Location: Valenhart archives
Magda rushed through the dimly lit corridors of the Valenhart estate, her heart pounding against her ribs. The weight of the impending beast-tide loomed over her, a storm waiting to descend upon them by the next day.
As if that weren't enough, the knowledge of the Hamoon tribe's movements gnawed at her mind. New intel had arrived that afternoon that suggested that Hamoon tribe was following the beast tide.
The looming chaos left her desperate for answers, and she knew there was only one place that could possibly hold them—the ancient archives.
With a deep breath, she pushed open the heavy wooden doors, dust swirling around her in the cold, stagnant air.
She knew her mother, Celeste Valoria, had been a woman of unparalleled intellect—a genius of her time. If anyone had found a way to halt the devastation brought by the beast-tides, it would have been her.
As time was short, Magda resolved to search the archives further, hoping to uncover another method to stop what was coming. Magda's fingers trembled as she flipped through scrolls and crumbling tomes, searching for any clue her mother might have left behind.
Hours passed before she finally stumbled upon a collection of documents tucked beneath layers of neglected manuscripts.
The seal of the previous Duke of Valenhart marked the covers, alongside Celeste's meticulous handwriting.
With a growing sense of dread, Magda unfolded the pages and began to read.
As she rifled through the aged texts, Magda pulled out a thick, leather-bound handbook, its cover marked with the seal of the Valenhart family.
Assuming it belonged to the previous Duke Valenhart, she carefully flipped it open—only for her breath to hitch when she recognized the handwriting within. It was not the old duke's script, but her mother's.
The research detailed the cycle of destruction—how, every twenty years, the Ice Phoenix was reborn, heralding an era of turbulent mana. The phenomenon was tied to the death of the White Saber of the desert, an event that sent the world's mana spiraling into chaos.
But what sent chills down Magda's spine was the solution her ancestors had uncovered centuries ago.
The records spoke of the first Duke of Valenhart—a resourceful and ambitious man, married to a beautiful healer with silver hair and golden eyes.
His wife possessed a mysterious ability: when the land was plagued by the mana corruption of the White Saber, she alone could heal the afflicted.
On nights of the full moon, she would slip away to the snow-covered peaks of the Northern Wastelands.
One fateful night, driven by suspicion and desperation, the Duke followed her.
Hidden in the shadows, he watched as his wife ascended a lonely peak. At its summit, nestled between the mountains, was a hidden lake.
And there, beneath the pale glow of the moon, she transformed into a majestic Ice Phoenix. With a graceful motion, she cut her own flesh, spilling her divine blood upon the beasts that writhed in agony around the lake.
The moment her blood touched the creatures, their suffering ceased—the rampant mana was quelled, and the balance restored.
The Duke, stunned and horrified by the revelation, returned home first, pretending as if he had seen nothing.
Yet, beneath his composed exterior, his mind raced with questions.
Without his wife's knowledge, he delved into research, desperate for answers.
His efforts led him to a grim discovery—a passage that suggested that if all the gods of the world were slain simultaneously—the White Saber, the Ice Phoenix, the Green Turtle, and the Fire Dragon—all plagues and curses would come to an end.
With a heavy heart, the Duke made his decision.
The manuscript detailed his treacherous act. And then, on one fine day, when his wife returned after treating the villagers, he struck.
She pleaded with him, begged for the sake of their three children, but he would not listen. He had convinced himself that her death was the only way to break the cycle.
His blade found its mark, burying deep into her, staining the snow crimson as she gasped her final breath.
Her golden eyes, once filled with warmth, dimmed as she whispered a final plea, one he ignored.
As she perished, the plague miraculously ended. But his triumph came at a terrible cost.
The Valenhart bloodline was cursed—doomed never to know the warmth of companionship.
The first Duke himself descended into madness, tormented by the image of the wife he had slain, his paranoia driving him to a lonely, wretched end, despised by his own children.
But that was not the end.
The Ice Phoenix, bound to the cycle of life and death, continued to reincarnate every twenty years, taking the form of birds, hares, deer—any creature that the empire unknowingly housed.
And every twenty years, the Valenharts found it.
And every twenty years, they killed it.
But they did not stop at mere destruction.
Over the centuries, they collected the blood of each Ice Phoenix incarnation, refining their methods to track its rebirth.
With the knowledge passed down through generations, they created an instrument capable of detecting the Ice Phoenix's next reincarnation.
This very tool, the one Magda and Flora had discovered broken in the archives, had once guided the Valenharts in their grim duty.
The Valenharts' ritualistic hunt had become a legacy—a burden carried through generations.
The blood of each slain Ice Phoenix was stored, mixed, and refined, fueling the very device that allowed them to locate the next reincarnation. It was not just duty, it was their curse.
Magda's breath came in short gasps as she closed the document, her hands gripping the parchment so tightly it crinkled beneath her fingers.
Her mind reeled from the truth—her mother, Celeste, bore the same features described in the tale. Silver hair. Golden eyes. Had she been the reincarnation of the Ice Phoenix? Had she known?
Tears pricked at Magda's eyes, her chest tightening with emotions she couldn't yet name.
If Celeste had been the Phoenix, if she had known the fate of the Valenhart bloodline, then why had she stayed?
Why had she built a family, knowing it would only lead to sorrow?
Why did her mother break her father's heart knowing that they can never be together?
As the dim candlelight flickered around her, Magda realized that the answer she had sought had led her to something far more terrifying.
The beast-tide was coming.
And so was the next reincarnation of the Ice Phoenix.