Shade of Hope

Intro

“I didn’t ask for this. I wasn’t always like this. I am not a monster, I promise.” I thought to myself as I ran through the forest past the village of Caspret, a place that I once called home. Caspret was an old hunting village located just inside the southern borders of Dream. My family fled there to find safety from the dark kingdom of Morthes. My parents… Corrupted by the dark King’s foul magics. Changing them into something dark. “Tieflings'', they called us. Beings created by devils.

Dark magic running through our blood and bones. But, we weren’t like this. We were elvish, we loved and were loved by so many. Now they hunt us… Dream was supposed to be safe, it was supposed to be equal and understanding and kind. What we found however, was only hurt, pain, death. Dream? What a joke. This place is a nightmare. I found more comfort in the dark south than I have ever found here…

“What is it that happened?” Asked a dark voice in the back of my own mind, a voice I have known my whole life. Soul sold by someone else at the date of my conception.

“Where do I start?” I asked the voice silently.

“Start at the beginning, tell me, how was this world made?” The dark man’s voice echoed in my mind. “Before I know your story, I must also learn of where you came from little lamb”. He calmly said.

“Okay, here goes nothing”. I cried as other voices began to flow through my mind.

Firstly I should state. The location of Freefaer is unknown, nor does anyone know of the exact time of when Freefaer came to be exactly. The only thing known is how the realm of Freefaer was created and that story has been passed down the ages. It all started with chaos, an endless abyss of never ending darkness that was known as “Silence”, and from Silence came a light, which soon became the mate of Silence, known as “Echo”. Together, Silence and Echo created the stars in the sky and decided to make many worlds in the shape of many disk-like galaxies, it was them that created everything, including all of the people. Some of which they created together, and some that they created separately. Each of their creatures worshipped them and all things came from their love.

Soon after they were done with their creations the gods Silence and Echo left the realm they created to return to some unknown home. They vanished through the myths, but before they left they gifted some of their people with the gifts of magic. Many years had passed since the vanishing of the gods, and during this time, the many races became greedy and spiteful. Full of rage and so new gods were created by the people as the people began to worship many different things. At this time peace had returned, but only slightly. Many kingdoms began to rise and with them, came more greed and anger and so, a great war broke out on every side. Karenlogn, a brave and wise dwarf banned together and created pacts with the northern Kingdoms and created the grand kingdom of Dream and his Brother Sitheleon, did the same in the south creating the kingdom of Marthes, the two major kingdoms of the lands on Freefaer.

A couple years after Marthes was created Sitheleon was taken by a curse of his own creation, which was to make him immortal. Instead it rotted his lands and killed the trees. The sky turned dark with the magic he had used and his skin partially rotted, but his spell did work. His walking corpse rules the dark land of Marthes with his people that he unknowingly turned as well.

The Kingdom of Dream is a bright Kingdom, the castle itself has been created by the dwarves and enchanted by elven magics. Each part of the Kingdom has been enchanted and the kingdom resonates with nature having tall beautiful trees lined down the streets made of mossy cobblestone and water streams bordering every street. It is truly a Kingdom of magic Having the best school for mages and a school for every trade.

Marthes is a grand Kingdom of darkness filled with the best blacksmiths and warriors. It has no schools, but everyone learns from each other. The main skills amongst the people are thieving and assassinations as well as being a people skilled in the arts of dark curruptive magics.

“That’s the beginning, but I don’t know how that possibly helped you any”. I stated

“Oh, trust me it helped me plenty”. The voice echoed. “So, what exactly happened with your family”? It echoed again.

“My family was corrupted by the dark king, who sold our souls as part of his plan to rule his kingdom. It was never supposed to be like this. He promised power and my family was poor with a child on the way. Only when the ritual was done. We were changed and I was in the womb. He used me as a conduit for the darkness. A vessel for some demon. Aka, he sold my soul and gave me to you”. I cried.

“I am aware, but I am not the demon he was working with, you will find out more about me in time my lamb.” He calmed me down somehow.

“My family ran, fearing the power that the dark one had, we had hoped to find shelter in the border country of Dream. We hoped for freedom, but all we found was chains. We came to Dream with a hope that we would find mercy, with hope that we could live. We stayed in Caspret for fourteen years. Now, you are all caught up. Today is my eight-teenth birthday and I have lost everything.

They came in the morning, while we rested in the basement of our home. They poured in like a plague of flies to our home. The villagers… Tearing everything apart. I watched as they dragged out my mother while she slept and forced my father outside. I was a coward, I hid. I locked myself in a secret room, unknown to the others and watched from the crack of a floor board as they put a pitchfork up to my father and stabbed him twice in the chest. His black blood dropping to the ground. Wetting the grass as my mother screamed for her lover. As she was being tied to a post on the small wood house with the hay roofing. I watched, hiding and crying as they knocked her out with a brick to the back of the head.

I was powerless. I knew not of, what to do. I watched as they surrounded her unconscious body with brush and took the torch to the place, that I once called home. She awoke in the middle of the fire, screaming and crying out for me as the villagers laughed watching her burn. My dog tried to escape the flames. The yelp echoed as my mother and the puppy, that I had only gotten a month ago went up in smoke.

I snuck out the back and started to run, not looking back. I ran, and I ran, and I am running. “Thwack”, the world went dark as I dropped to the ground.