During a huge war in the Barren Lands, the Moniyan Empire's Second Regiment was almost annihilated. Only one soldier survived, but he lost all of his comrades and was left to walk back to his homeland alone.
The Barren Lands are shrouded in dark clouds all year round. Without the sun, moon, or stars to guide him, the soldier lost his way and strayed into the Shadow Swamp.
The Shadow Swamp is a corrupted forest filled with moist, putrid earth and water. The soldier was exhausted and hungry, and the endless forest plunged him into darkness and despair.
Just as he was about to faint, he felt a strange sensation on his back. He lost control of his limbs and felt himself being dragged through the forest at an incredible speed.
The soldier was about to lose consciousness when he came to a halt. He looked up and saw the ruins of a great vine-entangled temple. The temple was weathered by the wind and frost, but it was still grand and imposing.
The strange sensation on the soldier's back faded away, but he saw something small hop into the bushes nearby. He was determined to find out what it was, so he followed it.
The soldier heard a loud rustling in the bushes, and he saw a small creature about the size of a coal briquette. He reached out to touch it, but before he could, countless other creatures emerged from the bushes and stacked themselves together.
In a matter of seconds, the creatures had transformed into a mighty beast. The soldier was terrified and fainted.
When he woke up, he was no longer in the Shadow Swamp. He was on the border of the Barren Lands and the Moniyan Empire.
The soldier returned to Moniyan and told his story, but no one believed him. They thought he was hallucinating after having narrowly escaped death.
However, the soldier's story was eventually proven to be true. A student at the Academy of Magic read an Elven text called "Azrya" that described a faction called the Daktec. The Daktec were creatures that could attach themselves to living beings and control their movements.
The student showed the text to Eudora, the dean of the Ulturia School. Eudora had read the soldier's writings and confirmed that they described a Daktec encounter.
Eudora told the student that the Daktec were intelligent and peaceful creatures. They had never ventured out of Azrya before, but they had been forced to leave their home because of the Abyss.
The Abyss is a corrupting force that is destroying the world. The Daktec are fighting against the Abyss, but they are outnumbered and outmatched.
The future of the Daktec is uncertain. They are fighting for their survival, but they need help. If the world does not unite against the Abyss, the Daktec will be lost forever.
Khmer Storytelling:
