"Regonian Light: Prologue - Match" by Brian ´Dulcet´ Bergstrom

    Their dulled, worn out blades collided with anger
and fury. Bolts of Light and Darkness filled the room, trying to hit its
opposite side. Both sides had been battling in the same battle arena for
over a thousand years since the beginning of time. On one side was the
Great Light mage, Addim. With his bright white robe, he could see past
any Darkness his opponent would bring him. On the other, was the Great
Dark mage, Malus. With his dark black robe, he could defuse any form of
Light there would be coming from his opponent. Both were extremely powerful.
They were founders of the Light and Dark. Both were sworn enemies of practice.
The battle had been between which side had the right to rule the world
of Candle.

    "Give up you pathetic man!" Malus roared throughout
the arena, "In the end you know I will win. There is no stopping I."

    There was a long pause. Their eyes met at stalemate.
There was no solution now. They were equal in power and rank to each other.
There was no use trying to battle each other. Neither had been winning
or losing the past thousand years.

    As their swords collided once again for the last
time, a thick gray smoke arose from the spark of the collision. Both couldn't
see too well. Malus inhaled some of it for he enjoyed deadly toxins of
any kind, including smoke.

    Addim used his powers of the Light to manage to
see through the smoke. What he saw astounded him. It was a beautiful face
of a woman. Her were eyes glowing bright smoke began to clear. Her face
became more visible.

    "What in the world is going on?" said Addim. Malus
wondered the same exact thing. The reason why he didn't speak was because
her beauty astounded him.

    The face grinned. Her body began to appear through
the smoke. It was the perfect woman's body. Her hair was golden brown with
light blonde streaks.  The wings on her body were smoky and full of
eeriness. Her face was coated with the finest make-up ever seen. Her lips
were red as blood. She wore a dress that was purple and very low cut to
give it that voluptuous look that a man desired. Her arms were average
size. They were a bit pale to try and blend in with her smoke. Over all,
she was very pretty.

    After the very long pause she finally spoke. "You
two are battling over control over the Candle, correct?"

    It took a moment for one of them to respond due
to the complete shock. Their eyes were locked on her body, not on the words
she had just said. They had never seen many females in their day. That
is why.

    "Uh, excuse me, what did you say?" Addim asked,
breaking the silence.

    "I said, are you two battling over the Candle?"
she repeated, irritated.

    "Yes, of course we are battling. What else does
it look like?" Malus said.

    She smirked. "You have to learn to be more kind
to a lady. Especially one that will try to help the both of you out."

    "Help us out? How?" Addim asked.

    "There is a prophecy that will help," she said,
"I am the prophetess, Constance."

    "Constance," Malus mumbled under his breath. What
a lovely name for such a beautiful creature.

    "Wait a moment," Addim said, "Where did you come
from?"

    "From your stalemate. I was created because of your
swords. They produced enough smoke in battle to create me. I am the neutral
side in between Darkness and Light. I am the entity they call Smoke."

    "Ok, but what's this 'Candle' you speak of?" Malus
asked, wondering what it had to do with anything.

    She chuckled, "You mean you don't even know the
piece of land you two have been going after? Quite humorous, quite." She
contained her laughter and continued, "This whole world you two men are
fighting over is the Candle. Addim, you are the flame, which is the entity
of Light. Malus, you are the entity of what a burned out candle is. I,
Smoke, hold you two together so you don't get into major wars like this.
The world is based on this Candle you two created. You two made the Candle
the way it is, not I. This is silly in my opinion. I shouldn't have to
be created just so I can make sure two people are playing nice."

    "Interesting," Addim exclaimed, "What is this prophecy
you speak of?"

    Constance eyed the two men with a slight grin. She
knew very well her doing would benefit in time to come.

    "One day there will be a war mage of Dark blood.
That war mage shall become one of the Light," she said, saying it in a
wise mysterious tone.

    The two Lords looked at each other. What did this
mean? How could it happen?

    Constance smiled, "Would you like me to explain,
or are you gonna just stand there and look at each other in awe until the
end of time?"

    "Yes, of course we'd love you to explain," Addim
exclaimed, "What exactly does it mean?"

    The woman grinned, "I think I'd better set up barriers
in the Candle for you to better understand."

    "Barriers? What barriers?" Malus roared.

    "Well, have you two ever thought of dividing the
land evenly?"

    Addim sighed, "No we haven't. How stupid of us."

    "War isn't everything, you know."

    "War is everything, bitch! We've been fighting over
the same friggin' land for centuries. Now stop stalling and set up these
damn barriers so we can be informed over this stupid prophecy," Malus said,
starting to get angered by her presence.

