(A Tale of Magic’s End and a New Dawn)
When the Holy Inquisition purged the land of sorcery, they saved their cruelest fate for Elspeth, the Fire-Witch of Karak Hollow. They bound her in cold iron, drowned her spells in holy water, and marched her to the pyre.
But Elspeth laughed.
For she knew a secret: fire cannot kill fire. As the flames licked her flesh, she spoke the Last Word-a spell so ancient, it unraveled the very laws of magic. The pyre exploded into a storm of living embers, scattering across the land like falling stars.
Where they touched earth, new witches awoke. Not with flames of destruction, but with sparks of renewal-healing blighted crops, forging unbreakable bonds, and lighting candles that never fade.
And so, the Inquisition’s victory became their doom, for they had not killed magic… they had set it free.
“Remember, O children of man,
The old world burns,
But from its ashes,
The wild and wondrous rises!”
