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
Talia pushed on through the misty marshlands, mulling over her concerns about Leonard. She knew that beneath his aged, contemplative exterior still lurked the impassioned warrior who had battled relentlessly against the crusaders so long ago. Though wisdom had tempered his zeal over the harsh years, the old fires yet simmered in his heart. If she was not careful, Talia feared her talk of renewing the Torchbearers and inspiring a new generation could reawaken that crusading fervor in Leonard. While noble in purpose, such unchecked righteousness could prove as destructive as the fanaticism they opposed. As the murk parted before her, Talia spied a young girl kneeling by the gnarled roots of a cypress tree. Her plain robes marked her as one of the Beaconites, a reclusive order devoted to spiritual enlightenment. What was she doing out here alone?Approaching, Talia saw the girl was tending to an injured wolf, gentle hands bandaging its foreleg. The savage beast made no move to harm her
The mist clung close about Talia as she ventured deeper into the trackless marshlands. In the distance, wavering wisps of light marked the village she had departed, where the townsfolk yet celebrated being freed from an ancient curse. But the lingering grief over the murdered Beaconite girl tempered any satisfaction Talia felt in lifting their spirit plague. She knew the villagers would not mourn the innocent child, whose open empathy for perceived darkness had made her suspect in their eyes. Talia sighed, the chill air burning her throat. However naively, the girl had walked her own path right until its tragic end. Talia resolved to do the same, wherever her road led next. If she could help even one more understand that light and dark were woven together, not opposed, the child's death would not be entirely in vain.Near nightfall, Talia reached a narrow boat landing she knew to mark the marsh's northernmost edge. She settled down weary but restless, awaiting the ferry at dawn to c
Talia hurried on through the remote foothills, hoping distance would obscure her trail from the queen's riders. But despite the immediate danger receding, she felt lingering unease over her rift with Leonard.In their brief reconciliation, she had glimpsed the possibility of temperance overcoming his ingrained militancy. But the riders' sudden assault had ripped open old wounds, and Leonard had retreated back into hatred and vengeance. Talia feared the bloodshed he might cause if his crusader instincts were unleashed once more.Yet she could not deny the essential truth in his view that the queen would keep hounding them to the end. Talia's magics could conceal her for a time, but she was only one fugitive. How long could even a scattered order survive if deemed a threat to the crown?The sinking sun stretched Talia's shadow behind her as she trekked onward, a dark echo of her own conflicted principles. Perhaps she had been selfish, risking Leonard's life again in pursuit of her ideal