The Game Settings

## **The Setting**

Sins of the Soulless takes place in the year 5E 1200 or twelve hundred years since the beginning of the fifth era after the Dark Ages had finally ended after the Aeadra Divine Being, Lendira managed to force the Dark Lords and their Deadra into the realms of Oblivion before sealing the gates of Oblivion, preventing the Dark Lords and their Deadra from rampaging across the planet. Some time afterwards, when the Supreme Being called Necris whom created the planet and all life upon its surface awoken from his slumber and decided to destroy the world through one, massive spell, a warrior known as the Hero of Time appeared and defeated Necris in battle, causing the Supreme Being to once again slumber, only this time, the Hero of Time had decided to use the soul of the Supreme Being to stabilise the planet's core after Necris had managed to complete half of his spell before he was stopped.

With the defeat of the Supreme Being named Necris, the current Age of Cinders began and within a few hundred years without the intervenience of the Dark Lords and their Deadra, the mortal races of Athrunial were once again able to rebuild and proper off the lands however without the guidance of the Aeadra, the mortal races, especially Humanity fell back to their primitive ways and desires, waging near constant wars in the hopes of claiming power, wealth, glory and other things mortals cling to, all the while completely forgetting the evemts that had transpired during the previous Era's, only the Human Kingdom of Laetannia directly guided by Lendira and the Eeldra have prepared what is to come as no one knows that the seals that hold back the Jaws of Oblivion are about to crumble, letting the Dark Lords and their Deadra to walk upon the mortal realm once more, unleashing their evil. The Jaws of Oblivion being forced open, however, is nothing compared to Necris soul beginning to fade away as less and less mortals of power refuse to become Ladies/Lords of Cinder, whom sacrifice themselves the Eternal Flame, Necris soul from fading away into nothingness, destroying the planet.

## **The Origin Story of Athrunial**

**PLEASE NOTE IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO READ THE ORIGIN STORY TO UNDERSTAND THE SETTING, IT IS PURELY OPTIONAL**

In a time long before the rise of mortals, out from the depth's of the void of nothingness came a being of great yet mysterious power whom for reasons unknown used his almighty unlimited power to create what would later be known as Athrunial, the planet whom we would later call home. However even as Athrunial took form in the shape of a planet, due to it's creation, it proved unstable even with Necris own power. Determined to save his creation from certain destruction, Necris was forced to create eight mighty artifacts of power made from his own soul and implanted them into key locations around the planet, using these eight mighty artifacts as conduits for his own power, he was able to save Athrunial from complete destruction, these would later be called the Necron Stones. Athrunial was safe now but his dream was still far from being completed, he still had two tasks left. Lending his hand over the planet itself, Necris used his almighty power to plant the seeds of life into Athrunial's grounds to begin the age of creation which would eventually lead to the rise of mortals and whatever plan he had foretell for them. Now exhausted from using much of his power, there was still one task left so Necris gathered the remaining strength his body still possessed and created the Aeadra, his immortal race of angelic beings whom were given the holy duty of watching over Athrunial and the Necron Stones. After Necris gave his final decree to the Archangels of the Aeadra, with all his strength disposed of, Necris fell into what it seemed an eternal slumber to regain his strength. If everything went as Necris had laid out for his disciples than when he would return from his slumber, he would lead his disciples into true paradise.....unfortunately things do not often go as planned........

For nearly a thousand years under the ever vigilant eye's of the Aeadra, the guided mortals of Athrunial enjoyed a period of great prosperity and peace until one fateful day, one of the Archangels by the name of Amriel for reasons unknown only to herself, decided to take possession of one of the Necron Stones for herself and absorbed it into her very own body, increasing her own strength massively but in the process of absorbing a piece of Necris own soul into her body, her mind became corrupted due to the very fact she would inherit Necris will. Becoming the first being to be corrupted, she downgraded herself to a lowly mortal and gave into the desires of mortals. She became subtle and discreet in her intentions in obtaining the remaining seven Necron Stones for her own reasons. Amriel's newfound powers allowed her to quickly climb up the ranks of the Asurain cast and corrupt her lover, Zenthius to her side whom she used to gain an army of loyal followers who would eventually become the first deadra of Oblivion. By the time Amriel's corruption was finally discovered by the Archangels of the Asurain Cast, they had sought to banish her from Athrunial altogether but it was far too late, Amriel had already planted the seeds of corruption within the Asurain Cast, resulting in outright civil war and the death's of thousands, The beginning of the War in the Heavens had begun. With no other alternative, the Aeadra lead by the remaining Archangels were forced to do battle with their own kind, led by Amriel in an attempt to save Athrunial and the mortal plane from the corruption created by Amriel whom sought to take control of Athrunial through the usage of the Necron Stones created by Necris. The end result was a massive war that covered all of Althrunial on a scale never seen again, taking place over thousands of years in an eternal struggle that seemed it would never end. On every front, meeting blade to blade, the Aeadra battled the Deadra at every corner of the globe in hoping of defeating their former comrades and protecting those created by Necris however despite their best efforts, even the mightiest of the archangels were not enough to stem the tide of the war in their favor, resulting in the sacrifices of many Aeadra, including the lives of the Archangels whom gladly sacrificed themselves for the sake of Athrunial and mortal alike.

