The Records of Bellemma

Prologue

Before we came to be , eons before the war of the races there were the Primmenials.

Beings with immense powers and great abilities. Beings who were  like gods to our eyes.

Their power was unequalled by any other creature for they had control over all that was.

They created a world where peace and tranquility reigned, a place where the creatures were molded and breath was breathed into their nostrils.

Two Primmenials suggested that they settle in the forms of the land and supervise it's behaviors.

They were the mother and the father and they offered up their essence and settled on the new world.

Mother became a mountain and father the horizon, thus both becoming  Mother mountain and Father horizon. They would watch over the children of this new world known as Bellemma.

The Primmenials later on created minor deities who came to live upon Bellemma , known as guardians.

The guardians were charged with protecting and observing the things that took place upon the world.

Life in the land was peaceful for a time and war was unknown to anyone, but still dark shadows lurk everywhere, and where shadows thrive, darkness resides.

A dark elf sorcerer , known as Haseon , craved power and desired to rule Bellemma.

Four guardians were deceived by the dark elf and followed in his ways.

They were : Marco the guardian of war , Alexandra the guardian of armies, Clarimond the guardian of destruction and Sharmila the guardian of darkness, and they swore to aid Haseon in his conquest.

Haseon started by conquering other kingdoms which had been born earlier in the timeline of Bellemma, but the kingdoms fought back though some did fall to darkness craving the same power that Haseon desired.

So war had begun and destruction had wreaked havoc everywhere.

It was rumored that Haseon had a weapon of massive strength and terrible evil; the black dragon, Scartaris.

A beast of behemoth size and strength, Scartaris was unable to be challenged except by another dragon, which in this case was the Keeper of Bellemma,the Elder White Dragon , Danasa ,and his power was enough to win back order.

So it was chosen to end, on the highest summit of Mother Mountain, that armies of light and darkness were gathered to end this First Great War of Bellemma.

The battle was long and tedious and the battle of the dragons was just as much.

The white and black dragons fought in a long aggressive battle, great and almost quite destructive , the dragons were fighting with all their might , tooth ,fang and claw.

It was said that the battle was too great and terrible to even imagine.

This battle was to be remembered forever.

At last Danasa was making an impact, and the defeat of the black dragon was certain.

Finally Scartaris was down and injured, his wounds were grave.

Danasa was triumphant and victory had been  gained for the forces of life.

Haseon had been captured and his soul taken and locked away, the four guardians banished and Scartaris the dragon had been sealed inside a boulder under a mountain never to see the light of day.

However all was not peace yet for Bellemma's enemies still existed and seeds of dissent reigned still.

Others would crave power but those who hunger for power are oftentimes destroyed. All that is needed is a hero to fight the darkness and bring out the light.

Chapter 1- Thief in the Night

A storm was brewing, and a thief was scurrying through the moonless night.

He had just escaped out of sight from the Baladorian archives from which he had stolen a very precious artifact that had been locked away in a very secure vault.

The darkness and the storm had covered his trail as he treaded softly along the forest , as he tried to complete his mission in the stormy deluge.

He made his way up a hill and looked around, this was the place, now he would wait for his employers.

Soon a cold shudder came over his body.

"You've made it." Said a cold voice of a woman from behind.

" M'lady," said the thief , his voice trembling a bit.

" Do you have it?" Asked a deep hoarse voice , the voice of a man.

" Master,"

"Bring forth the soul." Ordered the first voice .

The thief reached into his satchel and produced forth a shiny object that glowed from within.

The light revealed four figures hooded in black robes.

" If I may my masters," said the thief, quivering "but may I receive my reward now?"

The figures still had their focus on the object .

Then the woman who had spoken first looked at another figure and nodded.

Before he could howler the thief found himself lying on the ground , blood trickling from his slit throat and his life edging away from him.

" Bring forth the coffin."

Two of the figures brought forth a coffin of obsidian oak , a wood so strong that many used it to entrap evil souls.

Within the coffin was an elf his skin pale as snow and his silk hair a raven's color.

Studying the elf within the coffin , the one who now held the object of light stood over the body and began to chant.

" We call upon the elf sorcerer,Haseon, your soul now returns to you ,Master,  we bid thee arise."

She placed the soul upon the elf's chest and for a moment there was nothing to be heard. There was stillness from the body as the light was snuffed  out in a cloud of smoke.

At first there was nothing, then a still beat like that of a repetitive drum, and then a raspy breath as the body awoke.

The body of the elf sorcerer arose menacingly out of the coffin, the beady eyes of the elf, gazing at his servants.

