Grand Games: The Ascent

Grand Games: The Ascent is an anniversary quest zone of the missions map. It can be entered at any time.
Glory belongs to those strong enough to seize it.
==Enemies==
==Encounters==
*1. Running - Felpuur Runner
*2. Boxing - Ogre Boxer
*3. The Javelin - Orc Javelineer, Elf Javelineer
*4. Fencing - Vampire Fencer, Human Fencer
*5. The Discus - Nymph Judge
*6. The First Gatekeeper - Satyr Gatekeeper
** Required 1,000,000 Laurels
*7. Fairy-Shooting - Goblin Archer, Demon Archer
*8. Potent Pankration - Martial Mage, Golden Garden Monk
*9. Riddling - Riddler Gargoyle
*10. Boulder Dodging - Assassin
*11. Monster Slaying - Arete Hydra
==Walkthrough==
Defeat Arete Hydra at node 11 to unlock Arete Hydra (Laurel).
== Notable Loot==
===Crafting===
*Common Craft: Laurel Wreath
*Nodes 6-11: Arete Token
== Transcript==
A dozen luminous oceans clash.  Each bears the color of its might and majesty, rival armies battling in eternal conflict.  Wave crashes against wave.  Multispectral spray bursts into being, children of the warring waters.  It's in this tempest that dreams and souls are forged.  From whence all magic comes.
The realm is a maelstrom of energy, an immense cataclysm so ferocious it seems as though it must rupture the walls of existence and obliterate the universe beyond.  Yet there are bubbles amidst the raging seas, shielded from the waters' wrath, where beings experience their eldritch existence.  A myriad places shaped by the doings and dreamings of Tor'gyyl's denizens.  For many gods and mortals have visited this dimension, either in their sleep or during the most eclectic of their wanderings.  And some have left their mark on its beautiful chaos. 
A quarter of a millennium ago, a band of heroes navigated this strange plane.  The scholar, the guardsman, the bard, and the warrior who shared each of their souls in turn as he unraveled its mysteries to earn their freedom.  Two hundred and fifty years, yet the ripples still shimmer.
He knows all this.  He knows it, because it was in those ripples that he found his identity.  The aspect he's chosen to wear.  He captured it from the faint recollections of scholarly thought and bardic song, a story shared by their minds - one of ancient triumphs and glories won.
Time, that curious and inexplicable thing, has favored him.  Events have flowed towards conjunction as though fate planned this from the very onset of creation.  Two hundred and fifty years since the ripples began.  Two thousand since the grand event last graced the plateaus and summit of Mount Arete.  Its magic still lingers there, from the days when gods and heroes held their contests.  Lingers, and reaches out to the arcane realm.  Yes...  The time has come for glory to be earned or lost once more.  And he will make it so.
The games will return to mark their anniversary.
***
______
The grand games have begun!
Those who bear this invitation must come to Mount Arete and prove their worth in contests of strength, speed, and skill!  Walk in the footsteps of the great heroes and champions who trod those hallowed slopes millennia ago!
Glory and rewards await!  But only for the worthiest!  Those who triumph on the mountains' slopes may ascend tho the summit and compete as the gods look on!
______
You stare at the golden parchment, wondering whose idea of a prank it is.  Someone who loves their exclamation points, apparently.  Well, you'll just tear this ridiculous message in half and-
Aureate light flares from the scroll.  It floods your vision, turning the world into an indiscernible blaze of brightness.  Warmth radiates through your hands.  And chill winds whip against your cheeks.  Icy air tingles on your limbs.
The blinding glow vanishes.  You blink away its aftereffects and stare at the landscape.  Snowcapped peaks loom high overhead, piercing the cloudy heavens.  Were those mountains always there?  And this tunic you have on...  It looks like something a statue of Terracles would wear.
Disorientation fades away in the next moment.  You shake your head and give a wry smile.  How could you forget?  You must have been training too hard!
You're here to attend the games, and prove yourself against the land's other athletes.  You'd better get going before you miss the first event...
Category:Zones
Category:Grand Games: The Ascent