Origins of Castle Adiart
In the beginning, Castle Adiart was but a place of tranquillity for those that slumbered within. Dillon Blade, the adopted son of Adiart, was somebody who would stroll through the halls of the Castle, ensuring it is protected and fortified. Often times, he found himself constructing cells within the dungeons, but were never really used the way they intended to be, as crime wasn’t really a certainty within these walls. Prince Dillon wasn’t alone however, as he had married his childhood sweetheart and the first Princess to grace Castle Adiart, Elsa.
Elsa Blade, being the first Princess, was shunned by Adiart a lot. He didn’t agree with the marriage that his adopted son had created. There were times he would attempt to separate the two but fail at all attempts, as the bond between Dillon and Elsa was unbreakable. Elsa had a brother in the lower quarters of the Castle, Arnold Enzo, a man of many talents. He would work within the military for the Castle, and was a part of Captain Xedd Ish’s military faction.
Religion was also something that was heavily structured. Father Boris Llof, the priest of Adiart, was somebody who was very passionate about his belief and was always the first to correct anything he sees wrong. His chapel was flourished with purple banners that had a rose decorating them. Theo Hackem was one of the cleaners who spent his times speaking with Boris Llof and displaying his faith publicly.
Many times, Adiart did not enjoy the followers that would enshroud the chapel Boris had constructed, and he didn’t entirely consider Xedd Ish useful. There were never fights or disagreements, because Adiart had respected everybody and their parts within the Castle, however, most of the occupants thought that Adiart was an unworthy King.
The Unforeseen Darkness
After many moons past, there were uncertainties flowing through the ranks. Dillon and Xedd found themselves involved in dealing with assassins that were sent to murder Adiart. After a harsh battle, Dillon had ended up being wounded, Xedd managed to bandage his wound but the damage had been done. The two followed the trail left by the assassins and would ultimately fall into a trap, set by Theo Hackem. He pushed Xedd through the door and locked the door to ensure she could not save Dillon. In the room, Dillon was forced to deal with a group of sellswords, paid to slaughter him. Though, wounded, Dillon was able to fight them off, one by one, cutting them down.
Theo managed to escape through a hatch that lead through the pantry and into the feast hall, where he was met by Father Boris. The two had started to stare one another down until Boris let him pass. Theo made his way out of the hall and vanished into the dark. Boris laid down on the ground and cut up his hands to make it seem as if he’d fought with Theo. Elsa had entered the hall to investigate the noise caused by the attack and found Boris bleeding on the floor of the feast hall, she helped him and took him to see the Castle physician.
Through the night, Dillon and Xedd patrolled to ensure that no more assassins could make it in. Arnold stood by Adiart, with his huge Frost Blade, a blade forged from ice that never melts. He was a very capable warrior and adept with his weapon. Nobody knew where Arnold got the blade, but rumours spread that Arnold and Elsa were a part of another Kingdom, built from very strong ice and the Frost Blade was once held by their King. Nobody ever found it, however. Some say it melted, some say it never existed.
As dawn approached, Dillon and Xedd arrived to meet Arnold and Adiart. The four put together a plan, which involved gathering their military and going to war with this new enemy. Xedd mentioned a settlement outside of Castle Adiart which was brewing with activity and it may be the place they needed to attack to stop another assassination attempt. Adiart gave his order to bring down this settlement, and thus, Xedd prepared the army.
The Great War
Adiart, wearing obsidian plated armour and wielding his Mouning Star, was mounted at the front of the army, to set an example of what a true soldier is. At his side was Dillon, Xedd and Arnold. Behind their ranks, Boris carried his banner to bless the troops in battle. The giant flag, with the purple rose, gave hope to the army. Xedd had ordered the army to halt. She looked over the fields and noticed it was very quiet since the last time she had been here. There were no farmers, no livestock and there were no trade carts occupying the roads.
They began marching forward again, but the weather would not favour them, as fog began to cast over and limit their vision. Soon enough, an arrow had landed at the feet of Adiart’s horse, spooking it and causing him to lose balance and fall off. Then, out of the fog, soldiers began to rush them. Adiart’s army engaged in a violent battle face off. Dillon began cutting down the enemy while Arnold rushed to the side of Xedd, who had been struck a severe blow to the arm. He dragged her to the safety of a rock and bandaged her wound. Realizing that they would lose this fight, he mounted Xedd upon a horse, and rode back to Castle Adiart.
