Spell Casters - Book 1: The Eye of the Storm

Chapter 1: Fallen Kingdom

In life, one's fate is neither predetermined or expected to follow a set, linear path.

Such applies to a kingdom hidden within the continent of Snardentus. It was large and ever expansive, holding a form of supernatural power unfathomable to the rest of the known world. Each of its many denizens held this power from birth, and for that reason, their existence needed to be kept secret.

And for hundreds upon thousands of years, they managed to do just that without error.

However, all of that changed during one single night; a night which would forever change the fate of the Gamma Kingdom from then on.

It started off eerily quiet. Apart from the chirps of distant fauna, not a single sound could be heard. Even the soldiers guarding each watchtower paid no attention to what was going on. They simply gazed at the surrounding area, making certain the Gamma Royal Palace was protected from potential threats.

This palace was home to the Gamma Kingdom's current ruler, Lanctern Leoto, and his family. It was a fairly massive facility built from a mix of mechanical and magical elements, all of which were either painted purple, magenta, or white. Each side contained twin towers, which both sported large tuning forks on top. These forks seemed to brim with purple, otherworldly energy that permeated around them. In front of its pyramidic ceiling, the Gamma Kingdom's symbol, an upside-down loop with twin threads, resided there. It was golden yellow with a small purple diamond imbedded in the center.

Suddenly, small sparks began to reverberate from each of the palace's towers. It was steady at first, but within mere seconds, the sparks grew larger and more erratic in nature. They imploded to the size of electric spheres, causing some visible damage to the spires containing them.

This behavior seemed to be in response to a nearby pulsation of unimaginable power; and whatever that power originated from was coming in fast.

A soldier noticed this overwhelming buildup of energy from his watchtower.

"What's going on down there?" He nudged his partner, pointing directly toward the palace.

"I don't know," The other soldier shrugged. "Looks like someone from inside the castle is charging up their—"

The soldiers were too late to realize what was going on.

Almost instantaneously, the palace's entrance glowed a faint purple before being consumed in a fiery explosion. It blasted the closest towers to smithereens and sent out an intense shockwave that knocked both soldiers off their feet. Due to knocking their heads against one another, the two weren't conscious enough to sound an alarm in time.

Pillars of smoke fizzled out of the open doorway as a resulting fire was set alight. From out of the flames, a man leapt forward. He wore a tattered red cloak that covered most of his upper body. His head was covered by a purple, angular helmet that wrapped around his chin and head. In place of his ears, golden, plated coverings with antennae sticking out were present. They partly acted like headphones in terms of general functionality but were still used for a much different purpose. The man also had long, light brown hair that was spiked up on the top and flowed downward in the back.

He seemingly floated in the air while jumping from the burning entrance. His arm was encased in an iron gauntlet that emitted a similar glow to the palace doors before they exploded. It was covered by a purple aura that flickered on and off like that of a common light switch. It appeared that this sheer amount of energy, after causing such a devastating implosion, was beginning to dwindle ever-so-slightly.

Grimacing, the man rocketed forward. He slammed his palm onto the ground, producing some cracks in the palace's tiled flooring. He then picked himself off the ground to inspect the condition of his gauntlet.