CHAPTER ONE

"My lord"

Alistair got on one knee and lowered his head to show his servitude to the man in front of him. A man he had already pledged his undying loyalty to.

"You may rise Alistair"

The man on the throne spoke in a regal tone, one that seemed to exude power and complete control. His voice was cold but showed obvious authority.

"I assume your mission was successfully completed"

"Yes sire, I have obtained what you asked for"

Alistair answered without skipping a beat.

"Good very good"

A loud laugh echoed across the lavish throne room. The man on the throne was suddenly in a good mood, a smile hanging on his face with even his voice gaining a brighter tone.

"You have never disappointed me and for that you will be rightly rewarded"

"You may rise Alistair"

Alistair silently obeyed the will of his lord, immediately lifting his knees from the ground and standing up.

"You have done well, I am pleased"

A wide grin was the first thing Alistair saw when his eyes eventually met the regal figure occupying the throne. Long golden hair safely secured in a ponytail and a light beard scattered on his face, blue eyes that seemed to stare into the soul, trying to pry open all secrets and lay them bare before his eyes.

Grisha Andrius was a man known as many things, a conqueror and a hero to some while he was nothing but a tyrant to others. He was a cold and calculating man, a man willing to go to any length to achieve his goals, cruelty being one of his many methods.

Golden hair and deep blue eyes were the symbols of the Andrius family. Their unique hair colour is still believed to be an indication of the abundant blessing of the god of light. Grisha wasn't one to believe in any god, the only power he believed in was his own and nothing else. His power was what got him to to where he was currently and not divine intervention from some god. Lumos had turned his back on the continent long ago.

His cold eyes stared at Alistair, he had been a very useful subject and his loyalty was proven yet again. He finally had it in his hands, the thing that would give him the power he rightfully deserved.

Grisha was a greedy man but he was also a cautious one. He stared at the hooded figure silently standing next to him. As mysterious and as silent as ever with her face carefully hidden under a black hood.

"Leave us alone"

Grisha waved his hands and the servants immediately left the throne room. In a matter of seconds, only three figures remained.

"Lupo, confirm what he has brought before me"

The mysterious hooded figure slowly walked towards Alistair, stopping right before him.

"Hand it to me"

A strange cracked and emotionless voice that could barely be recognized as that of an old woman rang out. Alistair revealed a red glass bead wrapped in a brown cloth carefully hidden underneath his clothes.

"Here it is"

A withered hand shakily retrieved it from Alistair and soon after an ominous laughter broke out from beneath the hood.

Alistair could barely catch a glimpse of her blank grey eyes before she turned around and walked towards grisha. She handed the glass bead to him with a slight nod. Grisha carefully examined the item in his hand while his grin grew wider and his gaze turned maddened. 

"Finally"

"The power I need is finally within my grasp"

Grisha continued to stare at the small bead even as he spoke to Alistair, the maddened look in his eyes intensifying. Even his usually cold voice failed to hide his happiness.

"You may leave now Alistair"

"Your rewards shall be discussed later"

"As you command, my lord"

Alistair bowed and turned to leave, only sparing a moment to glance at the old sorceress and quickly exiting the throne room. 

He had never completely trusted the sorceress, she was simply too mysterious for him to trust her. In the times where the five families ruled, sorcerers were being hunted and executed as pagans for their worship of the demon gods of Moira. The church of light was still strongly against them as not only were their existence disrespectful to Lumos, they also engaged in the disgusting act of blood rituals and sacrifices involving humans. He had never been fond of sorcerers and their practices but it was the will of his lord and all he had to do was obey, not ask questions.

"What do you think of him Lupo"

The sorceress lowered her hood to reveal a head full of thin grey hair and a wrinkled face. Her blank eyes stared at Grisha while a small smile spread across her thin dry lips.

"He is loyal and efficient"

"His ability to find the ruins of the ancient temple with just a few clues from us clearly attests to that"

"Alistair is one of my most loyal subjects"

Grisha leaned on the armrest of his throne and continued to examine the glass bead in his hand.

"Loyalty can never be completely trusted your majesty"

"I agree but he still has his many uses for now"

The small red bead looked way too ordinary, there seemed to be nothing special about it no matter how many times he looked at it. It was just like any other normal item but if what Lupo told him was true then it was the farthest thing from ordinary.

"It looks quite ordinary don't you think?"

Grisha spoke without moving his eyes away from the bead, he was completely enraptured by it.

"That in itself makes the devil's eye more special, it is able to hide in plain site"

"The devil's eye is said to hold the seal trapping the king of dark souls in the land beneath"

Lupo's cracked voice held a tinge of fear and respect as she spoke of the one connected to the bead.

"The lord of Moira was sealed by Lumos long before he had turned his back on humans"

"The ancient temple was one built in the honour of Lumos to protect the seal but his only blunder was leaving such a powerful item in the hands of humans. Humans are quite greedy creatures"

"It is that greed that drives us" Grisha added

"I couldn't agree more your majesty"

"There is no need to bore you with any more meaningless stories of a forgotten era"

"If we make proper use of the seal, you will gain the power you seek and become a true god among men"

His face morphed as his smile grew even wider after hearing the words of the old sorceress 

"My people and I spent a considerable amount of time and effort to even find traces of it's location, for something so powerful, it is quite inconspicuous as you can see so it was a hassle to find"

"I must commend your efforts then"

"The effort is meaningless as long as you keep your end of the bargain"

"We are quite tired of being forced to remain in hiding even after helping the great Emperor obtain his throne"

"I will be sure to uphold my end of the bargain and allow your kind see the sun again while receiving the honour of ruling beside me"

His cold and calculating demeanor had already completely returned.

"I will keep my promise as long as you keep yours"

"Of course, I am bound to my promise my lord"

The two allies looked at each other with obvious wariness but their deal had already been struck a long time ago.

A wicked glint crossed the eyes of the sorceress, completely unnoticed by Grisha. She still had plans of her very own but he didn't need to know that, at least not yet.

The so called light bearers of Andrius was nothing but an empty title. The ones able to bend light to their will, what a joke. They lost their powers the moment they lost the favour of the god of light, that was their punishment for angering him. Their title as light bearers was nothing more than the remnants of past glory but the truth was still a very well kept secret. They had deceived the world to still believe in the powers that were nothing more than ancient stories. Andrius had lost the most when Lumos turned his back on humans, while the other families still retained traces of their blessings, he had taken away their ability to use a portion of his powers along with him, reducing the once powerful light bearers to powerless beings barely holding on to their grand title. The other families had only lost because they had grown complacent in times of peace as opposed to Andrius who carefully plotted to take control of the continent for centuries.  If the circumstances weren't already in their favour or if the white witch had never appeared to aid them, it was an indisputable truth that they would have lost the war. Lupo had her reasons for staying beside the self proclaimed conqueror. He was a cautious man but his greed for more power than he could handle made him foolish.

"If you will excuse me my lord, I have to begin the preparations"

"I believe I should expect to hear from you soon"

"Of course great Emperor"

Lupo blended into the shadows and disappeared, leaving a man sitting on a golden throne.

Grisha continued to stare at the bead with greed in his eyes. He imagined bringing the entire continent to its knees with but only a word. He would make them fear him, he would make them all bow before him. He didn't want to trust a dirty pagan but he had no choice. He wanted the power and neither the cost nor beliefs in a god who abandoned them would stop him.

He pushed all his thoughts aside, slowly allowing himself to get lost in his fantasies.