Everlife: Beautiful Bloodlust

Prologue: the Four Swords

Long ago, in a land called Aruliarch, a tiny baby boy was born to parents Aga and Vectore. They were both very young and foolish, and neither of them had the time to look after their son, Riddion. Within months, he was sent to the nearest orphanage.

It took a long time for Riddion to be adopted. When he was thirteen, the crazed and unloved boy was adopted by a historian called Briar Portus. The historian was extremely pushy and wanted Riddion to be the top of his class, though the boy had never had schooling before.

Riddion showed uncanny knowledge and desire for power when he enrolled in school. Portus grew quite scared of his adopted son's ambition. Their lives took a turn, however, when the historian married an elf, Maylen of the Mesling Wood, and they had one son of their own, Fradian. The historian favored his own son and shut off Riddion from the family, hoping that neglect would cause Riddion to forget his desire for power.

He was wrong. Riddion had no intention of stopping. The power-hungry teenager quickly formulated many illegal drafts. Soon, he had run away from home and was living in caves, living off of unlawful drugs that made him virtually indestructible. Eventually these potions completely distorted Riddion. He became inhuman, non-aging, indestructible, and all-powerful.

But of course, nothing was enough for Riddion. He had very specific beliefs—he felt Aruliarch was a ruined land, run by fools instead of wise men, filled with idiotic pawns that couldn't think for themselves. Riddion wanted his own people to fill the corners of the island. The imps—the intelligent, reckless and terrifying creatures—were the race that Riddion believed deserved to dominate.

Now, to wipe out the population of Aruliarch; he needed followers, and followers were easy to get. He went straight to the imp lords, and with minimal deliberation, the entire race stood at his back.

Somehow, Riddion didn't feel powerful enough. His eyes were set on the most desirable power in existence. It was called the Weapon of Matter, and it was up to him whether to use shadow or light. He needed every ounce of sacred iron on the island to have enough power to create the Weapon of Matter.

It was a long, daunting mission to find the pieces of sacred iron. He didn't succeed, even after hundreds of years. All he managed to do was destroy Magainia, the home of the first source of sacred iron. The Magnarese, residents of Magainia, had forged the sacred iron into a standard Magnarese sword without knowing the iron's true power. They engraved Blade of the Magnarese into the blade, just as they did with all of their weaponry.

The sacred iron sword, later nicknamed Magnar, was the only weapon that survived Riddion's attack, due to its indestructibility. It was picked up and taken to Gale, Aruliarch's capital, and was given to the general, Jackson Emberhood the First.

The second sword, Agrios, was forged by the merpeople. They found the sacred iron under the sea and forged the sword with spells alone. A merman wielding Agrios was killed by a warrior, and the weapon was taken back to the castle for inspection. The Lord of the Lands, King Jacks, gave the sword to his favorite son, Ryan.

The third sword was Hollianne Shroud, created by the elf queen of the eastern forest, Hollianne herself. Soon after, Riddion destroyed the forest in his rush to get to Magainia, and the sword was lost. It was rediscovered hundreds of years later and given to a highly respected preacher, Markus Sirwell.

The fourth and final sword was Riddion's. He managed to collect the remaining sacred iron and forged one deadly sword, naming it Bloodlust. As soon as he finished creating it, however, the sword was stolen from him. Each individual sword had capabilities of its own. According to legend, they could prolong their owners' lives and grant them mage powers. Is this true? Nobody knows for sure.

Who stole Bloodlust from Riddion? The story can only be guessed.

Legend has it that King Jacks did not only have one son, but twins—Ryan and Jayce. It has been told that Jayce, the neglected son, stole Bloodlust to catch his father's attention. Some say Bloodlust never existed. Some say King Jacks stole the sword and murdered his son with it.

Our story begins two-hundred and seventy-five years after Riddion's rise to power. All four swords are considered to be mere myths at this point. Aruliarch, led by the respected King Sabbiark, is at war with Riddion's demonic forces.

The question is; what does Riddion want? Is he really trying to demolish the island? Or does he just want the sacred iron? What will happen to Aruliarch in the end?

Has the end already begun?