Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – Prologue

The world of Meriath. A realm with a single landmass of around 150 million square kilometers, surrounded by an ocean on all sides. It is filled with various sceneries, be it high, snow-filled mountain tops, deep, lush valleys, or giant rivers, flowing along as veins of the earth itself—hot deserts with golden dunes, thick, humid rainforests, and giant, grassy plains. The landscape is just as diverse as the people living on it. It is a world of men, beast folk, and wild beasts of all sizes. A world where magic is just as ancient as the first writings of humans or the first bone carvings of the beast folk. But there is a fourth species besides them. One that leaves no records behind has no culture and no aim. One that is unnatural. The Undead. Their origin is a mystery, but they were always there, even in the ancient lore, from time immemorial, from when neither of the two intelligent species of Meriath had the gift of writing. Back in the days when they could only pass on their history by word of mouth… they were there with them. 

No matter if it's the corpse of an animal, beast folk, or a human. It has a chance to stand up and walk again. It can't be known which corpse will stand back up and which will remain dead. Nobody knows why that is, and nobody managed to figure it out. Yet there were, and still are, attempts on both sides to uncover the mystery of Meriath; Why do the dead return, and why does it happen seemingly at random? When the dead rises, it loses all attachment to its previous life. The most kind and benevolent people could turn into beings that care about one thing; Creating more of themselves… and the easiest way is; Killing others. Once killed by an undead, it guarantees that they… or it returns as the same wretched existence that ended their life. Even worse, there were examples throughout the thousands of years of Meriath's history that undead creatures, if living long enough, they were not just gaining intelligence but even rose to a level that rivaled those who were leading their tribes, cities, countries… empires.

These events always resulted in bloody wars, birthing more and more undead. Four thousand years ago, it almost resulted in a civilization-ending cataclysm. Luckily for the humans and beast folks alike, their alliance managed to turn the tides of the war. It took over 200 years to cut down the undead menace and mostly obliterate it, reclaiming the world for themselves. Since then, it has been customary to burn the dead, and even when hunting, they use up everything from the animal to prevent any chance of letting an undead rise up from it. Of course, they inevitably appear from time to time. The many mercenary groups, guilds, and adventurers who since then populated the world are always ready to search the land and keep them at bay. To always keep them from growing to a level like before.

After the Dark Ages, as they call those bloody and dangerous periods, where the survival of the living species was at risk, six families rose to the top of Meriath. The Six Houses, as they are called today. The bloodline of the greatest heroes and the first true mages. Sons and daughters of the first warlocks and witches. Descendants of sorcerers of immense strength, capable of leveling cities by themselves. They were the bulwark, fighting against the undead menace, and when peace was achieved, only six of these families remained standing—four from the humans and two from the beast folks' side. 

One of these families bears the name of Amarin. Their progenitor was a warlock, mastering four completely opposing elements of the realm's eight natural aspects; air, fire, water, earth, metal, nature, darkness, and light. He managed to wield fire and water simultaneously, with darkness and light accompanying it. A feat that none other could replicate. Later on, mages did appear, wielding four elements, but none managed to wield those that were each other's natural adversaries. After his death, 60 years after the end of the Dark Ages, Erias Amarin's ashes were laid to rest in the family's mausoleum, where he remains to this day. 

Thousands of years later, the House of Amarin is still just as powerful as in his time. It lords over 600 000 square kilometers of land on the northern edge of Meriath. Their territory is home to many mountain ranges and deep valleys. A place where the winters are harsh and snow-filled while the summers are cool and refreshing. There are many empires or kingdoms whose size is more significant than theirs, but none would think they would be able to stand up to them. Either of the Six Houses instills the same thought for anyone who hears their names; Power.

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"Where is Lia?!" A voice asked, and it was clearly upset. It was a deep baritone as the owner of the voice pushed open the double-sided, dark oakwood doors leading into a frozen room. 

