Across the world, across planes, across existance itself, adventurers spring forth, gathering at a simply port. Talonhawk Bay is a small town with no discernable economy. And yet the city thrives, it has been doing so for centuries. Every so often, those weary of their current life descend upon this oddity of a city, in search of something new. On this day however, a horde of beings, power emmanating off of the group has assemlbed. The people cheer them as they are marched through the streets to a waiting fleet of 10 ships, provided by the Gods themselves to carry this band, nearly a thousand strong, to a far away coast. Before the group is allowed to embark, a small gnome wearing a tattered gray soldiers outfit so worn down, the nation it heralded from could not be discerned, adressed the crowd. His features rough, his face set with hard determination and the cold stare of a being who has seen far more horrors than the onlookers wanted to imagine, he projected an aura of command, to even those mighty warriors being called together that day.
Greetings mighty saviors. I am the one tasked with getting you all to the Island, Captain Therond. This won't be an easy journey, and once we arrive, things are probably going to get a whole lot worse. But that part will be up to all of you. Just remember, my ship, my rules. Anyone who doesn't agree can swim back. Of course, then you can answer to your respective leaders on why you turned on the gnome endorced by all the Gods to get you to your location. Now I suppose I should mention the last thing. Since entering this town, and for the rest of your travels to and from the island, you no longer work for your respective religions or organizations. You are now all tasked with serving the Gatekeeper, the one destined to resolve this crisis. This means there shall bo NO infighting between you. The Gatekeeper shows no mercy towards those who get themselves distracted from the task at hand. You've all been warned. Anyways, get on a boat, and we shall make haste to the Island."
The fleet of ships sails its way into a dark and stormy sea, almost constantly pestered by storms, stong winds, and lighning. Therond shows his navigational prowess, allowing the ships to slip through the disasterous weather unharmed. Soon, the travellers find themselves aclimated to their dark surroundings. As warriors test their surroundings, they soon realize that the ships are all traveling impossibly fast (roughly 1,000 feet/round). This pace continues for well over a week, with the Captain refusing to divulge any information on when they will arive at "the island". Deep in the middle of the night of the tenth day, disaster strikes.
As the ships skin over the water, three barriers of blades, shaped in the form of crosses, appear in front of three of the boats (Boats 5,6, and 10). The destructive magical blades slice through even the magically tempered wood of the ships, disingtigrating the three vessels, and leaving the survivors cast into the sea amidst piles of driftwood. (For all those on the three vessels, this is where you begin).
The rest of the fleet is awakened to sounds of alarms as the scouts quickly relay the disaster they just experienced. The captain decides that they should continue on, and that exposing the rest of the fleet to danger to save less than a third of their numbers would be reckless and foolhardy (anyone who wishes to go back, feel free.)
The fleet travels for another day, when the clouds and storms give way to bright sunlight. Across the horizon, an island can be spotted. From the lips of the Captain, springs forth the words "No Man's Land".
The ships arrive to a very unique scene. On the coast lies a gigantic stadium, open to the oceon. A port set inside of its walls awaits the boats as they begin docking procedure. The stadium, roughly 1,000 feet in diameter, is bisected by a stone path 200 feet in the air. The tip of this path ends in a podium, the front adorned with a golden crest of a planet chained and bound by a padlock. If front of this podium, a white robed woman, glowing with a divine aura, watches the disembarking of the fleet. Once all the warriors are on land, she begins to speak.
"I am the High Priestess of the Gatekeeper, Neomi. I am here to preside over the third fleet of combined arms sent to us to battle a crisis. 20 years ago, 4 beings gathered an army in order to rise up against the powers that be on this island. These Discliple heralded a long forbidden name, and brought chaos and destruction to this land. The Gods, unwilling to devote any real resources to this problem, sent us a token force. This force of rejects from their own society met with the rebel army in battle, and with the aid of our home forces, put down this revolt. On the battlefield, their great leader, the Barbarian Kergosh was felled, though not before mortally wounding the army granted to us by our allies. The other three villians escaped into the rest of the country. It was then that a second force, this time constructed of as many elite fighting forces that could be convince to go. Led by the courageous Paladin, Aelim Bastern, they began to track down the disciples. Ella Matern was the first to be felled by this hunt. A Dark Ranger, she led the army into a deserted forest, but was soon overwhelmed by the superior tactics of Aelim.
