War of the Monarch, Part 2
See War of the Monarch, Part 2 in the Lore Graph
*We return once more to the War of the Monarch, where Light and Shadow remain locked in an eons-old ideological war, its impact felt across Rathe.*Below is a recap of stories leading up to Usurp the Shadow Throne!
Solana and the Demonastery
To the people of Solana, Sol represents absolute devotion to the Light. It is a realm of pristine towns and golden fields that demands servitude, expecting its citizens to obey the dictates of the Light. The Demonastery was founded by the Apostate who rejected this subjugation, fleeing into the Shadows to pursue forbidden knowledge and individual autonomy. Other heretics were drawn to the Demonastery to learn and practice their blasphemous arts. And yet Solana’s warriors of Light relentlessly pursued them until the Apostate sacrificed themself to tear the Demonastery away from Rathe and banish it into the Nebulus Rift.
Centuries later, the Demonastery’s most devious minds opened the Dimenxxional Gateway into i’Arathael, and from that world of nightmares, they have unleashed a monstrous horde upon Solana, pitching Shadow and Light into all-out war.
Otherworldly forces that have long lain dormant now reach out from just beyond the veil. Aesir of primordial forces, Embra in their domains, and the revenants of the Old Ones now manipulate the mortals of Rathe to their own ends.
At the center of this conflict, our heroes battle for control of the future and retribution for the past.
Origins of the Arknight
Viserai washed up on the shores of the Demonastery as a corpse. His flesh and bone was forged into Lord Sutcliffe’s armored weapon. Yet, a mysterious entity stoked his desire for freedom. Guided by whispered promises, the Arknight slaughtered the very practitioners of the Demonastery who had bound him. This bloodshed fueled a ritual Viserai did not foresee, forcing open the Dimenxxional Gateway leading to i’Arathael.
Read Return of the Shadow
Emissary of the Void
Raised as a scholar of Solana, Chane was exiled for questioning Sol’s doctrine. He embraced Shadow and made his way to the Demonastery, where he became a Disciple of Pain and swore to stand for truth, speaking out against the deceptions of the Light. Armed with the reports of his fellow Disciples, Chane crossed into i’Arathael where he began his search for the means to destroy Sol. There he encountered Ursur, the Soul Reaper.
Read Emissary of the Void
Harbinger of the Abyss
Upon his return to the Demonastery, Chane encountered Levia. Once a servant girl from the Northern Realms, Levia had become a shadowborn abomination, possessed with the all-consuming hunger of the demon Blasmophet. Recognizing a fellow Shadow-wielder, Chane offered Levia an alliance, inviting her to join his cause against Solana and devour the Light.
Letters from the Beyond
Ursur had promised the power Chane required to ensure that the Demonastery would never again be at the mercy of Solana. Yet as the war raged on, Chane learned that even Ursur’s power would not be enough to bring his enemies to their knees. This drove him to embark on a perilous journey into i’Arathael, and to record his grim findings for Vynnset, his successor within the Church of Pain.
Dusk till Dawn
Back in Rathe, Vynnset performed a blood ritual to call forth the souls of the Apostate’s thirteen martyred disciples to weaken the wards protecting Solana. The Shadow-born hordes breached the walls, led by Levia, who continues to battle for control over the beast within, even as she uses Blasmophet’s hunger to feast upon the city.
And what of our heroes of Light and Flow?
Prism traveled beyond Solana to Aria and rallied Bravo, Oldhim, Lexi, and Briar to her cause. At Oldhim’s behest, Bravo was charged with leading an army of reinforcements, naming them the New Ollin, in honor of the Ollin of the Third Age.
The New Ollin traveled to Solana to stand united with Dorinthea, Boltyn, Hala, and the Hand of Sol. Together they stood defiant, and remain so today, carving through the monstrous hordes as Solanian refugees continue to flee to the Solarium.
Stories
The Next Chapter
The champions of Shadow have dealt Solana a devastating blow. Yet hope still flickers for the heroes of Light and Flow.
Stay tuned for the latest chapter of the War of the Monarch… coming soon.
Whatever happens next will decide the fate of Rathe!
