The fall of Yggdrasil all began on a midsummer's night. I still recall it quite clearly to this day. A full moon hung above, bathing the world in its warm glow. The stars sparkled ever so beautifully in the night sky, like little diamonds upon a dark drape. All was peaceful beneath Yggdrassil's beautiful branches, the chaos of the outside world an foreign notion to the sacred land.

Unfortunately, the blissful atmosphere would not last, for, seemingly out of nowhere, a dense, evil aura blanketed the city, carrying with it a choking sensation of death and destruction. In my time, I have come across several evil beings. Vampires, demons, lichs, devils; Name it, I have seen it. But never, not once in my life, have I ever experienced the sort of dread I felt that night.

The pure destructive nature of that aura was like nothing I had ever felt. It was not a matter of power, but intent. The twisted, dark, vile presence promised death to all who experienced it. In fact, there were quite a number of people who fell ill upon contact with that aura.

Fearing the worst, I, whom at the time, was chieftain of the city, rushed to the city gates with a fierce delegation to confront the source of this evil.

We had expected an army of undead – maybe zombies, or demons. However, we were shocked to find a single man stood at the city gates. This man though, filled us with more dread than if we had to face the entire world. That's right. This was none other than Razznik Y'Terlow.

He had been missing for months following Aethir's denouncement. But he suddenly showed up on our doorstep. As you can understand, we collectively cursed our bad luck, wondering what could have possibly brought this calamity to our doorstep. Surprisingly, we didn't need to speak before Razznik made his demand.

And what an outrageous demand it was too.

I still recall his exact words to this day. The sheer arrogance and affrontery of it all. "Five Tasks. I'll accomplish any Five Tasks for you. In return I desire a branch of Yggdrasil." Now, sitting here, listening to me, you might think this was some sort of trade or bargain.

It was not.

Razznik shamelessly demanded a branch of Yggdrassil, knowing full well no one had ever received a branch. Leaves might have been given out, but to cut off a branch was beyond blasphemous! This was an extension of the gods! However, his tone of voice, his eyes, and his overall aura revealed he was not here to negotiate. He had stated his terms. Now, it was in our best interests to either agree to those terms, or risk losing the city to his rage.

Fearing the worst, I quickly explained that I could not make decisions in regards to Yggdrassil. The World Tree was handled by the Treants. Now, before I go any further, Sophie, you are familiar with the Treants' origin, but I wager the same cannot be said of you, Zuri.

Ha. Do not fret. I expected as much. Most people do not know the true history of the Treants. You see, Treants are living trees. They look, and grow like trees, but they have surprising intellect, although they may take ages to come to a decision.

Now, did the term 'living trees,' ring any bells?

Yes, Zuri. Treants were born from Yggdrassil. Every couple of years, a branch of Yggdrasil would gain sentience. This branch would then break off from the main tree and fall to a clearing below. At first there was one. Then two. Now there are thousands. Those beautiful miracles of nature were called Treants... And I caused their extinction.

...

Okay, back to the story, girls. So, as I said earlier, I took Razznik to Yggdrasill's trunk where the Treants made their home. My hope was that they would have a way to convince Razznik to back off. I certainly lacked the courage to do so. If it were a one-on-one fight, I might have taken him on, but there was an entire city of people to protect. I could not risk their lives to satisfy my selfish pride.

Now, I didn't mention this before, but because of the Treants' pure nature, they did not like conversing with the impure humes. So, they often had someone they trusted to speak on their behalf. Someone they considered pure of heart and mind. We called them 'World Guardians.' Mostly as a joke, because, of the 'World Tree.'

At the time Razznik came in, the current World Guardian was a newly appointed child, barely 10 years of age. The child was exceptionally skilled in all sorts of strange magics, but he enjoyed playing with the Treants far more than he did training.

Hehe, do you think him young? Never make that mistake. Marusan might have been a child, but his intellect could rival our best scholars. This was why I did not hesitate to bring Razznik before him.

Marusan and Razznik's meeting was surprisingly uneventful. Marusan gamely agreed to Razznik's requests, and in return, gave out five tasks, each exponentially more difficult than the last. The last task still sends shivers down my spine to this day.

You see, there were many powers that coveted the World Tree for themselves. Unfortunately, the city's staunch defence, and the tree's ability to protect itself meant most people could not pose a threat. Unfortunately, there existed this race of demons called void-eaters.

Void-eaters possessed the ability to tear through space, which allowed them to slip through our defences and attack the World Tree with impunity. No other race or faction could regularly pose a threat to the World Tree, and quite a few Treants had perished to them.

Marusan final task for Razznik was to track down every last void-eater, and then render the race extinct. Only then would he give up the branch. At the time, I could not believe my ears. Kill every Void-Eater? This demon race did not live in communities like others. Instead, they were scattered all over space, in secret personal dimensions. Forget killing; just locating them alone was an impossible task.

Surprisingly though, Razznik accepted the task without a second thought, shocking just about every soul in the clearing. I remember looking at Marusan, wondering if he had gambled wrongly. This was Razznik Y'Terlow! Who knew what was impossible for this man!?

