Chapter One:
Battle at the Base of Mount Olympus

A horrible plague had been poisoning the gods and the planet. The gods were dying quickly. One hero, James Wavebreaker, was given the title of Beewitcher.

Part beekeeper and part witch, the Beewitcher’s role was to protect a hive of defenseless magical bees called the Witchive. The Witchive produced Magikomeli, a magical honey with potent healing properties that was rumored to have the potential to restore dead gods to life.

James, his father Barbarian Mordecai, and his stepmother Beast Master Zulynn formed a campaign to restore the gods by taking Melissa, the queen of the Witchive, to the top of Mount Olympus, where the Witchive’s arcane honey could restore the dead gods to live. They traveled for months.

They had seen many kingdoms and communities ravaged and destroyed by the Rotplauge. They had helped where they could, occasionally using some of the Magikomeli in extremely dire circumstances to undo some of the damage.

After 3 months of travel they felt prepared to scale Mount Olympus and so they came to the base of the mountain. There, an evil presence awaited them. The Druid that had been one step ahead of them the whole time. The Druid that had been responsible for the plague’s spread. The Druid who controlled death and decay itself confronted them at the base of the mountain.

“You will surrender now,” the black-eyed scion of the Gravebound stated coldly. “It’s too late anyway.”

James remained resolute. “You’re Vilnathari the Vile, the evil druid who has continually corrupted the landscape of the planet.”

“You’ve been hurting the earth, and killing the animals,” Zulynn the Beast Master cried.

“Yes, and he’s the Beewitcher and your his campaigners. Your the ones who’s been undoing my work.” Vilnathari revealed. “Hand over Melissa, and I’ll let you leave… alive,” Vilnathari snarled.

Mordecai stepped in between his family and Vilnithari. “You’re out of your depth, mushroom boy,” Mordecai claimed, readying his glaive.

Vilnathari was disappointed. “Your mistake, old man,” Vilnathari said, a scimitar of fire forming in his open hand.

The Druid and the Barbarian clashed in a battle of flames and steel. James watched the battle until a hand grasped his shoulder.

“Run,” Zulynn whispered. “Your father and I will handle the Druid, you get Melissa to the top of the mountain.” James ran with the Witchive perched at the top of his staff. He ran past the combat. James did not escape Vilnathari’s notice. A bright white Moonbeam surrounded the Beewitcher. James writhed on the ground as he was struck with searing pain.

Mordecai fought Vilnathari until he couldn’t bear to hear his sons screaming. He dropped to the ground. He looked the Druid in the eyes. “We surrender. Just don’t kill my son.”

“It’s too late for that now, old man,” the Druid growled, impaling Mordecai on his flaming blade.

Mordecai, in his dying moments, noticed something in Vilnathari’s eyes as the light faded from his own. “The Druid is brainwashed, Zulynn,” Mordecai muttered as blood spurted from the searing wound in his stomach. Mordecai collapsed to the ground. Rotspores sprung forth from his body.

“I now offer you the same thing I offered the old fool,” Vilnathari sneered. “I take Melissa, and you leave here.”

Zulynn hesitated, her eyes flitting between the evil Druid, her dead husband, and her dying stepson.

“You don’t have long to decide,” Vilnathari said motioning to James, writhing in agony.

Zulynn steadied her mind calling on primal magic. Vilnathari grew impatient. “I refuse to let you and your master destroy my world. You mock the true calling of the Druids, evil one,” Zulynn said stomping a foot into the dirt.

“As you wish,” Vilnathari said, turning to destroy James. As Vilnithari raised his hands to manipulate his dark magic, a large tiger pounced onto him from behind. His concentration on the Moonbeam was broken. James was free. Vilnathari and the tiger rolled across the ground, locked in battle.

“Good girl, Teeth,” Zulynn shouted to the tiger, while running to her stepson. Zulynn helped James up.

“We have to get dad,” James said weakly.

Zulynn looked over to Mordecai’s corpse. It was writhing and moving. Soon Mordecai would be a Rotghoul. “It’s too late son. You know what happens to them when the spores touch them,” Zulynn said sadly.

The pair ran past Teeth the tiger and Vilnathari, now also Wild-Shaped into a tiger, battling in the clearing. They ran into the forest away from Mount Olympus. “But we have to get to the top of the mountain,” James protested. “We have to save them.”

“Not like this. We can’t save them if he kills us up there. We won’t survive another encounter, not like this. We need to lick our wounds before we scale that mountain,” Zulynn replied making way towards civilization.