#oversoul Backstory competition entry, backstory of Zayark, enjoy :D

Part 1; Unholy Beginnings (Kid Zayark Form)
Deep in the far eastern corners of Lore, lay a small but prosperous town, home to a vast array of cultures. Wizards and Knights from across Lore would gather in the masses to compete in tournaments and demonstrate their skills. It was a place where alignment was of no relevance. Good and Evil would work in harmony to hone their battle skills and casting abilities. Zayark, a young boy at the time, was born into a world of peace and harmony, with the truce between good and evil it seemed as though nothing could harm such a friendly village. Zayark was the son of one of the greatest knights in King Alteon's force. His father was charged with the protection of the village and was the sentry master. It was because of his father's high status that he received specialist training from a young age, at least, that's what he was told as a child. For some reason, Alteon's eldest prophet seemed to be terrified of Zayark. Despite his doubts, his father convinced him that it was nothing.

Zayark and his father were out on a routine training session in the eastern forest when suddenly shrieks of terror echoed from the village. Zayark's father sprinted towards the village to find the epicentre of the screams, whilst Zayark struggled as he attempted to keep up with his father in a desperate sprint. As he approached the edge of the forest, where a small hill sloped downwards towards the village, he saw his father standing idly, staring over the village, as if he were dead. Zayark looked towards the village only to see endless terror. The town, that he had thought impenetrable had been engulfed in flames of chaos. As chaos minions swamped the town he approached his father and yanked his arm, screaming in his face in order to snap him out of his shellshocked trance. "SAVE THEM! SAVE THEM! DO SOMETHING!" Zayark yelled. In an instant the town was flattened before their eyes.

Clouds of chaos rose from the burning village, reduced to rubble in only minutes. Suddenly a muffled shout came from one of the chaos minions in the town. Zayark and his father had been spotted. As the chaos minions charged up the hill towards them, Zayark's father snapped out of his trance. He turned towards Zayark and lectured him with his final words, "I have taught you all I can, it is now up to you which path you chose; remember." Zayark's father then sprinted down the hill in an attempt to slow the assault, providing precious time for Zayark to escape. Zayark sprinted into the forest as tears ran down his face. A loud scream echoed through the forest, he recognised it as his father. As he stumbled through the forest, no longer sustaining vision as his eyes were clouded with tears, he collapsed to the ground behind a large tree.

Zayark awoke days later, screams of innocent villagers and horrific images of chaos engulfed his mind. A tormented Zayark walked towards the village in hopes of finding something he could cherish. As he reached the hill he found his father's sword lying on the ground. As he leant towards the ground trying to pick it up he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned hastily, ready to engage in battle. To his surprise, King Alteon stood before him, escorted by his imperial guard. Alteon gazed upon the burnt out village, in almost a similar way as Zayark's father. Zayark was taken back to the castle in Swordhaven where he was to be treated as Alteon's son. Zayark trained amongst Alteon's guards, honing his skills. His mind was constantly focused on avenging his home, and his people. He regularly attended meetings between Alteon and Empress Gravelyn. The peaceful meetings between the two alignments reminded him of the harmony his village once had. After each of these meetings Gravelyn would give a curious stare towards Zayark, as if she knew something he did not.

One afternoon Zayark went to the meeting place early in hopes to speak with Gravelyn in person and enquire about what she saw in him. It was then he overheard a conversation between Gravelyn and her necromancer prophet. All he managed to hear was, " Alteon's young boy is a danger, he possesses great power that should not be unleashed under any circumstances." Zayark was confused by the statement. If he had power that could wipe out chaos and avenge his village, why would they want to restrain it? He ventured back to the castle and began to pack his things. As he walked towards the gates of the castle, ready to discover his true power, he was stopped by a fleet of Alteon's guards. "What is the meaning of this?" Zayark exclaimed. The central guard raised his sword towards Zayark, "We have orders from Alteon, we have been instructed that you are not to leave the castle under any circumstances." Explained the knight in an unusually serious tone. Outraged, Zayark went back into the castle.

