A Court of Stars and Ashes (on hold i will try and update at some point)

Prologue - King of Hybern

I stumbled through nothingness, wondering how I survived. The darkness pressed in on me, concealing where I came from. My head rolled, courtesy of the elder Archeron sisters, sending pain shooting through my neck. Miraculously, it had remained attached, and it was slowly and agonisingly healing as I wandered.

I walked for hours, days -weeks even. I lost track of time -unsure of where I was, and where I was going. However much my body ached, I never stopped, scared that if I did, reality would return, and I would be dead. Sometimes I would see flickers of light within the gloom, but whenever I strode for them, there was nothing- only more of the darkness I had started out from. But every day, as I mindlessly roamed, I would wish- wish that I had made different decisions, wish that I had had more time, but most of all, wish that I could get out of this realm- and take my revenge on all who wronged me. I hoped that, someday, my wishes could come true- or at least some form of them. I spoke aloud sometimes, seeking the company the sound brought. But often I would quickly stop- the nothingness echoed my own words until loneliness overcame me.

Somewhere, among the dark realm I resided in, I came across an anomaly. I was almost collapsing from exhaustion - when a light appeared in front of me, glowing faintly- but seeming brighter in the darkness. A shadowed form emerged, a dark presence that had me on edge immediately, as it whispered promises of violence, of revenge, of everything I had ever wanted. And most of all- of freedom. This gift, gift from the dark gods, provided me with everything I'd ever wanted- and a power greater than the cauldron itself.

So I took a step forward, and took a hold of the object, ignoring the feeling of wrongness it gave me, and thought of all I wanted. In my greed and longing, however, I had forgotten that everything has a price- and as I felt the land slipping away beneath my feet, a had no thought to wonder what that price was.