as if each of them knew exactly what was in store.