Prologue: The End and New Beginnings

Dark rain clouds blanket a blood soaked battlefield spanning some twenty miles. A heavy dreary mist slow falling trying to wash the redness away. The end of one of the most brutal and blood soaked wars this land has ever seen. Lives had stop being counted a few months after it all started. The Kingdom of Kirin and the Kingdom of Valedara, the two ruling powers of this continent have waged this war into near extinction of both sides. Kirin being what they consider to be a holy land, worshipping there one true god. Valedara a land of engineering and machines believers in world betterment. This war waged over ideals and beliefs, was honestly just a war fought over by machine and magic. Millions of lives sacrificed to prove an ideal ology. Some have rumored a prophecy, other saying it started with a disagreement at the annual summit between the nations. No one will ever truly know the answers.

In the middle of the battlefield one single soul has yet to blink out of existence. This man soaked through by the blood of fallen men and women of both sides, and this dreary mist desperately trying to wash away this atrocity.

In a labored rasping voice, "Seems I am the last one, mortally wounded….*Bloodied coughing*….no mana left…seems the reaper has finally come for me….." said Darrien holding the broken ornate spear that is lodged in his mid-section. His armor tattered and broken, what once would have been finally detailed heavy plate armor, blackened by holy magics, and gouged by sharpened swords and spears. As his vision starts to blur from the blood loss, he remembered back to all the times he fought to prevent war from ever happening in the Kingdom of Valedara. The ruler being his best friend as a child, would not listen to rationality he voiced. It seemed as his was driven made by the actions of the Kingdom of Kirin. The losses on both sides quickly sky rocketed and lead to this single point. Also remembering the nicer times with his girlfriend over the year. He has finally worked up the courage to try and marry her when this was all over. He had crafted a ring for her with every ounce of his skill as a blacksmith and jeweler. It was truly spectacular piece of work. A aqua colored stone finely cut with lines of emerald green. Looked like moss floating in the clearest of waters. It matched her vibrant sky blue eyes.

A sudden shooting pain shot through Darrien causing him to cough up a large amount of blood. Darrien made a final mental plea of desperation and his world turned utterly black. "Gods or whatever is there, I know I have sinned and wronged. Please grant me a final wish if you will. Let me do some good somewhere to repay my sins. I don't want to travel to the afterlife like this." After what seemed like an eternity in the darkness, devoid of all senses. A sudden blinding white light enveloped everything. Time seemed to pass forever, but what concept of time is there is just a blank white space.

Suddenly a warmth started to spread within his soul and a voice seemingly inside his mind spoke. "Darrius I have heard your plea, do you mean what you stated?" This entity spoke in an old gruff voice of a man beyond his years. "Yes I do, there is nothing left that I can do, if anything it will let me pass on in peace." said Darrius slightly bewildered at the invasion of the voice. A female voice chimed in "Let him earn his way in the next life, we will not promise prosperity nor ruin. It will be up to you to forge your path in this next life, but be warned you will be observed and if you do not make contributions to the betterment of that world then you will be collected. There is worse fates for lost souls then what you humans perceived as hell, Darrius." Darrius could feel his soul shutter, he was not as holy as those fanatics in the Kingdom of Kirin, but he did make a daily prayer to the two gods he had faith in. Whoever these two gods or beings here was, he would never comprehend. He just wished for a second chance at doing right by righting wrongs and doing good for people.

"Be gone then Darrius, we will be watching…" the old voice finished as if it was going to slumber.