    "Alright, alright. Don't be so frustrated. You have
plenty of time you know."

    "But time can be crucial with things like this,"
Addim pointed out.

    "Not if it won't matter until it actually starts."

    "What do you mean?" Malus asked.

    "Never mind. Let me get to work before you two cause
another war," Constance said, floating up into the sky.

    She formed two gigantic blast of both Dark and Light
forces. The bits of Light and Dark gathered together, in the middle, to
form a giant massive wall. It was over five hundred feet high and a mile
thick. Made out of a magically, protective rock called retta, it clearly
divided the east and west into two. The north end of the wall reach as
far north as the mountains she created. It reached as far south as the
sea she created.

    A gate appeared in the center of the land and wall. 
Constance used all her strength and power to form it. It wasn't easy messing
around with retta. Her power was just strong enough to burst through it
once and create the gate.

    On the west side of the gate was Malus. On the other
side of the gate, the East was Addim. Both were absolutely confused of
what was going on. Neither had seen this kind of great power before. They
knew only theirs and their opposite powers.

    "Now," Constance exclaimed, "You, Addim will have
the eastern half of the land. It shall be called the Light Realm. And you,
Malus, shall have the western half of the land called the Dark Domain.
Any questions so far?"

    "Yeah," Malus said, "What does all this have to
do with this prophecy you were talking about?"

    "Why, everything. Without this set up I have planned
the prophecy could never happen," she answered.

    "Yes, but what now?" Addim asked.

    "Now, you create your own ideal culture within one
year. When you're done with that, you will be exiled as spirits in the
opposite realm."

    "Why?" Addim asked, "Why do we have to be exiled
into the opposite realms? Why can't we stay in the culture we created?"

    "I will explain that part once you have your cultures,"
Constance exclaimed, "Then you will see my reasoning for the way I do things."

    Malus grumbled, "That's some pretty messed up reasoning."
His voice was just loud enough for her to hear that.

    "You want something messed up? I'll show you messed
up," she said, preparing her power with her words.

    She raised her arms and slowly moved them closer
together. What she had done, magically, was shrink the two worlds. Her
power was that great. The remaining space that was shrunk was turned into
a death-like boundary. She named it Death's Boundary. It extended up until
the mountains. The land stretched over five thousand square miles, now,
not including Death's Boundary.

    "What'd you do that for, bitch?" Malus yelled.

    "To show you that if you don't respect me, you shall
die," she said, sharply.

    "Bring it on!" Malus was asking for trouble.

    "Malus, stop. You're just making it worse for all
of us. Let her do her business," Addim told him.

    Constance smiled, "Thank you Addim. I shall reward
you by expanding your area." She raised her arms and did so. She was amazing.

    "Ok, so now that we got this area conflict solved,
how do we go about creating our own culture?"

    "Any way you want to," Constance said.

    "May we use you to help start of the population?"
Malus asked, grinning.

    "Don't push it," she warned. Her eyes narrowed on
him. He wasn't starting off too good. "My power will take care of that.
Just imagine your dream culture, how you want things to be, and it's as
easy as that."

    "Oh," they both said. How can it be that simple?
Well, it was.

    Malus started off by creating his realm with its
essence filled with evil. They were no specific laws he created. He imagined
a world where everybody fought to his or her deaths. Men, women, and children
participated. No one was left in peace.

    First, he created a capitol, Malusrin, named after
him. The population was quite large. It surrounded a magnificent palace.
Though, the palace would only last a couple months before the city would
overthrow it and turn independent. The ruler he put in charge was assassinated.
It became the capitol of the Dark.

    The people worshipped the practice of evil spells.
Their deity was Malus. The people never knew what Malus really looked like.
He set it up so he was an invisible evil spirit that only the greatest
of all the Dark warriors could see him.

    Malus also created a mystical moon called Moonrem.
It would be their only source of light, if any. The rest was all in Darkness.

    On the eastern side of the land, Addim created a
very peaceful society. He taught his people moral values and lessons in
fighting. He didn't encourage it.

    His cultures were different and unique. Each culture
had their own way of living. They didn't really have extreme warrior standards
like the Dark Domain had. Instead, Addim based his society on justice and
moral rights.

    He created his own laws. These laws served an importance
purpose. They were set up to give society a structure, a base to look off
of. The laws were very strict as well. If one disobeyed a law, they would
have to serve their ruler for life.

    He created a world where peace was everything. Hate
had never been spoken. Only the voices of the dead whispered it.

