The voices, the inaudible cacophony of incessant mumblings drowned the halls, makings of conversation were passing through the desolate archaic rooms, outlines of shadowy figures were unable to be made out. The shadowclad entities lay about as if discussing a minor matter but the worry and intensity of the situation could not be overlooked. The conversations took a rough turn and arguments spewed forth, the play was set in motion, unstoppable, the matter had already snowballed out of proportion, it was only time until things began to get heated as one of the shadows radiated a faint killing intent. It was then that the figures started to warp and distort into fierce beings, unknown creatures and those that were undocumented in the annuls of Atreian history. But as the fight was soon to break out...
“Hmmm? Hmmmm! Another one? How quaint! What a marvelous set of events. Ahahahaahaha.”
Raucous laughter reverberated through these dark halls as a dimly illuminated figure tried to crawl itself out from a distortion in the void. As soon as the pale slender white hand passed through, numerous cracks had spread out as if reality had instead become but a fragile broken mirror. The space was constantly collapsing forward upon itself, the laws of the surroundings were trying wholeheartedly to suppress the raw amount of immense power radiating from this unknown figure, but it was to no avail. The mutterings and ramblings in the background that flooded through the numerous shadowed personas became as silent as even a pin drop could be heard in the atmosphere. A heavy breath, a loud gulp, a squeak or was it a squeal? The sheer presence of the late arriver sparked terror into the hearts of all those present.
“This is truly and I say truly unbecoming behaviour for those of you a part of the Millan Voices ensemble.”
A clicking of the tongue, an acted out feeling of disappointment, but at the same time the figure that fully emerged was giving off a flippant vibe as it’s arms spread out into a shrugging stance.
“Hehehhe. Have any of you guys looked to a mirror? Aren’t you ashamed? Deplorable! We are the elite! We are those who can shake or break the world by merely showing our existence.”
Some of the shadow clad figures were riled up, some of them could be seen hesitating. Some seemed like they wanted to retort, one of them even looked like they couldn’t take the insults and were inching forward as if to attack. All of this was caught in the eyes of the newcomer but it didn’t matter to him as he reached into his sleeves and flickered out a small orb-like crystal object.
“Everyone here was so livid, everyone here is so keen to voice their opinions, but none of you even have an inkling of understanding of the current situation am I correct?”
Utter silence enfolded once again as the normally fierce creatures behind those shadows were seemingly found to be in an uncomfortable state. It was true, these beings however powerful only knew a half-truth of the matter.
“Hehehehe, a bunch of frogs in a well. What would you simpletons be without my help hmm?”
Calling these fierce creatures and beings that would strike fear and havoc in the hearts of the people of this world, only one person could have this much influence in this faction. This fearsome newcomer having seen the entire situation moments prior to arriving was soon to shed light on the most unusual situation.
…
Seven spires piercing through to the sky as the observer’s presence zoomed towards the castle from afar. The walls are thin and high but still show signs of majesty, it is apparent that this castle has seen better days. Signs of battle are still present as the effort to repair the great castle gate is still in progress until this date.
A castle, built upon a lake, the cobblestone bridge which would usually be lined with guards was surprisingly empty except for the two stationed on the walls to watch over the gate itself. If another nation were to spearhead an attack on these castle walls there would be little that they could do, after all they were still recuperating from a civil war.
In the training grounds, swords and shields were scattered here and there, broken magical artillery were littered all over the place serving as a painful reminder to those present.
The surroundings shifted to a location deep below the castle walls. Numerous figures in robes were standing around encompassing the person within. It was then.
“The materials have been gathered, it was difficult to find anything suitable for the ceremony in the current situation.”
A soft voice fluttered through the surroundings, there was not even a minute fluctuation as the words exited her mouth.
“It will be difficult from now on as well Deis, are you ready to begin?”
A cloaked figure stood in front at the helm of the surrounding mages that were encircling this beautiful and elegant childlike figure. It was clear that his status and ability were far higher than most of those present.
“It’s now or never. Perhaps I can change the course of fate and win the hearts of the people again.”
The faint runic marks illuminating the ground below started emitting a greater pressure. It was a signal that things were beginning.
“Lawrence wasn’t wrong, he was just incompetent.”
The girl, Deis, muttered as the emotions and feelings in her heart bubbled to the surface. It did not show in her face however.
“I am not like Rosanna either, I am ruthless, I will do what I need to do. If there are those who oppose me then I will dispose of them. Do you think I am a tyrant, Seymour?”
The newly appointed court wizard, Seymour stared back into those fierce absolute eyes and replied.
“You will have to walk your own path. We can only entrust ourselves to fate at this point. Only the annals of history can decide whether we are heroes or villains.”
And so it was like that the summoning had begun, but things did not go to plan. A hero summoning when another hero summoning had already occurred a set number of years ago. What a twist of fate. An indecisive conclusion in the battle between hero and demon king resulted in this matter…
It was only years ago that this happened, neither side was defeated but both sides were gravely injured. The demon king was actually worse for wear and never awoke from his slumber as the demon princesses and princes waged war over the ascension of the throne. Also in the human nations of the Altreian continent, those that wanted to further their ambition and gain power decided to dispose of the hero, and in the end he escaped with the princess Rosanna.
Meanwhile in the Marludian Kingdom, Delentine falls ill and dies due to the stress of the matter and Lawrence rises to become the ruler only to be a tyrant prince.
