#darkblight

In the eve of the Old Kingdom's decadence, noticed by few to coincide with the first appearances of the Sky children, whispers of a strange illness was heard from the infirmaries of the Forest-- Darkblight, it was called by astonished medicine-men and scholars alike, as it bore an eerie semblance to the matters of Darkness.

Though exposure to pure flames and diligent treatment eased the ailment, sometimes even curing it entirely, not many of Horizon's people had the good fortunes of surviving from and with Darkblight. Their innards are twisted and overgrown with Darkness, and their tongues would find it a regular occurence to taste bitter blood with each breath taken.

The one culpable for Darkblight's prevalence, however desperately hidden by the King's court and the elite of Horizon, was the dependency of the Kingdom to Darkstone technology. It was painfully obvious-- Fragile beings weren't meant to be exposed to knowingly malignant materials for long, and it didn't even take weeks for the plucky observant to notice and voice their concerns.

Thus, in addition to the growing instability at his every turn, King Resh would find his evenings filled with his own people trampling his gardens, demanding justice for the loved ones they had lost to the jaws of Darkblight.

Day by day, by night and day again, their numbers grew and their voices becoming louder still-- Even to the point of stirring a young monk to leave his station behind, to cry out in honor of the grief that gripped his very being.