Egrariand Chronicles Book 1: The Curse of the Black Stone

Forbidden Love

There was once a young man, a hunter in the world of Egrariand, who wished to gain his heart's desire. From him, everything started.

Egrariand was the world created by the gods and goddesses at the beginning of their existence. From their likeness, they created humans to rule over the land. The dwarves, the giants, griffins, and dragons bowed before the first king of Egrariand and pledged their allegiance, but the elves and goblins thought themselves higher than humans and they secluded themselves to the far north and south respectively. There they lived and built their own realms.

Not long after, the inhabitants of the land were corrupted and became abominable in the eyes of the gods and goddesses.

Ureus, the highest god, sent His daughter, Deianira, the Goddess of Death, to bring His wrath unto them. She went down to Egrariand to fulfill Her duty while posing as a normal human, but then She fell in love with a human, a hunter named Sylvius.

He loved Her back and there they vowed to each other to be together, he not knowing that She was a goddess that would bring death to everyone.

Deianira went back to the land of the gods and goddesses and abandoned Her mission. She appeared before Ureus and told Him that She didn't want to fulfill Her duty anymore and that She had fallen in love with the hunter.

It angered Her father greatly and He punished Her. He took all Her powers of a goddess and contained them in an amulet which he hid.

It didn't stop Deianira and, with the help of the Goddess of Dawn, Aurora, She managed to steal it back. She used the amulet to defeat the Vanargards who were guarding the Sacred Tree in the midst of the land of the gods. Whoever ate from the fruit of the tree would be given whatever their heart desired most, but unending misery would await them.

Deianira was swallowed by the ground after taking a bite. She was thrown down to Egrariand after what She did. Deianira had committed a terrible sin against the gods by just eating the fruit alone.

"What's that?" Ava asked Lucas when she saw him reading a book. He was under the oak tree in the schoolyards.

Lucas lifted his head upon hearing the familiar voice and smiled. His heart lifted as Ava sat beside him.

"What are you reading?"

Lucas closed the book and showed it to her with pride. "This? It's my dad's. He wrote this when he was still alive."

"Really?" Ava was amazed. "Can you share it with me?"

Lucas blushed. "S-sure."

"What's it about?"

"Uhm... I'm not done reading it yet, but I think it's about a goddess who was punished because she fell in love with a human." he said, then shrugged.

"Oh, it's a love story. Interesting. Would you mind?" said Ava as she scanned the pages.

"O-of course." Lucas smiled and his face reddened as Ava brought her head closer to his. He could smell her scent... strawberry. He shook his head, trying to get his focus back on the book, and they read it together during that warm afternoon.

The story consumed them both as they became absorbed in that magical world of fantasy.

Down to Egrariand. Deianira lost Her amulet containing Her power somewhere in this world. She lost Her status as a goddess too and became almost a human.