Thousands of years ago, the world was without magic, and dragons roamed the skies. Humanity was stagnant and could not move forward. The skies were filled with the cries of man, until, one day a savior was born. His name was < >, upon reaching the age of 18, something called out to him, something from the skies. The people didn’t believe him and thought he was crazy, fearing he was “corrupted” by the thoughts of the shadows. The man wandered into the forest following this voice, walking days on end until he stumbled into a desert. The sun beat down on him, causing him to collapse. He cried with the last ounce of his strength, thinking he was dead until he heard the voice for one last time “You will not fall here, you have passed the trial. Man has conquered”. Suddenly he was filled with vigor, and when he got up, he saw a massive shrine-like structure. Light poured in from the ceiling, but the man could tell that this light was no ordinary light.
“Touch and you shall receive the blessing of the cosmos”
The man walked up to the alter placing his hand onto the cold stone. Suddenly, the light got stronger and stronger – eventually overwhelming and consuming him.
“This world will now be forever different- the things you once knew are gone.”
The man awoke and the alter laid broken before him. “W-wait, what am I supposed to do?” He shouted into the air but there was no response. The man looked down before him, about to cry, until he noticed something below him. It was a book, but it was written in a language he’d never seen before, but somehow, he understood it accurately as if he had known of it all his life.
The cover read: Hydraxis Mana Eternium: The Mana Hydraxis
The man picked up the book and walked outside to notice something spectacular; the world did look different. He saw, colors flowing all around and through living things, what he saw was the mana of the world, something hidden from the human gaze.
The man opened the book to its first chapter of the Hydraxis, and it dictated exactly what he was currently seeing.
“Mana flows through all, and through all life and death are bound. Those who can see the flow can also manipulate it with the right runes. These runes are lost to the normal eyes, but the ones cursed with the “Eyes of Hydrax” will be able to understand the secrets of this world, but with it comes a cost.”
The book continued to explain that not everyone would even be able to even use runes despite them existing, and even manipulating the flow of mana could be lethal. Synchronizing isn’t an easy process to begin with, and anyone lower that 30% is at risk of instantly disintegrating themselves.
“I’ll be able to change this world for the better”
The man closed his book and walked off into the distance, the sun at his back. But what he did not notice is the shadow looming under him