Coldfire: A Touch of the Abyss
Aether is a patchwork of realities, stitched together with the coarse threads of fate. The High Ones feast on floating islands, flouting the laws of gods and men. The Low Ones rot in the stench of the underbelly, dreaming of a breath of fresh air. Between them lie countless layers of existence, where magic intertwines with despair. Into this chaotic world steps the Unknown. His face is hidden beneath a cowl, and in his eyes burns the cold fire of the Abyss. He is no hero, no savior; he is a catalyst for change, ruthless and hypocritical.
The Unknown seeks no followers; he is a solitary figure. He wanders Aether, sowing the seeds of knowledge, but not out of noble intent. His gift is a curse, a trial that breaks the weak and elevates the strong. He asks for no payment, but the price of his lessons is blood, sweat, and tears. He whispers the secrets of the universe into the ears of the outcast, but cares nothing for their fate. He is a spark that can ignite the flame of hope or burn everything to ashes.
The story begins with Kael, a young thief from the underbelly who overhears the Unknown conversing with a spirit. Words laden with ancient magic and forbidden knowledge ignite within him a spark of ambition. He begins to stalk the Unknown, seeking to glean his secrets. But the Unknown is no teacher in the conventional sense. He does not give lessons; he creates situations in which his "students" are forced to learn to survive, adapt, and overcome.
Kael becomes an unwitting witness to the Unknown's actions, seeing how his "gifts" alter the destinies of others, shattering the old order and giving rise to new chaos. He realizes that the Unknown does not strive for balance; he craves destruction, the rebirth of the world in the fires of the Abyss. And Kael, intoxicated by the power that newfound knowledge grants him, becomes a part of this chaos.
Kael's path intersects with others who have also been "blessed" by the Unknown's touch. Some descend into madness, others become tyrants, and still others become martyrs. Each of them is a tool in the Unknown's hands, a pawn in his game with reality. And Kael must decide who he wants to be – a pawn or a player.
"Coldfire" is a story about the price of knowledge, the dark side of power, and how even in the most ruthless chaos, there is a perverse beauty. It is a story not of heroes, but of survivors, not of salvation, but of transformation, not of light, but of the cold fire of the Abyss that consumes all in its path.