It belonged to a man, who was around 2 meters tall. He had broad shoulders and mane-like, black hair. His chest hair was peeking out from the top of his white silk shirt that almost burst open as he was heaving heavily. He was blowing steam onto his thick, bushy beard from his nose, looking like an angry bull. The room he just barged into was cold, way below zero degrees. The gray, stone walls of the castle and the complex, tiled floors were covered with a thin layer of ice, broken apart as soon as he stormed inside. Barefooted. Inside, in the middle of the square room, a massive block of ice was floating in the air. It was giving off unnatural, bone-chilling coldness. Next to it, on a small stool, a short, young little girl was standing, tiptoeing with a chisel in hand, scraping flakes of ice off of it right into a bucket below her. She was wearing a puffy jacket and trousers with knee-high boots. Not to mention the big gloves and thick ear warmers on her head. Her long blond hair was tied into two ponytails, and her icy blue eyes slowly turned toward the man.

"Haaah… Did she do something? Again?" She asked, hopping down from the stool, placing down her tools, and walking up to the man, only reaching up to his waist with the top of her head.

"Because you spoiled her rotten!" He answered as his hot breath left clouds behind in the room. 

"Blah, blah, blah!" She rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and patting it. "She is just as much your daughter as mine, Kawu!"

"The boys were not as wild as she is, Reyra! And we raised three of them!" He huffed and puffed, making his wife laugh out loudly.

"Don't be so sure about that!" She stuck her tongue out because she knew their sons were just as naughty. The only difference was that their father could regulate them. Lia, their daughter? Impossible. Kawu did not have the heart to scold her. The real one who spoiled that little imp was Kawu himself. "So?" She asked, leading her husband out of the cold room and closing it behind her. She was taking off the puffy jacket, revealing a young, petite body behind it, wearing a pink, frilly shirt and skirt below it as she pulled the trouser from her legs. "What did she do now?"

"Stole the staff of Parthorn! He came to raise his complaints because of her antics. He is still the head of the 3rd branch! He took it as an open humiliation from the 1st branch!"

"Hah!" Reyra snorted, raising her eyebrows. "Best if he takes it that way, then! My 11-year-old daughter outsmarts and outplays the head of the 3rd branch?! It just shows why they are the third and we the first! My blood leads the House of Amarin, and as long as I give birth to kids like her, it will stay that way!" She grinned proudly. 

"Haahh… Why can't you four branches work seamlessly together?" Kawu sighed, shaking his head.

"You are thinking too deeply into it!" Reyra chuckled as the two walked through their castle's lit, stone corridors, arriving at the front garden.

The weather was clear and sunny as it was the middle of summer. The air was refreshing, staying between 20 and 25 celsius, as their home was high up in the mountains. Wherever one looked, they could see the tall mountain ridges, their topside covered in snow all the time. When winter came, thick clouds usually hid them away. When snowfall came, it wrapped everything in its pure, white blanket. Getting here and reaching the ancestral home of the Amarin family could only be done so if someone knew the terrain inside and out. Knew the secret passages along the steep canyons and ridges. That was only possible by someone who was part of the four branches of this ancient bloodline or had enough strength and courage to bypass their defenses through the air.

For someone from the outside world, there was no difference between members of the House of Amarin. They had no unique names or titles, but thousands of years ago, four branches were formed inside the Amarin family. Their numbers were not fixed, and they changed places many times. It always depended on which line had the more talented members in it. The 1st branch always represented the leaders that the outside was familiar with. They were the ones who kept in contact with the other kingdoms, empires, cities, and other Houses. The 2nd and 3rd branches were responsible for their territories and ensuring everything worked smoothly. Then, there was the 4th branch. They were not included in the family life of the House of Amarin. They were made up of individuals of all the other three branches, as their mission was simple; Find and exterminate any undead they knew about. They were the armed forces of the family. Their hammer that came down on their enemies and the enemies of all living beings.

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Even if the House of Amarin was in high competition amongst its branches, it kept them at the top of their powers. Constantly pushing them forward and never letting them fall into a false sense of security. If an outside danger arose, whether undead or not, any competition between the branches was dropped, and they stepped up as one entity. This is why nobody knew what went on behind closed walls.

