Written by Aelyzabeth von Thors.
Seven hundred and twenty-eight million years before the present age —In the era when Romulius still reigned supreme and its dominion stretched over all the known lands, the twin divinities of Metal and Light were revered above all else. Cities rose like mountains upon the plains, while beneath the earth, the fires of forges burned without ceasing — molten rivers that never slept, singing hymns of human triumph.
In that age there ruled a mighty sovereign: King Sillius Magnus Augustus II,descendant of the hallowed line of Thorsius, and bearer of both crown and conviction. His reign was long and prosperous, his conquests vast — yet beneath the gilded throne and the chorus of worship, there was a secret no scribe dared record...
It was the birth of a child —a son unacknowledged,born not of a queen, but of a nun of the Temple of Valentia,a woman who had sworn before the goddess Julia to preserve her purity until death.
But on one fateful night, when the stars fell silent and only the silver moon breathed through the glass of the sanctum, King Sillius, exalted by victory and burdened by solitude, beheld her — and the beauty that dwelt within sacred vows. Desire overcame devotion; and from that fleeting transgression was conceived a sin immortal — a living testament to forbidden union.
Thus came into the world Zyon Cornelius Thorsius,the child of shadow and sanctity —a boy whose hair was white as snow that knows no thaw,whose eyes gleamed with the green of deep emeralds, filled with gentleness yet veiled by sorrow.
He was raised within the dim cloisters of the temple, nameless to the world, nursed by monks who dared not utter the name of his sire. His mother — cast from her holy order for bearing him — lived the remainder of her days in quiet penance, whispering prayers that her son might rise one day to walk among the stars, even though destiny had branded him as cursed.
When Zyon reached his ninth year,a royal decree shattered his hidden life.King Sillius commanded that the boy be brought to the palace,to be reared not as heir, but as the son born of sin.
Thus, the child of shadows stepped for the first time upon the marble floors of the royal citadel.Within those radiant halls, he met his noble siblings — princes and princesses of pure lineage — children of luxury and adoration. But Zyon was confined to a modest chamber by the outer wall, where whispers followed him like ghosts. They called him "The Bastard of the Temple."
Yet the boy never wept, never retorted —only smiled faintly, as though sorrow were an old companion.
At dawn, he read the scrolls of ancient philosophers.At noon, he practiced sacred script with trembling hands in the cold.At night, he lit a single lantern and watched the northern star,as though seeking an answer from the heavens:Why was I born beneath the shadow of guilt?
In time, rumors spread through the court —that the outcast prince possessed an intellect touched by divinity.It was said that Zyon could recall entire texts after hearing them but once,that he could decipher inscriptions from the Age of Metallic Stone,and that he spoke of natural laws yet unknown to sages twice his age.
King Sillius, though silent, began to take secret interest in the boy.
One evening, as Zyon stood by a high window, watching his royal brothers wield their swords in the courtyard below, the King came to him unannounced. The sovereign beheld the boy in silence, then spoke in a voice both weary and regal:
"Thine eyes are hers... and thy will bows to no sky.Thou art my son — though the world deem thy blood unclean,I shall see with mine own eyes what worth thou shalt forge from it."
The words fell upon Zyon like the first dawn after a long winter.He knelt and answered with unwavering calm:
"I seek not the throne nor glory, my lord —to serve the realm is honor enough."
From that day forth, he was admitted into the Scholarium of the Royal Council,where the finest sages and artificers of Romulius taught their art.And there, through diligence, humility, and brilliance beyond compare,the boy once scorned as the child of sin rose to be revered as The Luminary of Shadow.
Thus began the legend of Zyon Cornelius Thorsius —the boy born of forbidden light, who would one day shape the destiny of mankind.
"When men turn their backs to the light,the shadows become the refuge of the brave."— The Codex Umbrae, by Zyon Cornelius Thorsius.
Thus ends Chapter B-I.