CrimzonBlade

Ages of silence held the long forgotten halls of this ancient crypt in an eternity of frozen quiet , whisperings of arcane secrets lying undisturbed within the depths for countless eons. In a sudden burst, the stasis was broken with gusts of fresh air scattering dust formed from decades of stillness as an opening that shook the corridor leading beneath the earth ground open above. Echoes sounded as 2 researchers descended into the unknown.

Leading was an older man, brown hair and beard graying in his progressed age, with rich but travelled white and gold robes adorning him. In one of his gnarled hands he held a wooden staff, the top just as gnarled as his skin with a small red jewel embedded in a tangle that set it in. In the other he held a bright orb of white that revealed the path below. 

Following him, teetering on the edge of impatience, was a short woman, untidy red-brown hair cascading down to her shoulders over her young pale face and onto the oversized light blue robes that adorned her thin frame. Her sleeves came past her hands and the same dark ink smudges that decorated her cheek dirtied the edges of the cloth. Her vibrant emerald eyes scanned through the thin panels of her glasses at the walls that flickered with a pale blue glow produced by an orb that hovered above her outstretched palm. Fascination gleaned from her intelligent gaze as she absorbed the new scenes before her. She had been a student for 12 years now within the most prestigious College of Evercrest, brought into and raised within the school since she was 8. A prodigy within the institution, she was the most driven student the school had enrolled within it’s grand halls in recent memory. She excelled in her studies to such a degree that she was entrusted to her companion, High Scholar Morbius, one of the universities most recognised academics. 

Throughout her studies, the knowledge of the unknown and forbidden had always intrigued her, and even when she was restricted from doing so, she constantly found herself sneaking peeks into the dangerous knowledge that was secreted away, op[en only to the highest ranking scholars. Alys believed the knowledge was a tool to be used, and dark and forbidden information was only dangerous to those who would use it as such, thus her own interest was no threat. Most would have called her naive, but she dismissed that opinion as ignorant, believing that restricting knowledge only served to hold people back. Stubborn and unrelenting, she was eventually allowed access to the school’s restricted knowledge, with reasonable oversight by her mentor Morbius. After 3 years of dedicated study, something previously unknown was discovered, and this led the scholars to where they were today. This was the first time she had been able to put her knowledge to use, and the discovery this crypt gave her the chance to prove her brilliance that people seldom had in the world. She would make the most of it.

The grave the two scholars entered was ancient even to those who were ancient themselves. The forbidden tome that had allowed it’s discovery lay in Alys’ haversack, a  forgotten language detailing secrets within the unknown words that themselves were just as difficult to identify with the decay of ages muddying the script. Hours and days were spent trying to make out each word and phrase, and piece by piece they deciphered enough to locate the hidden tomb where within lie a cosmos of unknown knowledge from an age long past, tied to the worship of an old god, whose secrets Alys strove to unlock.

The researchers made their way down the descending hallway where it ended in a heavy stone door and as they approached, the man stopped the progression.

“Hold here for a moment Alys.” he said in a deep gentle voice. He waved his arms about for a moment uttering arcane words as he formed patterns of piercing weave in the air and sent them forward as a wave of energy that probed into the rock. After a moment, he continued. “It seems safe. Let us move on.”

He maintained his lead forward and pressed on the door, moving it forward with only a little effort. Alys impatiently held back, following into the room. It was a typical seeming grave, wall cubbies filled with various belongings to the deceased and a large stone tomb in the center where the corpse lie. Nothing of interest to them though. They continued through several rooms of the same and it seemed the tomb was separated into a long line of these chambers, each larger than the last. Some had smaller but alike rooms branching to the sides, possibly family members of the deceased. There may have been trinkets within of note, but they searched for something grander. 

At last, they came to the final room. The massive chamber was strengthened by 4 pillars, each 10 feet across, rising from the floor meeting the ceiling 100 feet above. They surrounded a circle that slowly dipped down towards the middle where a massive chest stood. Chains of heavy iron bound it closed and stretched from the chest to the pillars encircling it.Their quarry at hand, the researchers approached. As they grew closer they could see the detail on the chest. It was taller than them and made of hard, black stone, possibly obsidian, with strange arcane script decorating it. The clasp that held it closed had the same arcane script though these symbols actually held a bright white light.

The older man took a few steps closer and crossed into the center ring.

Alys pushed past her mentor in an excited panic.

“Hold young one.” He ordered. “Something doesn’t feel quite right here.” He continued as a chill crept through him. He approached the front of the chest beside her, grey eyes scanning the script.

“I don’t recognise this.” he muttered, drawing Aly’s gaze to a series of runes. She reached her hand out and brushed it across the words. As she did Morbius’s vision blurred for a moment and something flashed before his eyes that only touched his perception. It lasted only a moment.