It was about this time that a fifth Disciple rose from the ranks of the kingdom of Niceas' poverty stricken people. The most horrid of the Disciple to date, this man went around torturing innocent people, slaughtering thousands on a horrid and senseless rampage. A bard, known for using the suffering of his victims as his instrument, who merely called himself Alex. A hunt for Alex proved ineffective, but allowed the task force to come across another disciple. An old man, waiting patiently in his old chair, living in a dilapidated shack in the middle of the Meranceil wastelands. Never saying a word, he was interrogated for three years, and then executed. His serene calm still sends chills through his capters, for the man never made a sound, a facial expression, or a flinch to indicate the suffering he incurred in an attempt to discern the location of his companions.
Despite the lack of cooperation the last of the origional four Disciple responsible for the revolt, a Thief named Jamie Hrothgar, was finaly caught by Aelim as well. Trapped on the edge of the cliffs of Harnan in the Southern edge of the island, she engaged the Paladin in an epic duel, and lost. Now our forces were on the verge of victory, with only one more Disciple to defeat. The quest for Alex continued, leading his force of 100,000 loyal warriors into a mountain pass in the Eastern Kingdom of Hail. Marching through the dark passage, the force was never seen again. Alive that is. Scouts found the 100,000 men, the rear half slain by the horrid claws that were the preference of the horrid Alex. However the front half was slain by sword. And by a specific sword at that. The powerful blade weilded by none other than Aelim. How he was corrupted, we do not know, but it is now more imperative than ever to stop the Disciples.
As the hunt for Alex was underway, the last known disciple made his appearance. In the North used to be a small village named Gree. Around 10 years ago, it was discovered demolished. The last thing to come out of that village was news that an 8 year old boy was being scentenced to death for the murder of another boy. Since then, this boy has travelled the countryside, a target for bounty hunters and rightious warriors. Overcomnig all who stand in his way, he has recently come out and declared himself a Disciple. Leveling churches, military instalations, and even whole cities, this man is our greatest threat.
And so we have been sent another kind of army. Because the corruption of its leader lead to the annihilation of the previous force, we have recieved instead a group of many strong individuals, capable of acting on your own to defeat the threat. We prey for your success. I will turn you loose into our island now. Down the road is the city of Grace. There, you can get any supplies you might need. Westward, towards the center of the island will be the city of Thrakenmire. There you will find the last known location of Alex, who has been terrorizing the people in our country for some time. The exact location of the other two is not known, but Aelim is still known to be in Hail. Albedo has been said to have ventured into the militiristic nation of Thrall on the West Coast of the Island. He has been busy destroying the countries army, and has gotten it down to the point where its once fearful nieghbors, Damualt to the North, and Harbinger to the South and East, have begun plotting invasion plans.
The island is in a state of chaos now. I dearly hope that you all can bring a steady resolution to our problems. But beware the far North of the Island. A powerful Undead horde has made an appearance, its might stronger than any of the nations here on No Man's Land. It would be wise to avoid that area. Now go... and do not dissapoint."
Greetings mighty saviors. I am the one tasked with getting you all to the Island, Captain Therond. This won't be an easy journey, and once we arrive, things are probably going to get a whole lot worse. But that part will be up to all of you. Just remember, my ship, my rules. Anyone who doesn't agree can swim back. Of course, then you can answer to your respective leaders on why you turned on the gnome endorced by all the Gods to get you to your location. Now I suppose I should mention the last thing. Since entering this town, and for the rest of your travels to and from the island, you no longer work for your respective religions or organizations. You are now all tasked with serving the Gatekeeper, the one destined to resolve this crisis. This means there shall bo NO infighting between you. The Gatekeeper shows no mercy towards those who get themselves distracted from the task at hand. You've all been warned. Anyways, get on a boat, and we shall make haste to the Island."
The fleet of ships sails its way into a dark and stormy sea, almost constantly pestered by storms, stong winds, and lighning. Therond shows his navigational prowess, allowing the ships to slip through the disasterous weather unharmed. Soon, the travellers find themselves aclimated to their dark surroundings. As warriors test their surroundings, they soon realize that the ships are all traveling impossibly fast (roughly 1,000 feet/round). This pace continues for well over a week, with the Captain refusing to divulge any information on when they will arive at "the island". Deep in the middle of the night of the tenth day, disaster strikes.
As the ships skin over the water, three barriers of blades, shaped in the form of crosses, appear in front of three of the boats (Boats 5,6, and 10). The destructive magical blades slice through even the magically tempered wood of the ships, disingtigrating the three vessels, and leaving the survivors cast into the sea amidst piles of driftwood. (For all those on the three vessels, this is where you begin).
The rest of the fleet is awakened to sounds of alarms as the scouts quickly relay the disaster they just experienced. The captain decides that they should continue on, and that exposing the rest of the fleet to danger to save less than a third of their numbers would be reckless and foolhardy (anyone who wishes to go back, feel free.)
