It was in the Year 860AW, The world had faced its greatest threat. Chaos had invaded the material realm and unleashed destruction unto the realms. Faced with extinction, Human, Elves,Dwarves, High Humans, Witches, Spirits, Giants, Beastkin and even the dragons the most prideful of beings all came together to stop this destruction. Blessed with the power of the Lightcrystals by the Gods, Humanity the weakest of all races was finally able to have the power to fight back. Armed with the power of the Lightcrystals and Divine blessings from the Gods, The Humans and the other races were able to push back the forces of chaos, sealing them into the Eye of eternity. Ending the long war which had darken the skies for centuries and caused the death of millions.
After the war against chaos, The Gods took their power from the humans and gifted the power of the Lightcrystals and Divine Blessings to only 10 Humans whom they deemed worthy of leading Humanity into a brighter and peaceful future. Each of these Humans were given their own Divinecrystals, a shard of the Lightcrystals and a symbol of their authority. With this power, The Humans were finally able to contend with the other races and as such after the war Peace was obtained within the realms. Each Being from every race went back to their respective domain and as such everyone was united.
These 10 Humans would further on create their own Royal lineage and household, Sharing the power of the Divine crystals among their citizens and household. With this Humanity was able to quickly recover from the events of the long war and usher in an era of Magical advancement and civilisation.
The Professor had finished explaining about the history of their current world and how magic came about to the students but to his surprise everyone was just bored out of their minds with some of the students even takng a nap. Was this because the story was boring? No! but rather it was because they had heard this history so many times that they just couldn't be bothered to hear about it anymore.
Annoyed by this, the Professor started runting on about how important history is and how it can shape the lives of people just for his words to pass by deaf ears.
"If you guys keep on at this, you will never make it into The Arcane Conclave. After all there are two ways to become a member of the conclave and that's ; The first being Creating a new form of magic or Divine pathway, with the second being gaining about 900 crystal points to qualify for a position in the conclave. For the record the first option is a No!No! for you guys so you are only left with the second option therefore you better take these classes seriously. You guys are dismissed", said the Professor.
Realising how right their Professor was, the students exit the classroom feeling a bit shameful.
"Professor Thalric! Professor Thalric", screamed a student as he runs accross the corridors trying to reach his professor.
"What do you want Kid?", asked The Professor in a very strict and harsh voice as he turns around. His facial expression being of one who doesn't want to be bothered right now.
"I was in your history class this morning and I really liked hearing about the History of the long war and the 10 progenitors. It doesn't matter how many times I hear it, it always feels new to me and it is one of my main reasons for going on with my dreams", the student said in a strong and enthusiastic tone.
The Professor looked into the boy's eyes and all he could see was a kid who had such high dreams.
"You are Ashen right?", the Professor asked. "Altough you are talentless and have been rejected by the grace of the Divinecrystal, you still have such high hopes of becoming a member of the conclave. Normally I would laugh at those dreams but only a fool would laugh at the dreams of others and judge them before it is ever accomplished. Therefore I shall be expecting to see your success boy", said the Professor as he leaves Ashen and heads to his chambers.
For the first time, someone had actually believed in his dream and not laughed at him. This made him soften up a bit. As Ashen tries and make his way back to his chambers, he's stopped by a group of bullies. Among these bullies was one of the top 20 students in the school and his followers.
Hammon is a towering figure, with a broad, muscular frame that exudes strength and confidence. His red hair is fiery and unruly, a vivid cascade that seems to mirror his intense and aggressive personality. His face carries a rugged handsomeness: sharp cheekbones, a strong jawline, and piercing green eyes that flash with a mix of arrogance and cunning. A faint scar slashes diagonally across his left eyebrow, adding to his intimidating allure.
He wears a distinctive academy uniform tailored to showcase his status as one of the strongest. The deep navy-blue jacket is trimmed with gold embroidery, fitted perfectly to emphasize his powerful physique. A sigil embroidered on the chest—an intricate design of a roaring lion encircled by flames—marks him as one of the academy's elite fighters. His boots are polished but sturdy, and a red sash tied around his waist adds a touch of flair while signifying his fiery nature.
Despite his arrogant demeanor, his movements are fluid and confident, hinting at his refined combat training. The air around him is charged with an almost magnetic energy, a blend of danger and charisma that makes him both admired and feared by his peers.
"Hey I'm bored therefore why don't you come with us for a bit", said Hammon in an arrogant and cocky tone.
The rest of Hammon's followers surround Ashen leaving him with no room for escape.
"I-I-I'm sorry b-b-but I can't go come with you. I have a project that I need to complete so---", just before Ashen could finish his words, a punch just hits him on the face out of nowhere which sends him flying.
