The Seared Witch

Prologue

Darkness is a deformity. A plague. It wasn't meant to be created, nor is it supposed to be trifled with. It seeps into the cracks of men's hearts and consumes them—makes them ill. It lurks in the night and in the shadows, waiting to find the vulnerable—the weak and the easily corrupt. It works through tyrants, traitors, renegades, cowards, and the few who seek it out—the wretched few who are foolish and miserable enough to use its power. And in return for a favor, they owe a singular price.

Men have used the Dark for their own selfish desires before, but all it did was create chaos. In an attempt to control the uncontrollable, the Five Kingdoms formed together. They elected a royal member from each land to become Masters of the Damned. Only they could use the Dark, and only they could handle the price that came with.

But as the years went on, the world's history was buried under the dust and taken as a fairytale. They believed the old magik was nothing more, but it still spread into the land, silently waiting. Waiting for the moment it was called upon to roam the Realm once again.