User:93/Legends/thebookofauroro

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The Book of Auroro
Charr Great Wall concept art.jpg

Prologue[edit]

Auroro’s breath grew heavier as he gazed upon the colossal mountains appearing in front of him. He felt a cold and harsh current of air strike his bare chest when he left the borders of Ascalon and instead entered the Shiverpeaks, a mountain chain well-known for its hazardous atmosphere and ferocious beasts. As if bolstered by the five Gods themselves he, in an attempt to escape his brutal persecutors, ran with an incredible force he had never felt before this very day. But the charr warband didn’t lose track of him.

They say the charr is a race of fire and destruction and that they will to anything in their power to annihilate the human race from the land of Tyria.

Auroro kept trying to find shelter where he might hide himself from his followers, but to no use. No matter where his eyes stared he could only find masses of snow and ice, and nowhere to hide. And as the vicious charr came closer to their meal, the eighteen year old boy couldn’t help but to think that maybe this was the end of Auroro Borealis…

Northern Light[edit]

“It’s a boy!” Relieved from seeing the healthy child’s face, the monk gave the newborn baby to his mother, Iris, which had her best friend and husband, Théoden, standing next to her. The two glanced down upon their firstborn child and as tears of joy fell from their eyes Iris uttered the six letter word that came to be the young child’s name. “Auroro.”

And such Auroro Borealis was born in Drascir 1052 AE, the Season of the Phoenix.

Small Love[edit]

An extraordinarily beautiful winter had arrived in Ascalon City, and the sight of children running around town throwing snowballs at each other had become a very regular one.

“You’re going down!” shouted the nine year old Auroro while throwing a snowball as big as his fist on his best friend Mhenlo, hitting Mhenlo’s right shoulder. “It’s great to see children act as just that nowadays. The guild wars have sadly made that sight an unusual one”, said Théoden watching his son and Mhenlo play in the snow.

“Yes, they truly are miracles on legs”, Iris chuckled. “You know that his birthday’s coming up soon, we should make something special for him. It’s not every day one turns ten.”

“It’s not until next season my dear. Relax, we’ll have everything in order by then, just wait and see.”

“I don’t know Théoden, we should probably find a good gift for him right away, just in case.”

“You know what, if it means so much to you I'll try to find something for him first thing in the morning.”

The Season of the Zephyr passed, and instead arrived the Phoenix…

“Congratulations!”

Auroro was chocked to see so many at his birthday party, but to be honest there was only one he was truly happy to see. Amandine Anemoi was standing in the background of the festivities looking at Auroro with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. It took a real slap on his shoulder to cut off his daydreaming about Amandine and return him to the party. “Come on Auroro, blow out the candles!” He breathed in, and filled his lungs with warm summer air which then hurdled out, struck the ten candles on the cake and put out the fire. The crowd cheered, and the drinking and eating begun.

Later that evening, in a little tent on the backside of the festivities, Auroro stood talking to his crush and it appeared that the feelings were mutual. To Auroro, there couldn’t have been a better birthday…

Divinity[edit]

Five years passed and the young boy grew into a man. He trained intensely every day and was miles ahead of his friends when it came to physique and stamina, but he was the only one that hadn’t found his true calling in life. His five friends – Mhenlo, Amandine, Cynn, Devona and Aidan – were all on their way.

Mhenlo had known for a long time that he was meant to be a monk. Born in Serenity Temple to a priest of Dwayna and priestess of Balthazar, he has been steeped in the teachings of healing and smiting magic. A devoted servant of both Dwayna and Balthazar, he has studied hard his entire life, and has been rewarded by both the gods of his provenance. But paying allegiance to two gods has not been without its consequences; having no clear path to follow, Mhenlo has a tendency to overanalyze situations and possible consequences, not sure whether to take the path of aggressive strength or that of defensive grace.

Amandine, the love of Auroro’s life, had found her home to be that of the elementalist, and more precisely the elements of air and water. She had learned at a young age that with the elements by her side, she could accomplish anything in her life, and with the help of her friends she was going the be remembered in legends forever by the inhabitants of Tyria, no matter the race.

Cynn had also chosen to follow the elemental way, but instead concentrating more on fire and its destructive powers. She and Mhenlo had become a couple, and she was the more.. chatty, of the two. Although her high intelligence she often tends to bite off more than she can chew, resulting in frequent trouble for her and her friends.

