Chapter II | The beginning
In the Realm of Sevalon, wealth, peace and progress were regnant, and knowledge, overall, was appreciated as the greatest of gifts. All this harmony, and all these treasures, were given to the people of Sevalon by the Elders. One of them, Lumen, was in charge of Order. The other one, Umbra, was in charge of Gold. They were not only counterparts, but also friends. They shared their wisdom and philosophies with each other and ruled with a firm but fair hand, bringing prosperity to every race, humans and non-humans alike.
The Elders’ knowledge, however, was not only part of their discussions and debates. Long ago, they decided to consolidate all their thoughts in what they called the “Magna Alchimia”. Their followers, those who were not Elders, but alchemists in profession, called it “The Book of Alchemists”. It was sheltered among the walls of the Aigredal, also known as the Temple of Enlightenment, where the Elders lived. Both Lumen and Umbra, when creating the book, swore upon their souls that they would not use it for any ill purposes. The existence of these pages would be exclusively to preserve and protect the level of sense and insight that all alchemists should achieve, plus a couple of secrets that were essentially unreachable to those who weren’t Elders.
Every page contained all the details, all the mysteries, and all the intricacies of every single material known to man. Every carefully written letter told the secrecies of the transmutation of Gold, of silver, of lead; every protocol and recipe known to the Elders was prudently redacted so it could live in the world forever. Every drop of ink that existed within those sheets was sacred, and thus, they couldn’t let it fall in the hands of those that were wicked.
Unfortunately, even for the Elders, time brought change to what they were. Their concept of neutrality was soon to be over, especially for Umbra. Lumen noticed the way he changed. At first, it was almost imperceptible; the changes could be considered mere casualties of life, even if the life of an Elder was not prone to many variations. There was not enough reason for Lumen to think anything of it. But Umbra became more reclusive, more secretive, more macabre. Even to someone that was, supposedly, his equal. The way he spoke about wealth did not seem to have a message of community, or of growth; he kept a strange speech about how their wealth could be used for greater goods that he could direct; even though these objectives were not specified.
Regardless, it was common for the people of Sevalon to celebrate the afternoon of the First Harvest, which included inviting the Elders. Through the years, Lumen was the one that usually answered, and Umbra the one that took care of Aigredal in his absence. However, one day, as Lumen was coming back from the celebration, he witnessed something that once he would have deemed impossible. He saw, with his very own eyes, how Umbra was attempting to remove the Magna Alchimia from its pedestal.
The pain that Lumen felt was incommensurable, and the anger that his sense of duty brought him was incalculable. He felt how his own energy, raised from his hands, in an enormous burst of elegant, white light, attempted to reach Umbra before the book was removed.
But it was too late for an early solution. Umbra deflected his first attack with the back of his arm, making it useless entirely, while covering the book with his own cape.
A few seconds later, the whole temple started to vibrate, to break, and to collapse; the pillars and columns fell in such a way that the earthquakes could be heard on every land, and the energy of the atmospheres were drained so nothing around seemed to be alive anymore. Nothing but the auras of Lumen and Umbra’s spells colliding against each other, fighting over the ownership of the Book, which lasted during long cycles of endless days and nights.
Lumen, in an attack of absolute desperation, resorted to a last spell — right before exhaustion consumed his body. However, he knew that casting this spell would not come without consequence. But he had the life of a guardian, and he could not see the very own thing he swore to protect being destroyed in the name of greed.
“Fulminare!” Lumen yelled, and the world of the alchemists trembled.
“You don’t have the blood of a leader, Lumen!” screamed Umbra, while the white-clothed alchemist continued casting.
“I will guide the world, I will be the bringer of greatness, of treasure, of magnificence!”, shouted the thief, as both their auras rejoined in the shape of a void, making the book that Umbra was holding fall from his hand, and the pages flew to unreachable places, getting lost in every corner of the universe. Five locks were placed over the cover of the Magna Alchimia, and the silhouettes of both Elders ceased to exist in the material plane.
As Umbra lost contact with the natural land, so did Gold, disappearing from all creation. Order, without Lumen, also collapsed, bringing the downfall of understanding among alchemists with him. The landscape of the ruined temple had been marked my chaos and havoc. The weather became nothing but the wrath of the winds, the fury of the thunders, and the rage of the snow. The book, under its locks, remains to this day untouched, hidden among the carcasses of what once was the Aigredal.
What will happen next? Will the alchemists of Sevalon be able to unlock the seals and discover the secrets of the Magna Alchimia?
Their journey has a long road ahead of them, and this legend is only the beginning…
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