Prologue

This story is about broken people learning to love and protect each other in a world torn apart by Calamities and hate. 

Historical context is worth mentioning, even though the majority of the characters involved grew up with very different versions of what happened more than 1000 years ago. We will discover all the details of the truth along the way.

Long ago, the continent was whole. Elves in Elaris, humans in Concordia, vampires in Umbra—different lands, different rulers, yet bound by trade, travel, and even shared cities where races lived side by side. For centuries, peace held.

Until the War of Hate. Nearly nine hundred years ago, a Great Calamity named Elexi poisoned the hearts of rulers, twisting them into battle, only for its own amusement. The war raged without reason, spilling countless lives, until an unknown vampire warrior ended it, name erased from every history book.

In the world we find ourselves in, there are bigger, way more powerful beings than vampires themselves. Before life itself was created, two concepts already existed: the good and the bad, and everything that lies in between. The Blessings and the Calamities. Two sides of the same coin. Blessings once guided the world, answering desperate prayers with rare acts of grace. But their trust was broken. Nowadays, only the lesser spirits remain, flickering like lanterns in the dark, helping in small, quiet ways.

The Blessings are ethereal beings, dwelling in remote corners far from civilization. They manifest only in moments of dire need, answering the desperate pleas of those who call for help. Their power is extraordinary, yet they wield it with caution—blessing indiscriminately is not their way. 

In the later years of history, the Greater Blessings had nearly vanished from the face of the world, leaving only the lesser or minor Blessings, young, less powerful spirits that wander among mortals. These minor Blessings seek ways to help: feeding a struggling family, magically watering a parched field, or offering quiet aid wherever it is needed. 

Once, the Blessings were the rulers of the ancient world, but over time, they withdrew their faith in humanity eroded by mankind’s misuse of Calamities.

Calamities, their eternal counterparts, are harder to forget. They thrive on fear and anger, offering power for a price. Only six of the Great ones endure, though their lesser kin slip freely through mortal lives, sowing chaos where they please.

Three hundred years ago, the seventh Calamity—Alah—disappeared after a secret bargain with Concordia’s former king. In exchange for his life, humanity received a leap in weapons and machines, a gift meant to protect against enemies that never came. The price was forgotten. The danger, ignored.

Now, the balance between Blessings and Calamities lies fractured. And in that broken balance, so too are the people who must live with its weight. 

Humans, living shorter lives and being a larger population, quickly forgot the weight of what had happened: from the very basics of the balance that Blessings and Calamities brought to history, to the consequences that playing with bigger sources of power can bring.  

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