Dark Magicians
Prophecy
Light grows dim, an enemy revealed.
Near smoking earth, the many gather.
The darkness grows, the world fights.
The Dark Magicians are of spirious origins. According to the Legend of Nidiz, they came from the fires of the Red Mountains. Overall, they were probably the hardest enemy against which the world fought.
When the Dark Magicians first came into being, the Red Mountains erupted and literally blanketed the world in ash. It was only the rain which finally swept the ash from the sky. When the world began to dig itself out, Great King Alasutham held a council with the other kings of the world and the next spring, an army disembarked from Atalan and sailed to Etnyben to investigate the source of the ash.
Nidiz was the only survivor of that first army. His account told of a fortress with tall walls and three spires which went high into the air. As his company moved toward the fortress, a piece of rock fell from one of the spires. When the dust cleared, a figure with green skin and ragged black robes stood in the place of the rock. As they drew closer, fire shot from the Dark Magician's hands and incinerated many of the soldiers.
Nidiz was the only survivor of that first Dark Magician and slit its throat. The rest of the army then attacked. Unfortunately, the entire fortress then collapsed into a throng of Dark Magicians, each shooting fire from their hands. Nidiz blamed Commander Sartona for the failure of the attack, but many will argue that the enemy was just too strong. This was the first army to be annihilated by the Dark Magicians.
Nidiz himself escaped the fire because he accidentally tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. When he finally raised his head, the fortress was back intact although it seemed to be missing a few small pieces. He immediately got to his feet and ran from that place.
What makes the story of Nidiz so intriguing is how he attributes his survival that day not to luck, but to a white flower growing along the banks of Lake Icavor. He claimed that as a Dark Magician came near the flower, the figure of a woman appeared and killed the Dark Magician. Nidiz brought back several shards of black rock as proof of this claim.
Many other armies would march against the Dark Magicians and fail. The next three prophecies were fulfilled when Gulith the Barbidon led an army up the Icavor River. Partway down the river, he ordered his soldiers to climb the unstable cliffs on the side of a large waterfall. The cliffs collapsed and his army was destroyed. Gulith was added to the list of heros not to emulate.
The Dark Magicians were finally destroyed by Josloy. He had read the Legend of Nidiz and knew the flower was the key. Unable to convince the Great King to try it, he set out to find a safer route of attack. After spending several years wandering the wilderness of Etnyben, he discovered a pass through the mountains near the antarctic circle. When he returned to Atalan, he managed to convince Queen Hudena'Sor that he would succeed and she convinced the king on his behalf.
Josloy then led a great army across Etnyben. On the banks of Lake Icavor, they built great siege shields which they rolled across the battlefield toward the fortress. The shields were made of star metal which would resist the hot fires of the Dark Magicians. Josloy himself did not carry a sword. He carried only a pot with the flower mentioned by Nidiz. The battle was swift and ended with a blast greater than anyone had expected. The shields were completely destroyed and many men were thrown considerable distances. The flower itself did not survive.