For the first time existence, Dun-I was at peace. Removing any influence of the Gods actually repaired the world and for the first time, souls flowed freely and from my perspective, we were all prospering. I was able to tend my scrolls, Vesya was able to adjudicate without care, and the rest of the Gods were able to flourish within their own realms. Latros, however, was stewing. He inherited his father’s creation and was unable to put it to use. Though there wasn’t a large army, it was easily the strongest and most dangerous. They were trained, well drilled, and commanded by a ruthless general by the name of Lorian, a man that even I possess little knowledge about.
Three hundred years passed and peace was fantastic, though unobtainable. It was only a matter of time before some form of war broke out again between the Gods over some awkward reason that made little to no sense. While the peace was nice, it was rather boring. While I archived every event that occurred on Dun-I, peace was far more trite. The Gods would send their forces in between realms, using the River of Souls and other portals that connected them to one another to skirmish against each other, but not in anger. They would skirmish against one another for the sake of sport and out of boredom. In was during these times though, that Vesya’s eyes were turned to the carnage in the realms connected to Dun-I and not the realm itself.
This was by design. It turns out, Latros convinced Zailyne to wage war with Dahar for sport to take Vesya’s eyes away from what he was plotting. The River of Souls flowed through Eden on Dun-I, which was the one location where the Gods could walk on Dun-I if summoned by Vesya. In order to secure the location though from the eyes of mortals, ten statues were placed at the top of the hill on the island. Old magic was still bound to several items and these statues were very important, as they controlled the entry way for each of the realms: ten for each realm for the ten Gods who were not Vesya, who could enter and leave Dun-I as she pleased. However, these statues were quite frail and while Vesya could use the magic stored within them to summon the God to the realm, if someone were to shatter the statue by tipping it over, the God would be allowed to enter Dun-I unabated. Vesya typically kept one eye on Eden at all times, but with the Gods sporting with one another out of boredom, Latros was able to dispatch Nathair to the island.
However, Latros was aware of the rules and Nathair was not a mortal anymore. If Nathair were to tip over the statue, then Latros would be bound to Loccaris for all eternity, unable to be summoned to Dun-I. A pure hearted mortal had to destroy the statue and it was up to Nathair to find one. And find two he did. In the city of Brex, a city to the southern part of the Cuor Continent, Nathair found a young couple who was in dire need of assistance. Nathair used the old magic of Maloris to temporarily heal their newborn child, and in exchange, they agreed to travel to Eden with him. They boarded a ship of his, an old merchant vessel that was still in the company of Nathair’s family, and traveled to the mystical island of Eden. Upon traveling, the humans could not see through the shrouded veil but as they approached it, it became clear. The ship arrived and docked at the island with Nathair and the two mortals looking up to see the ten statues as they peer out on the water that surrounded them.
Nathair led the way up the path, eventually reaching the summit to find the ten statues positioned in a half circle around a large mountain face. The two mortals reached the summit and approached the statue, both placing their hands on it and pushing on it. As they pushed for the first time, a large strike of lightning struck at the top of the mountain behind the statues. From the strike, a former Serpahim revealed himself and ran down the hill, screaming for the mortals to stop, but it was too late. The mortals pushed the statue over before the Serpahim, Zilara, could reach it. The statue shattered before him as he fell to his knees with Nathair breaking out into victorious cackle.
A mountain behind the statues glowed purple as Zilara turned to Nathair and pulled a club off of his side. The Seraphim held it into the air as lighting struck the club with Zilara swinging the lighting held in it at Nathair. The lightning released toward Nathair in a ball, bouncing off the ground and forcing him to show some of his powers. Nathair was a master at apparation, vanishing in front of someone and reappearing in a different location. He disappeared before Zilara and reappeared behind him, kneeing him in the back and forcing him to his stomach. The two mortals looked on in fear as the clouds above Eden grew dark and purple. Zilara rolled over onto his back and pointed at the statue of Derrien standing prominently next to the fallen statue of Maloris. “You have to destroy that one!” he screamed at the two mortals, pleading for them to destroy the statue of Derrien in the same manner as Maloris so that the Seraphim would emerge to fight off the armies of Loccaris. The two mortals stayed back, unwilling to get involved as Zilara tried to spar with Nathair.
As Nathair approached Zilara and swung, the mortals were made aware of the cost of Nathair’s servitude to Latros. His black shirt came up slightly to reveal the serpent scales now located prominently on his wrist. The two mortals stepped back and hid behind a statue of Dahar upon seeing the scales of the servant. Zilara rolled up to his feet and shot a small bolt of lightning at Nathair, hitting in the chest before he could apparate away and stunning him. Zilara pulled his arm back to summon a large bolt when the ground below him started to quake and a purple crack appeared in the mountain behind him. From the crack emerged the young God of Chaos and Destruction, Latros. He placed his feet on the ground as a purple mist surrounded his body. Zilara, now in a precarious position, turned his attention to Latros. He summoned as much lightning as he could muster and cast it toward the God, only for him to stick out his hand and deflect it with ease.