Devona is quite serious and direct in her dealings with others. She aspires to be a great Warrior, just like her father. At times this aspiration turns into a tremendous internal pressure to succeed. Devona's father is one of the leaders of Ascalon's Chosen, a prestigious and well-respected guild and Devona intends to follow his footsteps. She would sacrifice her own life to save the life of a friend, and she frequently puts herself in harm's way to protect those who travel with her. Devona has a deep sense of loyalty and duty.

Aidan is a ranger. Nothing is out of the question if it means he and his companions will live for another day. He thinks fast and acts even faster. His inner calm—a sort of simple confidence—has a way of infecting everyone around him. Being the oldest member of the party, he has the wisdom of years his younger counterparts lack, though he never feels the need to lord it over them. He does feel a certain amount of responsibility to keep the group informed and out of trouble if at all possible. From time to time, he takes on the role of group patriarch, but only if there is a meltdown and he sees the need for his cooler head to prevail.

These are the paths of Auroro’s five best friends. Their destinies. The course of his destiny however wasn’t shown until his sixteenth birthday. He and his mother were out hunting to see if maybe he was a ranger just like Iris. But unfortunately the hunt didn’t go as planned; Iris got stung by a devourer and quickly fell down, paralyzed. The venom that sipped through her blood was excruciating and it wouldn’t take many seconds until her life on this earth was over. Auroro, scorned and full of hate towards this creature, put his hand up as if he was to punch the devourer but while charging towards it a divine aura appeared around his hand and suddenly a spear of light descended from the heavens and struck the foul beast, killing it in a second. Still in shock Auroro ran up to his mother, fell to the ground next to her and shed tears like he had never before. But as one of the tears dropped on Iris’ forehead a blue light suddenly appeared around her, embedding her in a mystic aura. She was healed…

This is the story of how Auroro found out that he was a monk – The servant of divine spirits, which uses prayer to protect, preserve, and restore the well-being of companions. The very next day orders arrived from King Adelbern, Ascalon’s elder and well-liked king, who felt enough fear for the oncoming charr threats to request every boy and girl of the age of fifteen and older to report oneself to Sir Tydus, one of the commanders of the Ascalonian army. The youngsters were to be trained in further battle tactics in the Ascalon Academy if one showed any particular talents or powers. Auroro was one of these. Due to his fantastic monk abilities he was accepted immediately and his real training begun…

The Last Day Dawns[edit]

Another two years passed and Auroro’s powers grew stronger by every day. He was now equally strong as Mhenlo and his reputation in town had increased. The love that he and Amandine shared was stronger than ever, and everything was good with the people of Ascalon. Then came the searing…

It was that day the charr discovered a way around the Great Wall. A way to bring it down. The Searing was devastating to both the nation of Ascalon and the land itself. Upheavals and craters reshaped the landscape while fires burnt away the lush forests and fields, leaving barren rock and ash-clogged fields. Water vanished from the rivers and lakes, replaced with tar, and without the plantlife to sustain them, all but the hardiest animals died out. Cities were reduced to ruins and villages were all but eradicated.

Auroro’s family fled, seeing that fighting would mean certain death. They set out east in hope they could seek refuge in Kryta, a major region in the land of Tyria. But while fleeing a charr warband, led by the cruel Dahgar the Eye of Flame, spotted the family and the hunt began. The pursuing went on for two whole days and then in an effort to mislead the charr from his family, Auroro split away from his parents, sister and brother. He managed to make the charr chase him instead and went off trying to trap them in the cold Shiverpeaks…

Rise From the Ashes[edit]

Struck by exhaustion, Auroro fell to the earth.. He managed to open his shut eyes and look back over his left shoulder. The warband was just 100 feet away from his cold and tired body and he was confident that he would become the meal today.

80 feet..

60 feet..

40 feet..

But suddenly he felt a warm breeze caressing his cheek. This puff of air pushed him up and he regained control over his feet. A second breeze stroke his body and this time he felt renewed of powers - he was not going to die today! He rushed towards the warband and with an act of love and fear he shouted the most powerful incantation he knew while charging towards the vicious beasts. The heavens opened up and from it came the ray of the gods, burning through the fur and the bodies of his opponents, destroying them forever.

The former strength vanished with the charr and everything went black...

Hero of War[edit]

Auroro woke up with a murdering headache. He found himself lying on a stone table in a big room made of a translucent substance and it took a few minutes before realizing that this substance was ice. He tried to get up from the table, but he was too weakened to succeed.

All of a sudden he heard a voice coming from not afar. “Slow down”.

“Who’s there?! Show yourself!”