"Did you find her?" Kawu asked, watching his wife, who was scanning the mountaintops. 

"Yep." Reyra nodded with a small smile. "She is having fun with the scepter!" She chuckled, waving her hand as a creamy-colored speck of light jumped out from her palm, forming a mirror before them. An image appeared on it a little later, showing a young girl high up the mountains in knee-high snow. 

She was wearing only a white skirt and top, unbothered by the cold. Her vanilla-colored hair reached down to her shoulders, and her eyes had different colors. One was like a sapphire, while the other shone in a ruby-colored light. Her porcelain white skin blended into the white background as he happily wielded the stolen scepter, forming loop-the-loops from ice, one after another.

"Fufufu!" She giggled after stringing four of them together and summoning a ramp from pure ice that she immediately scaled like a little monkey. Standing at the top of it, she was grinning happily, holding the scepter in her tiny hands. "Here we go!" She shouted, jumping down and skidding forward on the newly built 'track,' heading towards the first loop. Her bare feet were covered in a reddish light as she slid forward with incredible speed, laughing loudly as she completed the first loop, going for the second right after.

"Damn, she's good…." Kawu clicked his tongue, watching her daredevil daughter. 

"Her mana reserves are already at the stage of a full-grown man." Reyra nodded with a proud smile. "She won't be any worse than her brothers, at least!" 

"Was there any doubt?" Kawu asked. 

"She started late." Her mother nodded with a bit of a frown. "By her age, her brothers were granted the title of Mage. She is still far from that. Especially if she only learns how to play around!"

"Kids have to be kids." Kawu smiled while Reyra just looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. 

"So, who spoils who?" 

"Um…" He looked away, scratching his bearded cheeks.

"Heh, whatever, toss me up!" She chuckled, and her husband didn't question her at all. Reaching down, he let her sit into his palm as he took a deep breath and flung her up to the sky like a rocket.

Her petite body quickly ascended at least 200 meters before stopping. Transparent angel-like wings spread from her back, glittering in the sun's golden rays. They were made out of pure energy as she raised her hands, aiming. Just as with her wings, a sniper rifle formed from the air, twice the size of her body. Leaning in, looking into the scope, red, magical formations were locking onto her daughter's body as she was still 'skateboarding,' making her icy ramps and jumps with the scepter in her hands. As Reyra's mana was getting concentrated in her weapon's chamber, Lia finally sensed something. She quickly cast a flat ramp she could jump onto after a somersault, looking around with furrowed eyebrows. 

"What…? Where?" She whispered, feeling like she was being watched. She turned around multiple times before finally noticing the bright, flickering spot in the air, dozens of kilometers away. "Ah! M-mom! Mom! Noooo! Mooooom!" She cried out, already knowing what was happening.

Lia hurriedly waved the scepter in her hand, forming twelve snowflakes-like shields before her, all made out of pure blue ice. 

"Not bad…" Reyra whispered but still pulled the trigger on her rifle. The concentrated energy shot out like a bright beam, reaching Lia in a blink of an eye.

Reyra's control over her powers was immaculate. It blasted her shields apart, one by one until it reached the final one. As soon as it broke Lia's last line of defense, it opened up, scattering into dozens of different directions, blasting snow into the air, and burying her daughter under an avalanche. It took the young girl 10 minutes to dig herself out, gasping for air with messy hair, snow sticking to it. Even though she already showed great mastery of fire-based spells, she was feeling the cold that did not bother her until now. Even she couldn't battle the cold seeping under her skin from her wet clothes.

"Uuuu…. Moooooom!" She groaned, pulling herself out, using the scepter as a shovel and a walking stick simultaneously. She looked around, her teeth clattering as her clothes stuck to her body with freezing coldness.

"Come back home." Resonated Reyra's voice around the mountain range. "Then we will talk about your true punishment, young girl!"