Prologue:

 

Merely beginning the story would most likely leave you, dear reader, a bit befuddled. So, permit this unworthy one to explain a bit about this long-ago, far-away world known as Ito.

 

Ito used to be a peaceful world, thriving in every sense of the word, reaching beyond the reachable and obtaining what they saw as unobtainable. In the long era of peace, it was discovered that some humans were more than human…or possibly less. Inside these not-humans was an element that became known as Lumina, something that permitted its carrier to do the unthinkable, create the incredible, and become terrible. For, with this blessing of power (“magic”, as some call it) also came a terrible price- if their quota of power was reached, the Conduti (for that, dear reader, was what they became known as, far into the future) would be overpowered by the Lumina and lose all control of themselves, becoming monsters that could rampage for their entire extended lifespan and destroy with a glance, thanks to the Lumina.

 

But, regardless of the Conduti, Ito remained peaceful. And then the others were discovered.

 

Ito has two continents. No more, no less. One adjacent to the other, they are barely separated by a simple spit of water. Why neither had crossed it before was never truly a question- the other continent was just over the horizon in the beginning, but as time continued on, the two continents grew closer. And still, peace continued, a hesitant but friendly relationship between Arven and Tormiad blossoming.

 

The land became warmer, and the distance between the two became less and less as time went on. At first they saw it as a sign of unending friendship, two becoming one, but then…then, when the two continents were finally connected after generations of patience, The Darkness came. An entire generation lost its sight, aside from the Conduti, and the humans relied on the not-humans. Their wariness of the Lumina-imbued creatures churned into jealousy, which in turn morphed into distaste.

 

And, when the new generation arrived, the distaste turned to hatred, and Ito was swamped by it- the two continents blamed each other for The Darkness, saying it was the other’s fault, loathing one another and cursing the spit of land that had dared to surface when none but non-humans could see it. And as time went on, they began to wonder why The Darkness came, if it had been a warning, or a sign, and their hatred was tinged with paranoia that if the other side was allowed to survive, they could bring the Great Blinding again.

 

And thus, The War began.

 

Arven adopted a system reliant on the Chained Ones- Conduti collared and leashed and used as weapons against their enemies, killed and discarded as soon as they were either unnecessary or began to Overcharge. And the natural army continued to breed and muster to match Tormiad.

 

Tormiad used the Conduti as government-owned killers, giving them Shadows (humans who could absorb the powers of Conduti but not use them) to both protect the Empire’s investment in the Conduti, and to kill the Conduti, which protected the Empire itself.

 

The war raged on for countless years. And then, an island was found.

 

It sat to the west, a silent sentinel in the sea watching its two siblings fight. And on this island known as Rinu resided natural humans, and near-natural humans known as the Swordrush Clan, blessed with genetically inherited muscle memory. Both countries saw the advantages in this, and sought it, but Rinu’s neutrality was unshakeable.

 

And so, for the first time, Arven and Tormiad united, and razed the island to the ground.

 

The fragile alliance only stood on the island, and as soon as the threat of the Swordrush clan’s blood was averted they ignored the incident, ignored the blood of countless civilians and children dripping from their already bloody hands, ignored the tattered remains scrounging in Rinu’s capital of St. Negate, and continued to fight each other.

 

The current standoff came from a single night- a single moment, actually, in the tiny Arven town of Feyton, where the Illustrious High Lady Paret had mustered her troops for yet another assault against Tormiad. In a single night- no, a single moment, emanating from a single source, the entire garrison was obliterated, the only remains found the next morning being a still-smoking ring of ash that was 20 miles long.

 

Fear clenched the dark hearts of both countries, not knowing the source of this power, and both agreed to deal with this destroyer first, and then each other.

 

But that didn’t mean they’d stop plotting, stop building, stop killing. The war may have stopped, but the conflict continued, and continued, and continued, which leads us thirteen years into the future.

 

Into the present.