And from the shadows came a guise of experience and war. The muscular man wore a prestigious armor plate and his sword and shield hung across his wide back.

“I am Quaken Frostraven and I am the leader of the Zealots of Shiverpeak.”

The name struck Auroro. The Zealots of Shiverpeak.. “You are the ones who killed Devona’s father Mordakai!”

The guild leader kept his mind calm. “That is a lie. Our predecessors were the ones responsible for that, and we haven’t fought with Ascalon since the traitors were exiled from the guild. We’ve lived here in the Shiverpeaks all our lives and we know this mountain as our own pockets. I found you half-dead near one of our watchposts and I our monks were able to heal you enough.

“But where’s my family? Did they survive?”

“We don’t know. Our scouts are searching thoroughly after them but so far unsuccessful. You have got a choice now young child – will you return to your broken Ascalon or will you stay here and wait?”

Auroro now remembered Ascalon. It was nothing more than a abandoned place of fire, full of charr warbands. And he feared the worst of his friends. I pray they managed to escape.

“I’ll stay. But I have one question.”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you leave me to die?”

“I was given a sign.” And with those words Lord Frostraven left the room.

The Lost Son[edit]

Time passed and Auroro grew stronger than ever. The disciples of the guild taught him a whole new way of seeing; instead of worshipping one of the Five, one should seek power from all the Five. He pushed his body and mind beyond any other monk, and instead of praying to Dwayna and Balthazar – the two gods most prominent with monks – he did as the monks of the Shiverpeaks told him. He prayed and made sacrifices to Dwayna, the god of life and air. Balthazar, the god of war and fire. Grenth, the god of death and ice. Lyssa, the twin goddess of beauty and illusion. And finally Melandru, the goddess of earth and nature.

Praying and sacrificing to the Five meant immense powers, but also personality consequences. The once so innocent child balanced on the edge of becoming more beast than man. The guild members acknowledged Auroro as one of the greatest monk they had ever seen, and what was even more peculiar was that he had never diverged from the monk’s path – whilst many would choose a second profession, he stood firmly on the course of the monk.

Apart from his magical enhancements, his body was also changed into the better. Although a muscular and vigorous boy before, Auroro had now become a perfect fighter and fought without the use of any weapons, save his walking staff. He could do things with his body many thought was impossible and both fighter and artist alike would recognize Auroro as a masterpiece. Through combining his smiting, protection and physical skills he could kill any foe without the cold steel of a sword or spear.

Exactly two years after being found by Quaken, message arrived to the guild that they had found Auroro's family, well and alive. They had set up camp in the shadow of what once was and tried to push back the invading charr forces. Auroro, now a hardened battling monk with powers few witness throughout their entire lives, decided to return to Ascalon and reunite with his family.

But before leaving, Quaken mentioned what he said at Auroro's arrival. "Do you remember when I said that I was given a sign Auroro?"

“Yes, of course I do master. What about it?”

“The truth behind that is that when I was out walking I saw a shimmering light appearing from the heavens and no matter where I looked after that everything pointed towards your body. The naked trees were slightly curved towards you, the wind and snow blew in your direction and even the animals in the snow and air walked or flew your way. One of the elders in my guild had foreseen a child of great power would be bestowed upon us and this did indeed occur.”

“But why would the elder see me?”

“Because one day Auroro, you will become one of Tyria's greatest heroes.”

Auroro left the cold Shiverpeaks with Quaken's last sentence in his mind. And such began his journey back to home...

Withered Lands and Old Faces[edit]

Auroro had found his way back to the region of Ascalon, and everything had been altered. The lands looked like nothing more but ashes and dust and he couldn't help but to shed a tear for his homelands. He passed Grendich Courthouse and Piken Square and for the first time in two years he saw the Great Northern Wall.

As he approached his former home he heard a scream coming from not afar. He rushed to battle, and found two familiar faces in trouble. His long lost friends Cynn and Devona was cornered by a charr warband. As one of the charr moved forward to kill Cynn, Auroro summoned a spear of light which pierced the charr's heart. Now I have their attention. The six remaining charr came towards him, and with the perfected use of protection prayers and smiting spells together with his amazing physics and acrobatic abilities he easily dispatched the entire band single-handedly.

“Who are you wanderer?!” asked Cynn.

“Don't you remember me?” he replied while uncovering the hood from his head. “How about now then?”

“Au.. Auroro?! Is that you?!” Both Cynn and Devona dashed up to him and threw themselves around him, all three embracing each other. “Come on, you must meet the rest!”

