The Curse of Estoria
No one knew why the ash began to flutter from the sky, falling in a seemingly endless cascade of nothingness and turning the world blank.
The once golden fields, lush with grains and vegetables, quickly turned to grey barren wastes as the ash suffocated seedlings, poisoned livestock, and caused famine and starvation throughout the land.
Buildings collapsed under the weight of the constant downpour, forcing families from their homes. The roads became cut off, the thick ash banks seemed to immediately block the mountain passes; constant tumbling flakes building up far quicker than anyone could clear. Eventually they stopped trying, and over time the ash solidified into something akin to a huge wall, sealing Estoria off from the rest of the world.
The people, starving and terrified, fled from all around the country to the capital to seek answers and help from their King. But when they arrived, the Great Castle was sealed; the gates unmovable, as if they were made of stone, not wood. Not a single door would open; the windows bent and flexed, unbreakable against the rubble people hurled at them trying to gain entrance.
For weeks the people huddled in what buildings they could, watching for a sign from the castle beyond the walls. A light in a window, a shadow across the parapets, a sound from beyond the impenetrable gates, something that would tell them their king was alive and well, and working on a solution to the problem. They had the greatest minds in the palace, the strongest knights, and the most powerful fairies. Surely, the royal household would be able to find a way to save the people.
But days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. No word was received from the grand building in the capital’s centre and no birds flew with messages from the neighbouring kingdoms to ask why the mountain passes were blocked. Eventually, the people of Estoria understood they had been abandoned.
Over time, the population that had made it to the city dwindled; food was scarce and conditions were cramped as people clustered together allowing illness and disease to spread. Those who were left, worried that without direction they would all soon meet a sad end.
And so the council rose up; thirteen men and women of all ages and vocations, nominated and voted for by the people to lead what remained of the country of Estoria out of the ash and back into prosperity.
To fight against whatever curse had been brought upon them and, perhaps, to one day break it.