Dillon and Adiart carried on fighting, their soldiers being whittled down by their enemy. Eventually, they were outnumbered. Boris was brought forward by some of the enemy troops and forced to his knees. They took his flag and planted it in between Adiart and Dillon and the army had begun celebrating the purple rose. Theo walked from the troops, wielding a knife. He pointed at Dillon and demanded he be placed at Boris’ side. Adiart was brought forward to Theo, who then took the knife and lunged it within Adiart’s chest. He had murdered Adiart.
Dillon let out a cry, and jumped forward to attack Theo, but was shoved back down. Boris rose to his feet and unbound his hands from the restraints. He laughed and raised his flag. Theo then smiled and began taunting Dillon. After kicking and beating Dillon, Theo and Boris ordered everybody back to their homes. Afterwards, they all dispersed into the fog, and the fog then vanished, clearing the air and no army to be seen, only the dead.
Dillon, badly beaten, moved himself over to Adiart’s body. His skin was cold to the touch. Eventually, he got to his feet, and gazed around him, seeing nobody else in sight. He had noticed Xedd and Arnold had left earlier but didn’t expect them to be gone for so long. After getting his posture back, he started stumbling his way back to the Castle. It was a long walk, but he needed to be with his Princess. He feared that this was not over.
The Blood Born
Xedd and Arnold had arrived back at Castle Adiart, Elsa was waiting eagerly to see Dillon again but was informed by Arnold that they would all eventually meet their makers as the enemy were large in numbers and were attacked out of no where. Elsa began to break down at the thought of losing Dillon. Xedd comforted her and took her to their quarters where they shared a drink together. Xedd went into gruesome detail about the battle and displayed her wounds.
Arnold left them to their drinks and made his way out into the Castle courtyard, where he looked over the ramparts and out to the land. His mind began filling with visions of the battle. Seeing people being cut down over and over. He began going slightly mad and eventually, slammed his head against a rock. Xedd, hearing this, came out and comforted him too. They both left Elsa to mourn the man she thinks she’s lost and head off to the dungeons where Xedd locked Arnold away for his own safety.
Through the night, Arnold screamed loudly, seeing visions of his men being slaughtered. Xedd, hearing those screams, feared for Arnold’s sanity. She began praying for him to be saved from himself, which, Arnold’s screams soon faded. As Xedd began to sleep once more, a demonic voice whispered into her ear, she awoke very quickly and rushed to check on Arnold. Inside the cell he was kept, he had cut his hand deep, and on the wall, an eye was formed out of blood. He turned to look at Xedd and quoted, “Mithras can save us.”
Xedd unlocked the cell and took Arnold out of the dungeons and straight to the Throne Room, where Elsa was sitting, staring at the Throne. Elsa turned to see Arnold bleeding and rushed over to tend his wounds. He then shoved her aside, without hesitation. She noticed that his eyes were blood shot red and face covered in blood. He began chanting a demonic ritual while Xedd was trying to calm him down. Soon, Xedd became under control from something demonic. He took a knife and carved an bloody eye into his hand and began chanting the demonic ritual too.
Elsa, panicking, tried to run but was grabbed by Arnold and Xedd. She was held in a tight grip. The doors to the throne room burst open to the sight of Dillon charging in, covered in bruises and battered blue. He began fighting Arnold, but was soon bested and shoved to the ground. Arnold laughed, in a demonic tone. Xedd held Elsa tightly with a knife to her throat. She glared at Dillon, taunting him with the knife and soon, cut deep into Elsa’s throat. Dillon, realizing what just happened, took his sword and made another attempt at attacking Xedd, but Arnold stopped him and drove his Frosted Blade right into the chest of Dillon, killing him instantly.
Elsa and Dillon both dropped to the floor of the throne room. Xedd and Arnold retrieved blood from their body and stored them in a vial, then left the room and into the darkness. The doors of the throne room then slammed shut by an unnatural force. A dark mist began to engulf the room and out of the air, a hooded figure appeared and began absorbing Dillon and Elsa’s souls, and soon vanished into the air, just as it entered.
The room was empty of all sound, Dillon and Elsa were dead. Adiart was killed in Battle. Theo and Boris were out there, but unseen by anyone. Xedd and Arnold were lurking in the shadows following guidance from the demon Mithras. This is where it all began. The Throne of Lies.