Also, especially because it was Razznik, we could not afford to give him a branch, taboo or not. This was a man responsible for slaughtering cities with ease. Who knew what kind of evil he would wrought upon the world if we handed him something so powerful?

Luckily, Marusan pulled me aside after Razznik left to accomplish the given tasks. He explained that the goal was never to give Razznik an unfinishable task, as the walking calamity would never agree. Instead, Marusan gave out a time-consuming task. One, which, regardless of strength, would still take a long time to accomplish.

Intrigued, I asked Marusan why he went through all that trouble. Razznik would still accomplish the task, and then return for the branch. And Razznik would not be pleased if we withheld the branch or tried to extend by giving out more tasks.

Marusan then revealed his brilliant plan. He never, for a moment, believed a task existed that Razznik could not complete. No; his intent was always to buy time, and as such, he gave a task which would consume an inordinate amount of time, regardless of personal skill or strength.

The reason Marusan went to all this trouble, was to lay a trap of epic proportions for Razznik. You see, back then Yggdrasil served as a gateway to many dimensions – the Divine Realms included. Though it took a long time to set up, gods could descend upon the earth when summoned through Yggdrassil's branches.

Yes, Little One. Marusan's plan was to have Aethir descend upon the earth when Razznik returned. She could then wipe out Razznik with nothing but a simple flick of her fingers. Such is the insurmountable power of the gods.

It was a brilliant plan. One which both the Treants and the Council agreed was worth trying. Razznik was a blight upon the world, and so, there were none who stood up against the proposal.

Looking back, I wish someone had done so...

But, regardless, we cannot change the past. As it so happened, we did go along with the plan as intended. Marusan and the Council spent days worshipping Yggdrasil, their prayers charging the tree with holy energy required to facilitate Aethir's transfer.

Everything was on track. The veil to the Divine Realm slowly, but surely tore open with each passing day. One day, two weeks later, the veil finally tore open, ushering in divine energy onto the world. I still recall the warmth to this day. There is nothing like it. The sweet cleansing sensation, like all evil is washed from your body. I cannot begin to describe it. This is something you must one day experience yourself.

More importantly, following the veil's tearing, a tremendous pressure exploded out of the veil, forcing everyone to their knees. We did not have to look to know that a god was about to descend to the mortal plane.

Everything was perfect. The plan was on track. However, we did make one small, but extremely catastrophic error.

We underestimate the perverseness of Razznik's resourcefulness. Tasks which, collectively, should have taken months, if not years, he achieved in two weeks. To date, I am clueless as to how he managed to accomplish this feat, but at the time, that was the last thing on my mind.

This was because Razznik chose the worst possible moment to return – right when Aethir was descending to earth. Listen, girls, have I mentioned Razznik's rage? Someone once described it as a 'Chimera with a thorn in its paw.' Razznik's anger was a legendary sight to behold. Contrary to how it may seem, he was not easily enraged, especially during his latter years.

However, those unfortunate enough to stoke his rage were consumed by the enduring, endless inferno that was Razznik's rage.

On that day, we experienced his rage for ourselves.

Upon his return, Razznik took one look at the veil, and instantly figured out what we were planning. His response? Quite reasonable really. Like a true gentleman, he rendered the Treant extinct, cut down Yggdrasil with a cursed sword, and then demolished the city, bringing an end to millenia of peaceful civilization.

I have never seen so much death and destruction in my life. The casualties amounted to the millions. The world wept that night, and for several nights after as what was left of Yggdrasil was forcibly seized by Razznik before he departed.

Initially, we chose not to chase him too far because we just believed Yggdrasil would regrow one day. Unfortunately, we did not account for Razznik's proficiency with curses. The curse he used was evil to its core. But even worse, it thrived on pure energy. The type that Yggdrasil emanated.

The curse grew more powerful through feeding on Yggdrasil's energy, and then rendered it impossible to grow. No one knows how Razznik obtained this curse – which seemed tailor-made for Yggdrasil, but in the aftermath no one cared.

Like so many before, we were assured in our own hubris, and were thus foolish enough to challenge Razznik.

We lost.

And the price we had to pay for that loss... Too steep... Far too steep.

Marusan lost his entire family in one night. I lost my children, who had been part of the guards. It was a terrible night. One which I regret deeply to this day. Unfortunately, Marusan did not take the loss so well, and suffered a mental breakdown. Now, he lives in solitude, choosing not to interact with other humes, save a select few.

Heh... but you know. There was a silver lining in all that destruction.

Yggdrasil was the only mode of transportation between our realm and the Divine Realm. Without it, the gods could not descend into our world. At least, not for long. However, the same applied the other way. With Yggdrasil gone, Razznik's inadvertently killed his dream of one day challenging the gods.

Personally, I like to imagine how miserable he must have been the moment he found out this truth.

Heh... But, that is the story of Razznik and us.

The final tale is one of love, betrayal and sacrifice. The tale of Razznik and the leader of the Cursed Seven. The only man on this planet to have had the honor of calling Razznik, friend. The last is the tale of Razznik, a vampire-werewolf hybrid named Lucius Ludarak, and the daughter of the realm's most powerful being, Zeno.