The rest. Did everybody survive?

Finally inside city gates. Everyone was there. Mhenlo, Aidan. The sight of his younger siblings, Jonah and Jasmine, and his parent made tears fell as never before, and finally Amandine. He ran towards her, and she towards him and as they two touched each other so did their lips. Despite Ascalon's ruin and many lost souls, the group acknowledged this day as a day of happiness and for the first time in two years Auroro felt hope in the air..

Army of Destruction[edit]

The next day Auroro was introduced to another friend. Eve the necromancer. The group first encountered Eve when she was in a graveyard experimenting with her powers, and when floods of charr entered the ground and attacked Mhenlo and the others, Eve helped. She managed to slay the entire warband with the help of her minions, and she was then invited to fight with the group. A invitation she amusingly accepted, and since then she has become a good friend of Devona, Amandine, Cynn, Mhenlo and Aidan.

The group was also given orders from Captain Calhaan to investigate the charr army beyond the Great Northern Wall. The word had gotten around that Bonfaaz Burntfur had amassed an army and was preparing to strike, so Auroro and his six friends set out into lands rumored to be haunted by ghosts of fallen soldiers. After fighting off more devourers than Auroro had ever seen and masses of grawl they arrived at a hilltop that overlooked the great charr army. Unfortunately the septet was spotted by charr scouts. The charr warband mobilized and chased the scouting party all the way back to the Wall where Captain Calhaan waited for word of their findings.

The group had to decide fast - would they let wave of charr destroy the remains of Ascalon or would they fight back? An easy decision..

Defend and Attack[edit]

The following days were filled of blood, sweat and tears. The friends pushed back the charr armies in Fort Ranik and together with Prince Rurik they managed to fill the people of Ascalon with a hint of hope. Unfortunately the charr managed to take human prisoners and the prince gave them a special mission to rescue the survivors. The battles took place in the Ruins of Surmia..

“Stand your ground!” shouted Devona. The party had made their way to the ruins of the Royal Academy, the site of their final stand against the charr. Cynn summoned rains of fire, Aidan rains of arrows and Amandine rains of ice shards. Devona swung her hammer, bashing in the heads of several charr. Eve kept summoning new minions to aid the team and Auroro did what he does best - smite down foes with powers unmatched. They managed to hold back the Charr long enough to open the Academy doors and inside, the prince reclaimed the mouthpiece of the legendary horn, Stormcaller. Only then did he activate the runes and escape through a portal linking the ruins with the academy at Nolani. The mages who assisted our hero's escape stayed behind to continue the valiant fight against the Charr.

From Nonali Academy the group managed to sneak behind charr forces and strike a lethal blow at their very hearts. And with the help of the legendary weapon Stormcaller they brought victory to the day. Unfortunately the Prince and his father Adelbern argued. Rurik wanted the people of Ascalon to seek refuge in Kryta, whilst the King declared no surrendering to the charr or giving up Ascalon. And such Prince Rurik along with Auroro and his friends led the people of Rin into the Shiverpeaks and King Adelbern declared he had no son.

Shivering Peaks and Red Snow[edit]

“Keep moving! Everybody in a line!” The caravan of people and animals were on their way to Yak's Bend to seek protection from night's dangers. Even though highly guarded by the Heroes of Ascalon no one was fully protected from the beasts of the Northern Shiverpeaks. At arrival the young men and women were informed of the ongoing civil war amongst these mountains. The Deldrimor Dwarves had been challenged by the xenophobic Stone Summit, a group of dwarves filled with hate against everything. The Ascalonians had to surpass this threat, or never be able to enter the sanctuary of the west.

The septet set out at night along with a few men of the Ascalon Army to see if their way to their next stop, Borlis Pass, was clear. They found it not to be. As expected the Stone Summit were patrolling the area, but after a few wounds on the humans and a whole lot of dead dwarves they could finally rest and keep the caravan going the next day.

Both Borlis Pass and The Frost Gate was overcome the next day. The brave souls of Ascalon fought with fierce determination and cold steel against the hordes of Stone Summit and the snow storms that ravaged these lands made it even more difficult. But together they fought like one, and triumphed over the mountains. The gate to Kryta had been opened, but not everything was good - the Prince of Ascalon stayed behind, fighting of the incoming forces of dwarves and allowing Auroro and his friends to reach safety. The notorious leader of the Stone Summit, Dagnar Stoneplate, took his massive blade and slashed through the Prince's flesh and with one final blow Ascalon was without an heir..