Later that day Zayark snuck into Alteon's chamber whilst he was away at the meeting. He noticed a note from Gravelyn on his table. The note read, "Heed my warnings Alteon, for the young boy you hold deer is a danger to us all. My necromancer sees uncontrollable power within your child. You must put a halt to his training until we can devise a plan on how to control his vengeance. ~Gravelyn, Empress of the ShadowScythe" Outraged by the actions of Alteon, betrayed by those he held highly, Zayark spiralled into a rage. He took his father's sword and vanished into the night in search of the power he was being denied. When Alteon arrived back from his meeting he was welcomed by a line of slaughtered knights, knights which Zayark had once trained with. Zayark would continue wandering Lore for years before he would find a master willing to grant him the power he believed was rightfully his.


Part 2; The Master's Mistake
Years on from the day in which Zayark left the King in the bloodiest of fashions, he still searched for a master, willing to release his inner power, a power of which all details remained anonymous to him. He knew that in order to defeat chaos and avenge his village he would need the power locked away within him. It was not until Zayark ventured to Citadel that he found a clue as to where he may find his power. Zayark fought his way into the high templars castle at the peak of the citadel mountain. It was here that he brought the templar to his knees with agility, wit and strength, much like his father. As Zayark pressed his blade against the templar's neck he noticed something from the corner of his eye. The templar's blade glowed brightly. The runes of the blade glistened in a fashion Zayark had never seen before. "Who enchanted your blade!?" demanded Zayark. The templar took a deep breath and shut his eyes, as though he was inviting his death. "WHO!?" Zayark demanded once again pressing his sword firmly against the templar's neck. A fine stream of blood began to trickle down the templar's neck. "Ignorant templar." exclaimed Zayark, raising his sword away from the templar's neck in order to perform a clean slice. As Zayark's hand peaked in his swing the templar gave in. "WAIT! I will tell you where you can find magic of such power." begged the templar, there was a quiver of fear in his voice. "You must seek out the archfiend, he dwells deep within the citadel caves, but be warned, he is more powerful than any mortal you have encountered before." the templar explained. Zayark grinned and let off a snigger as he heard the words of the templar. "Your help is appreciated templar, but I need no warning." Upon finishing his sentence Zayark swiftly brought his sword down upon the head of the templar before cleaning the thick blood from the edge of his blade with the now deceased templar's robes.

Zayark spent the next few months tracking the archfiend the templar spoke of. If Zayark wished to ever attain his unmasked power in order to avenge his village he would undoubtedly need the archfiend's help. Zayark stormed through the mazes forged by the archfiend. A seemingly endless army of malicious creature provided a continuous offensive against intruders. Zayark had finally entered the archfiend's chamber, a colossal room with no apparent end, shrouded in shadow and bordered with monumental stone pillars. "Greetings mortal, I have been expecting your arrival." a devilish voice echoed throughout the room. Suddenly a figure of giant proportions appeared from what could only be the shadows that cloaked the room. "I am Nulgath, Archfiend and ruler of the Underworld.So child, it is power you seek. The power you wish to attain can not be granted to you by any mere mortal, it is quite easy to comprehend why you have been denied it previously. I will grant you the powers that you wish for, but do not think I will just hand them to you. You, Zayark, must fulfil my contracts. Once you have completed these contracts I will grant you access to the contract that will unlock your true self. Leave now mortal, do not bother me until your contracts are complete."

Zayark spent the next few months completing the contracts Nulgath had given him. With the completion of every contract his strength multiplied at a rate never before seen by Nulgath. As well as gaining strength the contracts had another, more sinister effect on Zayark, for as the number of completed contracts rose Zayark's feelings for revenge began to fade. Instead these spiteful emotions were replaced with the urge for power. After nearly a year of completing contracts Zayark had lost all feelings of revenge. He no longer sought revenge for his village or the destruction of chaos. The undeniable urge for power engulfed Zayark's mind, his memories of sadness and spite erased. All the contracts were complete, the time had come for Zayark to confront Nulgath to sign the final contract that would grant him the power he had yearned for years.