After the countless millenniums of constant war between the Aeadra and the Deadra, Athrunial itself was nearly obliterated as the mortal realm sat on the brink of eradication while the Aeadra were almost wiped out to the last with only a few left remaining. In the the closing stages of The War and seeing the imminent defeat of the Aeadra, the destruction of mortals and Athrunial itself, the fallen Archangel, now the second Dark Lord of the Deadra, Zenthius had finally realized the full extent of his actions and how far he had strayed from the path set by Necris. Wishing to redeem himself and save the world from the Chaos he had helped create, Zenthius waited for the perfect moment when Amriel was alone when she was travelling to the front to end the war once and for all. He ambushed Amriel on her way, resulting in a climactic battle between the two that was unrivalled in physical and magical in nature. Initially during the battle, Zenthius was unwilling to summon his full strength against the love of his life, believing Amriel could see the errors of her actions but after a long and grievous battle of receiving countless fatal wounds from his love, his eyes were finally opened to the truth when he watched in horror as Amriel casually destroyed the remains of a mortal city on a whim and gloated during the battle. After watching thousands of innocents dying so casually by Amriel's doing, Zenthius had finally realized Amriel was truly lost to the Corruption created by Necris power and knew he needed to stop her no matter the odds even at the risk of his own life. What came next was a battle between two fully powered Dark Lords, the very result was a battle so horrifying, the planet itself shook, much of Athrunial itself was destroyed in the battle but in the end when Zenthius caught Amriel off guard despite being wounded himself, Zenthius delivered one last massive magical attack that punctured Amriel's defences, ripping her very body apart. In her last moment,s before her very soul was destroyed from Zenthius's final attack, Zenthius could tell Amriel returned to her sanity weeping a tear, realizing the atrocities she had done in her life unto this point.

With Amriel's death, Zenthius with his fatal wounds knew the ending of his life was near as even he could not heal the wounds he was inflicted with during his climactic battle with Amriel so with all the remaining strength he could muster from his godly body, the redeemed Archangel returned his power to those whom truly needed it, The Aeadra before finally collapsing next to Amriel's body, gazing upon her face one last time before dying of his wounds. The Aeadra, now empowered by the power of an Archangel were now able to weaken the Deadra long enough for a group of Aeadra led by the young Valkyrie Aeadra, Lendira in opening a series of massive magical portals all throughout Athrunial where the Deadra and their remaining Dark Lords were twirled into Lendira's magical portals, banishing the Deadra and their Dark Lords to another plane of existence permanently as just after they were banished, Lendira and her Aeadra sealed the portals off from the mortal realm. With the Dark Lords and their Deadra now defeated, Athrunial was safe and the survival of the mortal realm was assured but with so few Aeadra left standing after the war, Lendira was forced to gather the remaining Aeadra and return to Aelthuan to assure the survival of her race, leaving the mortals of the Mortal Realm without the guidance of the Aeadra. For the first time on Athrunial, the mortals of the mortal plane were on their own, having to fend for themselves yet at the same time, they were able to do whatever their hearts desired ushering in the Age of Fire.

Under the Age of Fire, the mortals of Athrunial flourished soon after the War of the Heavens had ended with the disappearance of the Aeadra, leading mortals to band together to form many civilizations all across Athrunial, all with diverse cultures and societies, leading to the construction of mighty cities to live in, discovering the usage of magic, the concepts of science and invention finally took form, leading to a higher standard of living which resulted in a sudden surge of population boom with many of them beginning to live much longer. For a time, it was a golden age for mortals but without the guidance of the Aeadra whom had guided mortals down the correct path of peace and tranquillity for all, eventually, the sins of mortals manifested on Athrunial, resulting in an age that would later be called the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages was a bloody and long violent era of Athrunial as medieval warfare became commonplace as countless wars were fought over power, land, wealth and other opportunities which in return led to thousands dying repeatedly, creating once again an average lifespan less than thirty years of age, even children were not spared from the Dark Ages, being forced to fight or die by another and more often than not, it would lead to their death by another child or by their elders. Despite the atrocities made in the name of many things such as peace, only more bloodshed was spilled and unfortunately, the worse was yet to come in this Dark Age.

During the final stages of The War of the Red Diamond where the Xerxes Imperium had their backs against the walls after being outmaneuvered in a massive battle against The Holy Ruvelia Empire, with no other choice, the remaining Magisters of the Xerxes Imperium came together in a last ditch effort, gathering all the magic users they could. They began an ancient ritual to conjure up a massive vortex in hopes of decimating the advancing army, unfortunately soon after the Magisters began performing their ritual, something went wrong, triggering the ritual to backfire. The very end result of the Magister's mistake caused the seals set by Lendira on the gates of Oblivion to weaken significantly, allowing the Deadra hordes to pour once again into the mortal realm. The sudden appearance of the endless Deadra hordes caught the mortals of Athrunial completely off guard, making short work of the civilizations that took a millennium to build in mere decades. One by one, the civilizations of the mortal realm whom were already torn by war, famine, disease and mass death thanks in large part to their own doing were made quick prey by the Deadra, using the mortals own weakness against themselves. Before long, All of Athrunial became a battlefield once more as the great lands became littered with the deaths of millions and the countless ruins of once mighty cities, Without the Creator's Angels of Deadra or known as the Aeadra to protect and guide them, many of the mortal survivors of the Deadra invasion thought it was to be end of days as entire generations were forced to live and die warring with the Deadra.