Knights[edit]

“I will fulfill your wish Rurik, and when the time comes I will avenge your death!”

Auroro dreamt of the prince falling to Grenth's hands the day before. The team was not far away from their goal, and it had become Auroro's sole purpose in life to execute the Prince's final wish. To see the Ascalonian refugees safe in Kryta. But new threat's emerged as they came closer.

It seemed that Kryta suffered from both undead plagues and recently the Krytan king had fled, leaving the kingdom to the group known as the White Mantle. On their way they met the renowned Justiciar Hablion, a high-ranking member of the White Mantle. With Hablion's help Auroro and his friends were able to get the people of Rin to safety. But the White Mantle asked for further help against their problem with the undead, and the seven friends immediately accepted. They were sent to the great city known as Lion's Arch from where they were given the orders to assist in D'Alessio Seaboard.

The group slew many undead that day, and on their way they met Confessor Dorian, the leader of the White Mantle. He pleaded to the group to bring back the legendary artifact known as the Scepter of Orr, and yet again the fighters accepted. The man known as Dinas had taken the Scepter when danger arrived and fled west but the septet managed to find him.

“Are you Dinas?” asked Aidan.

The reply came fast. “Depends on who's asking?”

“We are here to bring back the Scepter of Orr to the temple. We are the Heroes of Ascalon.” Auroro was hard in his reply.

“But the temple is swarmed with undead, there's no way we can go back!”

“That's already been taken care of.” Cynn was amused.

“Oh, thank the Gods. Well then, let's head back.”

And on that day Auroro, Devona, Amandine, Aidan, Cynn, Mhenlo and Eve were all knighted by Confessor Dorian and became Knights of the White Mantle.

Judging Eyes[edit]

As members of the White Mantle, the group was given orders to take the famed Eye of Janthir to Loamhurst. Auroro and his friends had been selected to take part of a White Mantle ritual - the Test of the Chosen.

“The Eye of Janthir,” continued Hablion, “is a judge of the Chosen. Take this to Loamhurst and with it will those who are deemed worthy come.”

The group did as the Justiciar said, and on their way to Loamhurst the eye knocked down several people, the people that wasn't worthy. But then a light appeared around one of the commoners, implying he was a Chosen. This happened to a total of five people, everybody else being knocked down. The group was saluted and treated as heroes as they arrived at Loamhurst, and everyone felt very important that day.

“I can get used to this” said Cynn.

But Auroro was suspicious. “I don't know Cynn, there's something wrong here. I just know it.”

“Relax dear, I'm sure everything's alright. Let's just enjoy this time right now, okay?”

Amandine's always so relaxed, laughed Auroro in his head.

Rebelling Nature[edit]

A shout woke the group that night. “The Chosen are gone! They've been captured by the Shining Blade!”

“Who are the Shining Blade?” asked Eve.

The answer came quick. “The Shining Blade is a traitorous rebel group that stalks these lands, and its members are nothing more than thieves and murderers. You must go after them heroes, bring them back to us!”

“Consider it done” replied Amandine.

They began immediately and after hours of fighting and walking they were finally even with the Chosen and their capturers. But something had gone terribly wrong.. The Chosen had been captured again, but this time by creatures of the wild. Giant arachnids had trapped the Chosen in their web, and hadn't it been for Auroro's quick decision to jump down to them they would have surely died. But the fights did not go as planned. Instead of easily conquering their foes, the seven friends found themselves on the edge of loss. That was when the Shining Blade arrived and helped.

“Why didn't you let us and the Chosen die?!” asked Auroro angrily.

From a hilltop emerged a woman appearing to be the leader. “Die? We were trying to rescue the Chosen from the White Mantle's grasp.”

“Why were you feeding them to the spiders then?!” shouted Amandine.

“The spiders were a.. a miscalculation..” said the leader.

“But what are you going to do to us now?” inquired Devona.

“I don't know”, said the leader. “You don't appear to be regular White Mantle. I will show you why we saved the Chosen, and then let you choose for yourself.”

“Are you going to let them live?” Another Shining Blade came out from the background. “They're White Mantle, plain and simple. Kill them!”

“No, Markis. They will see the Bloodstone and see the truth about the White Mantle. Maybe then they'll have a change of heart about their masters.”

“And Ascalonians. My name is Evennia, leader of the Shining Blade.”