Latros walked toward a stunned Zilara with a purple aura emitting from around his body. With each step, the aura moved toward Zilara, eventually reaching him with Nathair looking on in awe. The purple aura surrounded Zilara after a few moments and paralyzed him as Latros continued to move toward his prey. His pale skin was ever present as the sun tried to peak through the purple clouds. He took another step as a loud bang erupted from behind him, forcing the God to turn around to see a large sword pierce the ground through the heavens. Zilara forced his head up slowly to see the Goddess of Law emerge from around the sword. Vesya pulled the sword from the ground and pointed it at Latros while looking on at him with fierce judgment. He looked back at her with a smile, knowing that he had broken her laws and cheated the system.
Latros made one crucial error with his plan of conquering Dun-I. Eden, though located on Dun-I, was an extension of Vesya’s realm. She possessed the bulk of the power on Eden. Latros was already at a disadvantage that he didn’t realize. Like his father, he never thought a plan through all the way. Maloris would leave out a few important details and Latros came by it honest. Latros was powerful and confident, but he was no match for Vesya. She held her sword prominently in her right hand while Latros reached into the ground and summoned a large scythe from a purple void. It was black with a shiny black blade and he twirled it in his hand arrogantly while looking on at the Goddess of Law. Without warning, he swung it overhead at her shoulder, prompting her to quickly deflect it before stepping to the side. She toyed with him for a moment without saying a word, maintaining a look of scorn the whole time while deflecting each attack with ease. He became frustrated as Vesya maintained her stoic expression, swinging more and more wildly to try and down his foe.
Nathair watched his God struggle and intervened with Zilara still paralyzed. He jumped forward and apparated taking the Goddess’s attention before appearing behind her and kicking her in the back. Latros swung wildly and made contact, slicing her across the shoulder. Vesya shouted in agony before stepping back. She gripped her shoulder and looked at the God of Chaos with a fury in her eyes. Nathair continued to apparate around the area, grabbing Vesya’s attention slightly while she tried to manage the pain. With Latros focused on Vesya, she opened her palm and removed the paralysis on Zilara, hoping that the fallen Seraphim would be willing to assist her against Latros and his lackey.
Latros lunged toward Vesya with his scythe overhead, swinging it down toward the ground and forcing the Goddess of Law to push herself backwards. Nathair dove toward the Goddess, but was impeded by a large bolt of lightning striking him in the chest from the hands of an invigorated Zilara. Latros turns and looks at the older Seraphim, giving Vesya enough time to summon her next trick. Without alerting Nathair or Latros, the statue of Derrien begins to glow yellow. Latros swung his scythe wildly again, only to be tackled to the ground by my brother and his uncle, Derrien. Nathair, looking over to the statue, apparated away while Zilara stood still and watched his former God wrestle his nephew to the ground. Vesya, seeing the opportunity, looked on at the two as they both struggled. She looked down at Derrien and nodded in appreciation before driving her sword into the chest of Latros the stomach of Derrien.
Vesya held her sword in place while holding her right hand in the air. The Ul’mann, the stone that housed the knowledge of the Gods, emerged and landed in her hand. Latros’s body possessed a purple hue as he disappeared while Derrien’s possessed a yellow. Within seconds, Latros completely disappeared while Derrien looked incredibly weak and frail with his skin barely hanging onto his bones. Vesya held the Ul’mann tightly before slamming it into the ground at her feet. The stone, containing the knowledge of the Gods, and now possessing the essences of Latros and Derrien, was shattered. She hovered her hand over the shard and dispatched all of the shards out into Dun-I simultaneously as Zilara and Nathair looked on. Derrien looked up as an eagle flew down from the sky and landed beside him. The eagle looked down at the God before transforming into a very large, burly man. He turned to Zilara and nodded before placing his hands underneath Derrien and lifted him up. “Take him home,” Vesya commanded before moving over toward Zilara. “I may have made a mistake today, Seraphim, but Dun-I owes you. You must keep the shards apart, for if they are all brought together, Latros will be freed from his prison.”
Zilara nodded while trying to stand. The encounter was draining but he understood what had happened. By stabbing the two with her sword, Vesya was able to imprison all of Latros and most of Derrien in the Ul’mann. Though he sacrificed himself, Derrien wasn’t without sin. He played a large hand in the death of Neralil and he deserved to be in that prison as well. Nathair, standing behind one of the statues, heard everything and knew what his mission was. He had to acquire the shards so that he could free his master while Zilara knew he had to prevent that from happening.
It’s been two thousand years since that fateful day. Shards have been collected, but Nathair has still yet to acquire them all. The knowledge of the Gods, however, was released back into Dun-I and that is where we stand today. Humans have begun using the knowledge of the Gods again, but only when equipping the shards. They’re unable to learn them permanently, but as they use the shards, the knowledge of the Gods is on display. The world has always been in a constant state of flux and danger, but with the Ul’mann shards in the world, factions have risen to prominence through their power. The magic of the old world exists still in small pockets, affecting the lives of unsuspecting citizens. Dun-I is in a state of chaos, which is a prime world for adventurers and mercenaries to balance.