A gentle breeze of the clearest wind blew through the entire land. Trees of green rustled in the breeze, the sweet smells of spring filled the entire town, as well as the forest outside it. Flowers of the rainbow smiled sweetly at the shining sun. Light filled every window of the town.
People began to open their doors and step outside into the sweet spring morning that had been bestowed upon the town.
Parents stood in doorways as children shot by them laughing and running through the streets.
The square was filled with activity. Was today a holiday? No, today was just a normal day for the normal town, in the normal land, in its normal dimension.
But today was also a very different day for two people, one of the town at the base of the cliff, beside the river, past the wood, and the other of the castle, hidden deep in the dark wood, past the river, at the top of the large cliff.
This old village had no name, nor did the land upon it, but there was one such girl of this town that did have a name.
Sitting in her bedroom, looking outside the large window, was a young woman with long blonde hair, wearing a blue-white dress. She had a butterfly hair pin in her hair, a sweet smile, and a beautiful face and figure.
She was the prettiest, smartest, and most sought after woman in the entire village. Every woman wanted to be her, and every man wanted to be hers.
But none could have her, nor could anyone replace her, for she was truly a person pure of heart.
Her name was Timpani. She lived in the tallest house in town, with her father and mother.
Timpani looked outside her window with a dreamy look about her, she watched as birds fluttered by and people played below.
But far away from the town, far away from peace and happiness, far away from light, was a large castle that had stood the test of time and waited for it to be one day used by the people of the town. But until that time a special group of people resided inside it.
The people of the town said they were demons, vampires, creatures of the undead, shadows that should never be touched, let alone seen.
Inside this castle were the People of Darkness, they lived deep in the castle, deep in the wood, and hated light.
One of these People of Darkness sat outside, on a stone bench, watching the dark clouds overhead float by.
While it was light and peaceful down below in the town, it was dark and storming at the castle in the wood.
This young man on the bench was a very special young man. His name was Lord Blumiere, the son of the Count of Shadows, the leader of the Tribe of Darkness which lived in Castle Variado, so named by the people in the town, for it meant Shadow.
Lord Blumiere, son of the esteemed Count of Shadows, was bored. As usual…there were no other young children to play games with inside the castle, and all the adults were busy. It would soon be the Day of Time, a day to which everyone gave thanks for life and its gifts.
So Lord Blumiere sat alone, outside his father's castle, looking at the clouds dreaming of a wonderful land where he had many friends and people to play with.
Lord Blumiere wore a long cape of white, with a black heart on it such was his family symbol, and a small white top hat. Being the son of the Count he would soon become the count and have all the lavish luxuries of his father.
His father wore the same cape, the same hat, but wore a monocle, and unlike the small shirt that was worn under his son's cape, he wore a vest and large black pendant. His cape enravled his neck in a large protrusion, however Lord Blumiere's didn't.
Once again bored, the young lord sighed and stood.
A small black bird fluttered down to his shoulder and he greeted the small animal with kindness.
"Why, hello there sir. And just who may I ask are you?" Blumiere asked in his normal gentleman's voice.
The bird squawked at him before flying away. Blumiere sighed as it left.
"If only I could leave this place as well……"
Blumiere decided that he would take a short walk around the castle grounds, even though there was naught a thing to see upon the castle gardens, but it was something to do and Blumiere welcomed the idea.
As the young lord walked around the gardens he noticed one of the guards was standing near the well in the center of the garden, which his father never took care of.
The garden, which was once a vast field of flowers and beauty, was now a rotten house of the dead. Only one plant lived on in the garden, and that was Blumiere's rose bush that he had planted when he was young, it still stood to this day, casting a beautiful light upon the shameful garden.
The guard acknowledged his superior and bowed to him.
"Hail Lord Blumiere, how are thee today?" asked the guard in a cheerful, and well rehearsed, tone.
"Though not need bow to me, I am not the Count yet…" Blumiere said, trying to make the conversation less formal.
"But though arête the son of the Lord Count, for there thee must be shown honor."
Blumiere shook his head in defeat.
"Please…I am not addressing you as a guard, I just want someone to speak with…"
The guard looked surprised but continued just the same.
"Sorry my' lord…it's just…I'm not used to you, nor your good father, speaking to me in such a…friendly gesture."
"Yes well my father can be an imbecile at times, now good sir, could you please tell me. To whom do I owe the honor of speaking to?"
"Captain Julius sir."
Blumiere smiled and sat on a stone bench beside the guard, motioning for him to sit as well.
The guard complied and the two of them spoke for a brief moment as the doors to the balcony suddenly burst with activity.
The Count rushed out and yelled down to his son.
"Blumiere! Get here this instant!"
Blumiere glanced up at his father and stood, the guard jumped so fast he almost lost his balance and fell into the well.
"Good day Count! How arête thee today?" said the guard to the Count upon the balcony.
"Fine, just get him up here!" the Count ordered as he burst through the doors again.
Blumiere sighed and walked toward the staircase in the Foyer.
Servants and guards ran all about, as did the Three Sature. The Sature's were a group of descendants from the ancients, and they were tasked with teaching and protecting the ancient's lore and history.
Blumiere walked into the Foyer and up a flight of stairs into the Grand Hall. The hall was covered in magnificent tapestries of the ancient lore and battles, as well as statues of past Counts. As Blumiere walked down the hall he saw thousands of years of history stand by him when he reached the door at the head of the hall.
Slowly pushing the door open, and ascending another flight of stairs, Blumiere entered a large Throne Room, in the center the three Sature's stood, with the Count by them. Each one seemed angered by something, but also relieved.
Blumiere stood by them, and although it was his father, bowed to him before speaking.
"What is it Father?"
The Count smirked at his son and gestured to the Three Satures.
"Great news my son, we have found it…"
Blumiere looked confused; he spoke slowly, a brief glimmer of chance in his words.
"…Found what?"
The oldest Sature, a woman clearly quite old, her skin barely clinging to her bone curtsied to the young lord and spoke.
"The Tome of old, hidden in cold, the book we sought, from wars long fought, the prophecy it tells, in evil it dwells, the Prognosticus De Sielo Darkness. Book of shadow, book of might, for its pages obliterate light, the dates it tells, of evil it spells, of events to come, and past of young, to kill and make, to steal and take, for it tells out future and past, hidden in the shadows clasp."
Blumiere stepped away from the Sature and looked at his father in shock and disbelief.
"The Dark Prognosticus!?"
"Yes son, it is ours. The power of shadows has returned home, and has found its wielder."
Today was the day that all worlds would be changed…
The book of shadows…The Dark Prognosticus…it foretells of events to come…and events long gone…its wielder fate controls, until it breaks its uttered oath…
The shadows overhead Castle Variado seemed to seethe with power. The book of ultimate darkness had been found…and was held in the hands of the holder of the crown.
The people below in the town ran inside, a great cloud of shadow was drawing near…