Shadows & Sorcery #7
Welcome to issue 7 of Shadows & Sorcery! This is a paid subscriber post. Below you’ll find sources of strange sorcery, bizarre other worlds, and curious country customs…
Today’s stories are:
Throne of the Sorcerers
Kings of Dark
Domain of the Dead
Fires of the Knights
Ritual Vale
Throne of the Sorcerers
In ages when sorcery reigns supreme, when spirits walk the earth under a conjurer's command, and secret words are spoken in hidden chambers, when the pulse of magic thrums through the world, in a far and dark place, it appears. Countless volumes have been written on its properties, its origins, and the dangers and challenges that await those who seek it.
It is the reason why the kings of men sit upon thrones from which they decree the law. It is the seat of secret lordship, and its existence is known only to devout adepts of magic. The seat from which all works are governed and the convergence point of the Three Worlds. Passed down from age to age, the story flourishes when every court in the land houses a magician or astronomer, every village elder is a shaman, and spells are passed around on street corners. And the story withers and returns to whispers when wizards lay shackled in deep dungeons or burning upon pyres.
It has no creator, at least that which can be known. It is theorized the movement of forces between the worlds allows it to coalesce. Perhaps it is the true power of the Middle World of humanity, this axis-plane through which things express themselves. Much thought and ink has been spent trying to ascertain the extent of its nature and power, but all that can be truly gleaned from it is the incalculable hunger, passion, and all-consuming thought it awakens in magicians highly attuned to the other worlds. This is its nature: domination and enlightenment.
As of yet, no magician has claimed the throne though it has been spotted well over a dozen times through the ages, each manifestation making itself known through feeling and vision. When it does appear, all of a sudden, old volumes are pulled from shelves, and thought the world over wanders back to the Throne of the Sorcerers.
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