THE CURSE OF AMBERSTAR
The once proud Duchy of Wellington fell to a terrible curse… All because of the dreadful Amberstar.
The Amberstar, gift of the new gods, fell from the skies many years ago. It found shelter within Mount Amberilan, resting in silence for years. One day, it sent forth it’s Teraphins. These messengers of the young gods blessed the land of Wellington and it’s offspring, granting them wisdom and power through strange magics and crafting secrets. In exchange, the Teraphins only requested the sacrifice of rare riches found in the deepest recesses of the earth. “The sacrifice shall be taken to the Teraphim Sanctum”, they said, “By your hands, and your hands alone, and only by your hands shall it be unearthed”. As the years passed, the Dukes would find the strange riches and take them to the steel tower the Teraphim had built to honor the new gods. In exchange, Wellington would receive wisdom and protection.
Soon enough, Wellington was noticed by other nations. Envy and pride played their parts, and soon Wellington was under attack. The Teraphim gave them magic weapons of great, terrible power, and Wellington survived. Around it, nothing stood, though. Broken nations begged mercy, which Wellington offered in exchange of servitude. So terrible was the power wielded by the Dukes that vast areas became scorched and burned to cinders, never recovering.
In time, servitude turned into slavery. Wellington began campaigning further and further, taking riches from other lands and forcing slaves to dig the earth for the sacred alloys in their stead. Such practices brought down the wrath of the young gods, and the Teraphim placed an ultimatum upon Wellington: either they repented from their wicked ways, humbling themselves once more and relieving their slaves of their burden, or the Teraphim would take action against the Dukes and their people.
Wellington didn’t listen. Instead, it gathered its army and tried to invade the Teraphim Sanctum in search of their benefactors, bent to destroy them. The sanctum opened, it’s recesses in silence. The men entered, rage blinding their actions.
No one knows how the battle really went. No one survived. All that is known is that the place was covered in blood when it ended. From that day on, the Teraphim Sanctum became a cursed, forbidden place. But that is not all. Enraged by Wellington’s actions, the Amberstar rose! It flew high into the skies, roaring like the dragons of ancient legends, only to strike the heart of the Duchy… The star sacrificed itself, exploding in a huge cloud of light and dark, rising like a flower and obliterating everything in its path. When it was over, the heart of the Duchy was no more. There were only ashes and bones. Castles, houses, cities, all was in ruins. The fields died, the woods withered, and around the heart of the Duchy, everything became sick. The Amberstar had cursed Wellington, and the land was dying, along with its people.
Now, Duke Conrad, 24th of the Wellington lineage, wants to save his people of the monstrous curse that plagues them. He calls for all heroes willing to brave the cursed recesses of Teraphim Sanctum and Mount Amberilan, breaking the silence and seeking a way to lift the curse.
