It has been a thousand years since the once powerful
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planet of Blessing lost its life-giving two suns, and
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countless millennia since the days of the great
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magicians. An expedition of alien voyagers came upon
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the now ice-covered sphere, drawn there by an
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unexplained lone beacon far below the miles of frozen
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moisture, they unlocked a written history of Blessing
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from its almost undiscovered tomb. So begins the story
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of Magica.
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It was a time of celebration. The Book of Magica and
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the wizards who had used its spells so wisely for the
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good of the people were being honored in all the great
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cities of the world. There was however an exception.
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Where good thrives, evil survives and evil has plans
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for survival.
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The celebration of thanks and prosperity would signal
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the forces of Evilsyde to begin the attack and
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ultimate capture and destruction of Magica. The spells
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from the Book would be used to turn all of those
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unwilling to join Evilsyde into statues of stone and
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send their spirits to Otherworld, where they would
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eventually be assimilated into the energy needed to
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drive Evilsyde, and maintain its power without the
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necessity of the Book and its incantations forever.
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Defenses were naturally relaxed during the festive
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preparations and although the battle was well-fought
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by both factions, the minions of the dark prevailed.
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Their assault was well-planned and executed to a
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fault. After overwhelming their initial opposition,
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they pushed on to the sacred ground upon which the
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Book of Magica rested. They possessed a much weaker
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form of magic themselves, and although it would be
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normally quite useless against the strength of Magica,
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the inability of the Wizards to gather themselves
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together in time, coupled with the perfect timing and
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determination of the attackers, spelled doom for the
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Book and its followers.
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The leader of the insurrection was the high priest and
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executioner known as Shadowcast. His presence could
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make the naughtiest of children become obedient and
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inspire great fear among the adult population. This
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man, most vile, would now be ruler of all and
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answerable to none. His reign would plunge Blessing
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into eternal darkness and prepare the way for the
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coming of his master, Astoroth, the Grand Duke of Hell.
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The capture of Magica did not, however, mean that
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Shadowcast had finally reached his goal. He must now
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find and conquer Blessing's Grand Wizard and legendary
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hero, Eriel. Eriel, who defeated Evilsyde time and
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again with his understanding and use of Magica's
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spells. He would be the last stumbling block of total
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domination.
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Eriel had removed himself from the general population
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in anticipation of everlasting peace and now he
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devoted all of his energy to meditation and praise of
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his God. Lately though, he had been visited by many
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temptations in his dreams. Promises of pleasure,
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riches and power raced through his sleeping mind. All
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these lures had been placed there by Shadowcast,
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hoping to avoid confrontation between this dominant
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man and his own villainous forces. Eriel however had
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resisted these solicitations and was now warned of
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some impending danger. He managed to make his way to
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the sacred ground by cloaking his identity with simple
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spells, only to be discovered just before his attempt
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to rescue the Book of Magica, but not before he was
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able to memorize the most important of Magica's
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charms, The spell of Restoration.
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The ceremony of thanksgiving was now directed toward
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the transmission of spirits to Otherworld. One by one
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the good souls of Blessing were turned to stone and
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sent on to their grisly fate, until only the noble
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Eriel remained. The spectacle that followed was meant
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to degrade Eriel and raise the courage of the cowardly
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supplicants of Evilsyde, but true to his
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indominantable bearing, he promised to return and
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banish Evilsyde forever. Then he was gone.
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The horrors of Otherworld are now revealed to the
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masses huddled together for some small measure of
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comfort. First the adults were separated from their
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| children amid cries an |
