Ever since the Favored Races learned to cultivate mana, in turn, strengthening their bodies and mana manipulation, magic has taken great leaps forward.

Originally we had used intent to manipulate mana and cast magic as it was indeed the most powerful.

However, after the Prince of the Gods, Razyl gifted us the Divine Runes, the basis for our first written form of language, we began using it to cast magic.

Using intent while the most powerful and often most effective way of casting magic was also very general in effect.

Often shaping itself to bring the most effective outcome from the intent behind it, giving it high combat utility.

However, it was much easier to use runes or a language when attempting to create more complex and specific effects.

While it still could be done with intent to an extent, it took far more time, mental energy, and training, for what runes could easily accomplish.

Which brings me to what I am doing now.

I Grandas Van Eisenwolf am now testing a method to peer beyond our world.

This is the first step to developing a summoning technique.

I set down my scrolls on the stand next to the shelf case, as I begin drawing the Seer Circle with mana on the ground adjacent to the stand.

Tired and weary after drawing the Seer Circle I grow frustrated at my elderly body, cracking my lower back I sit down in the seer circle.

I stroke my short, trimmed, grey beard before thinking out loud

“Now, what that was, incantation again… hmmm….. ah, that’s right.”

I say as I hit my fist into my palm.

“Show my mind the way as I peer into the void and across other worlds, show me the one.”

………………………………………………………………………………

As I watch the mage perform his ritual, I see a telepathic link sent from Origin into the void down past my ethereal body until even my eyes can no longer see its destination.

Then the electric blue line of mana tightens like a fishing line that just hooked a bite.

Then I see red start to go up the line and I realize something just went horribly wrong.

I peer into the line grabbing hold of it with my mind.

I sense something malicious and… wrong… yet an existence similar to my own, then I see a single……….. eye, glowing with blood-red malignant energy.

I am not alone.

Something else was in the Primordial Sea.

It survived.

It is intelligent.

It is Angry.

I cut the mana line as soon as I realize this, but the connection had already reached the mage.

It knows where we are.

I turn my eyes to the mage as I watch what that being has done.

………………………………………………………………………………

“No, no, no, what I felt, what I saw, I never meant to...

Aurghhuahhhhrgghh hauhh hauhh urrrrggghhhh…...”

My head ached as my whole body was screaming in a sharp thumping pain as my blood swelled and burned, as I started to… change.

My eyes dried and cracked as they burst into flames burning as my skin grew black while hardening into a carapace.

My bottom jaw splits into two mandibles two horns jutting up and forward diagonally from my head before making a sharp turn down an inward at a diagonal angle.

My now four eyes flames dying down, settling into a bright red glow.

My two mandibles locking back together into my lower jaw.

Suddenly a sharp wriggling pain coming from above my butt.

A long armored tail with a pike-like spike at the end.

The whole time an immense amount of hate and anger clouding my mind, filling my entire being.

All while a single phrase repeated in the very fibers of my being.

My mouth opening as my deep, raspy voice says it out loud.

“Destroy. For Or'crox.”

Then I began to draw a single symbol all over every readily available surface I could find.

………………………………………………………………………………

A man in Ornate bronze and leather armor marches down the stone halls, he meets a massive pair of ornate bronze doors.

The two guards dressed in bronze light armor covered black mantles, each with a bronze short sword at their waists, quickly open the doors.

The man walks through the open doors into the stone throne room with large stone pillars holding up the stone ceiling.

He then kneels on one knee before the elevated tall stone throne, as the Chief looks down upon him.

The chief strokes his long black beard with streaks of grey in it.

His emerald green eyes staring down at his Thane, analyzing him.

“Thane Rocyse of Clan Night Wolf, what is this about.

It is unlike you to bring me a message yourself.”

Thane Rocyse, “Chief Reyis of the Royal Clan Ori.

I would not have come if it were not of the utmost importance, but I felt I should deliver this myself.”

Thane Rocyse takes out a black scroll that is then handed to Chief Reyis, by a manservant.

The chief opens the scroll.

Chief Reyis asks “What is this?”

Thane Rocyse answers, “It was drawn all over Archmage Grandas of Clan Van Eisenwolf's study. We also found several servants and guards dead, along with the charred body of the second prince, your highness.”

Chief Reyis responds, “What!!! How Dare He?!!!!!

Send our best men to execute him at once.

I want his head.”

Thane Rocyse, “I have already sent all of our best men along with five hundred soldiers, but we have yet too…”

Psshh Phaahhh Phoboomm!!!

Thane Rocyse stops speaking as the loud sounds of magic firing off comes from outside the door.

Followed by the clanging of metal, gurgling sounds, yelling, and then the sound of bodies dropping.

Thane Rocyse rises and turns toward the door as he draws his bronze sword taking a battle stance to guard the Chief.

The Chief stands readying his magic as the doors swing open revealing the being formerly known as Archmage Grandas of Clan Van Eisenwolf.

