This work is a first-day draft. The full opening chapter is in development
Creation of the World
In the beginning, the world was dark and barren. This tale takes place in the First Age of Carpathin, a time long before the kingdoms and cities of men, elves, and dwarfs rose to prominence. The oceans lay still, the rivers were lifeless, and the land stretched flat and empty beneath a silent sky.
Long before the time of Lumora, when the world was dark and cold, Aetheris, the sacred life force of the world, stirred. Seeing the potential for growth and wonder, it sent forth two beings: Lumora, the Light-Bearer, and Malrath, the Shadowed One, created as equal forces to maintain balance in the world.
Lumora moved across the earth and, in a single day, accomplished what nature would have taken a millennium to complete. She made the sun shine, the wind blow, the rain fall, and the land flourish. Wherever her feet touched, life sprang forth. The grass grew beneath her feet, the forests stretched high, and the rivers ran with fresh waters. Animals of every kind roamed the lands, and the skies were alive with birds and light. Lumora was proud of her creations, for the land was no longer barren — it sang with life.
At first, Malrath obeyed the balance. But in time, he became unsettled. He desired more than wandering shadows. Seeing this betrayal, Lumora and Aetheris acted. They banished Malrath eastward, sealing him within the Shadow Mountains in the east, constructing a great wall and a gate guarded by light, where he could no longer taint the lands of men, elves, or dwarfs directly, but his power lingered, dark and patient.
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Dragons and Dragon Stones
With the Shadow sealed but not destroyed, Lumora foresaw that balance alone would not endure. From the living stone, the open sky, and the deepest fires of the world, she created five dragons — beings of immense strength and ancient will. They were neither of light nor shadow, but of balance, bound to the world itself rather than any single power.
To guard the balance and prevent the darkness from spreading, Lumora created the five Dragon Stones, each imbued with a fragment of her light and purpose:
? Pyrrath, the Stone of Fire – granted dragons courage, strength, and the breath of flame.
? Sylvara, the Stone of Wind – gave them speed, agility, and mastery of the skies.
? Aquarin, the Stone of Water – granted resilience, healing, and a connection to rivers and storms.
? Terragos, the Stone of Earth – endowed them with endurance, fortitude, and a bond to mountains and stone.
? Lumaris, the Stone of Light – gave clarity, protection, and a spark of Lumora’s magic to counter the darkness.
Each dragon was bound to its stone, and without them, their full power could not be awakened.
Into five great stones Lumora poured fragments of Aetheris, anchoring the dragons’ essence to the world so that neither they nor their power could fade with time. These Dragon Stones were entrusted to the dragons as both burden and safeguard, ensuring that no force — light, shadow, or mortal ambition — could ever claim dominion unchecked.
The dragons were set to watch the far reaches of the world, the skies, the deep places, and the edges of creation itself. They were not rulers, nor servants, but wardens — silent, patient, and eternal.
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The Guardians
Then Lumora finished her vision of creation and light in full. She created the vast salt mines of Valdrik, weaving her shaping light into the stone and crystal salt to amplify her power across the lands, ensuring the light would endure even against a future darkness.
Then, Lumora created three beings to protect all she had made:
? Queen Elyndra, the Elf – swift of foot and keen of mind, to guard the magical forests of Eryndor, where the oldest trees held secrets of light and life, and to rule the capital city of Thaloryn.
? King Edrik, the Man – strong and wise, to oversee the plains and the central lands of Caelrerh, building halls, trading with the peoples, and tending to the flourishing lands of men, with his capital at Valdrik.
? King Gorvath, the Dwarf – great and powerful, to watch the rivers and southern valleys, keeping the land safe and the people prosperous, ruling over the land of Vorynth.
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After the creation of the guardians, Lumora returned to Aetheris, leaving her essence woven into the mines, the salt, and the living stone, a reservoir of her magic to endure in the world she had created.
For decades, the three ruled their domains in harmony, and the land flourished under Lumora’s light.
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The Rise of Thorgal
Gorvath’s city, Malthorion, the halls of the dwarfs in the quarry of the Vorynth Peaks, shone like a jewel among the mountains. Its towers were carved from the living stone, glittering with embedded magical gems. Great halls of feasting and celebration rang with laughter, the clinking of bronze mugs, and the raucous songs of dwarfs who reveled beneath banners of stone and light. The streets were wide and paved with polished rock, lined with markets where enchanted goods and mountain treasures were traded. Even the Sorynth River sparkled as it ran through the heart of Malthorion.
Meanwhile, King Edrik, devoted to his people, spent many decades working the salt and stone quarry to provide resources for his kingdom. In the course of his work, he stumbled upon a hidden chamber — the resting place of Lumora herself, where her light still lingered in salt and stone. Inspired and awed, he preserved the chamber’s magic, using it to guide and strengthen his people. Over time, his workers carved grand halls of salt and glittering ballrooms, reflecting the light and magic that remained in the quarry.
Meanwhile, Gorvath grew restless. His heart, though bound to the light, harbored ambition and power. He discovered the secrets of magical stones hidden in the Drakarerh Isles in the north, and through visions granted by the corrupting force of desire, he saw how their power could elevate him. Against warning and reason, he traveled secretly through the Land of Shadow in the east, survived the treacherous fogs and unseen dangers, and somehow reached the Northern Isle, where the dragons, the guardians of balance, dwelled.
