The Dragon's Tome, An Original Fantasy Story Options

[Zalphon]

Prologue

They called me the Prince of All that is wrong in this world. In Mathoc. The land of magick and wonder. The frozen north known as the Frostblood Tundra. The southern deserts of Sunskar. The eastern jungles of Sythariss. The western mountains of Star-Reach. The Ocean of Souls and the Sea of Arcana... The Northeastern bogs and swamps of the Black Marsh. The Northwestern Forests of Dragonwood. The Southeastern plains of Shadow's Meadow. The Southwestern Deadlands of the Dread Plains...

They say I am all that is foul in the world... They called me a being of the Abyss itself. They called me the Lord of Unlife, the Master of Necromancy, the King of the Undead... They were right... My name is Zalphon Shadowheart Broodikus, Emperor of Mathoc... I am the Arch-Lich and the God of Necromancy and Unlife. I rule over the lands with an iron fist.

My empire is strong and built of the dead. Unlike previous liches and necromancers, those ressurected by me or students of the New Ways of Necromancy retain their intelligence if we so-choose. Mathoc is ruled by the living dead, for the living dead. Our foes are the paladins of Lightius Star, the Arch-Angel and Queen of Skyhaven, Realm of the Angels...

We constantly fight to conquer all who oppose us. The only threat to us, was the dragons... The Guardians of Mathoc, they called themselves. And their immortal followers (ageless), the Order of the Dragon. I once was a member, but after I learned the truth about what power they hid from us, it began...

If you've picked up this tome, you must be expecting a story... My story... My name is Emperor Zalphon Broodikus, and it begins thousands of years ago, during the Era of the Everlight Kingdom. My father's kingdom...

[Zalphon]

Chapter Seven: Sythariss

The jungles of Sythariss were quite dense and thick with foliage on the outer-rims of the province. However, as I got deeper in, they seemed less like jungles and more like the Abyss. Legend was that a Demon-Prince came to Sythariss hundreds of thousands of years ago and opened a Gateway to the Abyss. The creatures I passed look more demonic as I moved forward through the thick-foliage of the hellacious place.

I saw a collossal ziggurat and smiled. At the entrance stood two guards in black armor with black cloaks. They held halberds. I walked forward and stated, "Shadows guide you." They backed away and let me in. The Black Ziggurat was tainted with Abyssal Magick. It pricked at my skin as I walked.

I reached the Throne Room and there he sat on a bone-throne. "Lord Vayris," I called out. "I have come to serve you, Milord." He wore black robes and had a black hood up. A scarf covered his mouth and nose. In his right hand was a staff made of bone imbued with the spirits of Enslaved Angels and Knights of the Dragons.

I kneeled obediently. "I told you we'd meet again all those years ago," he stated. "Finally, we do. I know why you've come. The Order taught you the Arcane Arts of Magick, but you'd like to learn the darker arts. That I can do, or actually my champion can do.

Out of the shadows came Lord Kristopher Ravenblood. His skin was rotted and he had the stench of rot surrounding him. "Surprised?" he asked. "I would be, I used my powerful magick to hide my true nature. Yes, I am a Drakolich."

"Ravenblood, I thought I had killed you," Zalphon called out. "How do you still live?"

"I was already dead and more powerful than you ever knew. I am a Lich Master, one of the few survivors of the War of Necromancy. I am one of the seven Lich Masters alive," he continued. "We are the most powerful of all liches and necromancers."

"Milord, will you teach me?" I couldn't help but asked. "I must learn everything you can teach me."

"Gladly, Zalphon," he nodded. "You however must pass the Trials of the Shadow Knight and the Trials of the Necromancer to be worthy of apprenticeship to a lich."

"What must I do?" I asked. "I must know!"

"Head to the Students' Quarters, Lich-Lord Victor Shadowmare," he commanded. "You'll learn quickly, and eventually you'll be ready for the Trials of the Lich. And after reading the Ancient Prophecies, legend is you'll be the Arch-Lich chosen to bring necromancers and liches back to power!"

I obeyed and rushed to the Students' Quarters, eager to learn...