The Ever-shadow was broken.
The Black Onyx had stood for a millennium, and throughout it all he had stood watch. His shadow towering over his city, all-powerful, and without defeat. No army had ever taken his spires since he had raised them himself. No assassin made it even close to his heart. Not a soul had lived, or died, without his say. A perfect city. A perfect rule for close to it’s entire existence.
And yet, he had been betrayed.
He had no idea how, or even why. But he knew it was so. Betrayal. Some back-stabbing worm of a creature had crept past his oversight. He knew it deep in his bones, that somehow, something had been missed. The Realmgate within his city, allowing them trade and power, had never been breached without his say, on the opposite side was ward after ward, put down by hundreds of years of sorcerers, witches, vampires and necromancers. And yet that scourge had made his way through. All this he knew as he pushed his mount through the city towards the hidden realm-portal. Blood was pouring by some arcane summons throughout the city. Rising, burning, it dulled the beauty of the streets as it tore through the death magic that kept his people strong and safe. With one last glance behind him, vowing vengeance already on this ancient of enemies, Vladan took hold of the portal, his bloodied hands seeping into the magical wards and gaining him access, he fell into the portal.
The moment he stepped through, as he fell through the eather between worlds, he felt the rippling of Shyishian magic. Unknown to him, the Necroquake’s great explosion ripped right past him. Right through him. The timing was close to impossible. Blooming the eather around him, he burst into blue flame. Screaming without end, his skin seemed to shear away from his bones. His teeth bit into his mouth and blood poured from eyes as well as fangs. A furnace of arcane magics burnt him to his bone, and he fell to the other side of the portal.
Blackened and wracked in pain Vladan lay on cold stone. His skin lay silent, his mind a fog, his blood cooler then the air around him, he knew his power was lost. His great blade lay dull, magic and power lost as with him.
The Ever-shadow lay, still, in pitch darkness, the smell of his still-burning skin filtering through the black around him.