• tab The halls of Gerania echoed sorrow and misery. Blood stained the once beautiful marble floors and cuts nicked the massive marble pillars, keeping the golden ceilings from collapsing down. Skeletons littered the floor, grasping and reaching for one more chance to escape. The throne room was blackened, the floor covered in soot and ash. The throne remained towering above the floor below, and upon the throne sat the Butcher of Gerania. Some spoke in hushed whispers about it, the world’s greatest failure, when Umbral, King of Darkness, rode into the City of Light with his army of dark horrors and evil warriors, and crushed the jewel of the Earth. Gerania fell, and with it, the hopes of all men. Darkness covered the land, and for millennia, no heroes were seen. The constitution and the will were not bred into men. They were weak and submitting, never even thinking of spilling the blood of evil and winning back the city of light. However, there will always be those, born to do great things. There will be those whose actions will change the history of man forever. This story does not begin with a birth, for none know where he was born. The story does not include an awakening, for he never spoke of it. He was called only Lightbringer, and his story begins with the battle that changed the fate of men.

    tab The legions of Umbral assembled before the great hall of Gerania and awaited their kings address. This was the day that all remembered and all who were not darkborne feared, the day that the King of Darkness stormed Gerania, striking King Aluthur from his throne and turning him into ash. The darklings roared and cheered as Umbral, clad in his armor like something out of a nightmare, appeared on the great hall’s balcony. His words were unimportant, for in the front of the legion stood a man, clothed in a robe as dark as midnight, a sign of cultists of midnight. The man pulled his hood off and his hair, as pure as gold fell to his shoulders. Umbral stopped and stared, as the dark creatures slowly noticed him. He tore his robe to reveal that underneath the darkness, there laid armor as golden as the hair on the boy’s head. He was no older than a teenager, yet he stood as a king, a god among men. Umbral leapt from the balcony and landed in front of the boy. He drew his blade as the boy revealed a blade, gilded and beautiful. “Who are you boy? Dare you challenge your king? What is your name? Speak!” Umbral shouted, angry and yet, frightened. The boy stood even taller, if it were possible. “My name is unimportant. If you need a title, you may call me Lightbringer. On this day, the kingdom of free men fell to the slaves of darkness. The world has been without light, without free men, for a thousand years. But on this day, Butcher, I can assure you one thing: the last thing you shall see will be light.” He spoke calmly and collectively, each word bringing fear into the hearts of darkness. Umbral snarled and sheathed his sword. “Legion! Defend your king!” He shouted and walked into the great hall. The boy turned and sheathed his sword. “You draw your blades, but you are not prepared for what is next. The light will extinguish what once gave you power.” He turned his gaze towards the sky and raised his arm. Light erupted from his fist and extended skyward, parting the dark clouds that had scarred the land for millennia. From the clouds what appeared to be birds fell, their wings covering their bodies. However, as the grown grew closer, the wings parted and it was revealed that they were not birds, but men. Their armor was golden, much like the Lightbringer’s. They fell into the mass of dark soldiers, thousands of them descending from the heaven. The legions of darkness stumbled and turned, fleeing from these falling angels. In unison they all rose, tall and powerful, drawing their gilded blades and raising their shields, impenetrable and bright. Lightbringer pulled his sword and turned towards the door of the great hall. He touched the once grand door and took a step back. He kicked forward and the doors collapsed inward, shattering as they hit the ground. The legions of light attacked, slaughtering the servants of Umbral, the minions of midnight. Lightbringer stepped inside the building, leaving the battle to the light.

    tab “Umbral!” He shouted, his voice echoing off of the ancient walls. The Butcher of Gerania sat upon his throne, his blade planted into the floor. “You come before your king, who let the servants of light continue to live and produce, and challenge him? You slaughter the legions who have kept you safe all of your life? How dare you!” He sputtered as he spoke, exasperated. Lightbringer stepped forward. “You are a coward, an old coward who is afraid to admit that he can no longer defend his throne. You need not worry about a successor for after this day, the legions of evil will no longer scar this planet.” With every word he took one more step until he stood before the King of Darkness. Lightbringer swung his blade and shattered Umbral’s sword, the pieces turning into ash as light cleansed them of the darkness that had wielded them for years. Umbral bowed his head. Lightbringer put the tip of his sword on Umbral’s chest and took a breath. “Umbral, King of Darkness, Butcher of Gerania, I stand here today, your judge. You have oppressed the free and enslaved the proud, leaving nothing but pain and misery in your wake. Your crimes are payable only by your death. Umbral, today you will die.” He spoke, still calm and collect. Umbral raised his hands, teeming with dark magics, as he roared. Lightbringer plunged his sword, teeming with light, into Umbral’s chest. The room erupted as light and dark battled, consuming the two men. The darkness swelled, overtaking the light but, a figure exploded out of the darkness, a light brighter than the sun. The light exploded outwards, filling the halls of Gerania and pouring outside. The sky, the earth and all of its inhabitants were consumed by light. And then the light ascended upward, and the sun retook the sky from the dark clouds that had polluted it. The world was calm, and men, for the first time in what seemed like forever, were their own masters.

    tab None know what became of Lightbringer and his legion. He disappeared with the Great Light, as they all did. The men of Earth made expanding, taking back the territory that had once been theirs and assembling an order known as the Lightbringers. Thousands upon thousands joined the ranks of Lightbringers and pledged to stand against darkness. These warriors would fight to the death and would never relinquish what was rightfully theirs: Freedom.

    tab When the first men reentered Gerania, they erected a stone with this poem inscribed on it:

    Umbral came and brought the fright,
    The free men soon forgot the light.
    No beacon was seen, no hope in sight,
    The great free men had lost their fight.
    But in he rode and with all his might,
    And Lightbringer quickly vanquished the night.