There, he stole the five Dragon Stones, each a vessel of immense power, and fled the isle before their guardians could stop him.
Returning to his city, he forged the Crown of Vorynth, embedding the five Dragon Stones within it, binding their power to his own. With the crown upon his head, he became Lord Thorgal, the corrupted and powerful Dwarf King, and prepared to claim the unwielded halls of light in Valdrik, seeking to dominate men, elves, and the remnants of Lumora’s guardians.
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Battle for Valdrik
A great battle engulfed Valdrik as Lord Thorgal’s corrupted army surged forth from the south. Shadows clung to their armor, and the air seemed to shiver with the power of their dark master. Flames and steel clashed with the walls and gates, soldiers fell in heaps, and the streets ran with the chaos of desperate struggle.
The dragon, loyal to the Drakthor of Drakarerh, flew overhead but could not breathe fire. Still, it carried soldiers, lifting them into the air and dropping them upon the attackers, making the battle even more perilous.
To survive the intensity of the siege and regroup, Queen Elyndra led her forces deep into the Chamber of Light, hidden within the salt and stone mines beneath the city. There, away from the skies and the dragon’s aerial assaults, she confronted Thorgal directly.
Elyndra’s Sacrifice
Queen Elyndra, bedraggled and weary from the relentless battle, faced Thorgal within the sacred chamber. Though she fought with all her cunning, strength, and the enduring light of her people, the overwhelming darkness pressed against her. She was broken in body, battered by the corruption and power of the crown, yet she did not yield completely.
As Lord Thorgal struck her down, her spirit left her battered form, it joined with the light, illuminating the chamber and the lands above in a blinding surge, a final act of defiance.
Seeing the power of the chamber and fearing Lumora and her power, Lord Thorgal retreated and raised Blad Mountain using his dark powers, creating the Stone Stream, a treacherous path around the mountain so dangerous that any who crossed it, even an entire army, turned to stone.
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The Witches and the Dragon
There, he created three witches, Góra, ?ysa, and Mg?owa, giving them their orders: to capture a dragon, to prevent King Edrik from venturing east, and to locate the remaining two witches he would need to regain his power lost to Thalor. He called them the coven Górze.
The remaining two witches had to be pure of heart at the time of their selection, for their innocence could later be corrupted, just as the first three had been. To bind them fully to his will, he raised five dark stones on the summit of Blad Mountain, one for each witch. These stones were imbued with a fragment of his dark essence, designed so that when all five were brought together, they could summon him to the world in all of his power.
After their work, through their combined power, the dragon was restored its ability to breathe fire, a force that would one day turn the tide against the darkness.
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King Edrik and Thalor
King Edrik, seeing the fate of Elyndra, pursued Lord Thorgal east carrying a shard of the quarry’s salt and light he had taken, braved the Stone Stream alone, as his whole army had been turned to stone.
There at the summit of the Blad Mountain, guided by the spirit of Elyndra, he forged Thalor, a sword of legendary power, created from the Stone Stream, shard of salt, the shard of light of Lumora, and the spirit of Elyndra. Its power was like nothing Thorgal had ever seen. Its creation rang a bell across the land and a flash of light like none had seen since the very first age.
King Edrik attacked Lord Thorgal, connecting with his first strike with the light of Lumora and the spirit of Elyndra he had amassed. Light flashed, he struck Lord Thorgal, immensely powerful though he was, leaving him weakened and forced to retreat farther east.
King Edrik became a Light of Lumora, known as Elyrhar of the Light, and his body turned into a cloud on the side of Blad Mountain, his spirit returning to the chamber to be with his love, Elyndra, and to return the light to Lumora. His essence blew with the wind back to Valdrik, to the great halls of light, salt, and stone.
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Aftermath and Legacy
The witches hunted down the Drakthar, the dragon master, before he could reach Gransk to return home, and they corrupted, using their power, the dragon whose fire had been removed due to the stones, forcing it to live in Lord Thorgal’s lair on Blad Mountain. There, it would attack once a year on the last Thursday of Fervalis to remind the people of the dangers in the east. The Górze went into the world to fulfill his commands, hiding in plain sight, corrupting the innocent, and keeping their dragon under their control.
After their leader fled east, some dwarfs remained in the mountains after the war, while some had fled to the rivers, becoming smaller and humbler, known as the Marshkin. They lived simple lives by the rivers in Marshmere, barefoot, fishing and tending to the land, ashamed of what had transpired. Their main towns included Wodric, Lomwell, Brineford, and Fenhaven, connected by bridges and waterways. Others followed their leader east and became the soldiers of his dark armies.
The people of Caelrerh rebuilt after a 99-year civil war of men, trading with elves, dwarfs, and dragons alike, and a king was finally sworn in in year 149. Over the decades, Elyrhar of the Light was all but forgotten by men, his name fading into myth and legend of Lumora.
Over the centuries, Blad Mountain was forbidden, the quarry sealed, and the great halls of Lumora hidden, and the stories faded into myth. By the year 2000, the lands of Carpathin remembered little of these events — only whispered legends of a light-bearer and Lord Thorgal, who had almost conquered all.
Yet the quarry still waits, the witches still search, and the dragons still rise once each year. The world’s fate remains balanced on the edge of forgotten history, awaiting the day the five witches unite to claim the light of Lumora.
By Gareth Ardernk 20/02/2026
