I do not, in any way, profit from this story. All creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

Chapter 1

The old blind seer stood at the top of the Tattered Spire, watching over Albion and its people. The day had finally come. The Spire's gift to Theresa was great, but also terrible as it gave her great responsibility to protect Albion once more. She had foreseen the attack from the Crawler, and it was now time to stop him a second time. It was time to warn the King of his second coming, and time to protect Albion again.

Year after year, the people of Albion came to the royal court, begging for the King's judgment. As a good King he always listened patiently. His brother, Logan, came back several years after the attack on Albion, and now acts as the King's right hand man. Once a tyrannical leader, he has now vowed to serve his country and his King.

"My lord, I have come to you today to seek your guidance in a most pressing matter. It would seem that Esmeralda, my neighbor, has been stealing my chicken eggs! I would like to know what you plan to do about this!"

"Sir, what proof do you have that Esmeralda has been stealing your chicken eggs?"

"Well, none….but I know that it's her! She has always hated me, since the day I bought my house."

"If you have no proof, then I am afraid there is nothing I can do sir." The man, looking angry, walked out of the royal court mumbling indiscernibly about revenge. The King rolled his eyes and, looking exhausted, listened as Logan called the next case forward.

A grungy looking man with a long scraggly beard stepped out of the crowd.

"Your majesty…." The king slouched in his chair as he prepared himself to listen to this man's case. However, after a few moments of silence he came to attention and sat up in his throne. As he looked around he noticed that the whole room had frozen; Logan, the crowd on either side of the aisle, the royal guards, and the man presenting his case. Suddenly, directly in front of his throne, the King noticed a blue glow. Swirls of light flooded the area in front of the throne and, as the brightness died down, the King noticed a woman standing in front of him. It was Theresa, the blind seer.

"Hello King. Surprised to see me again?" The King nodded his head, a bewildered look in his eyes. Since the only time he had ever seen her before was when an attack on Albion was imminent he was slightly worried. As if she could read his mind, she began speaking again.

"Yes King. I come bearing bad news. For years now you have kept Albion safe, and you have done a great job maintain order and peace throughout the kingdom. However, the time has come again to fight for your peace. Sometime soon, the Crawler will attack Albion for a second time. After you defeated Walter the creature descended into darkness, retreating back into the Void to regain his strength. In the years that have passed since then he has done so. He has regained his former glory and has restored his army of shadow warriors."

"But why! Why is the Crawler attacking Albion?"

"That is the first question I aimed to answer. Using the Spire, I looked back and learned the history of the Crawler."

"The Crawler's history spans back further than even I could have imagined. In essence he is the ultimate enemy to Albion. When he started his quest to take over this world, he began by sending three powerful beings; the Knight of Blades, the Jack of Blades, and the Queen of Blades. These three figures later became The Court. The Court had finally gained control of the old kingdom for a time after many failed attempts. After many years and decades of rule without challenge, there finally came one who could defeat them. William Black slew all three members of the Court and sent them back to the Void."

"The Crawler was furious at the Court for being defeated by Black and vowed that he would reclaim Albion. The Hero became the ruler of Albion after that, earning the title of the Archon. Under his rule the kingdom had a span of great peace, and this peace would have lasted under his offspring's rule as well. But the Crawler changed all that. The Archon was too pure a being to corrupt. His children however were far easier to sway. As the Crawler whispered thoughts of hatred and deceit in their ears, they soon became tyrants and the kingdom of Albion fell into disarray. The Archon's descendants, who called themselves heroes, had become corrupted by the Crawler and again he had gained another hold on Albion."

"This was a dark time in the history of Albion, as it is filled yet again with death, despair, and tyranny. Many believe that the last of the Archons were evil rulers and that they were the cause of the destruction of the Old Kingdom. While this is true, the purpose behind the destruction of the Old Kingdom was a noble one. The final Archon had a resistance to the Crawlers whisperings and was a great seer like myself. The Archon saw Albion's darkness and could see how it should have been. To redeem his ancestor's name and wipe the slate clean he ordered the construction of the Spire. His wish was the one that destroyed the Old Kingdom. Any living descendants of the Archon after this time were few and far between and could not be found by the Crawler."

"The Crawler's grasp on Albion was again broken. Infuriated with himself he retreated into the Void in shame where he sat on his throne and festered for many centuries. He finally decided to rise to power again. He poured all of his darkness and power into the Jack of Blades and again sent him from the Void. When the Jack was again defeated by the man who became known as the Hero of Oakvale, the Crawler became furious and took his revenge on the village that produced this great Hero. He began appearing to a man in the village in his dreams. This man soon became infatuated with the visions he was seeing; visions of immortality and of the future. This is when the Crawler sent the Three back to Albion. However, as punishment for failing him centuries before, the Three were sent back as mere shadows, unable to affect the world in which they existed. They became known now as the Shadow Court. They were the ones who made the deal with the man who became known as Reaver. This deal allowed the Crawler to send his shadow warriors into Oakvale and destroy all that it was. He had now gained a strategic foothold in Albion, which became known as Wraithmarsh. This region was soon infested with Hollow Men, shadow warriors, and banshees."

"The Crawler then attempted to gain control of the device that was responsible for one of his major downfalls; the Spire. He used his powers of persuasion and control to inhabit the mind of a man named Lucien."

The King became alert at the familiar name. "Lucien? The man that my father defeated?"

"Precisely. Now do you see that you are only a small part in an on-going battle between the creature that has vowed to destroy this world? What his true motivation is I cannot see. But after you defeated him by killing Walter he swore to destroy you and to again attempt an attack on our world."

"But how am I supposed to stop him when no one else has been able to?"

"You don't. I do."