A Decaying World - Prologue

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A Decaying World

Book 1 of the Mortaevum Series

Meceruun

This story begins on a planet called Meceruun. Aeons ago it was called Hope by the Seraphim, a race that came from the stars after their own planet had been destroyed under mysterious circumstances. An eternity has passed since then and there isn't much left to hope for in this world.

1000 years ago a grueling war swept across the world, decimating its populations and destroying entire landmasses. It would be impossible to mention everything that was lost so I'll focus on the few places that will be important in the story you're about to hear.

The great human city of Pagan, which encompassed four vast districts and a beautiful park, has been reduced to a mere shadow of it's former self. Only the castle remained unscathed, which stands in stark contrast to the poorly rebuilt city where everything looks the same.

The dwarves would have been able to rebuilt Pagan according to its original design but they've suffered fatal losses and have retreated into the deepest depths of the mountains, collapsing every path leading to their cities to safe themselves from extinction.

But all this seems pointless as even the tree of life is slowly but surely withering away. It would have perished a millennium ago if the elves hadn't sacrificed their entire homeland to delay the inevitable. Unless they find a way to restore it Meceruun will become nothing but a wasteland...and the everything will cease to be...

However, even in these darkest of times, there's still a single ray of hope left.

 

Prologue: The Wheel of Fate

Welcome to the Void, a shapeless realm between worlds, only given form by its inhabitants and the wandering souls of dreamers, hence why it's also called the dreamworld. Something is stirring in it's depths and darkness is about to consume the lower layers when a voice echoes through the realm.

“You already had your chance, Regkier. Admit your defeat and go back to sleep! We will handle the rest.”

A menacing growl rumbled through the darkness, which sounded very similar to the sound of rolling thunder. Still, whoever it belonged to wasn't strong enough to defy the power of the speaker and the darkness receded, giving way to a swirling chaos of colors.

And then a man appeared out of nowhere. That's about everything I can tell you about him as his entire body was hidden by white robes, apart from a few strands of gray hair sticking out of his hood.

He listened intently for a moment before he snapped his fingers, obliterating a tentacle made out of pure darkness that was about to attack him from behind. Only after making sure that there would be no more attacks did he actually start to move. It might have looked like he was walking through the air but he was actually moving across walkways paved with glass. That's what it looked like at least but it actually consisted of a material that was harder than any metal in existence.

The person walked for miles through an area that had neither an end nor any distinguishing features, making it all the more surprising when he finally came to a stop in front of an altar that hadn't been there before. The words “Here lies the book of destiny” were engraved on it, but there was no book to be seen.

“Show yourself! The end is drawing near!” he sounded like a middle-aged man and his voice conveyed a certain kind of power, as if he always got what he demanded.

Black smoke began to seep through cracks in the floor, gathering in the front of the altar and taking the form of another robed man. He would have been indistinguishable from the first one if he hadn't been wearing gray instead of white. For a moment he seemed confused, even poking his visitor as if to make sure that he was real.

“I have a strange feeling of déjà vu, as if we had this meeting a long time ago. I know, that couldn't possibly be true, but still...“

With these words he picked up a book that had appeared on the altar. Although he knew it by heart he still sifted through the pages, hoping to confirm his suspicion. It might have looked normal at first but it contained a ridiculous amount of pages as well as pictures that seemed mind-bogglingly alive.

“It must have been a dream,” but the white-robed man seemed unsure of himself. “However, all that matters now is that you fulfill your duty or everything will cease to be!”

“It's not like I have a choice...” a tinge of sadness was evident in the tone of his voice before he closed the book with a sigh. This book of destiny was certainly something exceptional. It wasn't just bigger on the inside, it could also shrink to the size of a diary and be placed inside a small pocket.

After doing so the gray-robed man dissipated into smoke once more, leaving his visitor behind.

“And so the wheel of fate begins to turn...again?”

He was puzzled for the first time in...he didn't even remember. Have we already played the game before? It can't be...but maybe... He took a single step and vanished, allowing the darkness to reclaim the void.

“Try as you might, you will still fail!”