PROLOGUE
AZRAK'S STORY

One thousand years ago, in the golden sands of Allah's lands lived a wise man named Azrak Eyoun Zaraa, the blue eyed one. He was very young when he started studying magic and he spent his life traveling all over the deserts, learning the knowledge of the ancient ages and collecting all kind of magical devices. In time he became the most powerful sorcerer of the land. But he promised himself he'd never misuse his magic, for he'd only use his mystical powers and his knowledge for good.

Azrak wanted to transmit his secrets and his knowledge so his legacy would stay alive in the world after he was gone. He took a young and brilliant pupil under his care, his name was Aswad.

Aswad had a knack for magic and he was a very smart young man. Azrak tried to guide Aswad's heart on the right path of goodness and Aswad turned out to be the best student Azrak could ask for. He was serious, responsible, intelligent and always willing to follow his teacher's advice and Azrak's footsteps. Over the years Aswad had learned everything he needed to know from his master Azrak.

They weren't only teacher and student, but they also were close friends. Aswad always admired and respected Azrak and the teacher always knew Aswad had the potential to be a big man.

But being a powerful magician who worked for good, Azrak had many enemies. The forces of evil always wanted Azrak to join them. Azrak lived his life in a continuous battle against evil. But the battle made his heart brave and his soul strong.

Much to Azrak's despair, he soon found out that his pupil Aswad was not as strong in his heart and in his beliefs as he thought he was. Aswad was tempted by the dark side of the magic and he responded to its call, slowly but steadily.

In the golden sands of the deserts there was an ancient legend, the Legend of the Dark City of Karak. It was said Karak was an ancient city lost in the sands of the deserts. It was the city of powerful sorceress and skilled magicians. But they could never abandon the city unless a living man occupied the throne. The man who accepted to be the ruler of Karak had to be powerful and have a deep knowledge in magic. He, who ruled over Karak, would have all the powers of magic under his control. He'd rule over the most powerful magicians of the deserts. He'd rule over a magical city and over its mystical citizens. Whoever ruled over Karak would become the most powerful man in the world.

Aswad was tempted by the Legend of Karak, and behind the back of Azrak he started his search for Karak. He had to prove himself a powerful magician in order to take over Karak's throne. He asked Azrak to teach him all the most advanced magic he knew, for he wanted to pass the tests and become Karak's Ruler.

Azrak learned Aswad's intentions and tried to stop him from carrying them out. Karak was a bad energy in the world and he didn't want Karak's power to corrupt his student. Sadly Azrak was late, for Aswad's heart had already been corrupted by the magic of Karak.

Azrak was crushed when he found out Aswad's evil intentions. He had always been his best friend, his perfect pupil. He had been like a son for him. But Aswad abandoned Azrak to pursue his dark purpose. For years Azrak tried to stop Aswad, for Azrak felt responsible for his student's actions. He felt guilty for he had taught Aswad all he knew. But Aswad was in his own way trying to achieve his dream. And despite all of it, Aswad never stopped admiring and respecting Azrak.

That battle lasted many years, until the day when Aswad finally passed all the tests he had to pass and finally became the Ruler of the City of Karak.

With a living man in the throne of the Dark City, Karak was renewed and appeared once again in the sands of the deserts. And with Karak all the magic and all the evil were unleashed all over the deserts and beyond. It was an era of darkness in the sands of the deserts. Aswad proved to be the best man to rule over Karak and its magicians. His heart had been corrupted by power and his soul had been tempted by evil. He forgot all the good he had learned from Azrak and became the most cruel and powerful ruler of Karak.

Azrak never stopped feeling guilty for Aswad but after many years of fighting he understood he had lost his pupil forever to the hands of evil.

Azrak knew he could do nothing to change Aswad's mind, so he decided he at least would do something to stop him and to vanish Karak from Earth once again.

For many years Azrak traveled all over the world trying to find the strength and the items he needed to cast a powerful spell on the city of Karak. A spell that would vanish the city from Earth forever. Azrak decided to use all his powers and all his knowledge in the spell that would make Karak disappear once and for all.

All his powers were concentrated in an amulet he made himself and when Azrak was finally ready he went to Karak and for the last time he tried to talk to Aswad, to make him reconsider his position. But Aswad would never listen to him.

Azrak decided then to cast his spell on the city of Karak. The most powerful spell any man had ever cast before. A spell powerful enough to vanish Karak forever from Earth. He needed to cast the spell in the heart of Karak, in the very center of the evil power of the city. But he didn't want to be trapped in that dark city for the rest of his life, so he set a small protection for himself in the spell: the Dark City would not disappear while his blood was in Karak. That would give him the chance to escape before the city was vanished for the rest of eternity. As long as he was in Karak, the Dark City would remain in this world. So he had to cast the spell and abandon the city as fast as he could.

The powerful spell was cast. A spell that included 3 mystical crystals and the powers of Azrak's amulet, the amulet of the crescent moon.

Aswad couldn't stop Azrak from casting the spell. When Aswad understood that his master had won the war against him, he tried to break the spell. Aswad had time to realize what the spell was all about while Azrak was abandoning the city.

Aswad tried a counter spell on Azrak's but his magic was not nearly strong as Azrak's was and he couldn't break Azrak's spell. The best he could do before Karak was vanished was damage Azrak's spell so Karak wouldn't be vanished from Earth forever, but it would reappear in the deserts every time the starts were in a certain alignment. The city would reappear for a whole full moon, and during those three days the evil would run rampant across the deserts. And some day in the future he could find Azrak's blood in either, a male magician or a maiden from Azrak's descendants and then, with Azrak's blood in the city, Karak would live again.

After vanishing Karak successfully, Azrak was tired and he retired himself to live his last years in peace in a small village of Hessa, near a place that in the future would be known as Agrabah.

Azrak knew his spell over Karak wasn't complete and that in the future the Dark City would appear once again. And then it would be up to his descendants, to someone who had his blood in their veins to make sure Karak was vanished forever from Earth. He spent his last years preparing everything that would be needed in the future to fight Aswad and the Dark City of Karak. He knew there would be a young man, the one who would be known as the Lion of the Desert, a man who would take the challenge of finishing Azrak's mission and, along with Azrak's blood, vanish Karak forever from Earth. A young man who would prove himself worthy in the paths of courage, purity and wisdom in a quest that would take him to Karak and to his final fuse with Azrak's blood.

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