Chapter 1: Wrapped in Black

A meager light casts itself into a somber room. There, stand a few people dressed in dark cloaks surrounding a circle. The circle was the sole source of light in this place plagued by shadow, and within it lay a single boy unconscious. They knew not the boy’s name, only that he would be the answer to their problems. He would be the savior to finally free their kingdom from strife. He would…

The boy began seizing. The cloaked persons found themselves in a panic.

“Control the boy, Cain!” shouted one of them. Immediately another one of them began to speak something from their lips as their hands started to glow. Soon enough, the boy returned to a relatively normal state, albeit still unconscious as he had been. They decided the best course of action would be to wait until he awoke and move him to a safer location.

The soft sheets of silk comfort the boy's skin as he arises in a room unfamiliar. He tosses and turns about attempting to get an extra few minutes of rest before finally opening his eyes. As he does he is greeted by a blinding light. It takes a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the brilliant shade of white, but soon after he is granted the blessing of sight once more. He looks around himself and at present, he is surrounded by four white walls. 1 of which housed a window with curtains so grandiose it made all the ones he had ever seen look like dish rags. He couldn’t help but be in awe at the sheer mastery that must have gone into crafting a design such as this. He scanned the room for a few more minutes before the fog in his mind finally began to clear and he thought to find out where exactly he was. As he approached the door, he felt his heartbeat quicken. Unsure of what would be on the other side of that door, he steeled himself before finally pulling the handle. What lay on the other side was a hallway, an enormous, almost petrifying hallway. Still, so long as there was light, there must be people, he thought, and decided to make his trek down the seemingly never-ending corridor.

The boy thought it tedious to check all the rooms one by one and instead decided the best course of action would be to search for some sort of main room, such as a dining hall or a kitchen. As he journeyed along the hallway he saw many paintings; All unfamiliar to him, but all equally as beautiful. He wondered where exactly he was. It seemed to be some sort of mansion, or maybe even a castle he had found himself in. his pondering soon came to an end, though, as he finally came across another door, in fact two. These were much larger than the previous ones he had seen just moments before. Once again, he felt his heartbeat quicken. Unlike last time, however, he hadn’t hesitated to push the twin doors open to reveal the next room.

The next room was the most surprising thing he had seen since his awakening, which admittedly hadn’t been too long ago. Still, he couldn’t help but find himself mouth almost agape as he stared at multiple large pillars towering over him. The pillars reached to the ceiling and seemed to be support beams of some sort. Never had he seen support beams so large or stylized before. Alongside the beams were several designs. One depicted a dragon; another depicted a large tree towering over a boy. Another depicted the boy climbing the tree and the final depicted the boy slaying the dragon atop the tree. What fascinated him the most, though, was what stood at the center. A large iron throne, coated in a deep black. The aura it gave was intimidating, more so than anything he had ever seen. He felt himself drawn to it; as it grew closer, he could feel his skin begin to crawl. He advanced until he was no more than a single step from the throne. He reached his hand out to touch it and let it rest on the arm. It was cold to the touch, and yet, it felt almost natural to touch it. It was smooth, and the deep black gave it an alluring charm that was almost indescribable in nature. He would have found himself lost in admiring the glory of the throne if he had not been interrupted by the sound of another.

“Hello? Are you the new guest I was told about?”

The frail voice of a young girl approaches him from behind.