LordShadomizer's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

LordShadomizer fell through the pale sky and struck the forest floor. He was the first god, the one who named the world before other gods carved it apart. Now his body was thin as smoke. Hunters of fallen things would smell him soon. He needed walls, and he needed them before dusk. He dragged himself across moss and roots. A rusted iron post leaned in the brush, its scratched marks older than any tongue still spoken. He had set that mark himself, long ago, when nothing yet had a name. The sight steadied him. His claim still held here, even if no mortal remembered. Two small creatures watched from the ferns. One glowed soft white, the other dark as wet stone, both with feathered wings folded tight. They did not bow. They did not flee. They only watched, the way the other gods had watched him fall. Past them, half-swallowed by vines, stood a small wooden shrine. Carved symbols ran along its beams in a script no living priest could read. He had not built it. Some mortal long ago had felt him pass and raised these walls in fear or hope. Good. Fear was useful. He climbed the stone steps and pressed his palm to the door. It opened. Inside, the air was still and cold. He folded himself into the dark and let the walls hide him. Above the trees, far off, an iron watchtower's beacon flared to life — built by those who had sensed something old settle in the woods. They were already looking. But for tonight, he had a roof. Tomorrow, he would need hands.