Spirits: Prologue

    Many hundred years ago, in a remote land secluded from the rest of the world by the raging seas that surrounded its borders, there was peace. The land was a wonder. Able to support any kind of ecosystem. Any kind of plant or animal you could think off, it was there. It was like it was its own planet. The populace of this land came together to form four towns. Each paying homage to a natural aspect of our world. Flora, fauna, time, and spirits. Each town does their best to keep peace between the world and nature.

    However, the peace here would not last long. As if a rift leading straight to hell had burst open, demonic beings came to do all they could to quash any kind of beautiful thing in this perfect world. Wherever they treaded, they left a path of darkness. Hopelessness. All that was left was a barren wasteland where the only thing moving was light dirt being blown around by a hot, fiery wind. The land’s soldiers and protectors confronted these demons to protect their land and bring peace. Clad in armor, they fought with all they could for all they had, but even their strongest armor couldn’t protect them from the demons ripping through their armor like tissue paper and taking the very hearts that compelled them to head into a fight they knew they could not win. Blood spilt from the soldiers and painted the ground a crimson red. There was no hope left. Not in the eyes of the soldiers who had yet to fall, nor in the their wives’ who held their children with all they had.

    The only one who could save this land from utter destruction was the land’s protector. *NAME*. A young man endowed with immense magical abilities. But even with the seemingly limitless power he possessed, he could not even begin to fight them. However, there was something else he could do. The demons congregated for one final attack on the remaining defenders.  But *NAME* was there with two glass orbs that looked no more impressive than grass growing. Almost as soon as he was noticed, the demons abandoned their initial pray and switched their focus on *NAME*. Without any armor, *NAME* took all the trouble out of feasting on his flesh. As they charged at him like a pack of hungry wolves, *NAME* raised his arms each holding an orb upward and outward. He bowed his head as if ready to accept defeat and the orb in his left hand started to glow an intense red, the same color as the blood the demons had so carelessly let fall from their victims.

    At that moment, the demons froze, as if frozen in time. The orb grew brighter and the demons began slowly turning into a pitch black ash. The ash swirled around until finding a home in the bright red orb. As the orb was filling with ash, it started to show bright cracks as if something inside was trying to claw its way out. The orb in *NAME*’s right hand started to glow a bright and calming blue and once the torsos of the demons had been turned to ash, bright blue puffs of what looked like liquid air were revealed. The consumed spirits of the courageous soldiers had been freed and they made their way into the bright blue orb. As the blue orb was filling with their spirits, the cracks that were so prominent in the red orb started to diminish. After nothing remained of the demons but their rather large prints in the dirt, the two orbs dimmed and *NAME* collapsed to the dusty ground. The soldiers who had nearly lost their lives picked up *NAME* and brought him back to his home. His once dark blue eyes, were now gray, glossy, and devoid of any spirit. Back at his home, left on the table was a letter.

I have loved this land and everything and everyone in it. But monsters have come to destroy this beauty. I will give up anything to keep this land safe, even my life here. If you are reading this, than I have done what was needed to keep this land safe, for now. I foresee that, hundreds of years from now, this place will be in danger once more. But my spirit will be back to fight for you again. And with me will be three others from each of the towns in this land. Together we will bring peace. I have constructed a shrine behind my home. I ask that you place these two orbs into the shrine to protect them. I ask one more favor. Go home. To your family. Love them and protect them as I have you and this land.

    They did as *NAME* asked. They placed the orbs into the shrine and went home to their families. However, they did one more thing. They told stories. Told stories of how the land was almost swallowed by darkness. How *NAME* stopped the darkness from advancing. How he brought hope for the land back to life. And how he would return to save it again. And now, one thousand years later, our story begins.