Veil of crimson shadows

Chapter 1: The Mask Appears

The clock struck twelve. Midnight was a time most feared in the crumbling city of Raven moor, where shadows stretched long, and whispers carried secrets too heavy for the day. The narrow alleys of the Iron Quarter were slick with rain, reflecting the dim light of flickering gas lamps.

Caleb Dorne pulled his coat tighter against the chill. He had been many things in his twenty-seven years. a thief, a liar, a dreamer, but tonight, he was just a man trying to make it to dawn. The package tucked under his arm throbbed with an unnatural heat, as if it had a pulse of its own.

"How much farther, Caleb?" hissed a voice from the darkness behind him.

Caleb didn't turn. He knew better than to look back. "Not far. Just keep quiet, Theo."

The voice belonged to Theo Grange, a wiry man with a sharp nose and an even sharper tongue. He was Caleb's oldest friend and, arguably, the only person foolish enough to follow him into trouble.

The two men skidded to a stop at the mouth of an alley. Before them loomed an ancient warehouse, its windows shattered like jagged teeth. Caleb's heart pounded as he reached for the rusted door handle.

"What's in the package?" Theo asked, his curiosity outweighing his common sense.

Caleb's jaw tightened. "Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

With a creak that seemed to echo into the void, the door swung open. The air inside was stale, tinged with the faint scent of decay. Caleb stepped forward, his boots crunching on the broken glass. Theo hesitated but followed, his eyes darting to every shadow.

At the center of the room stood a pedestal. And on it rested the mask.

It was unlike anything Caleb had ever seen. Made of polished obsidian, it seemed to drink in the light around it. The edges were adorned with intricate carvings that shifted when he tried to focus on them. It was beautiful. And it was wrong.

"Is this it?" Theo whispered, his voice tinged with awe.

Caleb nodded, unable to tear his eyes away. He had heard the stories of how the Mask of Midnight granted its wearer unimaginable power, but at a terrible cost. Stories whispered in hushed tones in Raven moor's darkest corners. Stories he had dismissed as fairy tales. Until now.

"Let's grab it and go," Theo urged, his voice breaking the spell.

Caleb stepped forward, his fingers trembling as they closed around the mask. The moment he lifted it from the pedestal, the air in the room shifted. A low hum filled the space, growing louder and louder until it was deafening.

"Caleb, what's happening?" Theo shouted.

Before Caleb could respond, the mask flared to life, its carvings glowing with an eerie crimson light. He staggered backward as a voice deep and resonant echoed in his mind.

"You have chosen me, Caleb Dorne. Now, you will bear the burden of Midnight."

The warehouse dissolved into darkness. Caleb's screams were the last thing Theo heard before everything went silent.