In the old village of Greenwald, the legend of the sorcerer Rance still lives on. He lived in a high tower on the edge of the village, and the fame of his kindness spread far beyond the surrounding forests. Rance healed people and animals, and when the Great Plague swept through the kingdom, the mage saved more lives than all the royal physicians combined.
He also had Mara—his beloved, his assistant, his light. Together, they brought goodness to this world, and it seemed nothing could ruin their happiness. But one night, bandits came to Greenwald.
They burst into the village and demanded all the gold the villagers had. Those who resisted were killed. Mara was one of the victims. Before Rance's eyes, one of the bandits slit the girl's throat, and the sorcerer flew into a rage. He began weaving dangerous spells that tore the villains' flesh, blinded them, and turned their bones to dust. But the bandits were too numerous. One of them, a skilled archer, loosed an arrow and pierced the mage's chest.
Rance fell to his knees and felt his life drain from him. Before he died, he noticed a dead horse by the road, channeled a stream of magic into it, and then died.
The horse began to come to life. Its eyes flashed crimson, black smoke billowed from its hooves, and a terrible neigh erupted from its mouth. The reanimated animal rose and began to kill. The bandits fled, but the horse overtook them one after another. It tore them with its teeth, trampled them with its hooves, leaving only bloody remnants.
And when the last of the attackers fell, the horse stopped. Its creator was dead. As if realizing this, the horse neighed and galloped away.
Years have passed since then. No one has ever seen the revived horse. But sometimes at night, the residents of Greenwald hear the dull clatter of hooves and see the silhouette of a black horse with glowing eyes. Surely, he still protects the village.