“Wait.” he said holding his hand to his head as a ringing began in his ears. Alys, in her typical focused fascination, was too absorbed in the chest to hear her mentor's concern and  continued poking and prodding. Each touch brought with it a new flash and the ringing grew louder as he stumbled back for a moment. Falling to his knees, he was overcome with a series of visions, locations coming into view in each flash, unrecognizable mostly. That is until he saw the tower where they had left from only 2 days ago. It was alight in flame, scrolls and books ashen and destroyed. Through his clouded sight he could make out Alys as she continued looking around the chest. Another flash, and he saw the countryside they had traveled through to get here, though now it was covered in an unnatural shadow. His vision flashed again, and this time a voice came with the final image of 2 black eyes filled with malice. A low laughter faded in as Alys reached out toward the chest’s clasp to open it.

“Stop!” he gasped, charging forward and throwing the young wizard aside as the clasp clattered to the ground. The chamber boomed as the top of the chest rocketed open, shattering the restraints that previously held it closed and sending the older mage spiraling back . A smog scattered out enveloping the room, and tendrils of black grasped onto the 2. Alys struggled against the bonds as she looked over to her unmoving mentor who was lifted and held against one of the pillars. In a stabbing motion, a tendril forced its way into the older man and his previously closed eyes shot open and flashed black. The smog filled the room and that was the last she saw of Morbius. In this prison of shadow, a tingling cold crept onto and up the woman’s right arm. It was interrupted by an incinerating stab of pain that lasted only the moment it took Alys to fall into unconsciousness.

Alys awoke to darkness and silence. Even breathing was difficult as she felt like the very life had been drained from her. A throbbing pain lanced across the whole of her arm and onto her shoulder spreading through scattered pieces even across her chest and face. She took a few long deep breaths, heavy with exhaustion, and finally called out. 

“Morbius?” she trembled in a whisper that echoed across the chamber. Moments passed with no reply.

“Morbius?!” She cried louder, panic creeping into her voice. Still no reply. She struggled to climb to her feet and stumbled blindly forward, weakness almost causing her to crash to the floor. Holding her arms out before her, she shuffled through the tomb gripped in terror shouting for her mentor. She came to an abrupt stop as her foot tangled in a line of chains forcing her to collapse to the ground with a crack as her shoulder impacted one of the pillars and her knee hit the hard stone beneath her. She sat for a moment, eyes darting about frantically searching for anything within the darkness, then crawled forward around the pillar towards where Morbius was previously held where she fumbled around looking for him. Her outstretched hand swept the floor and knocked against something which she grabbed tightly hoping it was him. However, she recognised the gnarled texture of wood grain in her mentor’s staff. She shrieked his name until breathless, she went still. Hopelessness set in, and she knew she was alone. 

Alys sat solitary in darkness in a meditation of fatigue that lasted until the cold started numbing her fingers.  Emotionless but with panic fallen, she whispered the arcane runes of “light” and held out her right hand. A sickening green flame appeared, almost forcing her to recoil from it’s unfamiliar hue. Finally able to assess the soreness across her body, she found only what she could call a black scar that covered her hand and reached up her forearm where it started to fade into lines that continued further until it scattered across her breast and she assumed her neck and face where the same scratching pain burned. Movement felt like sunburn, and it seemed cool to the touch. Obviously with the change in color to her light spell, there had to be other side repercussions as well. That was for later though. Nothing could be done right now.

She scanned the once again silent chamber. The chest lay shattered in shards of dark crystal and chains were strewn across the floor and hung limply from the pillars. Using her mentor’s staff, she climbed to her feet and limped through the chamber seeking any sign of what had caused this calamity to no avail. The chamber was empty and any secrets lay demolished in the destroyed artifact. She slowly retreated towards the entrance.  As she made her way back through the previous chambers she saw that there was some disturbance on the mundane objects that lay within. Mementos lay knocked over and the dust that previously coated everything was cleared in a path leading towards the exit. Whatever had emerged from what she now knew to be some sort of prison had come through here and now was free in the world. She worried for the local towns and even as far as about the tower she called home. Dreading her welcome back, she began the long trek home. 

In her travels, Alys found that there was always some sign of the force that she had unleashed that led the way before her. Tales of terrible catastrophes pointed the way in the form of sickness, famine and even monstrous beasts, twisted in mutations that made them more feral and ferocious. On returning to the tower, Alys found her home a blackened ruin. All she had left was the ancient tome, Morbius’s staff, her traveling supplies, and her spellbook. Without home and without hope, the young wizard began her journey into the cursed world that she had created. Whatever had been unlocked was out there somewhere, and she would find it. She would understand what had been done to her and would end the suffering she had caused. Alys had alway been focused and stubborn, and now she found a new target for that drive. The story of the Darkscarred Witch had begun.