In the Land of Darkness


    The curse of Aina yet endured. In every realm where she manifested, her malediction ensnared it, swiftly transforming the land into a barren wasteland, devoid of water and verdure. Darkness shrouded all, as though consumed by fire, reduced to ash and ruin. For thousands of years, her reign over Altin City and dominion over all Earth’s creatures, alongside the Milakafs safeguarding the material realm, had deeply beguiled her, fostering a belief in her supremacy above all. Her misplaced pride led her to rebel against the first Hagan, forging enmity with him. Alongside her, the fiery Milakafs who aided her in this defiance shared her curse. Togus had doomed Aina to tread only lands utterly bereft of hope and joy, manifesting solely in her own desolation—the ruins of Altin City, the fount of creation and rule, cursed alongside her.


    In those ruins, Aina labored to decipher the Tablet of Creation. To this day, she had gleaned little, for the letters concealed their lore from her, and like Arlik, she could only learn through enslaving humans, extracting their letters via their own agency. Without their aid, she could never fathom the letters’ secrets, for they could not shield their knowledge from humankind—whose essence comprised those very letters, unwittingly yielding them to Aina due to their ignorance.


    Moreover, as letters awoke within humans, vast powers were conferred, enabling Aina to curb the White Jimmianuns through them. By humans, she had triumphed in most wars against the Whites.


    Aina had borne four imprisoned Lights of Eternity from Altin City—lights vital to the material realm’s sustenance, upholding existence’s fabric, and controlling all creation. These were the sovereign lights of primal beings, whose pursuit sparked wars among the primeval creatures and the Seven Realms, tempting Dajala’s avarice. Acquiring them led to the Seven Realms’ ruin, for within those lights lay the power of letters, their possessor able to unleash their might through letter-lore.


    To harness these lights, Aina gathered sixteen hundred human sorcerers, amplifying their powers therewith. These sorcerers descended from wizards taught by the scorned Milakafs, their abilities enhanced by Aina.


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    She assembled them in towers hewn beneath Mount Sahand by Black Jimmianuns—caves like a small city, with fearsome, sable spires whose fiery glow lent their visages a tenfold terror.


    The sorcerers, divided into four cohorts, received one light each. The first, with white light, mastered nature’s elements. The second, with green light of creation, wrought beings anew. The third, with red light, dominated their creations and others. The fourth, with violet light, could seize souls.


    Each Realm’s light, aligned with the letters inherent within, was apportioned thus, their unique traits stemming from letter-harmony betwixt lights and groups.


    Only one light, black, eluded the primal sovereigns—it was the Light of Time, held by Hagan since humanity’s rise. This black light governed time and all other lights, nullifying them.


    By the Tablet’s inscriptions and its numbers and letters, Aina partially wielded the lights—a rewritten version of the celestial Tablet, housed in the heavens.


    The Tablet bore a sacred order, penned in the Sky Tongue, or Toradu:


    > *From Togus, a resplendent droplet emerged, and creation began. Thence, a light arose, birthing letters and numbers. Six lights sprang from letters: white, green, red, violet, black, and a light surpassing black, above those five. Each light, in its day, bore fruit, yielding five imprisoned lights, while the light beyond blackness vanished into mystery. Four imprisoned lights were bestowed upon spirits, the Light of Time remaining with letters, reigning o’er all, that creation might endure.*


    Thus read the Tablet’s first part; its second foretold the future:


    > *When the imprisoned Lights of Eternity falter,


    > Creation shall tremble.


    > The lights shall blaze forth.


    > The heavens shall darken,


    > And humankind shall falter.


    > Evil shall engulf the earth,


    > Save one land.


    > The lights shall wane.


    > Fire shall encircle,


    > And consume mankind.


    > Then shall the black light appear.


    > Hagan shall entrust a legacy.


    > The lights shall blaze anew.


    > Mankind shall choose—


    > Annihilation or life.*


    In this prophecy, Aina foresaw her triumph o’er celestial powers, yet Hagan’s legacy threatened her reign. The choice lay with humankind, which Aina sought to dominate, thwarting life’s election to doom them.


    She strove to unravel the letters’ cipher, for within them lay humanity’s choice, yet success eluded her thus far.


    Cloaked in smoke—black as night from her curse—Aina gazed upon the Tablet. Her charred wings and horns, sprouting from shoulders and nape, rendered her a jagged crag. A Black Jimmianun entered, quailing in a corner, for none dared interrupt her deciphering. Aina paused, turning, “What news?”


    The Jimmianun reported, “Today, a usurper breached our realm, but traitors stole him, slaying our envoys sent to reclaim him.”


    Delighted—seeking pretext to shatter the peace with the Whites—Aina rejoiced at the stolen human and slain Blacks, bidding, “Haste—bear word to the White King, summoning him to the Valley of Hell to answer this pact’s breach.”


    The Jimmianun obeyed, departing. Aina, rallying Blacks, journeyed to the Valley, awaiting the White King.