The Forgotten Scribe of Arkalon🔊

In the mythical city of Arkalon, nestled between the graying mountains and the azure sea, lived an insignificant scribe named Edwan, who was a mere witness to the magnificence of the kingdom. Constricted in the armory of knowledge, the hallway of histories, known to us as the Royal Library, Edwan chronicled the lives of powerful kings and influential queens.

Edwan was an ordinary man, in his mid-thirties, with unkempt hair and a constantly worried face. His eyes, a sparkling gray, held wisdom that seemed untold. Throughout the kingdom, he was known to be quiet, introverted, almost invisible. His life ended and began in the library, within the confines of parchment and ink.

However, there resided in his heart a soaring ambition. He wanted to be remembered, not as a mere chronicler of history, but as an individual of significance. Neither did he crave the throne nor did he want abundant wealth. He wished to etch his name in the annals of time, not for ego but to reassure himself that he had lived.

One churning winter night, while he was reciting his thoughts to the moon, Sibyl, the mystical enchantress of Arkalon, appeared before him. She was known for her grandeur and her magical capabilities that could alter destiny. Looking at Edwan's desperation, she felt pity and proposed a curse-disguised boon. She granted him his ambition, promising him that his name would be remembered but at the cost of his existing life. Unaware and blinded by his ambition, Edwan consented to her words.

Morning dawned, and amidst the churning sea waves crashing on the rocky Arkalon coast, the city woke to an anomaly. Edwan was found missing. However, just as Sibyl had promised, his name was now being whispered everywhere. His disappearance spawned theories and expeditions. Edwan, now immortal in memory, but seemingly eradicated from existence, became a paradox.

However, a mystery even greater was waiting to unfold. The glossy inks and lyres began to record tales of a mysterious entity, 'The Invisible Scribe of Arkalon,' who chronicled the history of the kingdom with an invisible hand. These writings were nothing short of masterpieces. Captivating tales sprouted brought to life in extraordinary detail and from perspectives that were deemed impossible. Such archival grandeur could only belong to Edwan, the vanished scribe. The city was perplexed, intrigued, in awe, and terrified all at once.

Edwan's existence was now merely intangible, yet his spirit continued to pen narratives in the silence of the library. Kings and queens came and passed, making their mark, with Edwan documenting their reigns, sacrificially etching their stories and his own invisibility.

Years turned into decades, decades transformed into centuries, and still, the Invisible Scribe held a much-acclaimed place in Arkalon's lore. The lonely library became a shrine, visited by thousands, narrating the legends of the unseen scribe and showcasing the bound volumes of tales written by the invisible hand.

Edwan's wish stood fulfilled, albeit ironically. His name echoed in Arkalon; his memory inadvertently became a piece of history. More remembered than any king or queen, he attained his purpose, and yet the sorrow of his non-existence seeped into the parchment through his unseen tears. But Edwan's story passed from generation to generation as a timeless tale of wishes, dreams, and the price they sometimes demand.

And there, between the cobwebs of time and cryptic ink blots, in the immortal pages of his creation, lives Edwan; not visible to the eyes but resonant in the whispers of the wind. His life is a reminder that immortality is often an expensive game marinated in melancholy, showing that often, what we want might hold an unseen cost that is only revealed when it is too late.