Prologue
November 14, 2023 at 8:44 AM
Some days are impossible to forget. Even the strongest Mages of the Mind cannot erase their trace from memory, for they divide life into “before” and “after”.
There have been many such days in my life. For example, when I was six years old, I slipped and would have crashed on the Graybeard Fox Pass, but my then-future sensei caught me in time. He appeared in our area unexpectedly, who he was and where he came from — no one knew. As it always happens in the mountains, a blizzard suddenly swept in, and a frozen traveler, who called himself Rokun Zaren, knocked on our doors. The unwritten code of honor did not allow my father to refuse a traveler, and he let him on the threshold. And then for a long time he praised the heavens for having done this, because Zaren showed himself to be an experienced warrior, and even saved the jarl’s son.
For eight years he taught me the art of war, and at the same time my father taught me the Way of the Sword. My younger brother, Anduin, had many times more freedom, because he comprehended the skills of the Elder Dragon Priest, and this is just a skill of versification, dragon and elvish languages, knowledge of a couple of rituals and the ability to read and cast runes. My brother is not the best fighter, but a good diplomat. Among other things, unlike me, he could read minds, which made me very jealous of him. But I knew that Anduin loves music more than anything in the world and secretly learns to play the flute from his father.
However, my peaceful life in the mountains came to an end when King Ragnar Hadvarson declared war on the Unicorn Empire. It was this war that became for me the first life test, which at first I took with enthusiasm, but then I realized how wrong I was. And although my father still admires how I managed to defeat the five times superior enemy forces in the defense of the Silvergard fortress, I do not see anything brilliant in this. I would have done it much more effectively now than I did when I was fifteen, and I wouldn’t have lost a third part of my troops. But still, I was awarded the Order of the Son of the Dragon, to which, in addition, I received that fortress as a stronghold and capital of my new lands. In fact, I became not only the heir of the Dragon Eye, but also the count Raven.
For my brother, this victorious war for the Highlanders was the reason to leave the Dragon Mountains forever and change his name. He served under Jarl Olaf Erickson the Daredevil, or, as Anduin called him, the Purifier. This evil madman, due to the fact that one village on the outskirts of the Unicorn Empire was struck by a plague, cleansed all the northern provinces of the Empire with fire and sword. I perfectly understood my brother when he refused to participate in this bloody massacre of civilians and deserted. My father has been looking for it for a long time. Not to be brought to the tribunal, but because of his act, the prestige of our clan has fallen utterly, but Anduin turned out to be just an excellent conspirator. Having failed in his search and despaired, just a couple of weeks ago, my father finally gave up on this business.
***
And now, three years after the end of that war, I stood near my hometown and admired the sunset. Slowly falling flakes of snow created a feeling as if there had not been five years of terrible bloody battles and heavy fighting. The setting sun painted the tops of the snow-covered mountains blood-red, and I involuntarily darkened: the memory of how the snow turned red from the blood of the wounded and killed mountaineers soaking it was too fresh. Trying to get rid of the surging memories, I breathed in the fresh frosty air, when suddenly the earth collapsed under me. The sharp smell of dragon shit hit my nose. When I managed to get up, I realized that, apparently, I had broken my collarbone. Gritting my teeth in pain, I looked around. Most likely, I managed to fall into some ancient tomb. Gloomy walls rose all around, and in the middle of the hall, right in front of me, a runestone towered. I barely made out what the letters glowing on it with a scarlet light mean, and at that moment I missed my brother and his knowledge so much. Now I understand why it was necessary to learn everything that Anduin knew! I could only make out “sword”, “blood”, “flame” and “inferno”. For some reason, I felt a passion to touch this stone, and my healthy hand reached out to it itself. And I couldn’t resist it. As soon as I felt the cold stone on my fingertips, the darkness enveloped me. I had a vision of how a huge army of demons marched through all of Jurilnar, how my father died on the battlefield, and my brother in prison. Then my heart felt like a thousand blades were pierced, and I fell to my knees and screamed from the pain tearing me apart. - Thou hast made the first step, — said someone else’s gloomy voice. — Thine time is coming, Keeper of Inferno. Darkness enveloped me again, and I fell into oblivion. When I woke up, my kimono was soaked through with sweat, and my collarbone did not seem to be broken. A ring of crimson jade glittered on my finger. This could mean only one thing — the Inferno Scythe had chosen a new keeper. And I realized with horror and fear that this keeper was me.***
When I got out, breaking off all my nails on the edges of sharp stones, constantly slipping, bruising my knees and, in addition, almost smearing myself in a pile of dragon dung, six wolf riders loomed on the horizon. Those arrogant idiots from the Black Wolf clan could not understand that raids on our clan were useless. They noticed me and surrounded me with lightning speed. I drew my sword and dagger and took a fighting stance. - Give up, Harold! — one of them shouted. — There are more of us, and with all your skill, you won’t win! - Oh really? — I asked, grinning wickedly. — I’ll try it! In obedience to an unknown will leading me, I knelt down on one knee and plunged my blades into the snow with force. An instantaneous wind swirled the snow, and from this place a shock wave of unprecedented power rushed at my enemies, knocking these scum off their feet. Twelve souls separated from their bodies and rushed straight into my heart. It is impossible to describe in words that boundless euphoria and at the same time a feeling of hellish agony that gripped me — words are too weak. And I collapsed into the snow and lay there for several hours, unable to rise to my feet from the pain that pierced my whole being. When I finally managed to get up, the sun of my past life finally set.