Hammon confronts a bleeding Ashen on the ground. He crouches down on his toes and he says, "I was going to be nice enough to not beat you up today but you really do piss me off, you useless, talentless, worthless piece of shit. This academy must have really low standards for keeping scum like you here. You are the lowest of the low that doesn't even deserve to be here yet for some reason you attend the same academy as us, breathe the same air as us and even have the audacity to refuse me! Me! what right does scum like you have to talk in the presence of someone like me huh!?. I will make you regret ever steping foot here".
Ashen clenched into trembling fists at his sides, but he couldn't muster the courage to raise them before Hammon, the self-proclaimed king of the school, smirked as he leaned further in, his cronies trailing behind like shadows. "You thought you could mouth off to me, huh?" he spat, his voice low and menacing. His knuckles cracked as if warming up for what was to come. Ashen's breath hitched; he could feel the weight of all the eyes on him, their gaze sharp enough to slice through his skin.
"Please, I didn't—" Ashen stammered, but his words were cut short by a fist colliding with his stomach. Pain exploded in his core, doubling him over, his knees threatening to give out beneath him. Before he could recover, another blow came—a sharp jab to his ribs, then a savage kick to his side that sent him sprawling to the ground.
The laughter started then—soft and cruel, spreading like wildfire through the crowd. "Serves him right," someone whispered. "He deserves this." Others nodded, some giggling behind cupped hands, others just watching with cold indifference, as if the scene were nothing more than a midday spectacle.
Hammon's group took turns now, each one eager to prove their loyalty. A kick to the back, a stomp on his hand. The world blurred for Ashen, his vision clouding with tears and his ears ringing from the pounding in his skull. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, pooling on the ground beneath him.
"Stop," he tried to say, but it came out as a rasp, drowned by the jeers of the crowd. He curled in on himself, shielding his head as best as he could. His heart pounded against his chest, each beat echoing louder than the laughter, louder than the taunts. It felt like it might be his last.
And yet no one stepped forward. No one shouted for them to stop. They just stood there, their faces twisted with amusement or blank with apathy.
Hammon knelt beside him, grabbing a fistful of James's hair and forcing him to look up. "Remember this next time you think you're somebody," he growled, his voice dripping with venom. With a final shove, he sent Ashen back to the dirt.
The group dispersed as if nothing had happened, their laughter fading into the distance. Ashen lay there, broken and gasping for breath, the bitter taste of humiliation mixing with the blood in his mouth.
The silence returned, pressing heavy on him like a weight he could never lift.
Everyone left the corridors leaving behind the broken, bloodied up Ashen on the floor. He started muttering to himself, "Why was I even born? Just why? Everyone treats me like dirt, I have no friends, no family, Just why did this have to happen to me huh God? If I was just going to suffer like this and not be accepted by anyone, I would rather have not been born. I just want to die, I-I just want to end it all",
Ashen laid there sobbing and contemplating on his life before finally reaching a conclusion. He decided to kill himself and end all of this pain and suffering. It didn't matter if he never ends up in the conclave or become as strong as the progenitors, afterall it was just a stupid dream that he tried to chase in order to forget how weak and useless he is.
Lurking in the shadown was Professor Thargil, he had witnessed all what had happen and heard all what Ashen said to himself. Looking at Ashen, all he could feel for him was pity and as such he whispered into his ear, "Maybe you should just die and save yourself the trouble of all this suffering".
These words were the final blow to Ashen already broken mind and will. As the only person he considered family and thought cared about him was actually just pretending and also sees him as a sorry loser.
Ashen manages to muster every ounce of strenght in his body and proceeds to limp his way out of the Academy grounds with his broken body. He walks miles and miles on end before reaching the forbidden forest. A forest so tainted and corrupted from the Long war that no soul dares to enter but at this point Ashen had no soul as he was already dead inside and rather was just an empty shell on the outside. As he makes his way through the forbidden forest to die, he is chased by a group of dark wolves. As fast as Ashen is, a broken body is still a broken body and one cannot surpass the limitation of their body once they have reached the tipping point as such Ashen was not able to properly escape from the pack. These monsters were sentient and as such they toyed with him whiles bitting off chunks of his body as they chased him.
Ashen tries to escape but it is to no avail before he slips and falls down a cave.
The cave is a breathtaking sanctuary hidden deep within the forbidden forest. Its entrance is veiled by cascading ivy and shimmering waterfalls, giving way to a majestic underground realm. Inside, the air is cool and tinged with a faint, mystical hum that resonates softly, almost like a song of the earth itself.
The walls are adorned with blue, crystallized formations, glowing faintly like shards of frozen moonlight. These crystals are jagged yet elegant, refracting light into a kaleidoscope of colors that dance across the cavern's surfaces. They stretch from floor to ceiling, creating an ethereal forest of sparkling stone.
