Astaroth

The dust cloud slowly dissipated, unveiling some beautifully carved columns, blackened by smoke and ash. A young keldine was struggling to get up, after he fell accidentally into the cave. A ray of sun crept in through a the hole he made in the ceiling, enlightening some inscriptions on a distant wall.

He approached warily, curious, but stepping carefully, afraid that he had found a temple guarded by dangerous traps. As he was getting closer, it appeared to be only a burned village left in ruins.

The pictures painted on the rocks were depicting a long forgotten legend of an unique tribe of Keldines that seemed to be covered in flowers and vines.

"They must have been some kind of nature deities. I've never heard about such keldines." He wondered what happened to their village and where they disappeared.

Suddenly, he tripped over something; removing the ash covering it, he saw a little wooden box, beautifully decorated. "Only the chosen can understand the secrets of the universe." was written on a side.

Inside, he found some strange cards similar to the tarot ones. For some reason, he felt attracted to them like they were magnetic. The cards started whispering when he touched them:

"We've been waiting for you, Chance... You are the one meant to learn the mysterious practices of magic, becoming the next High Magician."

Caught unawares, the keldine couldn't believe it's ears. He always wanted to prove his abilities helping others.

Without thinking too much, he exclaimed enthusiastically: "I'd be honoured. When do we start?"

"Pick one card"

He randomly chose The Magician. Feeling his body warmed up by an undetectable heat, some moments later he was staring shocked at his new appearance reflected in the water of a stream nearby. His fur turned purple, his scales took the shapes of moons and stars, his head was crowned with a pair of golden horns.

Chance felt the magic running through his veins.

"That's how the gods must feel" he thought, on top of the world.

"You must stay hidden. You will know when is the right time to reveal yourself."

-

Ariadna was walking back and forth in her throne room, trying to keep her calm. The return of Zelophehad was a serious matter. Last time she got lucky, yet, she had a dark feeling somewhere in her soul that he won't be as easy to defeat this time.

Chance rolled his eyes.

"Can I help you?" asked the mage slightly irritated, raising an eyebrow. The arrival of Ariadna interrupted his tarot readings.

But the queen was distracted by the decorated box she immediately recognised, flinching.

"You... I thought... WHO are you?!?..." she said in a slightly distracted manner.

Visibly surprised, he took off his cloak and, after the cards told him that she can be trusted, they started exchanging stories.

After a moment of silence, the mage spoke: "Maybe together we will defeat him for good; a legendary warrior and a mage..."

"Are you making new friends, Ariadna?" that terrifying laughter echoed sinisterly. It could have belonged to a single keldine... Zelophehad.

The queen, petrified until then, jumped to attack him, but she missed. The tyrant dodged, pinning her to the ground with a spell. "I'll take care of you now".

Chance stood still in front of him "Let's see what you are capable of. " Invoking his magical powers, he cast enchantments, but the enemy defended.

"As long as you have the Magician's card, no mage is stronger than you" the voice whispered.

Taking advantage of the advice, Chance summoned his maximum power in a spell directed to Zelophehad, hitting him. Disoriented, because of his opponent's strength, the tyrant approached to Ariadna. "It would be a shame if something may happen to her..."

The mage jumped between them to ward off the threat, forgetting about the Touch of Destruction.

Chance felt dizzy and the last thing he saw was Zelophehad, burning in a purple flame until he completely disappeared.

When he woke up, Chance noticed his magic felt differently. "It looks like I absorbed Zelophehad's dark magic which wasn't strong enough to kill me."

Aware of the danger he was representing, he took the name of Astaroth and decided to leave until he regained control of his chaotic powers. He considered it a necessary sacrifice for the nation's freedom. In spite of Ariadna's insistence, he was thinking of leaving, but the cards had other plans:

"Surrounded by darkness, yet enfolded in light,

You cannot be cursed if your heart is bright"