Storyline - The Dark Solstice
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Storyline - The Dark Solstice | ||
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Ancient Ophine prophecies told of grim times known as the Dark Solstice. They told of a time where the suns would back off from the world, and so chaos would run rampant, war would be all around, and hope would be scarce. Those times will be announced when the Great Leader of the Forests fall face a foreign force, and every single living being on the Albazardan continent will be forced to change. Naane, the elvish princess who had been leading the forest of Locara to a takeover campaign, was kidnapped by the mysterious Skyscape warriors. The Rogue Organization and Enenah barbarians are promoting chaos all over the land. The Kampa Institute had declared war against both the Rogue and Enenah. When winter came to the continent of Albazard, and the two suns started to back off the world, the Ophine knew those grim times had come. In the headquarters of the Chrona Institute, in Boveric, Hizor Hares is disappointed. He himself had followed his former student Arnon and the Skyscape troops into the sky when they captured Naane, but was held off by an army of illusions, only to be saved by the Kampa air squad lead by Nodin's son Luke. He had lost his targets in the neverending mist, called the Aeon, that surrounds Skyscape and was once again with his hands tied. Suddenly, Hizor is visited by an unusual guest. Boldian, an Ophine diplomat, had come to make contact with the head of Chrona. He tells Hizor of the old prophecies, and says that as soon as the winter reaches its peak, Skyscape will begin their offensive against the continent. Boldian also says that the Chrona of Boveric, the Kampa of Meriador and the Ophine of Locara must unite to fight this common enemy. And so is formed the Triad Alliance. Meanwhile, Arnon arrives in Skyscape. From within, the giant boulder standing high in the sky is an astonishing view: Black towers shimmering with light are seen in the mist, the soil shifts constantly, hordes of artifact creatures come and go working endlessly, everything is surrounded by a magical, almost divine aura of illusion - the Aeon itself. Krisel, the leader of the Skyscape people, awaits for the former Chrona prodigy. Krisel tells Arnon that they will soon be joined by a powerful organization from the continent in order to proceed with the offensive - although the offensive itself won't be quite what Hizor is expecting. Skyscape wizards had been going down undercover for years, to study the stability of Albazard's Canvas, which is a dimension in the continent that controls the very nature of the plane, and thus can be used by the illusionary magic of Skyscape to modify the very foundations of the world, including gravity, atmosphere, etc. The best time to do so is during the solstice, the part of the year where the suns are the most far away from the world; the peak of the winter. Without the suns' close protection, the Canvas is much easier to get to. Plus, now they had finally found a source of connection with the world's very nature, which they need to access the Canvas. That source is Naane and her unusual powers. In the Rogue Citadel, reports of a conspiracy are in the air. Skyscape's onslaught against Locara has alarmed Ruel, who is now worried about the fate of the continent. The Rogue organization would lose power and be overmastered if Skyscape decided to take over the continent. To make matters worse, the conspiracy is said to be work of Skyscape, to bring the powerful Rogue forces to their side. Soon enough, Ruel finds out what was happening - but it's too late. She is backstabbed and killed by her cousin Dmitri, who, like Arnon, has been fascinated and dominated by a promise of endless possibilities of power offered by SKyscape. Dmitri is now in charge of the Citadel and the whole Rogue organization, and is ready to back up Skyscape plans from the ground. In Meriador, Nodin has been trying to convince the pacifist Luke to lead the Kampa troops that are warring against Enenah. Kampa troops have had many losses in the mountainous battlefield, but progresses are being made, even without the aid of Meriador's most skilled battlemaster, Luke himself. Once they find out about the Ophine prophecies, however, Luke agrees to help fight against Skyscape by leading the Celestral-raiding Air Squad once again. The Triad Alliance between Chrona, Kampa and Ophine is now formed, and they await for Skyscape to strike. But then something strange starts to happen. All over the continent, the very nature of the plane starts to change. Mountains melt down, while other grow to astonishing heights. Tectonic and atmospheric instabilities start to alter dramatically the face of the land. In some places, people die for the lack of air. In other places, entire cities hang above the ground. No one understands what is going on, until the winter reaches its peak and a strange being arrives. He is Karos, a golem who is the leader of Skyscape exploring troops. Karos explains what is happening with the world's Canvas, and says that the Alliance has no chance of standing against Skyscape troops in a battlefield re-designed solely with the purposed of Skyscape's victory. Karos demands that they surrender, but they refuse. Soon, troops of illusions, wizards, birds, and a race of winged centaurs called pegasan start descending from the skies. The humans and Ophine stand bravely, but things don't look good. Meanwhile, Rogue troops start striking the Alliance as well. Everything looks like it will be a plain slaughter. But then, Hizor figures it's time to make use of Chrona's secret weapons. If Skyscape can alter the Canvas like no one, there's something Chrona can alter like no one as well - time. Chrona's time weapons are largely untested, and not even Hizor know which consequences it might bring to the nature of the plane. But, if that's the only chance they got against Skyscape, that's how it's gonna be. Everyone fights, but there's no way to know who, if anyone, will survive the Dark Solstice - even the plane itself. |