Scattered throughout the cave are glowing flowers in vivid hues of violet, azure, and soft pink. Their petals emit a gentle radiance, and they sway faintly as though responding to an unseen breeze. Between them, delicate fireflies flit about, their tiny golden lights flickering like stars brought to life. The combination of flowers and fireflies creates a dreamy, celestial landscape within the cavern.
Small streams of liquid light trickle down the walls and into the pool, their trails glinting faintly as if imbued with stardust. The air feels charged with magic, and standing near the core crystal, one can sense its ancient power, as if it holds the memories of a thousand forgotten eras.
This cave is a place of wonder, serenity, and mystery, a sanctuary for those who stumble upon it or are summoned by its otherworldly light.
His body completely shattered from the fall, blood all over his body from the monster attack but upon all the despair and agony he was in currently, this view was something which illuminated his darkness and for the first time in 16 years he smiled. He did not smile because he was about to die but rather he smiled at the fact that he was able to witness a cave and scenery as beautiful as this.
Before Ashen could take his last breathe, a voice calls upon him in his head.
"You have been chosen boy of Destiny, one that shall reveal the truth what was hidden, come forth child and become my vessel", said the voice in a very strange tone.
Ashen immediately knew that this voice was coming from the core of the cave. As if driven by the will of life itself, Ashen had regained some will to live. He thought to himself, "Even though I have no breath left in me or no strength left in me, I need to find out what this voice is and what it meant."
Ashen crawled his way to the heart of the cave. At this magical space lies its most captivating feature: a massive, glowing orange crystal. It pulses gently with an inner light, casting warm, fiery hues across the chamber. The crystal appears alive, its surface swirling with golden veins of energy that shift and dance hypnotically. This core crystal is perched on a natural pedestal, surrounded by a shallow pool of still, mirror-like water that reflects its glow, making the entire chamber seem illuminated from below.
As he moved closer to the crystal, the voice in his head which had been leading him there vanished. He knew immediately that this was what it wanted him to find. Ashen managed to reach the crystal and place his hand on it.
"You are worthy", said the voice in a dark and deep tone before fading away completely.
In an instant, a large burst of power rushed through Ashen's body. His body kept on constructing and destructing, breaking and healing, his brain was flooded with soo much ancient information, history and power that it left him brain dead, his pathway which had been destroyed from all the bullying and unhealthy cultivation had been healed to a much better and stronger state.
The power in the crystal was so great to the extent that it could be felt throughout the lands and for a brief moment, the forbidden forest where no light can reach became the brightest place in the world.
Ashen's soul was transported to an astral plane where he saw a figure even he couldn't describe or comprehend properly. This is what he thought and saw, "Imagine a godlike being, radiant and mesmerizing, their body glowing with an ethereal, molten gold hue that seems to pulse with a divine energy. The light from their form bathes the surroundings, casting long, shimmering reflections, yet they are naked, their beauty untainted by clothing. Their golden hair flows like liquid sunlight, cascading in waves that move as though alive, each strand shimmering with an otherworldly brilliance. The hair seems to have a life of its own, flowing effortlessly in the wind, always in perfect harmony with the god's movements.
Their face, however, is a mystery—no matter how closely one looks, the features remain veiled in an aura of light, obscured in such a way that the eyes and mouth are hidden. It's as if their face exists only in the mind of those who gaze upon them, offering glimpses of impossible beauty but never fully revealing itself. The figure radiates an aura of immense power and serenity, commanding respect and awe from all who witness their presence, as if they exist on a plane beyond mortal understanding, transcendent and untouchable."
"Who are you?", Ashen asked this godlike figure
"That is not something I can reveal yet but heed my words. you have been chosen as a vessel for my power. For you have proven yourself worthy enough. Although you have gone through soo much pain and suffereing, you never gave up or blamed anyone else, you worked harder than anyone else in order to make up for your weak, pathetic self regardless of what people thought about you and because of that I .... have chosen you as my champion and together we shall change this world and rid it of what it is. Will you accet this power?", said the godlike figure in a soft,elegant and vibrant tone.
Ashen sobbed so hard that his tears turned red. He sobbed all his hardwork and effort had not been in vain but rather it was all for this faithful encounter. Finally gaining the will to live again, Ashen had made his choice.
Ashen stood up and walked towards this godlike figure
"I accept! Give me the power to change this world", said Ashen in a serious tone before shaking hands with this Divine Being.
"I like your conviction. Lets see how far you can go Human. I will be watching", smirked the godlike figure as he vanished into the astral plane.
on the other side, Ashen's body had fully absorbed the power of the Crystal. He screamed so loud from the pain of absorbing this power to the point that it could be heard throughout the forbidden forest. After fully absorbing the power of the crystal, the cave was immediately destroyed and his body was teleported to safety.