The Shimmering Magi

Part 15

In the realm of mystic arts, where mana flowed like a river, Valeron stood as one of the first pioneers of Soulearth, a formidable power that demanded an immense reserve of mana. Few possessed such a surplus, but Valeron, blessed with an extraordinary abundance, held this enigmatic force within his arsenal.

Soulearth, the ancient art that allowed one to summon the heart of Draconious, manifested as billowing flames rising from the very depths of the earth. It was a breathtaking spectacle, awe-inspiring and dangerous. Amongst the wizards of the Earth Cry ages, only fleeting moments of control could be grasped before the raging fire consumed its wielder. Countless souls had suffered grave injuries, and their ambitions to master this eldritch ability were reduced to smoldering ashes.

However, Valeron, the Phoenix Lord, shattered the limitations that bound his fellow mages. When the forces of the water wizards from the nation of Moontears brazenly sought to invade the sovereign realm of Signis, it was Valeron who rose as the savior, bearing the weight of his fabled power.

The Tears of Fire war, as history remembers it, unfolded amidst the Earth Cry ages. An army composed of four hundred skilled Moontears water wizards, their elemental mastery unparalleled, broke through Signis' defenses, breaching the mighty walls of its capital, Moltem. In a moment of treacherous surprise, the water mages seized the opportunity to quell the fire mages before their incendiary might could be unleashed.

It is whispered that Valeron, against all odds, invoked the essence of Soulearth even as he grappled with Core Extinction, a spell cunningly devised to disarm fire mages. Such was his mastery that he defied the shackles of restraint, unleashing the full force of Soulearth's fiery wrath upon the city of Moltem. In that cataclysmic moment, all hope was extinguished.

Within the confines of Moltem, beneath the torrent of uncontrollable power, the mortal coil of countless souls was consumed. Wizards and non-wizards alike from both warring factions fell to the indiscriminate flames, their lives snuffed out before the alarm could be sounded.

That fateful day marked an unyielding tragedy for Draconious and all its denizens. Valeron, the Phoenix Lord who had valiantly fought, was captured and condemned to the dreaded Dark Vigil jail, where his sentence endures even to this day. Bereft of his human semblance, his physical form twisted and altered by the formidable spell, he became a specter of immortality, his essence forever entwined with Draconious.