The Rise and Fall of the Blood King

Where there is light, there is darkness. In darkness, there is fear. Through fear, can grow hope. I strive to be that hope, to be the one that the people believe in. The one that the people can count on, no matter what. Failure cannot be an option, for I am the light that will rise above the darkness.

                I will atone for my family’s mistakes. I will erase the past and I will carry this burden. For I am the Spectral Knight, and I will fight to protect the spirits of my people.

-Eliora Wittenmyer

The Dominion was founded thousands of years ago through a time of crisis and need. However, the origins of the order weren’t as it seems.

Long ago, travelers from a distant land appeared before the people through a magical door that they had created crossing between realms. The people of this land called them gods. Some were scared of them while others adored them for their feats. In a land where magic is practically unheard of, these beings were capable of producing acts that many considered to be divine. Thus, granting them the recognition and titles for their feats.

However, these individuals were mere mortals where they were from. In fact, they were pirates and hailed from a land rich with magical essences. They called themselves Realm Jumpers of the Dragon Feather pirates. Using a technique taught by their captain, these individuals travelled in a small group away from the rest of their crew. They landed on the shores of our land and found that their magic was drained or inaccessible.

One individual, Wittenmyer, was a scholar amongst the group. They threw theories and hypothesis on dormant magical energies that could be reached with the right methods and practices. Another who retained parts of their magic, Highland, agreed with Wittenmyer on the possibilities of tapping into this magic to reopen the door and return home.

Over time, their studies began to expand to not just the members of their group but also to curious followers who devoted themselves to these travelers. These studies awoke magic and brought about new possibilities to the land. As time went on, studies no longer prioritized the door and expanded to something much more. The travelers were now living amongst the people they taught and had established a new life for themselves.

With the expansion of magic throughout this realm, grew new dangers as well. Individuals began to grow hungry for power. Blood was beginning to spill with each new rise to that power. Generation after generation saw wars becoming bloodier with new techniques and skills being implemented with each swing of a blade.

The House of War was created through these battles and for the thirst for the fight. They were strong and controlled a vast variety of magical prowess amongst its members. From them came the House of Death, those who honored the dead and specialized in necrotic practices. Many other houses with their own specialties spawned from the turmoil that was continuously growing. There were those who tried to defend the peace but were often conquered by the stronger houses in their search for power.

The House of Blood was born from a mage who harnessed the magic that pumped through his own veins. Tapping into the internal powers allowed him to manipulate and control many around him with the power of blood magic. Many began to follow him with promises of immortality, strength, riches, and more. With his techniques he quickly rose above others and began establishing himself as a king.

From him came the House of Pestilence and the House of Famine. Through the search for immortality, came medical knowledge and skills. Those from the House of Pestilence specialized in apothecary magic. Those who moved within the trees, listened to the lands and the animals around them became part of the House of Famine. With the new rise, they controlled the very fields people ate from and the animals they hunted.

The House of the Void were the only ones who carried out the magic research surrounding the mysterious door. They specialized in reading the stars and astral magic. They did not obtain their name until one fateful day had occurred. Through their studies, they were able to connect the lines of magic hiding within the folds of the universe. They were the first ones to successfully complete the long dream that had changed this world after generations had gone by. They recreated the door that the travelers crossed through. However, the door that they opened was not the one they had hoped for. The door opened up to a vast void of nothing. Darkness, silence, eeriness, thus the House of the Void was named.

The longer the door was open the more they began to realize that there was something on the other side. One by one creatures began to walk through the doorway that was created spreading a new kind of fear to the lands. The news spread to the House of Blood who yearned for new endeavors for the continuous rise to power. The king saw the potential and harnessed the powers of the door. With Famine and Pestilence at his side, he was able to cause the House of the Void to bow to his whim. With their mages, he was able to open up many gates. With his powers he was able to control the beings that crossed. He began to use his powers to create a kingdom painted in the blood of those who he deemed unworthy to follow him. He gained the title of the Blood King and ruled over the lands.

