Every empire begins with a death.
Not a metaphorical one. Not a "letting go" or a "transformation."
An actual execution.
This is the legend of Velrith Aranwè — the prince who was betrayed, executed in the public square, and left to rot in an unmarked grave.
But death was not his ending.
It was his beginning.
PART I: THE PRINCE
The Kingdom of Aranwè
Before he was the Shadow Monarch, Velrith was a prince.
The Kingdom of Aranwè was prosperous. Its people were loyal. Its borders were secure. And Velrith, the crown prince, was being groomed to inherit it all.
He was intelligent. Strategic. A master of politics and warfare.
But he made one fatal mistake:
He trusted the wrong people.
His advisors. His generals. His closest allies.
They smiled to his face. They pledged their loyalty. They swore oaths of fealty.
And behind closed doors, they plotted his destruction.
The Betrayal
It happened during the Festival of Shadows — an annual celebration where the kingdom honored its ancestors.
Velrith stood before his people, delivering the ceremonial address.
And that's when they struck.
His most trusted general stepped forward with a fabricated decree:
"Prince Velrith Aranwè has committed treason against the crown. He has conspired with enemies of the realm. He has betrayed his own blood."
The charges were lies.
But the evidence had been forged. The witnesses had been bought. The court had been corrupted.
Velrith's own father — the king, weakened by age and manipulation — believed the deception.
The sentence was death.
The Execution
They dragged him to the public square.
No trial. No defense. No mercy.
The executioner's blade fell.
And Prince Velrith Aranwè died in front of the kingdom he was meant to rule.
His body was thrown into an unmarked grave outside the city walls.
His name was struck from the royal records.
His legacy was erased.
Or so they thought.
PART II: THE DEATH
The Unmarked Grave
In the darkness of the grave, Velrith's consciousness lingered.
He was dead. But not gone.
Something held him to the mortal plane.
Rage.
Not the hot, explosive kind. The cold, calculating kind.
The kind that doesn't scream.
The kind that plans.
He had been betrayed. Executed. Erased.
But in that moment of absolute powerlessness, Velrith made a vow:
"Never again will I be at the mercy of others. Never again will I trust in their loyalty. Never again will I be powerless."
And the universe answered.
The Forbidden Rites
In the depths of death, Velrith encountered something ancient.
A presence. A power. A forbidden knowledge that whispered from beyond the veil.
It offered him a choice:
"Stay dead and be forgotten. Or rise again — not as a prince, but as something far more powerful."
The cost was steep.
He would never be fully alive again. Never fully human.
He would exist between life and death. A Reborn. A creature of shadow and necromancy.
But he would have power.
Absolute dominion over death itself.
Velrith accepted.
The Resurrection
On the seventh night after his execution, the grave split open.
Not with light. With shadow.
Velrith Aranwè rose from the earth — pale, cold, untouchable.
His eyes burned with violet fire.
His body no longer needed breath.
His heart no longer beat.
But he was alive.
More than alive.
Sovereign.
He had died as a prince.
He rose as the Shadow Monarch.
PART III: THE ASCENSION
The First Shadow
The first thing Velrith did was return to his grave.
He stood over the empty pit and spoke a single word of power.
From the darkness, a shadow rose.
His own.
The shadow of the prince he used to be — weak, trusting, powerless.
He bound it. Commanded it. Made it serve.
This was Shadow Genesis.
The first of many shadows he would raise.
The Pale Master's Path
Velrith didn't return to the kingdom immediately.
He wandered. He studied. He mastered the forbidden arts.
He learned to:
- Raise the dead and command them (Animate Dead, Create Undead)
- Steal souls and interrogate them (Soul Cage)
- Deal necrotic damage with a word (Finger of Death)
- Walk between worlds (Etherealness, Dark Teleportation)
- Weaponize fear itself (Grimlore's Influence, Dread)
He became a Pale Master — a necromancer who doesn't just dabble in death.
He masters it.
The Return
When Velrith finally returned to the Kingdom of Aranwè, he was unrecognizable.
