This story contains mature content including (but not limited to), blood, gore, violence, slavery, abuse, topics such as suicide and mental illness, sexual content, sexual references, and much more.

The cover to this story as well as ALL of the art was created using BingAI, and I used a "Creative Helper" AI on the Character.AI app to assist me in the pacing and structure of the story, but every word and idea came from a human mind (mine). I am strictly against using AI to write stories, I merely use them to help guide me.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out, this is my biggest project yet and I'm excited to publish every last part. For now, I won't be working on it constantly, so new parts could be released within a week, a month, or even half a year. I don't like forcing myself to write, because then the story becomes less passionate, and I can't add in everything I want if I rush to release parts, so bear with me on that one.

Anyway, Part 1 is finally out, so go give it a read! I'm planning to finish this story eventually, so check back in if you liked Part 1 so you can keep reading! I promise, I have a really good plan and idea for how the story will continue, and I hope the climax will hit you just as hard as it did me (when I came up with it, that is).

Enjoy!

- M

To Be Continued...

Part 1 - The Hero's Shadow

From the Magic Guidebook: Spells and Spellcasting 1 & 2 - To cast a spell, the user must first choose the spell in which they want to cast. Depending on their affinity, and the amount of mana they possess, the user can cast a spell by drawing mana into a single point on either their body or gemstone, then envisioning the physical object they wish to create. After the object is created, more mana can be embedded into it to increase its size and power, or more objects can be created for either extra offensive power, or to create different combinations of spells.

Spell casting is similar to drawing in and expelling mana, except instead of putting the mana into another vessel, it is compressed just outside the body into a physical form, creating things such as fire and water. A list of the many different types of spells can be found below, but there are always new combinations being discovered for new spells.

Different spells can be combined not only with spells of their own element, but spells of other elements as well. The combinations are endless, but each element begins with one simple spell that is the foundation of any other spell created:

Create Fire - Creates a small flame at the palm of the user's hand.

Create Water - Creates a water ball at the palm of the user's hand.

Create Earth - Creates a small stone at the palm of the user's hand.

Create Wind - Summons a gust of wind at the palm of the hand, moving in the direction the palm is facing rapidly.

Create Light - Summons a small light source at the palm of the user's hand.

Create Shadow - Summons a small orb of dark energy at the palm of the user's hand.