" My four horsemen," he spoke.

"Haseon," the robed figures said .

Haseon stretched forth his hand and called the names of his minions.

"Alexandra, Marco ,Sharmilla, and Clarimond, my prized pupils." Spoke Haseon.

"Master," said Alexandra ", our enemies are at their weakest , we should strike while they are unaware of your presence."

"No," said Haseon

" We will need to regrow our armies and then strike in an organized manner."

"Our closest allies are the dark creatures and the Stonemen." Proclaimed Marco

"Well, that will have to do, for now, once I've fully returned in power and strength ,my pupils, the rest will follow." Haseon explained.

"For now , " he continued " you must make yourselves known to your fellow guardians, I sense that they are aware of my presence, do not underestimate them. Only give them this warning, that they will only have enough time to counter our attacks, it will make the game more interesting."

"Understood , Master. " Said Alexandra.

As the four guardians vanished into the night to do their master's bidding , Haseon looked out onto the horizon, and breathed the stale air he had been deprived of for so long.

"Don't worry old friend," he said " I will come for you soon."

Chapter 2 An Unexpected Visit

In the fields of Etheria the guardians watched over the world of Bellemma closely from their golden halls.

On this night , the eve of the holy day of their birth , a dark shadow had been sensed by two of the guardians, Aeocus , king of the guardians , and Malandra, the guardian queen and mother.

Their precognitive senses told them that something was amiss , not right with the world. What could it be? They assembled the rest of the guardians and ordered a meeting

"As you all may be aware ," Aeocus began to state, "this is the eve of our birth,but something lingers in the air,"

", It is a smell that seems all too familiar for us to ignore we must get to the root of it."

Eafbhard the guardian of humanity and strength, strongest guardian of them all answered saying." I too sense a dark presence as if it is in the fields itself."

"The winter nights cannot  be compared to the dark presence I feel in the room." Replied Rosamond the guardian of winter.

Then finally Malandra spoke out the words she knew they all feared to say.

"Its him, he has arisen."

" Very good deduction sister."came a slithery hiss from the shadows Alexandra and her three companions entered into the light which seemed to grow dim as they stepped forth.

" You defile these halls the lot of you, begone." Spoke Branislav the guardian of knowledge who also happened to be the wisest of them all.

"Surely your halls are happy to see us once more." Replied Marco.

" We do not wish you any welcome here." Aeocus answered firmly.

"Now see here," spoke Clarimond ",we don't bear any ill will or malcontent upon you but we come to offer a treaty on behalf of Haseon."

"Neither his nor your words mean a grain of salt to us." Malandra replied.

"Yet you will hear it." Spoke Sharmilla

Alexandra stepped forth pacing the room , surveying her once fellow guardians .

" Haseon promises are these, you will have threeore years of peace, which will be short ,and then our master will come with such a fury and a vengeance this world has never seen, this he vows."

When she finished Alexandra, Marco, Sharmilla and Clarimond faded into the darkness , leaving the guardians to weigh their options.

The guardians sat in their seats silently until finally Eafbhard spoke up,"We cannot just sit and wait for three years until Haseon attacks , we must move our warriors out to protect the inhabitants."

Aeocus shook his," We can't it is our oath to protect Bellemma, but to only defend them in battle when there is no choice."

"Aeocus is correct, we can't get involved, our only choice is to let fate and the All Being One decide upon the outcome." Malandra advised

"And if that fails," added Eadbhard " what then?"

"Then, we shall see."said Aeocus.

Chapter 3 : Arinbjorn

Deep in the woods of the northern tribal lands, north of the kingdom of Shaet, graze the finest of elk.

Also deep in the woods are the warrior clans and the very nomadic huntsman clans , two trees that enjoy the pleasure of the hunt and on this particular day there was no exception.

A young hunter with ebony skin was set on catching an elk.

It was perfect timing too, for it was the Dundor clan was celebrating it's annual feast of the choosing, a time when warriors from each family would compete in events, in order to be chosen to protect their borders.

This hunter was wanting to bring home the biggest elk for his family's honor, with his father being the chieftain and all.

At this rate though he hadn't yet spotted a big enough elk to hunt in fact he hadn't spotted any at all.

He decided that the forest wasn't going to have any this time of year.

He later on found tracks leading towards the hills, no doubt the elk had been here, he was getting close.

Almost an hour went by and still no sign of an elk, until he happened upon at long last .

Perfect ,just too easy,it was quenching it's thirst from a creek.

This prize was going nowhere the boy thought the to himself , as he notched an arrow to his bow