The Battle of Euangelion: Reborn

Prologue

Humanity's origin is encapsulated in a world far from ours. It is a world akin to the one we sometimes drift to in our dreams. A place where the line that separates reality from ideals is permanently blurred.

We're often reminded of this world when contemplating the greatness humans were so clearly meant for. Traces of this potential manifest in our abilities to perceive and appreciate beauty, to create, to love, and to sacrifice (even our lives) for a noble cause.

But something went wrong. There's a fingerprint of a dark force that tainted our world.

We hate, we lie, we steal, and we even destroy.

Rumors of a future restoration have been passed down over the millennia, but many have lost hope. And why wouldn't they? History can't be rewritten. Nor can we take back any of the atrocities that have been committed on our watch. We all carry the sense of some cosmic debt to be paid. And yet, the rumors persist.

Before we can attempt to decipher our future, we first need to understand our past. And that is where this story begins: a time when time was not.

It came as a vision, I dare say. However, the bones underneath come from a Book far greater than this one. Prior to the creation of time and space - at least as we know it - there reigned a great and powerful King who ruled over a magical and marvelous Kingdom called Euangelion. His resources were unending and his reach unparalleled. His excellence was worshiped and adored by all his subjects who lived in blissful harmony.

King Dominus was known for his strength of character and loving-kindness, but out of all whom the King loved, he loved no one more than his only son and heir, Prince Salvatore.

As a token of his affection, the King presented the Prince with a glorious gift on his Royal Name Day: a kingdom and subjects of his own in the Realm of Universum - a world unique in every way that was founded entirely in its future ruler's honor. The inhabitants were created with the same cosmic dust as their Realm but they were given something else, something special called a 'soul' to reflect the Prince in dignity, creativity, and virtue. And thus mankind was born.

The Great Wizard known as Lord Castus, King Dominus' oldest and most trusted friend, also wanted to contribute to this spectacular gift. So he gave Salvatore's subjects a very special Euangelion Tree that came from the sacred Isle of Sanctum. The fruit of this Tree would grant its consumers immortality so they could enjoy their Prince and their home forever.

But not all from Euangelion shared this enthusiastic sentiment for the King's generous gift. 

In those times, a charismatic Rider from the King's elite guard had rapidly climbed up the ranks and earned himself a seat in the Royal Council. He was charming and skilled in ways that remain unprecedented even to this day. Having proven himself by his merit, he amassed a great deal of wealth and authority. But the Rider also had an insatiable appetite for power. Pride soon found its way into his heart and filled it to the brim with greed and vanity. Before long, he started influencing and corrupting those under his command. From his perspective, the inhabitants of Universum were inferior creatures with no right or claim to Euangelion magic, and granting them such was a gross display of nepotism. Or at least that was the creed he used to spark the outrage that was needed to serve his own sinister motives.

The Rider's growing popularity would reach a boiling point when the rest of the Royal Council unraveled a plot to usurp the King's throne.

Within the elite guard, a full-scale rebellion was set in motion and spearheaded by the mutinous Rider, who, though formerly called by a different name, became better known as Diabolus.

The Riders Rebellion marked a dark period in Euangelion history. Legion fought legion, general fought general - brother fought brother.

The Rebellion didn't last long, however. It was ultimately crushed by the coalition force made up of the King's loyalists. Their defense was led by the finest and fiercest warrior in all the Realms - none other than Prince Salvatore himself.

Half of Diabolus' legion was all but destroyed and the remaining half was gravely wounded and weakened.

After the battle, the King banished all the treacherous rebels along with their malicious leader to the desolate Isle of Stridor in the forsaken Realm of Nullius Terram. Here the disgraced former Riders, all stripped of title and honor, were to spend their days awaiting their final judgment to be determined by Lady Justitia, the Keeper of the Scale of Justice.

Driven mad with humiliation and contempt, the exiled Diabolus didn't wait long before he began plotting his revenge against all who had wronged him. He soon hatched a devious plan to cast the Realm of Universum and all of its inhabitants into utter ruin and despair while also ensuring the removal of the Euangelion Tree. Sure enough, he managed to infiltrate their world and unleashed a lethal virus that doomed mankind to utmost corruption and inevitable destruction.

King Dominus was infuriated by the defilement of his son's beautiful kingdom and immediately tasked Lord Castus' special order of Magi to strip the banished Riders of their ability to travel beyond the boundaries of Nullius Terram. They created a spell to cover the territory with an invisible veil that would keep all the rebels inside. But the damage had already been done.

An emergency council meeting was called in the Euangelion Royal Palace after the disastrous event. King Dominus threatened to have their Realm destroyed and a new world created in its place. Prince Salvatore agreed that it should ultimately be destroyed, but moved with compassion for the humans he petitioned, "What about a cure? Could we create a cure for the virus, Father? Would it be possible?"

"It is not that simple. Crimes were committed - grievous crimes. And worse crimes will follow. They will forget who they are and the greatness they were meant for. We are bound by old magic. Lady Justitia will demand retribution for the Scale of Justice; it has been tipped," the wise King explained.

"But the cure itself is possible?"

"Where would the humans even go?"

"Here. They could come here. At least until we could give them a new world, an incorruptible one."

"Grant them safe passage to Euangelion? Our Kingdom is sacred. To adorn a tainted creature with such splendor -to merely think about such a thing would be treason. You cannot possibly be proposing evasion of justice. I will not have it!"

"I am not proposing evasion, Father," the Prince stood firmly. The King sensed a different proposal.

"Let us alone," he commanded the other Royal Council members, clearing the room. "Not you, Castus," King Dominus waved his oldest confidant back to his chair.

"Majesty," Lord Castus obeyed.

"Aside from the Lady Justitia, we are all aware of the old provision. I intend to invoke it," the Prince boldly asserted.

"I'm not sure you are grasping the full magnitude of what you're suggesting. Blood will be demanded, and war will be inevitable. Are you truly prepared to take this on?" The King slowly approached his son before firmly grabbing him by the shoulders, searching his eyes for the slightest morsel of doubt.

"I am," the Prince said earnestly.

The King dropped his head and lingered for a moment before looking back up.

"Then so be it. Castus, when the time is right the humans are to be recruited and taken to Sanctum. The Island's natural resources should be able to keep Diabolus' curse at bay. I entrust this to you, my friend."

"His hold won't spread but they will remain vulnerable to it once they leave the Island," Castus contemplated as he ran his fingers through his long gray beard. "They'll also need to be trained to withstand this dark magic, mentally and physically. Their resistance should buy enough time for -," he finished in Prince Salvatore's direction.

"For me to do what needs to be done," Salvatore concluded.

"Once the blood covenant is made you will have to see it through to the very end. There's no turning back after this my son."

"I understand and accept the undertaking. I will not let you down," the Prince respectfully knelt down on one knee.

"I know you won't," the King acknowledged misty-eyed.