This is a story about the great mage, Jorgen. But it begins with someone completely different...

Lars was always the pride and favorite of the northern people of Hornar. As the eldest son of an illustrious family, he was always lavished with honor and attention. And when the parents of Lars and Jorgen were murdered in a highway robbery and their younger sister Krista went missing, the Hornar people proclaimed the young Lars as their leader. For many years after, Jorgen lived in the shadow of his only remaining kin.

As a child, he adored Lars and tried to emulate him in everything, becoming a diligent student of the magic arts and always doing everything to help the Hornar people. However, his older brother, swept up with his own fame and glory, rarely acknowledged his efforts. No matter how great Jorgen's achievements were, he was never praised or encouraged — all the honors always went to Lars. Jorgen's youthful heart burned with hatred and envy. "Why is this happening? Why do I not please these people?" he asked himself again and again, secluded in a remote corner of the Alder Forest.

"I know what's on your mind, Jorgen," a voice suddenly broke into his broodings. A man of short stature stepped into the forest clearing. "I, too, am an outcast, but I chose a different path: the path of an exile who attained greatness! I believe it is a path we must walk together, Jorgen. What would you say?"

"An outcast, you say? An exile?" The injustice of it all sent a wave of anguish over the young man's soul. "No matter what I do, the people of Hornar will never accept me as one of their own! It's always just Lars, Lars, Lars!" Overwhelmed by these feelings, Jorgen jumped up and obediently followed this man he had only just met.

The stranger turned out to be none other than Shavarakk, a powerful sorcerer of Darkness. Jorgen hungrily absorbed all the knowledge that the sorcerer imparted to him. Shavarakk exalted him, calling him his successor and heir. How pleasant it was to finally receive someone's praise and attention! There was just one rather nasty drawback to this arrangement: the sorcerer subjected his apprentice to strange, morbid magical experiments, which monstrously distorted the young man's appearance. A hunched back, deathly pale skin, a pair of sharp twisted horns... That's how Shavarakk believed his apprentice should look like.

Manipulating human life-force and energy was what the young mage proved himself to be most adept at. Day after day, he practiced on the new victims that Shavarakk provided. As Jorgen devoured these souls, his own powers increased in strength. "What a surprise it will be for my brother when I crush his little world with my irresistible magic!" he smirked with pride as he sucked the life out of another victim. Jorgen's power was becoming truly formidable. Finally, as his apprenticeship was coming to an end, Shavarakk said, "You are ready to receive the truly sacred knowledge, my disciple. But first, you must prove your loyalty to the Darkness by sacrificing that which you held most dearly in your previous life. You must kill your brother!" "So be it!" Jorgen exclaimed, clapping his hands eagerly. And yet, there was no joy to be heard in his voice...

When they finally saw each other, Jorgen could barely recognize Lars, whose hair had turned whiter than snow and whose once perfect face was now marred with wrinkles. The tired eyes of a cornered wolf, a back as straight as an arrow, and fists clenched like hammers spoke volumes about the life of the Hornar people's leader. The voice of the sorcerer bellowed in Jorgen's ear. "Kill him! Kill Lars!" Shavarakk yelled. Jorgen raised a magical chalice over his head, whispered an incantation, and then brought it crashing down on — Shavarakk!

While the sorcerer writhed in his death throes, the two brothers silently acknowledged each other. There was no hatred or envy in their eyes. Jorgen realized that Lars had changed. He had grown tired of the people's adoration, and he wished for only one thing: to bring his family back together. He had been looking for his brother and sister for many years. He felt a deep loneliness in his heart, but he couldn't leave his people. Meanwhile, Jorgen, blinded by resentment, had succumbed to the temptations of the dark mage and sunk into the depths of sin. On the road behind them, so many mistakes had been made, so many innocent souls lost...

Repentant, the brothers vowed to atone for their guilt. So, they joined the ranks of the fabled Guardians to safeguard the peace of the Dominion.