“What a comedy of events. Even my father, Delentine, was just a useless pitiful mortal in the end.”
The hum and glow of the circle continued to fluctuate as a grandiose wind started to fill the chamber. Fluttering robes could be seen everywhere but this wasn’t enough.
‘It will be a failure.’ Deis thought but she would not accept this. As an illegitimate child of the family she had not undergone the ‘Goddess Acceptance’ ceremony which allowed those of the Marludia Royal bloodline to be recognised by Almora and her kin.
“We will begin the sacrifice.”
Those who had sworn allegiance to Lawrence, those found to be corrupt, those who had opposed her, they were all gathered, the members of their family were gathered as well. It was best to nip a problem in the bud but the blood debt that would occur from this if anything that would go wrong would be immense to say at the least.
“Noooo! Stop, we were wrong, please anything but this! We still have use to your majesty!”
It was useless, blood began to flow like a river and the magical runes and inscriptions on the ground beneath shone a vengeful and beautiful blood red glow. The entire room shook, it was like a meteorite had crashed in the very earth itself as everyone present tried to stabilize themselves. At that moment an explicable phenomenon appeared, a tear in space and all the runic marks and streams of blood flew into the centralized point of tear. Faint humming intensified into various cries, something was being birthed not summoned but before it could begin to exist it simply disappeared.
“It was still a failure after all. I’ll have to trouble you with the cleanup process Seymour.”
…
“Deis. Our little princess, Deis, has really outdone herself this time! Hahahahah. She’s a really feisty one, you wouldn’t be able to tell with her deadpan expression but she has a lot of ambition. Well you’re gonna need a lot more of where that came from to rebuild the current mess of a kingdom known as the blessed land, Marludia.”
A faint aftertaste of disgust filled the mouths of those present. Many of those had grown to hate the name Marludia as if it were an irreconcilable enemy of their existence. It wasn’t far from the truth though.
“On top of that, we can’t really say that this is exactly a hero summoning can we? It’s not a monster or a devil summoning either. It’s just bizarre! A whole new can of worms, something that can be both a threat or a boon for all parties. An absolute unknown entity. Heheheheh.”
Noone could dispute this was an absolutely bizarre situation. It was clear to those present what had really happened. The summoning was indeed a success, a great success even. If not for Almora who intervened at the last moment and changed the destination of the summoning into a sealed void then some unknown being neither human or monster would have been born in this world.
“I can’t blame you lousy lot though since the existence of the new figure will surely break the balance. So we’ll just lessen the numbers to ensure we don’t get penalized by the laws shall we?”
The figure that previously reached out to his battleaxe as he was showing an aggressive stance in front of this newcomer had now become the target. Almost instantly struck down by an immense pressure, this large bulky figure resembling a bull like creature with two hooked horns strutting out struggled for it’s life but this was a futile effort in the end. Mournful cries reverberated the halls as the surrounding figures tried to distance themselves to avoid becoming caught in the aftermath. It was moments later that one of the great powerful figures of this world, a minotaur and not just a normal minotaur, had faded from existence as it’s shadow particles had dissolved into dust, it was like this creature had never laid it’s mark on the world at all.
“Noone, and I say noone is allowed to bear their fangs in front me.”
The atmosphere which was beyond tense already had dropped to an unspeakable level of tension. It was as if everyone in the room was submerged in an ice cold lake, frozen in this state of time for what felt like an eternity. The bystanders present had their hearts race as they wondered when the ice would finally thaw.
“Well it’s time for me to go on a trip. Fear not, I, Nyarlorn, will surely bring us a new companion in the future. It may take a couple of years or maybe a decade or two though since he is currently sealed in the void. Hahahaha.”
Nyarlorn, the lord of chaos. Both his origin and very existence is shrouded in mystery, it was unknown when he had found his way into the Millan Voices ensemble because records had been distorted through time. It was also unknown when this figure had risen into an absolute state of power where friends and foes alike feared his very existence, his name almost echoing as a forbidden curse.
‘Another era, full of heroes and full of death. An omen, that’s what those of the Altreian Continent call it. It’s finally time, another calamity star is rising. First it was me, then it was it was Zøyzræ and now it is you… Dəˈzastər.’
The moment that Nyarlorn’s figure had flickered out of existence, the rambunctious arguments and conversation reentered full swing, this continued for an unknown amount of time but even so those present had to agree that it was out of their hands now and nothing could be done. It had become unanimous, there was a decision but as to what the decision entailed nobody knew. Utter silence finally returned to the dimly lit halls. A sinister but playful smile illuminated the darkness.
Author’s Note:
I felt like when I wrote the description for this the readers were expecting something a bit different and got a slow dungeon building novel that had short chapters but eventually started building up the word count.
I wanted to shed some backlight and write this prologue to set the surrounding atmosphere and a general end goal direction (or mid game direction) for where this novel goes if it continues. I also wanted to make this a fairly long and drawn out novel that has lots of characters. Characters that I will flesh out, characters that have their own lives and circumstances. But I also wanted to put them in difficult situations where they do indeed die as a means to forward the plot.
Anyway, for those of you who have already begun reading and feel like the content is weak at first. It’s true. This is my first attempt at writing and I’m planning to increase my writing ability as I go along so things will hopefully stabilise. Fingers crossed.
Also if anyone wants to help me create some cover art or art as I go along then message me. My makeshift cover isn’t cutting it.
Thanks again for all the support. - Happycheesecake
