[hider=Intro][center][i]In the Age of Ancients,
The world was unformed, shrouded by fog
A land of grey crags, archtrees, and everlasting dragons

But then there was Fire
And with Fire came Disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course.. Light and Dark.

Then, from the Dark, They came
And found the Souls of Lords within the flame.

Nito, the first of the dead
The Witch of Izalith, and her daughters of chaos
Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights
And the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten

With the Strength of Lords, they challenged the dragons.

Gwyn's mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales
The witches weaved great firestorms
Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease

And Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own, and the dragons were no more
Thus began the Age of Fire

But soon, the flames will fade, and only Dark will remain

Even now, there are only embers, and man sees not light, but only endless nights
And amongst the living are seen, carriers of the accursed Darksign.
---
It is the farthest edge of the known world.
Some may call it the land of heretics.

Sorcerers of each land have traveled here to study and share the arcane knowledge.
What they found was nothing the world should have unveiled.
A throne made out of clearest glass, forged into the rocks of the mountain Qaszad.
The Bleeding Throne.

For the throne was of strongest magic, the righteous and self claimed King of the Valkyrie,
he himself was bleeding on this throne to nourish the lands and bring hope to the people.

But the Dark has not fallen.
It grasps for the powers that reside inside the throne and it's touch corrupts the men of battle.

Without the embers of a strong willed firekeeper, this land will soon crumble under it's own power...[/i][/center][/hider]
---
It has been a week, since the group left the Land of Lords, Lordran. Forests, plains, meadows, mountains. The endless stream of green nature passed the group. Emilia, a woman of well stature, stood on top of the cliff, gazing across the horizon. It was an admirable view. She still could not believe that they had not met any hostile beings. They saw a pack of wolves the other day, but they were cautious. A group such as this was emitting strength just by looking at them.

They were standing on the border known as the Foul Springs. The last trees they would see for a while. The lush and livid stream of plants, slowly decaying into a desert. The ground was already dried up where Emilia stood. Sand was carried between the trees, leaving scars on the plants like cut marks on a person. This place was not foul, but blighted. Blighted by the breath of the world.

"The Lords have left this place for good", the woman mumbled, as she slowly guided her steps down a narrow path of the cliff that lead downward. As the trail continued, it grew wider, patches of grass and some tiny flowers grew on the edges. Cave ins were scattered on the cliff side, heavy dents in the rocky wall that were filled to the brim with skulls. Not only human ones. Demons. Dragons. The horrors of Lordran, neatly stashed in between the skulls of humans.

Emilia looked at these burrows and kept walking. She had seen bloodshed, but this was just grotesque to her. "The souls of those that tainted this place should be swallowed by the Abyss." Her eyes narrowed. She was going to a place far away to become a Firekeeper. She knew what was going on. Her Lord sent her to stop what was going on. Not only had the Valkyries called war to Lordran, but the reports of Demons crossing the border were increasing. Whatever trickery was at hand, this would stop once this journey was over. The Lords of Lordran decided so. "We need to get going", Emilia called to the group.

Then a sound. It was a snarl, or a hiss. A sound that came from the skulls. It came so sudden and from close by, that Emilia jumped, her feet getting too close to the edge. The rocks crumbled under her heels. With a banging sound, stones fell down the cliff, hitting rocks and continuing their way downward. The strange hiss now echoed from all sides. The burrows burst open, skulls flying around. Skeletons rose from the ground. And in the midst of this, Emilia was struggling with her balance, her arms swaying in every direction in hopes of gaining some footing again.