The fleet travels for another day, when the clouds and storms give way to bright sunlight. Across the horizon, an island can be spotted. From the lips of the Captain, springs forth the words "No Man's Land".
The ships arrive to a very unique scene. On the coast lies a gigantic stadium, open to the oceon. A port set inside of its walls awaits the boats as they begin docking procedure. The stadium, roughly 1,000 feet in diameter, is bisected by a stone path 200 feet in the air. The tip of this path ends in a podium, the front adorned with a golden crest of a planet chained and bound by a padlock. If front of this podium, a white robed woman, glowing with a divine aura, watches the disembarking of the fleet. Once all the warriors are on land, she begins to speak.
"I am the High Priestess of the Gatekeeper, Neomi. I am here to preside over the third fleet of combined arms sent to us to battle a crisis. 20 years ago, 4 beings gathered an army in order to rise up against the powers that be on this island. These Discliple heralded a long forbidden name, and brought chaos and destruction to this land. The Gods, unwilling to devote any real resources to this problem, sent us a token force. This force of rejects from their own society met with the rebel army in battle, and with the aid of our home forces, put down this revolt. On the battlefield, their great leader, the Barbarian Kergosh was felled, though not before mortally wounding the army granted to us by our allies. The other three villians escaped into the rest of the country. It was then that a second force, this time constructed of as many elite fighting forces that could be convince to go. Led by the courageous Paladin, Aelim Bastern, they began to track down the disciples. Ella Matern was the first to be felled by this hunt. A Dark Ranger, she led the army into a deserted forest, but was soon overwhelmed by the superior tactics of Aelim.
It was about this time that a fifth Disciple rose from the ranks of the kingdom of Niceas' poverty stricken people. The most horrid of the Disciple to date, this man went around torturing innocent people, slaughtering thousands on a horrid and senseless rampage. A bard, known for using the suffering of his victims as his instrument, who merely called himself Alex. A hunt for Alex proved ineffective, but allowed the task force to come across another disciple. An old man, waiting patiently in his old chair, living in a dilapidated shack in the middle of the Meranceil wastelands. Never saying a word, he was interrogated for three years, and then executed. His serene calm still sends chills through his capters, for the man never made a sound, a facial expression, or a flinch to indicate the suffering he incurred in an attempt to discern the location of his companions.
Despite the lack of cooperation the last of the origional four Disciple responsible for the revolt, a Thief named Jamie Hrothgar, was finaly caught by Aelim as well. Trapped on the edge of the cliffs of Harnan in the Southern edge of the island, she engaged the Paladin in an epic duel, and lost. Now our forces were on the verge of victory, with only one more Disciple to defeat. The quest for Alex continued, leading his force of 100,000 loyal warriors into a mountain pass in the Eastern Kingdom of Hail. Marching through the dark passage, the force was never seen again. Alive that is. Scouts found the 100,000 men, the rear half slain by the horrid claws that were the preference of the horrid Alex. However the front half was slain by sword. And by a specific sword at that. The powerful blade weilded by none other than Aelim. How he was corrupted, we do not know, but it is now more imperative than ever to stop the Disciples.
As the hunt for Alex was underway, the last known disciple made his appearance. In the North used to be a small village named Gree. Around 10 years ago, it was discovered demolished. The last thing to come out of that village was news that an 8 year old boy was being scentenced to death for the murder of another boy. Since then, this boy has travelled the countryside, a target for bounty hunters and rightious warriors. Overcomnig all who stand in his way, he has recently come out and declared himself a Disciple. Leveling churches, military instalations, and even whole cities, this man is our greatest threat.
And so we have been sent another kind of army. Because the corruption of its leader lead to the annihilation of the previous force, we have recieved instead a group of many strong individuals, capable of acting on your own to defeat the threat. We prey for your success. I will turn you loose into our island now. Down the road is the city of Grace. There, you can get any supplies you might need. Westward, towards the center of the island will be the city of Thrakenmire. There you will find the last known location of Alex, who has been terrorizing the people in our country for some time. The exact location of the other two is not known, but Aelim is still known to be in Hail. Albedo has been said to have ventured into the militiristic nation of Thrall on the West Coast of the Island. He has been busy destroying the countries army, and has gotten it down to the point where its once fearful nieghbors, Damualt to the North, and Harbinger to the South and East, have begun plotting invasion plans.
The island is in a state of chaos now. I dearly hope that you all can bring a steady resolution to our problems. But beware the far North of the Island. A powerful Undead horde has made an appearance, its might stronger than any of the nations here on No Man's Land. It would be wise to avoid that area. Now go... and do not dissapoint."
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