Histories of the Realm: The Book of the Damned Itself 2.0

Chapter 1


I will scribble these thoughts of mine whilst I am inclined to do so, for I am now safe, for the moment. Where shall I start? Many strange and profound things have occurred; in them I have found myself a small part. If I recall correctly, for everything of my former existence is in question, I was entwined in battle for my life, at the place where the Twin River meets the Copper River; also known in my age, the age of men living after the Great Sealing and Slumber of the Magycks, as the River of Blood.
I, Chiel, was in flurry amongst the demons that plagued the land in my time, for my time may be apart; for I know not if they plague the world any longer now; for I also believe time works differently here on this plane. I also believe that the cause of the demons intrusion was due to a certain mortal quieting the magyck, which happened, if I exist now in the age of men, three hundred twenty years ago. I will not defile this page with the name of the one who caused the Slumber, but I will ascertain this: according to the lore of men, the demons first appeared just a year after the Great Sealing.
We, the men of the kingdom Twin River, were being hemmed in on every side. We lashed out; I among them, and stole over to what seemed to be the main foci of the enemy, fighting our way through the demons. East of the city it was; and just upon the crest of yon hill I fought the foe.
A Sachron nearly cleaved me, yet I was saved by a man whom is unbeknownst to me; he shot an arrow into the Sachron, saving my life. Alas, twas not well enough, as some of the foul demon blood soiled my skin. Notice I did not, for I engaged more of my enemy, an xla, a bane of nature and men. And I slew it; and from there beheld a sundering of my vision, an ocean tide enwreathed in lava. When the wave of fire came, the collecting fire, the fire that returns the demons back whence they’ve come, I myself was cast along with them; for the black blood had penetrated my skin, and made me partial.
I met eyes with Lounce son of Sheraflone, and that was last in my gaze before all was black. I could not see, but I could hear. I could not move, but I could feel. A great wind rushed all around me, almost like I dove from a cliff. The sound of swarming bees gathered around me, making all sorts of racket, and I was stung. All over myself, as though my mail was no longer on, I was stung. I began to yell and to wail, but found my voice had left me, as though it abandoned my body which was, as I clearly remember, being tormented by what felt like stinging bees.
A time passed, and a light bright as the sun of high afternoon entered into my vision, and I shut my eyes. My eyes! I realized I was seeing again, looking at what appeared to be a night sky, only it was day. Blazing down on me, was the light of day, but littered in the great expanse above me, was what appeared to be twinkling stars!
Soon, I found myself lying on my back, under the enormous sky. I began to sit up,
and immediately felt the stabbing of knives in my skull. I was upon my back and it
burned like coals. I was on some barren, sandy dry land. The sand was blood red and coarsely sharp. In the distance, I could squint and make out towers of a sort, but they blurred into sky and cloud. The clouds were a hue of violet, just as when a storm breaks. I began coughing. Alas, I was not dead. The wind was very harsh, and painful to breathe. Everything hurt, even my lungs! This place is unnatural! And I began to contemplate where I was, or if I was dreaming…If only it had been that!
A dream! But it was not meant to be. As I am, I thank the Eleven Above that I still live, but then, within the tortuous pain I bore, I would have rather been in the grave with my fallen brethren, for I know I would not be here!
For I have seen the souls of the damned enter this place where no natural magyck thrives, but instead a terrible force devours. I have seen many and terrible things, wondrous things, and things that mortal men can never conceive in their living minds, lest they suffer the same dreadful fate as I, and are summoned to this deathly plane. I once believed I was on the surface of the world, or doomed in death, but I know the truth, the truth that I am not in some desert or rocky terrain of the Realm, but on a different plane, a plane in which demons and their masters bide, where cruelty finds its lifeblood, where to live is to suffer, and where from the lore of Those Below and Above were birthed; I am not in the land of the living, but the land of the god, the goddess, and the immortal; indeed, I am out of place.