The Being enters the throne room his feet carelessly walking through blood pooling on the floor from nearby corpses.

Several scaly black furless dogs with spiky quills on the shoulders and along their spines, with red glowing eyes, stop tearing into the corpses before following the being in.

Thane Rocyse yells, “Who are you?!!”

The Being, “Why, what's wrong Rocyse?

Don't you recognize your old teacher? Heh heh heh.”

Thane Rocyse , “No… it can’t be…”

Chief Reyis, “So this is what you've become Grandas. What dark powers have you meddled with old friend?”

The Being, “Dark powers?

Why, I've been anointed advent of the Mighty Orcrox.

You may call me Dark Lord Arachnoc.”

The strange beasts later known as Volves ran ahead of the Dark Lord at Thane Rocyse, with open maws.

Rocyse swung his sword filling it with mana as it cut deep into the shoulder of the Volv, before being kicked into the far-off wall, dislodging Rocyse's blade.

As the Volv was kicked another came at Rocyse from his left jumping onto his left shoulder and biting down onto his neck, its teeth cracking the bronze plate standing between it and his neck, the bronze struggling to hold.

The third Volv runs toward Chief Reyis as he fires bolts of mana filled with killing intent at it, which only bounce off it before dispersing into the aether.

Chief Reyis curses under his breath, “Sh#t.”

As the Volv quickly closes in the Chief begins charging a powerful spell in his right hand, and right as the Volv is a foot away from his face he releases the mana bolt, blowing away the volv.

The volv’s smoking charred corpse only a few feet away, its legs in the air like a cockroach.

The volv on Thane Rocyse's shoulder is grabbed by his left hand by the neck and is squeezed until its neck makes a cracking sound.

Its body stops struggling and grows stiff as its eyes dim before Rocyse drops it to the ground.

The Dark Lord Arachnoc leisurely walks toward them as he slowly claps, the Thane's and Chief's eyes turning to meet him.

Thane Rocyse, “You bastard. You thought the mere beasts could kill us?!”

Dark Lord Arachnoc, “Truthfully, they may have been tough, but were merely the first of many experiments. However, imagine if I had an army of them. Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha ha hah!”

While the Dark Lord was distracted the Chief attempted to weave together a complex yet powerful spell, silently chanting with his thoughts.

The Dark Lord looks at Chief Reyis and says, “Oh no, we can't have that now can we.”

Snapping his fingers the mana being used to fuel the powerful spell is dispersed before it can be completed.

The Dark Lord, “Besides, I think your daughters will make beautiful wives for me. Don't you? Imagine what I'll to do them and their mothers.”

That’s when Thane Rocyse lost it, and swung his sword forth at Dark Lord Arachnoc, his blade ready to slash him in two.

The Chief yells, “You idiot, he's baiting you!!”

Arachnoc stops the mana empowered blade with his left hand.

His grip cracking it along the blade, before shattering it into pieces.

Dark Lord Arachnoc, “Hah, hah, hah. You really should listen to the old man.”

The Dark Lord grabbed onto the Thane's shoulder, red veins spreading from the dark red energy collecting there.

The Dark Lord whispered into Thane Rocyse's ear as the thane muscles seized from whatever was contaminating him.

Dark Lord Arachnoc, “I think I'll have you kill him.”

Thane Rocyse, “You Bast…”

However, the rest of the sentence was never heard as the Thane of the Trones Chiefdom began to transform into some corrupted being, later known as the Dark Thane.

His eyes turned bright glowing red, as his skin became pale as clouds, his hair fell out as it was replaced with a cluster of lustrous white spikes, his fingers grew talons as his bottom and top canines became large sharp venomous tusks.

His body became even larger at 8 feet tall with hulking muscles covered in a black carapace with protruding spikes, as he grew a tail like the dark lord’s and quickly lost his ego, not even his memories spared.

Then he kneeled before The Dark Lord Arachnoc.

The Dark Lord said, “Good. Now kill him.”

As he pointed his talon-like finger towards Chief Reyis.

The Dark Thane then lumbered slowly towards the chief, who stood in front of his throne staring at him in shock.

Dark Lord Arachnoc, “Oh for f##k sake your too slow, I'll do it myself.”

Arachnoc then fired a burst of powerful telekinesis at Chief Reyis throwing him into his thrown as it cracked down the middle from the force.

Reyis's body became stiff as his eyes had lost light the moment the force hit him, and he just sat there, dead, and still as iron.

The following days Arachnoc slaughtered the Thane’s and Chief's wives, along with the nobility and anyone else in power within the city, modified their daughters into horned red-eyed women with tales similar to his own and gave them high libido.

He was using his red energy to corrupt them and anyone or thing, turning them into his army, servants, or even pets.

It looked… like he was creating an army designed to destroy my beautiful creation with.

So after watching all this unfold down on Origin, I finally spoke to Fucius.

“Send the dragons to kill The Dark Lord Arachnoc.”