The Luminaria Chronicles

In the ancient city of Erebus many, many millennia ago...

A Tale of Two Brothers

Two elven brothers, Thane and Kael, were once hailed as prodigies of an ancient arcane city called Erebus. Erebus once stood just a few miles from where Duskwatch, the capital of Riftshard Reach, now rises. Celebrated for their unmatched mastery of spellcraft and alchemy, the brothers were seen as the future of magical advancement and symbols of a new golden age.

Thane, drawn to the mysteries of life and death, dreamed of healing the world. He believed that, with enough knowledge, mortality could be unraveled and suffering erased. Kael, driven by an unshakable will to protect, sought strength through transformation. He longed to create magic that would shield the helpless and empower the vulnerable.

When demons and devils began pouring through a rift in the heart of Erebus, the brothers took desperate action. The rift had been open for generations, and its slow but constant bleed of infernal horrors threatened to destabilize the world. Seeking a solution, Thane and Kael descended into the forbidden archives beneath the Obsidian Spire, where they discovered a sealed tome said to predate even the gods. The book spoke of salvation through transcendence, and the brothers believed they could become the world’s last defense.

The Catastrophic Ritual

Despite the warnings etched within its pages, they performed the ritual. Their combined power, shaped through divine geometry, flared against the wound in reality. No new horrors came through, but something ancient awakened.

Thane was claimed by the Blood Devourer, a parasitic entity from the underworld that bound itself to his soul. He became the first vampire, immortal yet cursed with unending thirst. Kael, reaching for strength, was consumed by the Lunar Scourge, a celestial force tied to Luminaria’s twin moons. He became the first lycanthrope, a creature of rage and power, ruled by the waxing of the heavens.

The Aftermath

Erebus fell into chaos. The afflictions spread rapidly, igniting a civil war that shattered the city. Thane, lost to bloodlust, hunted those he once vowed to protect. Kael, tormented by what he had become, turned on his brother to halt the destruction. Their battle sundered the city, and the leyline beneath it fractured, unleashing magical storms that left entire districts cursed or erased.

Unable to coexist, the brothers went their separate ways. Kael, burdened by guilt, fled by ship to the eastern lands, vanishing into obscurity. Thane lingered among the ruins, a brooding immortal surrounded by the wreckage of all he had tried to save. Over time, whispers claimed he migrated north to lands cloaked in perpetual shadow.

A Cautionary Legend

The story of Thane and Kael is now told as a grim legend. Erebus, once the pinnacle of magical achievement, stands as a ruin cursed by ambition. Though the rift was eventually sealed, the afflictions remain. Vampirism and lycanthropy survived the centuries and spread across Luminaria. With no force to extinguish them, they endured.

The legacy of the brothers lives on, not as heroes or villains, but as a warning. In their attempt to save the world, they brought a curse upon it.