Compendium of Souls.

The First Soul, Ephraim the Adamntium Knight. Part 1: Trails Forgotten.

The First Soul, Ephraim the Adamantium Knight.

Part I Trails Forgotten

There was once upon a time a great Empire that spawned from east to west, that had conquered most of the north and was expanding to the south. This empire had an iron clad monarchy, strict to the core but well lead by their Emperor Caspian. He wasn't a tyrant, he wanted to unify all the provinces of Eikalis under one flag. That way, he thought, everything would be more just, no more wars, no more injustice. He always tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts, always asking the opponent for a surrender before lifting one sword. Caspian won battle after battle, it was as if he was blessed by the hand of God, he inspired awe, and whoever met him, could feel an aura of leadership that made them swore loyalty to death.

Caspian though, had his days counted, he died not by the hand of another human, but by an unstoppable disease. No one knows where he got it, but he was the first of many to fall prey of the Dark Plague. Caspian had 11 knights that served as his royal guard and captains of his army, In order of importance they where: Oscar the moonlight blade, Heironimus the Mighty Hammer, Mathilda the Graceful Archer, Kalhos the Divine Spear, Icarus the Guardian Shield, Belferos of Icathia,  Ormus the Wise, Vilkas the Silent Stalwart, Sthella Blade of the East, Elena Shield of, the West, and Ephraim the Adamantium Knight.

  When the king fell ill all his knights assembled at the capital, there they would stay and protect his Majesty until his health condition improved, but days passed, and after a week of fruitless efforts news of his majesty being ill were spread across the lands. With these news power hungry warlords started their rebellions in the outskirts of the empire, like wild fire they spread towards the capital. When his Majesty, the Emperor Caspian got news of this he decided to send his loyal knights to quell the rebellions, but he said: "This indeed are times of need, thee must first hear what the people want. If they need food, give them food, if they need shelter, build them houses, for this times require generosity and not the edge of a  sword, for those who have nothing to lose, hold no fear."

Oscar, Khalos and Vilkas were sent to the North. Ormus and Sthella to the East. Elena and Icarus to the West. Heuronimus, Mathilda and Belferos to the south. The Emperor knowing that Ephraim had just recently married told him to stay at the capital; he did not wanted to separate the newlyweds. Ephraim was quick and garrisoned the capital walls, he supplied the needs of the people and took down the Bandits and  Marauders that were pillaging the towns and nearby trade routes. Ephraim saw everything in order, no riots, no disturbs, everything was peaceful. But little did know Ephraim that the real threat lied inside the palace.

Ephraim and his wife were lodged at a manor at 15km away from the Palace. It was  surrounded by a dense forest and near you could find a big lake, this had been a gift from the Emperor, a little piece of heaven as he called it, for being a loyal knight and proving himself in combat.

 Ephraim had a rough childhood, one no one would ever wish, he carried a burden not many knew, the deaths of his parents.

Being a kid and wandering into the forest was a normal thing for his age, specially when the trade of his father was hunting animals for meat and pelts, his dad taught him many things, from tracking to skinning, how to preserve food, how to survive without food and tools. So one day, in a cold and foggy morning, among the grass and trees, all of them covered in droplets of water, Ephraim saw a black animal he had never seen before, it looked like a rabbit, but this one had bigger muscles, and sharp claws, even so it was very small so Epharim did not think it was a threat, and besides the animal was running away, how could it be a threat right? So he kept tracking the animal from morning to dusk -- this kind of behaviour was something common on Ephraim, his dad knew he was capable and taught him a lot, they only had three rules for his adventures, number one, never go beyond the burnt tree line, that row of burnt trees was the division between the area of the town and the wilderness, number two, get back home once the sun starts to set behind the mountains, and number three the most important, if you see someone that is not from town, either hide or rush back to home, Ephraim did not understood why this rules were so important, nor he ever cared to ask but he knew he would follow them whenever the chance arised -- Ephraim had been chasing that animal for a long time, but that wasn't the problem, the problem was the animal led him through an area that was dense on trees and other plants, to a point that most of them would cover the surface from the light of the sun, this made Ephraim lose his sense of time, after a while he gave up, the animal despite being small had a lot of stamina, and it was getting on his nerves the amount of time he spent on trying to catch him.