The world of Zephyria has seen the rise and fall of many a great kingdom. It has seen the start and end of many bloody wars. And, of course, it has seen many great heroes rise...and fall.
Long ago, there was one such hero by the name of Raizen. The kingdom of Fayrl's greatest warrior, he was well respected by most, feared and hated by others. Raizen was very well known for his strong sense of justice and concern for his country's well being. Therefore, it was no surprise when Raizen started a rebellion and eventually overthrew the warmongering King of Fayrl, taking the throne for himself until the son of the King, Prince Erik, came of age.
However, what did come as a surprise was the change that came over Raizen when he himself took the throne. Once a kind, fair man, he eventually picked up the old King's habits- starting wars with other countries for no apparent reason, instantly executing any who dared defy him without a single thought of a trial, and eventually, refusal to hand over the throne when Erik came of age at 17. This, of course, led to civil war. The war waged for nearly two years, with Raizen's army thoroughly demolishing that of Erik's.
It would be another year until Erik came to realize who the true enemy was- Raizen's blade, the Darksword, as it would come to be known in later years. Given to Raizen upon his defeat of the previous King, the Darksword was originally a powerfully enchanted weapon, forged by some of the greatest smiths in Zephyria. However, somewhere along the way, the Darksword was infused with a powerful dark force- whether it was simply powerful Dark Magic or some sort of evil entity is still unknown. It was this that was the cause of Raizen's change. The solution was now clear to Erik- the Darksword had to be destroyed. Only then could peace be restored to Zephyria.
Erik, along with three others, set out on a search to find a way to destroy the blade. It is believed that Erik and his party eventually slew Raizen and took the Darksword to the remote Mount Rowling, where they destroyed it. However, over time the exact details of their journey have long since been forgotten, along with the very existence of the Darksword itself.
500 years later, Zephyria is at a relative peace, having not seen war for nearly a century. The many kingdoms scattering the land have since come together to form one, single Empire. The Empire has been able to maintain order for a long time now...but ten years ago, an event occurred that threatened to shatter this peace- the town of Rowling was completely destroyed in a single night, and all of its inhabitants were found dead. Ten years later, it is still unknown exactly how this happened- it seemed like far too much damage for a plain raiding party to be responsible, but there were no signs of any sort of army. There were occasional whispers of the long forgotten practice of Dark Magic or the Darksword of legend being involved, and even fewer spoke of rumors that a small child from Rowling was responsible and had actually survived the incident...but of course, most people simply put this notion aside, labeling any who even remotely believed the legitimacy of this rumor as fools.
That would prove to be a mistake.
Tale of the Darksword: Awakening IC















Bookmarks