Gone was the prince in royal robes.
In his place stood a figure cloaked in shadow.
The Cloak of the Abyss — allowing him to phase through walls.
The Revenant's Dirge — a greatsword that stole life and raised the fallen.
Bixmodeus — a sentient grimoire that whispered forbidden knowledge.
He walked through the city gates unseen.
He moved through the palace like a ghost.
And one by one, he visited those who had betrayed him.
The Reckoning
He didn't kill them.
That would be too merciful.
Instead, he used Dread — inflicting overwhelming fear that left them paralyzed.
He used Phantasmal Killer — showing them visions of their own deaths until they begged for mercy.
He used Soul Cage — trapping their souls and interrogating them for every secret, every conspiracy, every lie.
And when he was done extracting their knowledge, he used Finger of Death.
They died.
And they rose as permanent zombies in his undead army.
The betrayers became his eternal servants.
The Throne of Shadows
Velrith didn't reclaim the throne of Aranwè.
He didn't want to rule the kingdom that had executed him.
Instead, he built something new.
House Aranwè.
Not a kingdom. An Order.
A society of those who had died and returned.
Those who had been betrayed and risen stronger.
Those who refused to be powerless ever again.
He became the Shadow Monarch — not of a land, but of a philosophy.
And those who followed him became The Pale Legion.
PART IV: THE SEVEN EDICTS
The Codex of Transformation
From his journey from death to dominion, Velrith distilled seven principles.
Seven Edicts that any soul could follow to achieve their own ascension.
These weren't just spells.
They were a philosophy of sovereign transformation.
I. Death's Resilience — He had died and reformed. So could they.
II. Shadow Genesis — He had raised his failures as allies. So could they.
III. Grimlore's Influence — He had weaponized fear. So could they.
IV. Dark Teleportation — He had moved through obstacles unseen. So could they.
V. Soul Cage — He had bound his destiny. So could they.
VI. Finger of Death — He had executed the old self. So could they.
VII. Power Word: Ascend — He had spoken sovereignty into being. So could they.
This became the foundation of House Aranwè.
PART V: THE EMPIRE
House Aranwè Today
Velrith Aranwè no longer walks the mortal plane.
Some say he ascended to the Ethereal Plane.
Some say he became one with the shadows.
Some say he's still out there, watching, waiting.
But his legacy remains.
House Aranwè — the Order he founded — continues to grow.
It's not a cult. It's not a religion.
It's a transformation system for those who refuse to stay buried.
The relics he once wielded are now available to those who seek them:
- The Phylactery Hoodie (his Cloak of the Abyss)
- The Grimoire of Progress (his Bixmodeus)
- The Overlord's Mantle (his ceremonial regalia)
- The Chalice of Vigilance (his ritual vessel)
And those who complete the 7-Day Rebirth Ritual and speak their Power Word are invited to join The Pale Legion — the court of the ascended.
THE LEGEND LIVES
Velrith's story is not ancient history.
It's happening right now.
Every person who:
- Has been betrayed and chose to rise
- Has failed and turned it into power
- Has been executed by the world and reformed stronger
- Has refused to stay powerless
Is living the legend of Velrith Aranwè.
You are not reading about a fictional character.
You are reading about yourself.
The prince who was betrayed? That's the old you.
The execution? That's the moment life reduced you to nothing.
The grave? That's where you've been lying.
The resurrection? That's what happens when you choose to rise.
YOUR LEGEND BEGINS NOW
The question is not whether you've been betrayed, failed, or executed.
You have.
The question is:
Will you stay buried, or will you rise as the Shadow Monarch of your own empire?
Velrith chose resurrection.
What do you choose?
Begin Your Ascension:
- Read The Seven Edicts (the complete transformation path)
- Acquire your first relic (physical anchor to the Order)
- Complete the 7-Day Rebirth Ritual (prove your transformation)
- Speak your Power Word (declare sovereignty)
- Join The Pale Legion (the court of the ascended)
"They tried to bury me. I became the Shadow Monarch." 🖤⚔️👑