THE STORY OF LIVES

CHAPTER-1

The sky above the forgotten city of Dravengarde was always twilight, a realm trapped between night and day. The sun hadn't risen here for centuries, and the moon was but a faint echo behind roiling black clouds. A cold mist clung to the cobblestone streets like a serpent, weaving through the skeletal remains of once-mighty towers. Toby stood on the edge of the city, staring at the hollow ruins, his breath forming clouds in the frozen air. He was a wanderer, an outcast who had heard the stories of Dravengarde, a place where time itself had faltered, where the dead whispered and the living feared to tread. A heavy blade, worn with years of use, hung at his side, its steel as weathered as the man who carried it.

Toby had come to Dravengarde for a purpose. The legends spoke of a shattered veil, a barrier between realms, and beyond it, unimaginable power. A power he sought—not for glory, not for conquest, but for revenge. The ones who had taken everything from him, who had torn his family apart and left his soul hollow, would soon feel the weight of his fury. His scarred hands clenched into fists as memories of that fateful night surged through his mind. He could still hear the screams, the crackling flames, the laughter of those dark sorcerers as they razed his home to the ground. Toby had survived, but the cost had been too great. His heart had grown cold, his mind a storm of vengeance.

A distant rumble echoed from the heart of the city, the sound of something shifting in the depths. Toby's icy blue eyes narrowed. He had heard of this—the pulse of the Veil, a sign that the barrier between worlds was weakening. The ancient magics that had once sealed this place were failing, and soon, the way would be open. Drawing his cloak tighter against the bitter wind, Toby stepped forward into the fog. As he walked, the shadows seemed to move with him, unnatural shapes lurking just beyond the edge of sight. He had been warned about the creatures that roamed these forsaken streets, twisted remnants of the city's former inhabitants, but fear had long abandoned him.

The city's silence was absolute, broken only by the occasional creak of a distant, decaying structure. Toby's footsteps echoed ominously as he made his way deeper into the labyrinth of Dravengarde. The architecture around him was a mix of grandeur and decay—spires that once reached for the heavens now crumbled into dust, grand archways leading into nothing but darkness. Once, this city had been the jewel of the eastern kingdoms, a place of learning and magic. Now, it was a tomb, its secrets buried beneath layers of time and corruption. Toby's hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, fingers itching to draw it at the first sign of danger.

His senses were on edge. The air was thick with a sense of wrongness, a palpable tension that made his skin crawl. He had spent years chasing rumors, seeking out the darkest corners of the land to find this place. Every village he had passed through, every wise man and seer he had consulted had warned him: Dravengarde was a place of death. No one who entered ever returned. But Toby was different—he had nothing left to lose. The dark magic that had consumed his world was born here, in the twisted heart of this city. If there was a way to undo it, to tear down the veil between realms and claim the power for himself, it was hidden in the ruins of Dravengarde.

The ground beneath his feet trembled as a distant roar shook the air, the sound rolling through the empty streets like thunder. Toby paused, listening, his muscles tensed for action. He knew that sound. He had heard it once before, on the night his life was destroyed. It was the cry of a demon, a creature not of this world. His blood ran cold, but he forced himself to move forward. The demon had taken everything from him, but it had also given him a gift—a curse, perhaps, but one he had learned to harness. He could sense the presence of the creatures that lurked in the shadows, could feel the ripple of their magic against his skin. And somewhere, deep within the heart of the city, the demon waited.

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