Mercor didn't understand. He'd heard of the two races of the world, but they were the Humans and the Undead. The undead had become minutely few in number and had turned into mere legend. Mercor, of course, now knew they were real. He had no idea as to who The Darkness were.
My father, King Mortem, is not the man with whom I wish to be associated. Henceforth, I shall be known as Salus Mortan. If I survive this war, I will retire as the Lord of the small village of Exordior, I am quite fond of the place. It has been days since my last entry, and in the meantime, I have met with the kings of most the out lying kingdoms. Those who have not already fallen ill to the plague have agreed on what we must do. Construction has begun on a great beacon with restorative properties. It should be complete within a few years if we pull through that long. The beacon should counter the ef ects of the plague, so long as it does not fall into enemy hands.
Mercor pieced it together. Socius' father, Lord Mortan, is heir to the throne of King Mortem, who must have gone corrupt with power and made a deal with a race of creatures known as the "Darkness" so that he would live forever in return for the lives of all other humans. The humans must have entered into a war with the Darkness where upon the Darkness released a plague to exterminate the humans. Mercor read on.
The beacon was complete years ago, and the plague halted to a minor illness. Soldiers of all the human armies were stationed to protect the beacon. Recently, with the beacon always growing in power, a terrible side ef ect has become apparent. The dead are rising again through some devilish ef ect of the beacon's now extreme power. The armies surrounding the beacon are being put to the test as any who die rise again and fight for the other side. If the armies fall, the plague will return to full force.
And with that, it made sense. The undead were a side-effect of the beacon. When the beacon fell to the undead, the thing that caused it to stop curing the plague must also have caused it to quit resurrecting them, explaining the undead's lack in numbers. The next entry was clearly newer.
Something has happened. King Mortem has somehow angered the Darkness. They are attempting to call off the deal. They will murder all heirs of King Mortem's throne, I being one of them. I don't know how long I can fend of the Darkness. Son, if you are reading this, I fear you may be in danger.
Mercor then realized that it was too late for Socius but his son may be in danger. He was about to turn to leave when he suddenly saw a shadow move in the corner of his vision. He spun around, sword ready. It was a sphere of black mist. It spoke then, in a booming, guttural voice:
"You have been chosen."
Mercor stood gaping. It continued speaking:
"We are the Darkness. King Mortem is the last survivor of the Mortem family tree. You must dispose of him."