The Song of the Revenant
Once upon a time, in an ancient kingdom named Avastus, nestled between mounting cliffs and never-ending emerald plains, a great royal court echoed with sumptuous banquets, and many a story about their gallant knights. The heart of these tales, sung by the court minstrel, invariably revolved around the wise and kindly King Alistair and his brave son, Prince Casimir.
One day, a mysterious figure, draped in a cloak so black it seemed to swallow the light, arrived in Avastus. The enigmatic stranger went by the name Moros. He went straight to King Alistair and requested his only son in exchange for immortality. The King, taken aback by the audacious demand, dismissed the stranger, who disappeared into the night, leaving in his wake a chilling promise of dire repercussions.
Prince Casimir, intrigued and defiant, waited for his father, the king, to retire and then ventured into the night seeking Moros. The royal court was abuzz with worry the following morning as they discovered the valiant prince missing. Days turned into weeks, then months, but the prince was nowhere to be found, and despair slowly encroached the once-jubilant kingdom.
Meanwhile, Casimir found himself in Moros's realm, an otherworldly place with an uncanny tranquillity. The prince was put through harrowing trials of sorcery and the arcane arts. He learned enchantments and spells, runes and relics, and the secret divination of stars. However, the most fantastic yet stark revelation was that Moros wasn't a harbinger of doom but a custodian of balance between the mortal realm and the world beyond.
One day, a visceral scream echoed across the realm, reaching Moros and Casimir. A Revenant, a creature born out of aberrant magic and vile intentions, had broken loose, consuming realms and displacing realities in its path. Moros sacrificed himself to buy time for Casimir, transferring his centuries of arcane knowledge to the young prince while the Revenant loomed closer.
Back in Avastus, hope was waning. The minstrel's songs were now filled with lamentation and sorrow, mirroring the kingdom's gloomy atmosphere. At the stroke of midnight, as King Alistair mourned his son's loss in the solitude of his chambers, a bright streak tore across the sky, culminating in a radiant spectacle at the heart of the courtyard.
With the last strains of Moros's magic and his newly acquired skills, Casimir had returned. He stood tall, his visage a mask of determination, battle-ready, with flaming runes marking his arms. He had become a mystical warrior, a stark contrast from the naïve prince. But the real test had just begun. The Revenant had followed him home.
The battle was titanic, with the raw storm of mystical energy that tinged the sky a vibrant array of colours. Even in its hideous form, the Revenant brought a strange mesmerising beauty. The kingdom watched in frozen suspense as Casimir, wielding an ethereal blade, charged at the monstrosity.
With a calculated strike, he severed the Revenant's reality thread, making it blink out from existence. The light faded, leaving an eerily silent night. The kingdom held its breath in the quiet, but then the prince stirred, and a roar of victory erupted, breaking through the silence.
The kingdom of Avastus rejoiced, and the court minstrel sang once more, not songs of lamentations, but a tune that commemorated their lost prince's return, his journey, his transformation, and the victory of light over darkness. Throughout the realm, they sang of Prince Casimir, the royal scion turned savior.
The prince did not become a king for ages eternal, but he had something more profound: the respect and love of his people, humility and wisdom he'd gained through his trials, and the story- keeper, the minstrel, who would ensure that his tale was told for generations to come.
And thus, Avastus survived and thrived, its citadel stood unperturbed, its stories grew, and amongst them, the most beloved: The Song of the Revenant.