The House of War and the House of Death joined his council willingly to maintain protection and peace for their own people. With the assistance of all of the houses, they were able to take the information from the House of the Void who continued to be chained to the wills of the Blood King. However, over time, the usefulness of the House of the Void and their magic and research began to diminish. Eventually there came a time when they were no longer needed within the council and were denounced without a second thought.

The Blood King began to rule the land in tyranny. Many lives were lost, many people suffered, all so that the King can be the strongest. Eliora Wittenmyer of the House of Death was visited by what she believed to be a spirit of a forgotten deity. Within a dream, she was shown the spirits of those who remained suffering by the hands of the Blood King. Unable to pass on peacefully, they lay in a torment of pain. Their very magic and essence tied to the king and strengthened him. Their screams haunting her mind since that day caused her to take a new leap to put an end to the bloodshed and an end to his reign. The visitor of her dreams gave her useful information and provided her with new ways to use magic. From that day Eliora had made an oath to protect the spirits of both the living and the dead.

Andre Drayce of the House of War had married Eliora long before her dream visit had occurred. He dreamt of a day where there was no more fighting, no more blood being spilled. He yearned for the days were peace would live and thrive amongst the people once more like the olden days. With his ancestral magic blood, he was capable of feats that caused him to closely work with the King himself. Eliora and Andre worked together with the rest of their houses to devise a plan to end the Blood King. This was the start of creating The Dominion.

With the sudden betrayal and the support of various powers, The Blood King was sure to fall. The Dominion used what they had learned from the House of the Void and combatted the doors that were open, calling them rifts. They labelled all creatures related to these rifts as eldritch beings and began researching them. With each new research, there was a new way to stop the Blood King. The Dominion grew stronger and called upon magic that was considered Divine. Magic once believed to be lost amongst the turmoil was beginning to return to the lands once more. Embracing new skills and new practices rose the Spectral Kight and The Dragon.

These warriors of The Dominion were the ones who ensured that the demise of the Blood King was imminent. Through a glorious battle, The Dominion rose victorious with the Blood King’s defeat. His remains were torn apart and scattered into the Void. However, with the king’s defeat came a new realization. The rifts that were open had scarred the lands. This had caused the very magic that had once controlled them to become unstable. Reopening the wounds meant that eldritch of all kinds could continue to cross into this realm in an unpredictable state.

The Dominion vowed to ensure that rifts that opened would be closed and controlled. Any eldritch that crossed were to be taken care of. However, Eliora and Andre did not want to risk the potential of another uprising. Using the knowledge from the mysterious dream visitor they created a lacrima crystal. With this crystal they would create a field of magic that dampened the magical essence of the world they lived in. The two ensured that all magic research was kept hidden or burned alongside the information of their very existence.

The lacrima that was created required a great deal of sacrifice to complete the desired effect. Eliora, Andre, and many other powerful mages and skilled users sacrificed their lives to ensure that the lacrima was a success. Encasing themselves in the crystalline structures they created a binding-like effect to the magic that thrived and erased memories of the past. In theory, this would prevent many from being able to use magic ever again and lessen the threat that could come once more.

The Dominion monitored those still able to harness the essence and eventually classified all magic users as eldritch kind. Many joined the order willingly while others were forced into it. The Sisterhood was created by those who were capable of taping into the Divine energies that Eliora once had. They are sworn to secrecy to protect the information that they know about magic and The Dominion.

                Hundreds of years go by, and The Dominion thrives. Eliora and Andre are forgotten and are only names on a wall. No one was able to remember who they were or what they did. The history of the rifts began to disappear, and the words of the travelers and magic began to fade. Peace was spread across the land once more and things had returned to a sense of normality. However, rifts continued to appear here and there and rogue mages with malicious intent try to rise which keeps The Dominion on a constant watch. Overtime The Dominion began to work more within the shadows protecting the people from ever knowing about the existence of magic and of the monsters that can hide under their bed. They were the ones who turned the very real horrors into nothing more but mere stories to tell children.