Lord Arcane kept all the clues to these riddles in a box and handed over the riddle box to his only son, Mascae, whom he trusted with his life. He told Mascae that only the most courageous and ingenious could solve these riddles. Lord Arcane kept the location of the pieces from his son as well because he believed that if the time came, Mascae would be able to solve the riddles and find the seven pieces.
Lord Arcane knew plenty about strange magical elixirs and enchantments. He had spent most of his life searching for the potion of immortality. He collected rare herbs, animals’ horns, teeth and skin, and had endangered his life many times doing so.
After years of research, he discovered the right mystic ingredients and created eight drops of the potion of immortality. He tried to consume one of the drops, but couldn’t. Mascae, too, failed to consume it. Lord Arcane realized that he and his generation’s blood couldn’t ingest the potion. So he decided to put it to good use. He administered seven drops of the potion to the seven guardians tasked with protecting the pieces of the Crown. The guardians could now live for eternity and protect the Crown of Magic. There was just a last drop left, which he stored carefully to give away to someone worthy.
As the years passed, Lord Arcane grew old. One night, the nightmare of the destruction of the Dark World and the Earth resurfaced in his dreams. However, this time, he could also foresee that within three centuries the evil would take over the Dark World. Three centuries, three centuries, three centuries…kept playing in Lord Arcane’s mind.
He was worried. Who would live for three centuries to save the Dark World and the Earth? Who would find the prophesied children on Earth and lead them to the Dark World? He needed to find someone urgently.
Only one person came to his mind. ‘The Scavenger’ was his faithful and loyal servant. He was not known by his real name, if he had one. He was an orphan, and had survived by scavenging his way through the Dark World. He had been serving Lord Arcane since he was a teenager, and Lord Arcane treated him not like a servant but like his own son. Lord Arcane decided to assign the critical task of leading this mission to the Scavenger.
“My loyal servant,” Lord Arcane said to the Scavenger, “you have selflessly served me for long. I trust the purity of your soul. I may not survive for long. I have one important favour to ask of you.”
“Your wish is my command, my Lord,” the Scavenger said.
Lord Arcane told the Scavenger about everything – the evil, the prophesied children, the immortality potion and the nightmares occurring to him.
“But before you embark on this life-changing journey, you need rigorous training with the most proficient of the warriors. I need to be sure that you are the worthy soul to whom I can entrust the onerous responsibility of protecting the Dark World and the Earth.”
“Why me?”
“No one in my family has eternal life, and the immortality potion doesn’t work on us. I have complete trust in you. I wish to administer this last drop to you so that I can die peacefully. If you do not take up this challenge, then I am afraid the fate of the two Worlds is dangerously uncertain.”
The Scavenger agreed bravely.
Lord Arcane summoned the most skilled warriors of the Dark World, and assigned them the task of training the Scavenger in all kinds of war skills. He also tasked the best sorcerers to train the Scavenger in magic. The Scavenger was a remarkable fighter, learning quickly, sharpening his skillsets and passing the tests one after another.
Lord Arcane was relieved to know that he had indeed made a wise decision to choose the Scavenger.
After several years of intense training were over, Lord Arcane summoned the Scavenger. “Congratulations on becoming the greatest warrior of the Dark World.” Lord Arcane chuckled in admiration. “The name Scavenger does not suit you. You will be called the Shadow Warrior from now on.”
“I am forever indebted to my Lord for offering me a chance to prove my abilities, but the change in my name, I humbly deny. I desire to be called the Scavenger. It keeps me connected to my roots.”
Lord Arcane smiled and agreed to his request. He administered the last drop of the potion of immortality to the Scavenger.
He then gave the Scavenger a box and said, “This box contains the riddle to get the first piece of the Crown. I have given the same riddle to my son Mascae as well.” Simultaneously, he drew sketches of the four prophesied children from Earth and gave it to the Scavenger.
Lord Arcane said, “I had created an ideal environment inside the Dark World, where no evil existed. But as it happens, evil cannot be stopped. I was only successful in delaying it. As I can foresee, within a few hundred years, the evil will spread. You are now a great and immortal warrior. When you feel that evil has grown too much, you need to go to the Earth to find and bring the four prophesied children here. You may not be able to handle the situation alone without their help. I trust that you will make a wise decision at the right time.”
Lord Arcane also taught the Scavenger how to make a portal to reach Earth and come back from there.
Years passed and, as destiny would have it, Lord Arcane died. Mascae ruled his kingdom with vigour and grace for decades, and with the Scavenger by his side, they were invincible.
But as Lord Arcane had foreseen, evil began to grow