    Once the two lords were done creating their worlds,
they met back at the gate. Constance was waiting for them. She had been
watching over the wall of what they had been doing. She smirked.

    "Ok, we're done," Addim said, "Now what's this prophecy
mean? And how will it affect the winner?"

    "I will be honest with you both. The prophecy is
very powerful. Not even I can tell you exactly what it means. It is beyond
my power. But my power is strong enough to tell me that the Dark warrior
that practices the Light will decide who the winner is."

    "Will he or she know the winner?"

    "No," she replied. "No one will know of the prophecy
but us. It is to be kept secret. If you tell a single soul, I will know,
and you will lose."

    "You mean we did all this for a guess? That's--"

    "All you can do," she finished.

    "So what do we do now?" Addim asked.

    "I told you. Now you both will be exiled into the
opposite worlds."

    "Why?" Malus asked.

    "I cannot tell you until you both switch. I will
speak to you privately once you cross."

    "How do we know this isn't all some big trick of
yours?" Malus asked, angered.

    "I have no desire to rule the Candle. I have no
reason to either. It is up to you two to be rulers," she said.

    She then crossed her arms and spread them. Within
seconds, Addim was in Dark Domain and Malus was in the Light Realm. They
both were amazed yet again on her power.

    She first went to Malus. She knew he needed the most
guidance. She approached him slowly, knowing he might try to strike her
because he hated the situation as it was.

    "Hello, Malus," she said, smiling.

    "Now what?" he replied in a rough voice. "You basically
ruined everything. How are we supposed to start over again?"

    "Ruin?" she said in a confused voice. "All I want
to do is help you out. Trust me. I know this is the only way. My power
just cannot tell the meaning of it all."

    "Yeah," he said, "what's this special instruction?"

    "My power has told me to be aware of a rose."

    "A rose?" he boasted. "How's a mere thing like that
gonna affect me?"

    "In more ways than you can imagine," she grinned,
"A rose is more deadlier than you think."

    "Do you know what the rose means?" he asked.

    "All I see is a Candle with a rose on is right side.
The right side of the map symbolizes the Light Realm. What's on the other
side is for Addim to know."

    "How do you know it's warning?"

    "I sense fear around it," she answered. "That must
be a warning."

    "What if your wrong?" he said. "What if this whole
prophecy of yours is false?"

    "Then you act like men." Her words faded as she
went to the other side.

    As she floated down into the Dark Domain, where Addim
was, she greeted him with a smile. It was warm and welcoming. But Addim
had no idea what she had meant by the smile. Had she come with good news?
Had he won? No, it couldn't be that simple. Her word on the prophecy must
stand. That was the only way.

    "Hello," she said, still smiling, "I like your world
you set up. It is very nice indeed. I can see it will soon be a great deal
of importance in time to come. But I'm not quite sure if it will affect
the prophecy or not. Only time will tell."

    "Is that why you came here? To tell me how great
my land was?" he asked.

    "No, not in the least. I came here to tell you to
be on the look out for a town called Regonia. Yes, Regonia. This town will
be where you shall find the destined war mage in the prophecy."

    "How do you know this?" he asked, confused.

    "I know it because I sense great triumph within
its area, I see a Lighter part than any other area. That's what tells me."

    "Is there anything else?"

    "Well, on the left side of my image of the Candle,
I see a dark shadow. My senses tell me for you to be very aware of it.
It shall do you a great deal of harm if you don't."

    "What does all of this mean?" he asked.

    "I only know what I told you. You have the better
advantage over Malus right now. You know the area where the young war mage
will appear,” she said, sighing.

    "Yes, but what will this war mage does?"

 

    Years passed and eventually the worlds had settled
into their own comfort. Addim and Malus had no questions to Constance after
she left them. But she didn't really leave them. She was in the Dark Domain,
watching everything that went on.

    Both Addim and Malus had become holy gods on their
worlds, even though no one had ever seen or knew they existed. The Light
had their Lord of the Light, Addim. And the Dark had their Lord of the
Dark, Malus.  Neither knew that their greatness was pronounced on
the opposite side. But they were mere legends. No one knew they actually
existed.

    A day was only dark in the Dark Domain. No one rested
nor had gotten a wink into anything. Men worked their hinds off just to
live.

    A man named Rhikin Regona was tired of all the mess
that was going on. Most of his family had died in wars. His brothers and
sisters died as they came. No one anywhere he knew was in any kind of comfort.
He hated that.

