Amulet: The Chamber of Stolen Hearts

Chapter 1

1

Once upon a time, some thousands of years ago, the world was full of love. Love was all around. Every creature on Earth was full of it.

Even I can't tell how long this gracious period lasted. I am only aware that life on Earth was pure joy, and this was how things were for really long.

The world was ruled by Heids. They were wise and pure. They were tall and subtle creatures glowing from within. Their bodies were shaped differently than humans'. One could say they didn't quite have bodies, as Heids were more spirits than corporeal beings.

Heids knew that they didn't have forever, so before they dissolved into the Oceans of Wisdom, they gave birth to us, Elurs, whom people referred to as 'Gods' in olden times. Still, we are by far not gods; even Heids were not. However, we should not discourse on that now.

So, Heids created Elurs when they realized that the time had come for them to leave Earth.

When Elurs were born each of them received an antipode – a black mighty giant, Obrigant. Memories of those giants live in legends and tales as people called them 'Titans'.

Obrigants weren't children of evil. There was no evil at the time yet. However, unlike us, powerful Obrigants had a weak point – love was not their true essence. Keeping love within was a true torture for them and required a huge effort, and soon Obrigants tasted of no-love.

This was how evil appeared on Earth.

This transformed the world once and forever. It became ambivalent. Everything now had a reverse side. Subsequently, love was no longer a constant element. At every turn, it was affected by evil.

One after the other, Heids started to leave for the Oceans of Wisdom. There was no place for them in the world that had lost its stability. Before their farewell, the very last of the Heids had to bring the world to balance and assign someone to maintain it.

This was when the Amulet of Equilibrium was created. It was a magic tool to keep things in the world as they were. The energy of higher beings was placed into a unique crystal, a light-blue gem a thousand times harder than diamond. A golden chase covered with ancient inscriptions held the crystal in place and ensured its rotation so that changes in the world could be adjusted for a respective balance.

Only the Amulet Keeper was allowed to know how to use this magic tool.

The existence of this powerful artifact and its purpose was decided to be kept secret. Very few Elurs and even fewer Obrigants knew that it existed.

A young Heid Belbog had the honor to keep the Amulet after most of his relatives left for the Oceans of Wisdom.

A new era started – the era when life was to set in.

To their horror, children of Heids – Elurs and Obrigants – learned they were unable to bring into life their equals, only inferiors.

Children of Elurs – Chuddies, or Chudins – looked the same as their fathers. They were all well-graced and beautiful, although shorter. They lived for some two hundred years, and could only procreate for love.

Chuddies were not very affected by evil, lived in harmony with nature, and did not fight often, albeit being good warriors. They used magic but couldn't change the essence of things or rule nature as Elurs could. People came into being when Elurs married Chuddies.

One would expect offspring of such beautiful creatures to be noble and fine-featured, but this was where ambivalence of nature took its toll. People were born innocent but were affected by evil as they matured, and so became greedy and aggressive. Elurs and Chuddies would not deal with them.