DJORN - The Staff of Light

Thotak, who was the former king and head priest of the ancient city of Azbaldel, took hold of his mighty staff; A scepter he called the Somias, and raised it to meet the gaze of the sun. The Somias held within it a blue and yellow jewel which contrasted with the blue and white design of the Judaiean staff. Crafted by O'carian soothsayers, the Somias was an instrument of mythical power, meant to control the sun and ward off the cosmic entities who wished to resurrect and rule the land of Halguria. With a command Thotak could halt the shine of the sun or have it burn bright enough to melt all living things upon the surface of the earth. Eventually the immortal priest desired to move on from the region of Azbal, thus leaving behind his legacy of power and destruction. Thotak placed the Somias within a crypt, buried beneath the land that would come to be known as Cairo. Since that time the Brotherhood of O'car have sought out the holy treasure of their ancestors, praying that its powers would allow the cult the chance to dominate the world, as the decedents believed the scepter was their birthright.

Djorn peered over landscape. To the far north he did not see snow, but instead laid eyes upon a volcanic cluster of rocks which came together to form a magma-spewing mountain of ashy clouds and brown stone. The warrior looked down, peering at the circular symbol that glowed orange in the palm of his left hand.

Djorn remarked to himself that the mountain was the home of a demon summoner. It was the lair of he who was known as Azulmon, the Scornblood. All those throughout Alhad knew the tale of the warlock. This sorcerer was once a great magician, but became tainted by a cruel twist of fate which stole his love away and corrupted Azulmon’s heart.

It was in his despair that he contacted the aid of forces beyond this earth to return his beloved to him. This only sank him further into despair as arcane entities overtook his soul. It was for over a decade that Azulmon dwelled within the volcanic mountain, violently lashing out at the world by sending beasts, of his own design, to pillage and kill all those in their wake. 

This would be the one-hundredth year of Azulmon’s ternary over the people of Alhad. It was with the arrival of the first day of this year that the people of the region collected a great sum of gold and contacted Djorn for his services. By this time Djorn had travelled most of the planet, training under the supreme sorcerer, Timaeus.

The people of Alhad had gone to war with Azulmon countless times in the past. Each encounter was met with nothing but the decimation of Alhad forces and the enchanted onslaught of he warlock’s beasts as they desecrated the landscape. And so, it was on the twelfth day of Azulmon’s one-hundredth year rule that Djorn, bearing Timaeus’ Mark on his left hand, that the warrior set out to kill the magician with the newly learned powers of a mage.

Djorn’s journey was short. He approached the foot of the volcanic mountain by morning, having spent the night in the forests in the valley beyond Azulmon’s keep. Overnight Djorn took winks of sleep, keeping himself alert to the presence of all that was around him. Djorn knew these woods were home to the beasts Azulmon had created, and the warrior believed himself to be smarter than to let one of the creatures snatched him up in the middle of the night.

It was a few hours before the sun would rise that Djorn, who slept sitting up with his legs crossed, awoke to the faint sound of an unhinging jaw. Taking hold of the titanium sword that rested in his slumbering hand, Djorn swung his blade and decapitated the beast as it rushed for him. With his eyes still close, the warrior could hear, predicting the whimpering of a snake and the heartbeat of a wolf.

Djorn opened his eyes to see what had leapt at him, turned his head and looked down upon the scene of a wolf’s body with the neck of a snake. Looking a few feet forward Djorn depicted the head of a serpent writhing in agony as blood left the remaining limb. The creature fell dead and Djorn took a breath, suddenly sensing another beast.

As the warrior came to his feet there approached two bears from the blackened woods. Their eyes were yellow and they opened their mouths to reveal the fangs of vampire bats lining their gums. Djorn held out his hand, which bore Timaeus’ Mark. Djorn clenched his fingers as if grasping the heart of the first bat-bear.

It was then that the orange symbol began to glow again. Djorn, feeling pity for the animals Azulmon had defiled, said a moment’s prayer for the beasts before making a fist and crushing the heart of the first creature, which whimpered and fell lifeless upon the ashy grass. As the second bat-bear came upon him, Djorn revealed his blade and cut the creature in two as it rushed past him.

Ducking to avoid the animal’s claws, Djorn sliced the beast up its torso, allowing it to bleed out swiftly. When he was sure it was dead, Djorn looked up to see that the sun had risen and that it was today that Azulmon must meet his end. Djorn climbed the road and cliffs of the mountain with nothing but his red cape, titanium sword, furs and mark.

For this was all the warrior would need to take the life of an evil man. Approaching the entrance to the large cave at the peak of the mountain, Djorn heard a voice. The voice demanded the warrior turn back, or else face total immolation. Djorn disregarded this threat and pressed forward, witnessing a fireball two times his size come rushing at him through the darkness of the cave.

Djorn raised his palm too the ball of fire and it dispersed upon reaching his hand, leaving him unharmed. As Djorn proceeded he posed through a black veil of smoke. Coming upon the other side there was a room, almost like a library. This place had a pit of fire, shelves of tomes and grimoires, as well as altars and runes spread about the interior of the lair.

On the far side of the enormous laboratory there stood Azulmon, standing atop a staircase that went up to a rise at the center of the room, and came down on two ends at the left and right walls. Djorn stepped forward, declaring his mission to take the life of warlock, and held out his palm, preparing for a magical strike.

Azulmon noticed the mark of Timaeus and laughed in disbelief. The warlock, as most magicians believed, thought that no mortal man brutish enough to wield a sword could comprehend the sophisticated and elaborate skills of magic. Unfortunately, for him, Azulmon was wrong. A point that was made all to clear as Djorn charged the stairs to the left, coming upon the rise with his sword held forward.

Azulmon tried his damnedest to summon up a beast from nothing, but before he could Djorn was upon him and severed the warlock’s right hand with a swift sword blow. Azulmon cried out and used his left hand to generate floating shards of thorny purple energy which launched at Djorn in seconds. This was no match for the warrior, as he was armed with Timaeus’ magic. 

Djorn raised his arm for the last time and absorbed the energy shards being released from Azulmon’s left hand, severing it as well. The warlock squirmed, crying out for his beloved. His cried were met with a swift sword blow to the chest, cutting his heart and lungs into two pieces. Djorn cleaned his blade and took the rest of the evening to burn Azulmon’s remains in a fire pit outside the warlock’s lair.

With his powers vanquished from the world, the black veil that covered the entrance of Azulmon’s cave disappeared and light shined in. When it came time to return to the people of Alhad and tell them of his victory, Djorn noticed a shining object laying by the entrance to the dead warlock’s lair. After picking it up and inspecting the jewel, Djorn saw a staff beside it and was able to fit the two together.

The jewel was blue and yellow as the staff was blue and white. It was in this moment that Djorn knew what he had come upon. Remembering back to the stories he had been told by Timaeus, Djorn recalled the tales of Thotak of Azbaldel and his scepter, crafted by an ancient race known as the O’carians. Djorn held the staff tight, knowing that Timaeus was to learn of this find at once.

The warrior headed out, noticing the fire of the maintain had finally vanished. Wrapping the staff beneath his cape, Djorn setting forth to collect his reward from Alhad and inform his teacher of this most glorious discovery.