Zayark entered Nulgath's throne room for what would be the final time. Nulgath stood tall and handed the final contract to Zayark. The contract read "I here by relinquish my soul to the power within." As Zayark signed the contract Nulgath began to appear nervous, something never seen before now. The contract was signed. Suddenly, Zayark's mind erupted into memories of horror and death. Darkness spawned around him, encircling his body, slowly stripping him of his morality. Zayark's body began to fall apart in front of Nulgath's eyes, satanic screams echoed throughout the room endlessly. His body could no longer sustain the energy teaming within, it was at that point Nulgath had realised his mistake. Nulgath hastily casted dark chains to contain Zayark and halt the progress of his evolution. The chains tightened themselves around Zayark's waist, constricting his power's from erupting from his body. Nulgath then casted a runic circle around Zayark. A flash of dark energy rocketted upwards in an explosion capable of wiping out entire villages. The dark pillar transported Zayark to the outskirts of Lore.

Zayark lay unconscious, deep within a crater he had created upon teleportation. His dark energy lurked within him, now seeping out of his ripped mortal body in the form of darkness. The chains Nulgath had placed upon Zayark prevented his true form from erupting once again. Despite the immense power within Nulgath's chains he knew that they could not hold him forever. The longer Zayark was free to roam Lore, the more dangerous he became and the more fearful Nulgath felt. Nulgath knew, that one day, he would have to face Zayark's true form in order to prevent the world from plummeting into an era of darkness.


Part 3; Resent and Resolution
For months on end areas of Lore were terrorised by Zayark's rage. The chains around his waist, endlessly restraining his power drove him to insanity. Zayark no longer shed blood for those he wished to avenge, murdering all that stood in his way in order to ease his desire for power. Zayark faced a seemingly endless problem, for the more he killed in order to oppress his urge for power, the more he felt as though his soul was being torn apart. This torment fuelled his insanity. Zayark, enraged, travelled from town to town, offering blacksmiths their lives for the destruction of his chains.

It was then that Zayark heard news of the war between Nulgath and Dage. Zayark took the side of Nulgath, in order to keep him alive to break his chains. No one expected such power from Nukgath's forces. Dage was overwhelmed by the strength of Zayark. Zayark alone wiped out entire lines of legionnaires in mere seconds. As he fought the chains on his waist glowed sharply, demonstrating the immense workload forced upon them by restraining Zayark's power. As victory came closer Nulgath caught a glimpse of Zayark's power. Nulgath was suddenly struck by fear, his own creation come back to haunt him. In a move of desperation Nulgath fled to the Oversoul realm. Zayark was not willing to lose his one hooe for freedom. He then made a pursuit for the portal to the Oversoul realm to gain his long awaited freedom and free himself from the insanity that he had bared.

It was then the future changed for everyone. The sheer force created by the portal to the realm broke Nulgath's chains. He was now free from restraint and his true power able to unleash itself for the first time in his lifetime. As well as this he now had an entire realm to test his new found powers on. In a display of gratitude towards Nulgath for allowing the chains to be broken, Zayark promised to rome the lands of Oversoul peacefully. Because Everyone knows that a promise from an ex insane person is one of great reliability.

Part 4; The Mirror Dilemma
Due to The absence of Zayark in one of the realms the balance between Lore's mirror realm and normal realm went into disarray. Fortunately Warlic was able to pinpoint Zayark's disappearance as the source and approached Mirror Zayark. Warlic enchanted Mirror Zayark so that he could become a hero of Lore. This meant he would inhabit both realms with no copy. Mirror Zayark was now the only Zayark within Lore. Mirror Zayark served the king and fought for righteousness. He always kept the ideals his father had set upon him and fought for the sake of his distant village. With the enchantment of Mirror Zayark, balance was restored within Lore.

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