Long ago, in the peaceful land of Jubithia there lived a King and Queen, most loved and worshiped by their people.
Powerful wizards who kept the forests green, the mountains full of fresh air and the lands aplenty with crops.
Every year they held a banquet to celebrate the growth of the land, inviting all citizens of Jubithia to gather for a night of food, drink and entertainment.
One year, a hooded figure appeared as the moon rose in the sky and demanded the attention of all the guests. He explained that evil was brewing and not before long would an evil curse be bestowed upon the land, killing everyone in Jubithia, Including the King and Queen.
Terrified by what the hooded figure had to say, The King and Queen begged with him to give them more information. The mysterious figure laughed and demanded he become the sole ruler of Jubithia in exchange for his guidance.
The King and Queen refused his bargain and accused him of Treason, exiling him from the land. With another low chuckle, the hooded figure wished them luck with the curse and disappeared without a trace.
Left worried about the truth to the hooded figure’s words, the people of Jubithia became unsettled. The once joyful and prosperous land became cautious and selfish, leaving the people to become anxious in the wake of the inevitable curse. The King had turned his back on Jubithia, putting his focus on himself and the Queen, leaving the people of Jubithia to fend for themselves.
5 years had passed since the figures appearance, there was no longer a banquet, in fears he would return. On the anniversary of the mysterious figure’s appearance, The King was woken in the middle of the night. A strange orb of golden light beckoned him to follow.
The light led him to the main room in his castle, where atop a small wooden table sat 3 chalices. A gold chalice encrusted magnificent rubies and sapphires, a silver chalice laced with intricate carvings of a wolf and a bronze chalice, rusted and worn and covered in cobwebs.
A voice beckoned him to drink from one, releaving him of his sins and lifting the curse. As the King neared the table, he heard the voice again, “all is not what it seems”. Thinking he was dreaming, the king instinctively reached out for the most beautiful chalice, the golden one.
As he drank, the hooded figure appeared once more. “ You have failed Jubithia” he said calmly. “You put your greed before your people, now you will show them what you truely are”. The figure snapped his bony fingers and the King collapsed to the ground.
Sprouting enormous black wings and rows of jagged silver fangs, the King was no longer human. Th red eyed beast he had now become let out an earth shattering shriek.