    He gathered up a few men who were drunk and decided
to search the world and find a new place. Perhaps a place where men don't
fight as much. The men he gathered agreed to do it only because they were
half asleep and incredibly drunk. They brought their wives with them. Rhikin
needed help exploring. He needed men to carry equipment and such. The wives
needed to bare children to help start a new life, a new way of living.
This job was not a one-man job.

    Their whole civilization revolved around a bit of
land that was only about eighteen square miles. There had never been an
exploration of any sort outside the capitol city and the surrounding towns.
No one ever needed to. No one ever dared to. No one except Rhikin Regona
that is.

    He and his men traveled for miles and miles in search
of a good peace of land to settled down at. They searched high as well
as low but no land smooth or flat enough could be found. Most was all rugged
terrain.

    Finally, one of his men spotted a forest. They hadn't
seen many trees on their trek. If they had, they were all dead and barren.
In the middle of the forest was a large piece of land suitable for settling.
They set their start there.

    They wondered what to name this small new town.
They had never had the option before. One man decided to name it after
the man who brought them it all, Rhikin Regona. Rhikin wasn't really a
good name for a town, so they used his last name, Regona. The name of the
town was then known as Regonia.

    Cottages and cabins were built. So were families
and smiles. The air was filled with hope and dreams. The lived in true
happiness, peace, and harmony. Rhikin's dream had come true.

    One night as Rhikin fell asleep, a shadow fell in.
It was dark and gloomy. Sneaky too. It moved as slow as movement would
let it. Rhikin had no idea of its presence. His dreams of hope blocked
his senses.

    The room got colder and much more uncomfortable.
The shadow's presence definitely affected it. Rhikin struggled to try and
ignore it. But the shadow's cool breath of air was no match for Rhikin's
flaming hope.

    The shadow quickly did the same to all the other
members of Regonia and put them into a low pit cell. The thump of his landing
woke Rhikin up.

    "What's going on?" he shouted.

    The cold dark air replied in a wispy voice. "The
time for your creation to live its true beauty is now. Your peace means
nothing. This is the Dark Domain, after all. I will show the world how
to explore. I will be credited for finding Regonia."

    "But it's mine! I found it!"

    "Pitiful fool," the shadow, replied, "You should
have brought a warrior with you."

    "In peace you need none," Rhikin said.

    "You need one now, don't you?"

    Rhikin's face was beat red. How dare this villain
destroy all they had?

    "Why do you do this to us?" a voice from the frozen
bodies said. "We do no harm to anybody."

    "You harm the system."

    "What do you mean?" asked Rhikin.

    "This whole world is supposed to be evil. Your adventure
outward for peace summoned me. I was created by this awful dream of yours."

    "But how?"

    "That I do not know myself. All I know is that you
will be kept here until someone finds you I suppose. But with my power,
I doubt that will happen." Its voice seemed filled with wicked joy. "I
will, however, grant you the privilege of living at your present age until
that time."

    "Why? Why are you doing this?" said another voice.

    "Evil," it answered.

    They were then sealed in the underground dungeon
in the dark.

    Addim came and saw what this shadow had done. His
mouth swung wide open as he witnessed it. How could the Dark do such a
thing? Then it finally hit him. Constance told him to be aware of a shadow.
He didn't understand it, but now he had. He had seen what evil the shadow
had done.

    Addim quickly went over to the dungeon cell. He
raised his arms to cast a release spell. He was the most powerful mage
on the west side of the gate. Surely he'd be able to unlock the dungeon.

    The white light from his hands surrounded the dungeon.
The bolts of Light tried to pierce into the stronghold. The prison was
well underground, but Addim's power could not dig deep enough to see the
dungeon. The shadow's power blocked any entry. How could this be? Constance
said he was one of the most powerful mages. What had the shadow done? What
possible purpose could it serve?

    Addim knew what Rhikin had done was probably apart
of the prophecy. The only thing that puzzled him was that Constance said
the destined one would be a mage. Rhikin was no mage. What purpose could
the shadow's dungeon have on the prophecy?

    Addim searched the land everywhere. He could not
find this dark mysterious shadow. It couldn't possibly be Malus. Malus
was put away into the Light Realm. Constance's power would only allow the
destined mage to cross. The shadow was definitely the one Constance warned
him about. He felt bad for he had no gotten to the scene in time. The shadow's
power was too strong for Addim to interrupt. It was a mystery indeed.

    He searched desperately throughout the Dark Domain
for Constance as well. But she was hiding, waiting for her time to appear.
Addim or Malus did not know it, but she would hide until the destined one
did his deed.