Arcane Alchemy:The forbidden Rites

Prologue/200 years ago

Long ago, the peace of the world was threatened. by something ancient. By something that had no name… until humans learned to fear it.

They came in many shapes,some crawling on twisted limbs, some slithering. They fed on life.

They came to be called Umbrals.

At first, only the Ferals appeared,mindless, ravenous creatures driven by pure instinct. Then came the Shades, Umbrals clever enough to steal human faces and walk unseen among villages.

For centuries, humanity survived only because the Mages stood against them. Light against shadow. Will against hunger. Spell against claw.

But everything changed the day a Wraithlord emerged.

It was not Feral. It was not Shade. It was something far worse,an Umbral born with intelligence, purpose, and unimaginable power.

It spoke. It strategized. And it slaughtered.

The greatest mages of the age gathered to stop it… and they fell, one after another, as though their magic was nothing more than sparks in a storm.

Desperation swept across the kingdoms.

And so the king, with no army strong enough and no mage powerful enough, turned to his last hope. He summoned his most trusted Arcanist and gave him a single command,

“Go to the Cave of Abyssal depth. Beg the ancient beings for aid.”

The Arcanist journeyed for weeks,across mountains, deserts, and lands haunted by Umbrals,until he reached the cave. A place older than any kingdom, older than magic itself.

Inside, the ancient beings listened to his plea. And they warned him:

“The power we grant will come with a price. Once created, this relic will tempt the hearts of men.”

But humanity stood at the brink of extinction. So the mage accepted.

The beings focused their chi,raw, ancient, and overwhelming,shaping a relic not from stone, but from pure winter itself…

The Ice Stone.

A relic that granted impossible strength. A relic that could breathe life into the dead. A relic that could shift souls between bodies.

Armed with the Ice Stone, the mage returned and faced the Wraithlord. Their battle shook the very earth. And in the end, the Wraithlord fell. The Umbrals were driven back into the dark from which they came.

Peace returned…

But the Ice Stone remained.

And as the ancient beings had warned, men began to covet it. Greed spread like a sickness. Nations whispered of immortality. Kings dreamed of rewriting fate itself.

So, to protect the world from mankind’s own hunger,

the king ordered that it be hidden.

*********

“Do you think we lost them?” Asha asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Probably,” Eamon muttered, glancing over his shoulder.

For a while, the only sound was the steady thud of hooves against the damp earth. Fog filled the silent forest that night.

“Do you think he was right?” Eamon finally asked.

“The king?” Asha turned slightly toward him.

“Yes,” Eamon said, his tone filled with doubt. “To order us to destroy it,the Ice Stone. It’s the heart of our power, the core of all healing,Alchemy and Arcane.”

Mage Tavian, older and sterner than both, tightened his grip on the reins. “Because too many have died chasing it,” he said. “Because men who taste that kind of power forget they are men.”

“The Ice Stone,” Asha murmured,her gaze dropping to the chest strapped against her saddle“the source of life… the bringer of death. They say it can bind souls, even bend the laws of death itself.”

Eamon snorted. “And yet here we are,running to hid it like cowards.”

“No,” Tavian snapped. “We are saving what’s left of this world.”

“It’s about necessity. If the Stone falls into the wrong hands….”Tavian said.

Asha shivered. “Then we can’t fail.”

Tavian nodded grimly. “We won’t. Not while we still draw breath.”

A branch snapped somewhere in the dark.

All three froze.

Eamon’s hand went to his sword at his belt. “We’ve been followed.”

Figures slipped out of the fog,It was assassins, their blades glinting.

“Get out of here!” Tavian barked as he swung down from his horse, drawing his sword.

“But”

“Go, Asha!” he roared, slashing at the first attacker. “Now!”

Asha’s eyes darted between them,Tavian and Eamon already locked in combat, magic flaring through the mist. Her hands trembled as she clutched the chest tighter against her.

“Go!” Eamon shouted, his voice breaking through the chaos.

Asha hesitated for only a heartbeat,then she kicked her horse and fled into the forest. Branches whipped at her face, and the wind roared in her ears.

But she didn't stop.

Asha’s horse lunged through the trees, She clutched the chest to her chest, praying Tavian and Eamon were still alive,praying she wasn’t too late.

Then,

TWANG,

An arrow lodged into her horse.

The horse screamed as it buckled,

Asha hit the ground hard.

Pain shot through her shoulder as she rolled across the damp leaves. Her horse collapsed beside her with a dying groan, the arrow buried deep in its flank. The chest slipped from the saddle and burst open. The Ice Stone spilled out, its pale blue glow flickering like a heartbeat.

Asha lunged forward,her fingers closed around it just as the shadows closed in.

Boots crunched against the soil. Dark figures emerged from between the trees, forming a tightening circle around her. Steel glinted. Someone laughed softly.

Then one assassin stepped forward.

He revealed his face.

Asha’s breath caught in her throat. “Lorian…?” Her voice cracked with disbelief.

“You traitor,” she spat, holding the Stone close to her chest. “You betrayed the King. You betrayed Tavian. Eamon”

“I betrayed no one,” Lorian cut in. “I am preventing a mistake. A terrible one.”

Asha shook her head, fury rising. “You attacked us.”

“Because you’re running to seal the Ice Stone,” Lorian said simply. “A relic that holds power men have dreamed of for centuries. Power enough to reshape kingdoms, rewrite fate… even conquer death.” His eyes glimmered with hunger.

Asha backed up until her boots hit the fallen horse. “No man should possess the Stone’s power. Not you. Not the King. No one.”

Lorian chuckled. “That is where you’re wrong. Someone will possess it. Someone always tries. Better it be in the hands of those strong enough to use it… instead of fools who fear it.”

“You don’t understand what you’re unleashing,” Asha whispered.

He raised a finger as if correcting a child. “I understand perfectly.” He stepped closer. “Give me the Stone, Asha. Do not make this harder than it needs to be.”

She tightened her grip. “Never.”

Lorian shrugged. “well then,i guess i will have to take it by force.”

But before he could take another step,

A sharp crack was heard in the forest.

Every assassin turned toward the sound. Even Asha froze.

Something moved there.

At first, it was only shadows. Then the shadows stepped forward.

Their bodies were white as snow. Dark veins were visible beneath their pale skin. Their eyes were turned over.

Their mouths hung open,as if ready to devour their preys.

Their fingers scraped against bark and dirt, leaving long claw-like marks.

Everyone froze.

Its face was slack and hollow, lips torn as though it had screamed for too long, too hard. Wisps of pale breath curled from its mouth like escaped souls fleeing its ruined body.

Then, in the suffocating silence,

It tilted its head…

…and released a piercing, unnatural SCREECH.