In the months that followed the Dark One's defeat, an era of healing and renewal dawned across the land. With evil's source severed, balance flowed back into the world. Crops flourished, water ran clean, and light filled even the most remote valleys. The kingdom entered a time of prosperity unlike any before.Jaren watched it all with a smile, knowing his work was done. With the Torchbearers' guidance, the people were shepherding in this new golden age themselves. They needed a defender no longer. On a crisp autumn morning, Jaren gathered the Torchbearers to the courtyard of Vanguard Keep. Mara's spirit watched unseen alongside Leonard as he addressed them one final time."Our long duty is fulfilled," he announced. "The Dark One is no more, and this land is healed. It is time for me to depart, and for you to lay down your burdens."Jaren unstrapped the Torchbearer bracer from his arm, letting it fall to the stones. "Go in peace. Your lights have deemed the dark."The realm prospered
Enid followed his parents through the woods, his head spinning with questions. But one look at their taut, focused expressions silenced him. Escape was their only priority now. At dawn, with the fetid ogre camp far behind, they finally halted in a secluded glen. Enid's mother waved her hand, and colorful runes flared briefly around them before fading. "We may speak freely now," she said. Turning to Enid, sadness filled her eyes. "I wish we had been honest with you from the beginning. But we wanted only to shelter you from strife and pain. To let you live a life of peace, as we never could."Enid glanced between them. "Then...it's true? You have some secret power?"His father nodded grimly. "Your mother comes from an ancient line blessed with magic by the Light itself. And I was once a warrior of the order your great grandfather founded - the Torchbearers." He unstrapped the shield from his back. "I thought these days past, with the darkness banished. But recent omens spoke of evil
The years rolled onward and the Torchbearers passed into legend. Few could even recall the ogre invasions, so distant they seemed now. But still the order stood sentinel, knowing evil never rested for long.In a remote valley, a young initiate named Talia sat studying crumbling records of those ancient battles. She dreamed of adventure and glory, not scholarly dust. Sighing, Talia closed the book and slipped out into the night. She scaled the monastery walls, escaping into the moonlit forest beyond. These archives held no life. She would find truth down her own path.Talia wandered for days, enjoying her freedom. But on the fifth morning, she awoke to find herself lost in the mist-shrouded mountains. Belatedly, she tried using magic to retrace her steps, but the spell fizzled uselessly.Then, through the mist, Talia glimpsed a faint glow. She crept toward it until the shape of a lantern emerged beneath an rocky overhang. A wrinkled crone huddled there, wrapped in tattered robes."A
In the wake of the witch's attack, the surviving Torchbearers desperately tried to regroup. But their numbers were ravaged, their stronghold left ruined. Without more power, they could not hope to stand against the evil now awakened in the world. Arik tirelessly scoured the archives for anything that could help turn the tide. Late one night, blinded by grief and exhaustion, he knocked over an oil lamp. Flames licked up ancient pages and tomes before he could stop them. But there, in a concealed compartment behind the shelves, Arik spotted an ornate chest glowing from within. He lifted it free of the fire, hands shaking as he pried it open.Nestled inside was an object not seen for centuries among mortals: a shard of pure celestial crystal, pulsing with inner light. Legends told of the Torchbearers once wielding such shards as conduits of divine power. But their origins had long since passed from memory.Reverently lifting the crystal, Arik felt its energy wash over him, driving back
Years passed since the demonic invasion had scarred the land. Under the Torchbearers' guidance, villages were rebuilt and hope rekindled despite lingering darkness on the fringes. But few realized new threats were quietly gathering unseen.In a desolate gorge, a crazed necromancer unearthed a forbidden ritual to resurrect the vile witch slain decades prior. Cackling with glee as the corpse stirred to life, the necromancer proclaimed he would control her and unleash doom upon all who had wronged him.The long-dead witch seemed to comply at first, her broken form limping through the warped ceremony. But as her strength returned, blazing red light erupted behind her hollow eye sockets. With a shriek, the witch banished the necromancer's spirit to a lightless abyss before turning her wrath back upon the living world.As troubling omens emerged across the land, the aging Leonard felt a familiar dread chill his bones. Memories of the blood-soaked battle when the witch had nearly ended them
Though the demonic breach had been sealed, a pall of dread lingered over the land. Dark rumors spread as people lived in fear of evil resurging. Many flocked to the Torchbearers seeking protection, overwhelming their recovery efforts. Mara spent long nights in the archives searching for anything that could revive hope and stability. One dusty volume contained forbidden blood magic rituals, capable of terrifying power if misused. Mara brought the book to Leonard, suggesting they lock it away lest it corrupt weaker minds.But a shadow passed over the aging warrior's face as he thumbed through the ancient pages. "No," he said slowly. "We must use this knowledge, but for good."Despite Mara's misgivings, Leonard began gathering mages sympathetic to their cause, teaching them to draw on their own life force to fuel spells of protection and healing. The techniques spread rapidly, letting even common folk wield magic to defend their homes or turn the soil blighted by demonic taint.For a ti
The crusaders' merciless assault left no Torchbearer settlement standing. Sheltering behind Mara's quickly crumbling barrier, the few surviving villagers could only watch helplessly as their protectors were cut down. With the last line of defense about to fail, the elder magician Cyrus gripped Mara's shoulder and met her eyes. "Take the children and flee," he urged. "We will delay them."Mara hesitated, but Cyrus squeezed her shoulder more insistently. "Their hatred will not stop until all we built lies in ruins. But seeds of hope remain...plant them anew."Blinking back tears, Mara gathered a small group of apprentices and children and led them in escape through collapsing battlelines. A rear guard of mages shrouded their retreat as the crusaders crushed all resistance.For days Mara's band fled through the wilderness, surviving on foraged roots and rainwater. Meanwhile, smoke from burning villages blotted out the horizon behind them.Finally they crested a rise overlooking a tranqu
Years passed as Talia traveled across the kingdom, covertly spreading the Torchbearers’ values and lore to those disillusioned with evil’s reign. Her network of allies slowly grew, though they remained scattered and hidden. Sheltering from a winter storm in a remote mountain hamlet, Talia met a young apothecary named Damien. He offered her cryptic but enticing rumors of an organized resistance movement called the Silver Sparks rising in the western forests. Talia set out to investigate these claims immediately. But the distance was great, and required passing through marshlands now occupied by parasitic wraiths that drained travelers’ life force. Many had attempted the crossing, but none returned. Undeterred, Talia relied on her Torchbearer training to weave protective wards around herself and her horse. She set forth into the ghostly swamps, trusting in the magic to shield them. But as the days stretched on, an insidious chill seeped through Talia’s barriers, sapping her strengt