Stones of Blood[edit]

There was no rest that day. The seven Ascalonians were taken immediately to what the Shining Blade referred as the Bloodstone. Auroro, Devona, Amandine, Aidan, Mhenlo, Eve and Cynn were taken deeper into the jungle to witness the ceremony that the Chosen were destined take part in after being selected by the Eye of Janthir. They found Justiciar Hablion standing in the middle of this giant Bloodstone, with a group of Chosen sitting on their knees around him. The Justiciar spoke.

“I am the scythe, the Bringer of Salvation. And I shall harvest the souls of the Unbelievers. For their stench will linger. Until the false gods have been cast from this world.” With those words he raised his axe and with a single attack he struck down the Chosen circle, decapitating each of their heads, filling the stones beneath of pure red blood.

“We cannot let the White Mantle continue with this!” said Auroro. “We must make a stand, and save the people of Kryta from these cruel rulers. For the Chosen and for Kryta!”

With those words the seven heroes rushed onto the Bloodstone and fought long and hard against the White Mantle. Auroro battling Hablion.

“You have betrayed us child. Therefore you shall perish” said the Justiciar.

“I'm afraid that it is your life that will end here today, not mine” answered Auroro confidently.

And such, the battle begun. Hablion swung his giant axe againts Auroro's chest, but with a simple protection spell Auroro was able to deflect the axe with nothing but his two hands. The justiciar raised his axe even higher and swung it with a force to be reckoned with, but Auroro summoned a holy shield of judgment, knocking down Hablion to the ground. Auroro stepped back, took a firm grasp of the ground, positioned himself correctly and spoke the words: “Balthazar, oh God of justice. Giveth me thyne strength and smiteth down those who oppose your beliefs!” A blue aura embedded the monk and his eyes shined along with this blue glow. Hablion had been able to recover from the sudden knockdown and was now on his way towards Auroro with a ferocious speed. Then suddenly the Ray of Judgment came down like a lightning from the sky and hit Hablion, turning him into nothing but ashes. The end of Justiciar Hablion had arrived.

During their fight the rest of the team had been able to clear the Bloodstone of any other White Mantle.

What the group didn't know was that one mantle escaped, and ran as fast as he could towards the Temple of Tolerance. It wouldn't take long before the mantle had heard about the group's treason..

Escape[edit]

The septet soon found out that the entire White Mantle army was after them, wanting their heads on poles and plates. Evennia, the leader of the Shining Blade suggested finding a base of operations, from where the Shining Blade and its new heroes could make a stand. This went successfully but while fighting their way in the Maguuma Jungle, the group found out about a traitor in the midst. But even though the odds were against them the righteous yet again prevailed. They had now arrived in the Henge of Denravi.

The next day the group was confronted by a mysterious figure, saying he's an ally. The Vizier known as Khilbron will assist the heroes only if the Scepter of Orr is brought to him, and seeing as there is no other way the seven friends accepted this offer. They venture through Riverside Province and reclaims the Scepter. Unfortunately they were spotted while fleeing, but just made it to Sanctum Cay where the Vizier would be waiting.

Betrayal From the Depths[edit]

“That dim-witted son of Grenth, I'll kill him!” Evennia was clearly angry.

“What's wrong Evennia?” asked Auroro.

“It's Markis.. He's the traitor. I can't believe it happened right in front of my eyes..”

“We will bring him to justice Evennia, but now is not the time. The Vizier told us to make it to the coast, and that is exactly what we will do.” Amandine was firm in her words.

The heroes traveled together with a small mass of fighters from the Shining Blade and together they reached the coast. But there was no ship in sight. “How will we be able to escape without any means of travel?!” asked Cynn.

“Patience young child. Fight off the incoming foes, and I will take care of the ship.” Vizier Khilbron turned to the sea and began chanting ancient words of wisdom and his guardians did what he ordered them to do. They fought of waves and waves of White Mantle until they heard a roar from the depths, and a giant ghost-like ship emerged from the ocean.

“Come now, quickly!” shouted the Vizier.

Finally, safety..

The Vizier spoke. “You cannot return to the mainland, and it's even too late to return to Denravi. The people there are either dead or headed towards the Shiverpeaks.”

“But how can we help the people then? Shall we go to the Shiverpeaks too?” asked Aidan.

“No. The only way of beating the White Mantle and overcoming their unseen gods is to venture to the Crystal Desert and ascend. Because you my friends, are all Chosen. Prove yourselves worthy and claim your birthright. Prepare yourselves. For the trial of ascension has just begun..”

To be continued...[edit]

To be continued...