Emperor

For centuries, historians have documented the great emperors who shaped civilization—Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great. Their legacies remain etched in stone, their victories and conquests preserved in countless records. But what if there was another emperor, one who ruled an empire so vast and powerful that history itself was forced to forget him?

That is the mystery of Emperor Aldric the Veiled, a ruler whose existence has been systematically erased from time.

The first clues of his forgotten reign surfaced in 1896 when an expedition in Northern Mongolia uncovered a massive underground vault. Inside, archaeologists found tablets inscribed in an unknown language, alongside depictions of a crowned man seated on a throne. What made this discovery unsettling was that the vault predated any known empire—yet it depicted an emperor ruling over lands that stretched from Europe to Asia.

Who was he?

More discoveries followed. In 1928, a collection of ancient scrolls was found in a collapsed temple in the Sahara Desert. These scrolls, written in Latin, spoke of "Aldric the Veiled"—a ruler so feared that his enemies conspired to erase him from history.

The text described how Aldric led an empire unlike any before it. His rule was said to be both magnificent and terrifying. He was revered as a god, his knowledge surpassing that of any other ruler. It was even claimed that he possessed technology far beyond his time—devices that could predict the future, weapons that could destroy entire armies without battle.

But then, something happened.

The scrolls spoke of a great war, not between empires, but between Aldric and the "Silent Order"—a secretive group that believed his power was unnatural. Legends say that after years of battle, Aldric was finally captured. Not killed, but erased.

Every monument bearing his name was destroyed. Every record of his rule was burned. Every scholar who spoke of him was executed. The Silent Order ensured that no trace of his existence would remain.

And for over a thousand years, they succeeded.

But not completely.

In 1973, a research team in the Carpathian Mountains discovered a hidden chamber beneath an abandoned monastery. Inside, they found something extraordinary—a perfectly preserved statue of Aldric. It was unlike any statue from its era, carved from an unknown black stone that absorbed light instead of reflecting it.

Most disturbingly, Aldric’s eyes seemed… alive.

When the statue was moved to a museum for study, strange events began to unfold. Historians involved in the research fell ill, some experiencing hallucinations of a shadowed figure standing in their rooms at night. Documents related to Aldric mysteriously vanished from archives. The lead researcher, Dr. Alan Mercer, disappeared without a trace.

Then, in 1982, the statue itself was stolen.

Security footage revealed nothing. One moment, the statue was there. The next, it was gone—vanished, as if it had never existed.

Today, few historians dare to speak of Aldric the Veiled. Those who do find their careers mysteriously ruined, their research buried in bureaucratic red tape. Some believe the Silent Order still exists, working in the shadows to ensure that Aldric remains forgotten.

But others fear something much worse…

That Aldric is not truly gone.

Perhaps he waits, hidden in the echoes of time, waiting for the day when his empire can rise again.


---