The World of Alagana

The great king of old, King Jenthius, ruled time and space from a palace in the Sky realm. He was the first High Elf in our world and ruled during an age when time itself did not tick. There were eight children born of the king, but only two belonged to the king and queen: Matthieus and Alaina, who despised one another most ardently. The others had different mothers and were not in line to inherit the throne. They were Taurien, Sameun, Stoikgard, Elliena, Agualen, and

Lila.

During a fight between Matthieus and Alaina, Lila—a babe at the time—was killed. Rumor suggests that it was Matthieus' doing. Lila's mother, a sun sprite, pleaded for retribution. To honor his youngest child, King Jenthius created the Middle realm to be her burial grounds. The ashes were blessed to grow into a great tree. The magik of this new realm preserved the spirit of Lila who would one day serve the kingdom of Aideil.

Lila's mother was pleased but would only be content if King Jenthius named Alaina his heir, changing the line of succession from the eldest, Matthieus, whose hands were stained red with the blood of Lila. 

To be High King was to have the power of all magik, to be used and shaped at will. Matthieus had all but claimed that power for his own. To shift that energy to Alaina was no easy feat. 

In a show of good faith, King Jenthius agreed, but only if Alaina had the spine to claim the throne. The result was something called a Choosing, where both candidates would present themselves before the Sky realm. The King's magik would then Choose whoever the rightful heir was. Alaina had the support of many, but she was notoriously submissive.

Matthieus' jealousy and clever tongue drove him to reach out to his half siblings, urging them to draw upon their own talents and abilities to distract the King's magik during the Choosing. Some say he planned to murder Alaina. But the Choosing never happened. 

The other children of King Jenthius leapt at the opportunity to seize power for themselves. They saw an opportunity to establish themselves as gods in the realm of Alagana and all those who inhabited it. It would have taken them centuries to implement their schemes, for time still did not tick as it does now. However it happened, Alagana became dependent on the magik of the High Elves—a land where the children of King Jenthius were seen as gods. 

Matthieus hated the joy of his half siblings as they spread their blood into the mortal Gold, Silver and Amber Elves, granting the lower races of elves access to the longevity of life and lesser magiks. He wanted to force the hand of his father, bend the will of the Council. The throne was meant to be his. 

One night, he slew every guard in the palace. If King Jenthius refused to initiate the Choosing, Matthieus would eliminate the only other option and ensure no other would follow. Matthieus crept into the royal chambers, driving a dagger through his mother's heart, carving it out and sticking it to the headboard. 

He made his way to Alaina's rooms, drawing a blade glistening with poison. She wasn't there. Alaina had gone to the throne room where King Jenthius and the Council had gathered and told him of the murder. All the magik within him couldn't save his queen when he heard what his child had done. King Jenthius collapsed at her bedside and unleashed the full breadth of his Gift. His grief tore through him, whipping his magik into a vortex that threatened to consume all that lived. Two new realms split off from the others—one from the Sky and one from Alagana—both imitations of hell: grief and loss, thus completing the five realms under the control of the High Elves. 

Jenthius saw his magik as the cause of his family's slaughter and betrayal and sought to expel all magik from the elven race...

But magik has a mind of its own. It felt the blood ties to King Jenthius' children and crept into the skins of the six Betrayers—the title for the children of King Jenthius who knew of Matthieus' plan but did nothing. Feeling his power split, King Jenthius severed the ties before each of his children gained their full share of the High King's magik. Instead, the elements and skills were divided between those six children so that no being could ever hold the power of the King again. Magik follows bloodlines, and since it comes from the Sky realm and the High Elves, only elves are Gifted with innate magik beyond that of lesser magiks.

The Betrayers were expelled from the Sky realm. The magik they now possessed drew them to various regions of Alagana—the lands that they had desired to rule over. With the waning magik he had left, King Jenthius shaped the seven kingdoms of Alagana, isolating his children from one another so that they could never again rise as one and further protecting Alaina with a gift of Prophecy. 

As there were six Betrayers, six elemental forms of magik were shared: water, fire, earth, air, mind and skill. Whatever remained, died with the king, whose spirit was too depleted to go on.

Ever since the fall of the High King, Alagana's magik has progressively faded. In order to provide equilibrium and rejuvenate the land, a scariyai is born every 350 years with the power of the High King. This scariyai is known as the Sarom, Gifted with a moontear gemstone. It is the duty of the Sarom to provide Alagana with freshened veins of magik, reworking reality to benefit future generations. 

Every 350 years, the skies bleed red with the Blood Moon of Sanguis. This celestial event is when Alagana is closest to Midriel and the borders between the realms is weakest. Five cycles ago, the Blood Moon was used in a necromantic ritual to trap the God of Fire in Midriel. Only then, can the First Betrayer be released.