Chapter Text
There are many strange tales that are hidden deep within our history - stories of emperors and peasants, knights in shining armor, and ordinary men with monstrous secrets - though many are not as strange as those from the now fallen Kingdom of Elatyriaf.
The Kingdom of Elatyriaf, which lies beyond the Cecaelian Sea, was once a prosperous nation led by a kind and loving emperor and his generous wife. The two of them - as well as the kingdoms’ reigning king and queen - resided in the capital of Elatyriaf, Calcheth. Calcheth - a city of trade and beauty - resided in the center of the kingdom of Elatyriaf, surrounded by the Bellan Mountains in the north and the Delphian Forest in the south. The farmlands resided in the northwest, the closest neighboring city of Oria just beyond.
Oria, which was home to merchants, mercenaries, and tradesmen, was on the coast of the Cecaelian Sea and was overseen by the reigning king’s youngest brother and his wife, the Archduke and Archduchess of Muriel. Although Oria was home to mercenaries, the city often housed them as they were a port city - ships often taking them as well as the merchants and tradesmen beyond Oria’s sea borders. Oria, not only known for international trade, was also a fishing city as well - the finest catches often selling at the highest prices and served in the royal palaces.
Further south, beyond the Delphian Forest, was the next neighboring city of Hornwood. Hornwood, unlike Oria, was a farming community beyond the city’s gates - farmers, woodcutters, and hunters resided in the villages that surrounded Hornwood, often traveling to Oria and Calcheth to trade their spoils for tools and clothing. Oftentimes, hunters and farmers would take their livestock into the butcher shops to sell their meat as well as have the good men do the work for them, paying for their services through trade agreements. Hornwood was also overseen by the king’s other brother and his wife, the Archduke and Archduchess of Thornbury.
The final city that surrounded the city of Calcheth was further north, beyond the Bellan Mountains. The city of Elysia - though hidden beyond the mountain range and well-secluded unlike the other cities - was the home of miners and blacksmiths, but also to goldsmiths. While the miners dug into the city’s mine - the Runewick Mines - the blacksmiths and goldsmiths created fine jewelry and weaponry within the villages. Precious stones were often found within the mines as well as aluminum, copper, and iron ore - these stones often brought to Calcheth to be authenticated and bestowed upon lavish pieces of jewelry in the shops or sold in Oria to be traded overseas. The city of Elysia, unlike Oria and Hornwood, was overseen by the Emperor's younger twin brother and his wife, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Kallistar.
At one point, all the cities and their leaders lived in peace and harmony - the spoils of life far too great to ignore. But that soon changed.
No one knew where it came from, or how it started, but a terrible plague only called “The Great Sickness” spread through the land. It took the lives of both man and animal - killing nearly a third of the kingdom’s population and half of the livestock that was a source of meat for the kingdom. “The Great Sickness” - to those who were exposed to it - had symptoms of aches in their bodies, high fevers, and blisters that broke out on their skin. The Alchemists and healers did everything in their power to put a stop to the plague that was ravaging their kingdom - many succumbing to the sickness themselves.
And, as strange as it had come, it vanished completely.
Many were dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, but grateful that the ordeal was over for the time being - all having to experience nearly several years of torture and unsure when times would return to normal. However, it would take several more decades before what once was a normal life would return.
The noble families had been struck the hardest by “The Great Sickness” - many losing close loved ones. The Grand Duke of Kallistar had lost his wife to the sickness, the man turning to cold stone and a heart of ice - thrusting his power and beginning a reign of destruction on his own lands from the grief in his heart before he succumbed to an ill-fated death, leaving his title and lands to his only child. The Archduke of Thornbury fell to madness with the loss of his beloved wife as well, throwing himself into the deepest recesses of his mind before disappearing into the forest - his youngest child, his only son, taking up his position shortly thereafter. The Archduke of Muriel had succumbed to the sickness himself, his wife dying of grief several days later, their three children being left to the hands of their advisors - the eldest son eventually taking up the role when he was only twelve.
The emperor and the king were not so blind to know that the root of the suffering was from the loss their siblings had endured - they, too, had lost close friends and comrades to the sickness themselves - even the Emperor had lost his youngest daughter to the sickness. However, the two remained hopeful, knowing they could not turn their backs on their people that needed them - especially their nephews who would eventually rise to take their place among the noble circles. The two rulers took the young dukes under their wings and tried to show them chastity, temperance, generosity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility - but the damage had already been done.
The darkness that had plagued the young dukes since childhood had already begun to seep into their hearts and spirits.
Greed, pride, and vanity ravaged the Grand Duke of Kallistar - the man eventually following in his late father’s footsteps, his heart becoming nothing more than a shell and filled with ice that one look from him would turn a room sour in a matter of seconds. Lust, gluttony, and pride plagued the Archduke of Thornbury - the man nearly falling to madness with intense longing for power, money, and sexual desires, his heart an empty tree that bore fruit for no one but himself with many women falling victim to his charms. Envy, wrath, and pride had taken root in the Archduke of Muriel - the grief of his parents’ deaths and the eventual abandonment by his older siblings taking a toll on his heart and mind, hatred eating away at his soul and causing him to lash out at anything and everything - coveting the freedom his siblings had.
With each passing year, as the young dukes grew from boys into men, the darkness that lived in their hearts and minds grew as well. The villagers were afraid to speak ill of them should they be heard and executed. The guards and soldiers feared one wrong mishap would land them in the streets and unable to support their loved ones. Even the servants feared for their safety, several leaving their posts for other jobs - those that couldn’t were forced to step on eggshells around their masters out of fear of being severely punished, if not executed.
But fate had other plans in mind.
It was only a few short years later - following each of the dukes’ debut into society and nobility - that they suddenly became silent and absent from the social circles. The Grand Duke of Kallistar rarely left his estate - communicating with the nobles of his circle via messenger or letter and declining any and all audience requests. The Archduke of Thornbury would make appearances here and there - but rarely stayed long enough for one to hold a conversation with him. The Archduke of Muriel would disappear for months on end before being sighted at a social gathering three times before disappearing again - the carriage with the family crest often being sighted heading toward the edges of the Delphian Forest along the coast.
Rumors and stories about the dukes spread like wildfire - the most common one told was the three of them had not upheld their sworn duty to protect the people of the lands and were cursed by the Fae that were rumored to live deep in the Delphian Forest. Other stories indicated that each of the dukes had been turned into some sort of monster - that once every month the creature they became took form and forced them into hiding. Others speculated that the dukes were under some sort of spell to be bound to their lands until such a time they learned their lessons. No matter what was told by candlelight in the village taverns though, no one seemed to know what had happened - not even the Emperor, the Empress, the King, or the Queen.
Nearly a decade passed when the first new rumor began to spread - the Grand Duke was to be married to an alchemist by the name of Calithea Vandeleur.