The Dying Queen who Sought Vengeance

"Dear students, greetings," spoke Professor Nightshade, his voice warm and welcoming. "I trust you remember me from the welcome ceremony, but for those confused faces, allow me to introduce myself once again." Crystal raised her eyebrows in surprise, for the professor's gentle manner was in stark contrast to his appearance.

His attire was reminiscent of that of an earthly magician, with ebony-black hair resting down to his shoulders, his complexion a pale ivory, and his eyes a striking shade of crimson. Though his face remained stoic and cold, one could not help but notice the menacing fangs that peeked out from behind his lips. Despite the intimidating presence conveyed by his appearance, one could not help but feel a sense of kindness emanating from the professor, making him seem like a complete sweetheart.

Professor Nightshade considerately asked the class, “For the first class of 'Legends of Magic History,' does anyone have a request? A topic or a story that intrigues you and that you have yet to explore deeply?” Crystal looked around the room, expecting someone to jump at the chance to speak up. But to her surprise, no one moved except for Marina who stood up, raising her arm. She wondered if she had the wrong impression about Marina; she looked like a timid child, but perhaps Crystal was mistaken.

“Yes, Marina,” the professor responded.

“Professor Nightshade, almost all of us know about Queen Tenebra Maximus, who ruled over the fae kingdom almost sixteen centuries ago. She is still known as the only faerie to control all the elements, but she was once the most ordinary faerie of her time. What was it that made her so powerful? I think faeries like me who are lacking think about this a lot.”

Marina settled back into her seat, having made her request. Crystal saw her fidgeting with her fingers and realized that Marina must have mustered all her courage to speak with her timid personality.

"Indeed, it is a very intriguing topic to discuss for our first session together. It seems like the students this year are quite sharp and vigilant." Marina smiled awkwardly, and Crystal almost chuckled but managed to control herself.

"Queen Tenebra Maximus is the most hated, yet still looked up to being of all time," Professor Nightshade said, clapping his hands twice. All the students flinched at the cupboards lining the walls of the lecture hall flung open. A swarm of books took flight, soaring across the room to land on each student's desk with a resounding thud.

Crystal noticed that the book had "Legendaria" written on the cover before it opened by itself. The page presented in front of her had a bold label: 'The Dying Queen who Sought Vengeance.'

The professor began to unravel the tale of Queen Tenebra Maximus, the most hated yet revered figure of all time. Born into a humble fae household, she possessed no little more than the most basic magical abilities. The academy was not even there to train poor and lacking children like herself.

"She would not have become what she did if the royal family of that time had not interfered with her community. For certain experiments and incantations, her peers and even her parents were used, and she lost everyone around her. That brought forth the wrath and powers that had been hidden within her from the very beginning."

Crystal felt goosebumps all over her body. If that were true, there was a good chance she would also be able to cultivate and grow her powers and maybe, just maybe, gain back her memories of the past.

"Although she had become powerful, those powers were still not enough to face the royal family. So, in the end, she chose the path of darkness. She gained every power possible with dark magic that she practiced, and it took her almost over a century to master those powers. In the end, with her newfound power, she overthrew the fae kingdoms and plunged them into darkness."

Professor Nightshade further explained that since dark magic was her code of conduct, it did not take long for the light faeries to find a way to break through her magic. The fight between them was quite a historical event, and Queen Tenebra Maximus had become immortal, so the faeries could only chain her and not give her death. Tortured by the chains made of light, Queen Tenebra Maximus cursed herself and died.

"That is why dark magic is strictly prohibited. It may give you power, but it comes at a great cost. Since we have this academy now, I hope we will never encounter a similar situation again," Professor Nightshade said, smiling at the students as he finished the story. He looked at them to see if anyone had any questions.

"But Professor," a goblin student piped up, "what about the curse she left? What if someone like her were to return because of that curse? And would that not be dangerous to our kinds as well this time around." And all the other students started to whisper among themselves. Crystal couldn't decipher all their words, but she heard ‘The Cursed One’ repeated by many of them with a mixture of fear and fascination.

“It has been sixteen centuries, and yet there has been no clue of 'The Cursed One'. The mysterious figure has been the subject of countless legends and myths, with many believing that it possesses immense power and the ability to bring destruction to the world. The only thing we can do now is to strengthen ourselves and to be prepared for the upcoming danger. We never know if you and I will be even there to witness the curse.”

Crystal was a whole lot confused and overwhelmed by the fear and uncertainty that surrounded 'The Cursed One', and it looked like Professor Nightshade had acknowledged her confusion as he smiled looking at her.

“And fret not, if you are unaware of the curse or anything related to it. You will everything from scratch in the class of Divination and Curses.”