Bertha
Bertha was only a girl when the world she knew began to change.
Too young to understand what lurked beyond her reflector, or to realise that a Darkened Souls had been watching her since the moment she was born.
But old enough to feel the unease.
Old enough to sense that something ancient was stirring and was moving towards her world and her time.
Born into a lineage shaped across three forgotten eras, Bertha carries the remnants of a history she has not yet been taught. She enters her role as a Transcriber long before she grasps its weight, copying the stories and fragments given to her by the hidden soul deep within the Orb. She is unaware that each piece she records holds part of an Essence, a living truth threaded directly through her bloodline back to the origins of life itself.
While she tries to navigate the ordinary worries of childhood, darkness begins to move around her family. Her brother Denis becomes touched by a corruption that has seeped into the very orb, that has been placed on Eathia to protect and guide them all. — And through him, Bertha is drawn deeper into a world she never asked to enter.
She does not yet know that her lineage binds Eathia and The Realm.
She does not yet know why certain eyes in The Realm follow her movements with caution, awe… or fear.
She does not yet know the role she will one day play.
But even as a child, Bertha feels the pull of hidden things — the shimmer behind reflectors, the pressure of something waiting just beyond sight.
Her journey begins in innocence.
Her truth begins in shadow.
And the world begins to change the moment she starts to notice.
The Realm
The origins of existence are held deep within the essence of The Realm — a place of woven light, ancient vows, and souls shaped from the first breath of creation. It was never meant to be seen by mortal eyes, nor crossed by mortal feet. It is a world of its own rules, its own divisions, its own shadows.
Here, the Soul Guardians are forged.
Here, the Superiors hold their uneasy authority.
Here, every echo, every tether, every fracture has consequences that ripple into worlds beyond.
Once, The Realm stood in perfect balance — light unfolding through its corridors like breath, guided by purpose and order. But balance is a fragile thing. And the deeper the order grows, the darker its roots can become.
Small fractures appear first.
Little shadows that go unnoticed.
Whispers that do not belong.
The Source - The centre of life within The Realm - begins to struggle as darkness draws ever closer and threatens the balance of it's world and it's beloved Soul Guardians.
As fear spreads, trust thins. The unity of the Superiors splinters beneath the weight of uncertainty, and old rivalries find room to breathe again. Some believe the darkness is a test.
Others believe it is a warning.
And a few whisper that it is the beginning of the end.
The Realm shifts with every choice made upon Eathia, every life born, every soul tethered or lost. And while Bertha does not yet understand her connection to this place, The Realm has already felt her presence.
It watches.
It waits.
It remembers what the mortal world has forgotten.
For the light of The Realm is fading.
And the dark is learning how to move.
The Soul Guardians
The Soul Guardians were forged from the pure light of the Source — beings created not only to protect, but to preserve the delicate balance between life, memory, and the forces that shaped their world. They are born of purpose and bound by oath - To protect The Realm and guide their Eathian tethers throughout their lives.
For centuries, they held their vigil in silence, guiding the passage of souls and sustaining the fragile harmony within The Realm. But even light casts shadows, and not all Guardians can shine in it's presence.
At a crucial point in The Realms history, three new Soul Guardians are born — foretold in whispers, feared in prophecy. Their presence is meant to restore what is failing, to steady what is slipping, to reignite the balance that once defined their kind. But prophecy is rarely gentle… and never precise.
One of these three grows under a darkened influence, raised where truth is fractured and loyalty is shaped by darkness. The Realm feels the shift — a tilt that reverberates through every division, every Superior, every tether.
These three Guardians will one day determine the fate of both worlds.
Their choices will shape the path Bertha walks, the battles she never asked to face, and the dawn or ruin of the lineage she inherits.