Elwanda

Prologue

In ancient times, what the Devil was believed to be was something more than a phenomenon that orchestrates evil from behind the curtains. It was a physical thing capable of tarnishing hope, swallowing destiny, unleashing pain and death, and raking fear into the heart so strongly that even the bravest of men soiled their wears and women collapsed in a dead faint.

In the southern kingdom of Rauloring, the Devil was closer to everyone than they thought.

He was a lurking presence shrouded in ink black robes from head to foot; in one hand he held a long sickle, its edge so razor sharp that it caught even the faintest light and lit up wickedly. His face was eternally clouded by a dark haze and no skin on him was ever seen even though his fingers were always clasped around the shaft of his weapon of death. Locals nicknamed him The Reaper, Darkness Come, Evil Night, Hell's Ambassador, Bringer of Anguish, The Black Serpent, Beheader, and other titles too numerous to mention.

In Rauloring, the Devil worked only for the Royal House. He was the King's Executioner, his hand of justice. He was no ordinary assassin – a weapon of precision, unattainable even by the richest of entities from all corners of the world. His one task was simple – behead only those who broke the most important of rules set by the Eternal Throne of Rauloring; rules uttered from the very lips of King Einori Xezod of Rauloring.

A rebellious age soon came.

The executioner was satiated with as much blood as he could possibly desire because strong-headed citizens of Rauloring became devoted to stomping publicly on every decree that came from the throne. Endless thousands felt the sharp end of the executioner's blade. The cold of its steel transported them into a realm they would never return from and placed permanent grief on the ones they left behind. The Devil beheaded so many men and women that a horrid rumor sprang; of him secretly piling their heads until it grew to the height of a mountain. Treason rose. Chaos prevailed. Rebellions sprang forth from every cranny and bloodshed in the kingdom of Rauloring seemed to never end. People helplessly began to believe that it was their fate and bane to meet their end the same way – at the hands of the executioner.

But, a time followed when, whether by some divine intervention or the simple realization of sense amongst locals, Rauloring fell into everlasting calm. Rules were set, but never broken. Every man lived upright and obediently. The executioner's steel grew colder and was never again whet by the blood of guilty offenders. Eventually, stories about the Devil faded into bedtime stories and mythical tales.

In that time of peace, a squadron of women from Rauloring, who called themselves the Bright Ravens, formed a coven of witches. They claimed to be opposition of the ancient dark priestess, Morgan Le Fay. They were bringers of light, protectors, healers, helpers, defenders of the weak, and providers for the helpless.

As a requirement to keep the coven alive and progressing, each woman was to be succeeded by a daughter, be it her first or second. In this manner, the Bright Ravens grew until it became a powerful cult.

King Einori let the Bright Ravens carry out their business in peace because they worked under his rules, and on several occasions, assisted his home. Einori loved the Bright Ravens solely because they were women who possessed power yet chose to use them for good. Upon his pleading, they enacted a powerful spell across Rauloring, endangering whomever would cross its borders with an intention of war. Upon his throne, the Bright Ravens led by the coven's most powerful witch, Selise Chyra, cast a protection spell that would only allow an offspring of Einori's blood sit on it. Every other would be burned to ashes. This way, the Royal House was free of overthrowing.

Meanwhile, in secret, a Bright Raven procured an antidote to counter the spell placed upon the throne by her sisters. She furtively spilled said potion upon its seat, thwarting the magic to work in reverse. Thus, on that same night, when Einori sat in his chair, the King was burned to ash.

This act of treason began a different kind of terrorism upon Rauloring.

Again, the Devil himself was summoned. Every member of the Bright Ravens coven were gathered underneath the giant willow tree in the King's courtyard and beheaded.

But as the sound of swinging steel sliced through the noise of wailing and horrified screams, a nameless little girl went on her knees and crawled toward the foot of the giant willow tree. There, she created a portal in the ground and fell in headlong, never to be seen or heard from again.