A DRAGON'S JEWEL: the Ancient Mage and the dark arts

Chapter 1: Myth of a Country's Origin

There once was a powerful Mage who was capable of altering reality. Everything he wished materialized; everything he uttered came to be.

Eventually the Mage settled down on top of a steep hill.

There he found a country and named it Elysium.

As residents began to move in he offered to provide material for them with which they could build houses.

The Mage, wise as he was, advised them to build stone houses; however, the people were lazy and did not want to go through the trouble of chiselling and carrying stones so they requested wood instead.

The Mage agreed and soon the entire town's buildings were made of wood and all their roofs were made of hay.

Now the Mage had a son named Izana. 

He was a kind-hearted boy with white hair and black eyes who frequently ventured out of his Father's tower to explore the city streets.

One day he found an orphan girl with bright blue eyes, named Nyfia, and befriended her.

During mid-winter the following year Nyfia went to sit on a street corner while waiting for Izana to arrive. 

She was not cold since he had already given her one of his white cloaks to wear before winter had begun.

However, Nyfia was hungry because she had not yet eaten that day.

She could've chosen to wait until Izana arrived, since he had never failed in bringing her a basket filled to the brim with food to eat. 

Yet on this particular night Nyfia was growing impatient far too quickly and thus refused to submit to reason.

She glanced around and saw a cart filled with delicious fruit standing a few yards away and determined in her heart to steal some.

As she reached out and grabbed a handful of berries the owner of the cart spotted her. 

"THIEF!!" he yelled but she was able to escape his grasp and dashed off into the night, her white cloak blowing in the wind as she ran her little heart out.

While rounding another street corner Nyfia bumped into an older lady carrying a torch. As the two collided the lady's source of light fell to the ground but Nyfia was too frightened to stop so she kept on running.

Eventually she reached the forest on the outskirts of town.

When she glanced back she realized that a third of the town had already gone up in flames.

Nyfia sank down to the ground and started sobbing, completely horrified at what she had done.

Meanwhile Izana, who was searching for her amidst all the chaos, heard a weeping sound coming from the forest.

As he drew near he saw her shivering body and wrapped his arms around her – holding her close. In between sobs she managed to recount to him all that had taken place.