1 Chapter 1: The Land of Kal

As water drips from the bustling streets above, a man lies in a daze within a dungeon cell. Clearly unaware of the situation surrounding him. the faint sound of a gate opening echoes through the dark hallways of the dungeon.

"What's that..?" the man thinks, then, as a water droplet hits his head, he awakes. Jumping to his feet, he looks down to his hands to find himself chained to the floor of a cell.

"what is this? why am I in chains?" the man thinks as he tries to free himself from his binds. As he struggles, he begins to hear voices coming down the hall, followed by footsteps.

"They're getting closer. What do I do? I need to escape!" He begins frantically trying to pull his hands from the chains, contorting himself. The footsteps get closer and a light begins to shimmer in from the entrance of the cell.

"Alright you drunkard," one of the guards says as he approaches the cell door. "You're free today, time to get you back to your worthless life."

The guard opens the cell door and is followed by two others. They unchain the man and lift him by his arms and carry him down the hallway.

"Who are you! What are you doing! Unhand me this instant!" the man screams as the guards carry him down the dark corridor.

"Calm down, Aroyn. You are being taken to your freedom once again." the guard to his rear states." has the constant drinking really stolen that much of your memory from you old friend?" he continues.

"Aroyn... That name sounds all too familiar... Is that, my name?" He thinks.

"Aroyn The Decimator, how low you have fallen after the war to be some street beggar".

They round the corner and Aroyn begins to see the light of the sun breaking through the cracks in a doorway. The guards open the door and throw Aroyn to the ground just outside the doorway. As he picks himself up he turns and looks up to see a giant tower of silver, gleaming in the sunlight.

"You are free now, but if I see your face in this city again, it will mean your head. Our past together cannot prevent upholding the law." the guard says as he closes the doorway into the dungeon.

Aroyn gets up and dusts himself off and turns to see the city of Ralstrog.

" I remember this place, this sea of silver. this is my home, why does it seem so distant, its as if I'm staring at a painting" Aroyn thinks as he gazes at the capital city of Käl.

He then begins walking down the pathway towards the lower parts of the city, away from the castle of silver. Passing many familiar faces, he begins to question if he is dreaming. It's as if everyone look upon him as a ghost, they avoid him, children run from him. In this moment, Aroyn passes a pub, the smells of food entering his nose and the sounds of laughter filling his ears. he turns to see a large building and walks up towards it.

"Hey, you!" a man calls out to Aroyn from the street, "your that general who murdered the farming town south of here to find that spy aren't you?" the man calls out again.

This time Aroyn stops, the sound of laughter turns to blood-curdling screams and the smell of food turns into burning corpses in Aroyn's mind.

"No!"

Aroyn reels back in terror to finding himself landing on the ground in front of the Pub again. He looks around terrified at what he just saw. "Hey! I asked you a question, are you Aroyn The Decimator?" the man calls out one last time.

Aroyn looks back to the man to see a face he did not recognize. "Who are you, what do you want?" Aroyn asked the man.

The man then walked closer to Aroyn and helped him to his feet. "Just an elf who grew up hearing the stories of your conquests against the Dark Elves in the 100 Years War. I grew up admiring you, my name is Dalvin, would you mind joining me for a walk?" Dalvin asked.

"I don't think I should be sticking around here much longer" Aroyn replied.

"Nonsense" Dalvin replied

"Just a short walk around the city. Hell, I'll even get you some clothes along the way to replace those old rags" He said as he pulled Aroyn down the street. The two walked down the streets almost unnoticed now, before, it seemed like everyone had noticed Aroyn, but now, He felt as if he could even pass through people without being noticed.

"Don't try it. I can tell what you are thinking Aroyn" Dalvin said.

"what is happening? Why does it feel as though we aren't even in the streets anymore? who are you?" Aroyn asked as they continued walking.

"That will all be revealed shortly Aroyn, just pick up the pace would you?" Dalvin said as he took a sharp turn into a surprisingly dark alley compared to the rest of the shining city.

As they came to the end of the alley, Dalvin began to run. "We are running straight into a wall, maybe slow down?" Aroyn said hurriedly.

"nonsense" Dalvin replied gripping Aroyn's arm tighter as he ran into the wall. Aroyn closed his eyes and prepared for impact, and after a loud crashing sound and a feeling of weightlessness, he fell to the ground.

"Get up," Dalvin said, "and quit your cowering, He's coming."

Aroyn opened his eyes to find himself in a very dark alter, with no sign of the alley he was just in. "What, what was that? where are we?" Aroyn asked.

"Welcome, Aroyn. I have waited a millennia for this fated meeting." a voice called out from the darkness, "you have done your part Dalvin, now leave us" it continued.

"Yes, master" Dalvin replied and then turned to Aroyn, "Keep your wits about you, and listen carefully. you are speaking to a god, mortal" Dalvin said before he disappeared into the darkness.

"Do you yet remember who you were, what you were Aroyn?" the voice asked.

"I, I remember that I have done terrible things. I can't recall why or for what I did these things for, but I remember that I was crazed with power." Aroyn replied

"You are but a shell of the once powerful mage known as Aroyn The Decimator, and you were once my greatest asset," the voice said.

"What am I doing here, and who are you?" As Aroyn said this, dark flames shot from the altar in front of Aroyn, and after a moment a large figure stepped out from the flames. This figure was much taller than Aroyn with near abyssal black skin and piercing blue-green eyes.

"I am Eirimon, Prince of Deceit. and you are my champion, Aroyn" Eirimon said in a deep, echoing voice.

"Champion? What champion?" Aroyn asked.

"A dark cloud builds above Käl, Aroyn. A cloud that not even the gods can prevent. We must imbue our chosen champions with our power to defeat it, because only mortals will be able to slay the half breeds." Eirimon said.

"What is it that is causing this cloud? And why have you chosen Me as this so-called champion?" Aroyn asked.

"Enough questions, I will make my offer to you, and You will decide. Your memory has betrayed you, but I am the only one powerful enough to restore it, And with my power, you will repair this world in return. If you refuse, you doom yourself, and the world to irreparable damage and soon, death." Eirimon said.