Far in the northern region of Hjalfar, where travelers are seldom seen, a citadel lay deep in the mountains.

A man dressed in a long, black robe meandered the vast halls of the long-forgotten citadel of Valdis. He eventually seated himself in a throne located in a large hall and made use of the armrests that had been built into it. His long, black robe draped over the edges, while the holes and tears near the hem gently kissed the floor. Around his neck hung a necklace with an eye carved into a small, round crystal.

As he sat, he stared straight ahead of him from under his hood, through the eye-slits in his mask, as a deep, purple glow shone through. He thought about the world outside his fortress, as it had been years since he had been in a town or castle with humans present.

As the memories returned, he sighed heavily, the breath that seeped through the mask he wore formed a small misty cloud in front of his face. His eyes glowed violet, drawing from the Underworld, as he poured the dark mana into the breath he released, forming a small talon which rotated in the air in front of him like it was on display.

After a few moments of inspection, he released the talon, the dark mana dispersing into the air around where it once was in a violet mist.

I grow tired of waiting for that idiot to return from the communication chamber. Perhaps I should remind him why he’s still alive, he grinned maliciously, pleased with the thought.

He noticed there was a thin layer of mist that floated just above the stone floor, indicating that it was a much colder day than usual in the snow-ridden land. Even though he never felt the effects of the cold, it still prevented any overly curious travelers from reaching its location easily.

He stared above him into the high arches of the Great Hall that were bathed in violet light that reached the height of the citadel directly above his throne. It lit up the walls of bent horns made from an unknown metal, which hung the heads of various types of formidable creatures. Wyrms, ochelons, glicks, and many other types of such beast trophies were present.

These creatures were once heralded as the greatest in the Continent. Now, look at them. Reduced to nothing but trophies, staring into the abyss of an unforgiving world, praying nothing stares back at them; but I am, he thought.

Pouring mana into his mask, he formed a large, scarlet claw attached to his arm and raked it against one of the many trophies, its silent screams of agony were translated into those of shattering bones. The entire hall seemed to flex and bend with his mana as he did so, shifting the violet hue uncomfortably against the thick supporting pillars that lined the Great Hall.

Releasing his hold over the mana, he realized that there was the sound of faltering footsteps at the far end of the Hall, which he immediately recognized.

Ah, the prodigal idiot returns, he grinned.

The young man came up to the foot of the steps that led to the throne, ignoring the destroyed trophy nearby, and kneeled. “My lord, I bring news from Coltend,” the young man said, visibly exhausted. “Catch your breath and be out with it,” he sneered impatiently, sending a shiver down the man’s spine.

Just as I thought, he’s pissed, the man thought through clenched teeth.

Athar, the young man, breathed heavily for a few beats, his long dark hair rising and falling along with his broad shoulders.

“My lord, the kings of the Continent have decided to join forces to find a way to close the portals,” he said nervously. “Ah, so that’s why the council had been called,” the Masked One realized. “Those idiots should have tried that centuries ago, when monsters first entered the realm and the gods still gave a damn about them,” he sighed.

Well, at least I’m not the only one he thinks is an idiot, Athar mentally shrugged.

“King Truls still rules in Coltend, does he not?” the mage asked distractedly. “He does, my lord,” Athar nodded. “Ah, I’m surprised that the arrogant narcissist has decided to take action for once,” the Masked One raised his eyebrows beneath his mask. “I’m surprised you’re surprised,” Athar muttered. The Masked One didn’t hear the comment, and if he did, he simply didn’t care much for it.

“You have done well, for once,” the mage rose from his throne, glaring at him imperiously. “Come with me, I’d like to show you something as a reward,” he continued, his last word striking Athar as more cryptic than inviting. “M-Might I ask what it is you would like to show me, my lord?” he stammered.

“No,” the Masked One snapped, making the young man flinch. “Simply follow me, and you will see,” he said impatiently, dragging his long robe behind him as he walked past the still-kneeling man. Athar rose to his feet and scurried behind his master, carefully avoiding the trailing robe.

If I step on that, he’s definitely going to kill me, Athar moved his foot away just in time to avoid doing just that.

“You know, you’re the first non-beast I’ve ever shown this part of my tower,” the Masked One said, making Athar both uncomfortable and curious. “I-I’m honored, my lord,” he replied with an unseen nod. His master led him down a side hall to a large metal door with a ward over it. Undoing it quickly, the Masked One pushed it open to reveal a spiraling flight of stairs that radiated the violet light much more intensely than the halls above.

Athar gazed downwards to the bottom, and could only hope to think that whatever was there wasn’t meant for him, for the sounds he could hear resonating through the unlit hallway were gut-wrenching. “Come,” the Masked One said and began down the stairway, with Athar reluctantly following as closely as he dared.

I don’t have much of a choice here. We all die someday, I suppose, but this is still better than stealing food off the streets, he shrugged.

Reaching the bottom of the violet stairway, the Masked One poured mana into yet another ward, this one spanning the large threshold that could easily fit a small house beneath it.

It wasn’t there to prevent others from getting in; rather, it stopped whatever was behind it from getting out.

“You might have some difficulty passing through the ward otherwise, so I’ve reduced its potency momentarily,” the Masked One noted over his shoulder as he easily passed through the threshold. “Thank you, my lord,” Athar bowed. Given his master’s consideration, Athar thought it would be easy to pass through. However, that wasn’t the case as his nose quickly squished against his face.

Damn it, is he really that much stronger than me? Athar rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, I forgot to mention that you might want to put your hand through it first,” his master said, trying to hide his evident annoyance.

That would have been nice to know, the young man thought, doing as instructed.

After forcing his way through the barrier with a grunt of exertion, he nearly stumbled as he struggled to pull his foot out from the ward’s grasp. He felt a surge of pride ripple through him as he finished pulling the remainder of his leg out, however, the sudden release of the force caused him to fall flat on his ass.

His master sighed without looking behind him and continued walking as he shook his head.

As Athar got to his feet and dusted himself off, he took a look at his surroundings. His eyes opened wide at the sight of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of individual cages that lined the walls.

They’re monsters; all of them, his breath halted when his mind finally comprehended what he was looking at.

Inside the cages, there was no shortage of magnificent and terrifying beasts. Some tried to break the bars to their cages to eat him whenever they walked past one, making him flinch at the sight of claws or tusks slammed into the thick bars. Growls, snorts, sneers, and maniacal cackles rippled throughout the cages as they passed them.

“They can’t reach you from there, but I’d keep an eye on the addia over there,” the Masked One said, pointing at a large, empty cage. The young man looked over at it, but failed to see anything. He decided to move a step closer to see if his eyes had betrayed him.

Was that a ripple I saw in the air? Or, maybe… his thoughts cut off as one of the creature’s large tentacles seemingly appeared out of thin air to lash at him.

“Oh, fuck!” he stumbled with the force his master used to pull him away, landing on his back. “You really are an idiot. If I say don’t go there, I fucking mean it,” the Masked One growled above him. “U-Understood,” Athar nodded quickly, getting a groan of annoyance from his master as he turned and continued down the long line of cages.

That was a bit too close for comfort, the Masked One thought with a mental sigh.