Plot Pieces

Trials of the Dark Warlock

He has eight Names, four world rankings, and one title of nobility

Here in the Possessed World, Names are not bestowed merely for show. A Name is only granted for deeds of great honor or horrid affliction. 

For instance, if a knight were to slay a monster, that would not be a feat worthy enough for a new Name. However, if that knight were to slay a monster king, at the top of one of the world's Tower thus reclaiming it for the hand of good, then he would be granted a Name.

Note the capital N.

If that knight were to single handy defeat an attacking nation, and usurp the King, then depending on the nation, he might be granted a world ranking.

Everything about someone's Name, from the number of letters, to the syllables, to the bestower, can tell you about the deeds preformed by the individual who obtained it.

The greatest hero of all time was Sir Roland Ursal Tenreck Saneil, Protector of Cardell Valley. His original Name was bestowed upon him by the Dwarves, after he recaptured the first Tower for good in 100 years. Then the Pegasus riders gave him Ursal after his second Tower, then by the giants, and finally the Elves. He earned his world ranking after successfully defending Cardell Castel from an army of undead. 

He was a beacon of peace for our world, a light of hope on a dark day,

But Sir Roland Ursal Tenreck Saneil, Protector of Cardell Valley is not who this story is about.

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His name is The Dark Warlock, Earl Vitalini Morteus Alveran Braunmol'khik Ragdrarox Eterna Vix Egan, Bane of the Possessed World, Ruler of Darkness, and Shadow of the Knight's Core. 

He has eight Names, four world rankings, and one title of nobility. He is the black mark on our world, the proverbial boogie man of our nightmares. His Names are forever etched into the childhoods of all those who grow up in the Possessed World. 

Some use to think that he was a ghost, just a phantom created by parents so that their children would behave. Many honestly believe that most of his Names are made up, tacked on as the years past as a way of further exaggerating his tales.

Still, children eat up the stories. They adored tales about the Dark Warlock, and challenged each other with games on his Names, the Towers he supposedly fell, and the number of allies he alone obliterated. 

She was called pen.

Note the small p.

She grew up in a small town at the bottom of a large valley. The nearest Tower was Shade Garden, a Light Tower. It's home to the Sprites and Fairies. They've lived there for as long as anyone could remember. They're pretty shy, but villagers would catch glimpses of them whenever the seasons changed.

Adventures sometimes pass through the small town on their way to the Tower. They would seek Fairy made charms of protection before heading out with parties in an attempt to reclaim a Dark Tower, and earn a Name.

pen's typical day included picking healing herbs for doctor henry. He was a half sprite and was teaching her the arts of healing magic. 

Now on this particular day in question, pen was looking for a specific herb known as stripped bittercress. Stripped bittercress, as it happens, does not grow down in the valley. To get to it one must climb to the top of a yellow-boxed barkwood tree and snip off the flowering vines. So, twice a year when the stripped bittercress flowers are in bloom, old doctor henry, gives this job to young pen.