After nearly a thousand years of The Dark Ages, hope was still alive as countless warriors came and went, valiantly sacrificing themselves to hold back the darkness no matter the cost over the defence of the few remaining cities still standing. One such city named Riyuthaa within the remains of The Holy Ruvelia Empire saw witness to a child being mystery born from a womb of a mother whom had never been pregnant yet when this child was born, this child later named Tryanna shined brightly with an ever shifting aura of golden light. No one person could explain such a light but many instantly believed Tryanna was to be a star child, a special child created by the Divine Beings to be destined to remain on the mortal plane yet tasked with a holy quest only they could perform. Shortly after Tryanna's birth, the predictions were proven to be true afterwards as Tryanna quickly grew unnaturally quickly, only mere months after Tryanna's birth, Tryanna was already a small child and shortly after a year, Tryanna became taller than any man or woman. During her time as a child, however, Tryanna began receiving what Tryanna believed were visions from the Aeadra. Initially Tryanna was scoffed at for saying such things but after Tryanna's foresight saved thousands of lives from certain death and the few remaining cities from being razed, Tryanna was eventually named a Saint even If Tryanna didn't consider it enough to save Athrunial. By the time Saint Tryanna had fully grown at the age of ten, Saint Tryanna proved to an exceptional prodigy in both the mind and body, having mastered every subject possible from history to science yet Saint Tryanna's highest mastery proved to be a leader amongst men and women, inspiring them to greater heights of courage. Eventually Saint Tryanna's abilities became so well known throughout Athrunial as well Saint Tryanna's reputation as a "Star Child" and as a "Saint" that it didn't take long for thousands ranging from peasants to knights to flock under Saint Tryanna's banner and when Saint Tryanna decided it was time to complete their duty by removing the Deadra from Athrunial, Saint Tryanna had a force comprised entirely of people willing to fight and die for them as well their holy crusade. Under Saint Tryanna's leadership, The Army of Light upon its formation, immediately departed Riyuthaa to begin their Great Crusade. With the Army of Light at their side, Saint Tryanna proved to be an unstoppable yet brilliant strategist as the Saint's early campaigns were brilliant, pushing back the Deadra in vital area's yet despite this fortune Saint Tryanna eventually came to the conclusion they would need courageous and selfless Champions to aid them in Crusade against the Deadra. As The Army of Light travelled far and wide to fight on every front possible but after many years of fighting, it seemed even Saint Tryanna alone couldn't stem the tide of the war in their favour as the Deadra were on the verge of completely annihilating what remained of the mortal races.

The Army of Light fought battle after battle after battle in a attempt to save as many lives as they could yet this proved futile as the Army of Light slowly over time grew smaller and smaller due to battle attrition until the Army of Light was almost completely destroyed during the siege of Raillitul, forcing Saint Tryanna to rout with what remained of the Army of Light, having to travel far and wide to escape their Deadra pursuiters until eventually, they found themselves safe at what remained of the Holy City of Keyathia. Although much of the city was damaged beyond saving, it's people were safe thanks to the Glaucous Templars whom made it their responsibility to protect the people from the Deadra threat. Out of all the brave warriors, one stood out before his brothers and sisters, whom choose to lead them into battle, a warrior whom possessed bravery and honour above all else, willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of humanity. Upon entering Keyathia, Saint Tryanna approached the warrior and asked to join them in their crusade to defeat the Dark Lord's Deadra yet the warrior refused, unwilling to leave the city until he knew it was safe from the wraith of the Deadra. Saint Tryanna in response made a proposal to the warrior, Saint Tryanna would lend the warrior their army when Keyathia would be assault and exchange, the warrior would join The Army of Light as one of it's Champions. Only a moment after the proposal, the Warrior agreed to Saint Tryanna's proposal and when the time finally came, the warrior took command of the army without question when a massive Deadra horde approached the city led by the infamous Dark Lord, Rahmiel. The ensuing battle was fierce with no quarter shown on either side as thousands died fighting however after a long enduring battle, the warrior through a number of tactics and ruses, managed to cut Rahmiel off from his horde in the confusion of his last tactic, used the opportunity to charge the Dark Lord in single combat and after a fierce duel, the warrior finally defeated the Dark Lord Rahmiel in single combat before beheading him, causing mass panic throughout the ranks of the Deadra. With the defeat of their master and lord, the Deadra horde splintered and fled into the unknown, never to be seen again in this region for nearly a few centuries. Immediately following the battle and knowing Keyathia was finally safe from danger, the warrior keeled before Saint Tryanna and vowed to serve Saint Tryanna as their Champion, to use their power and skill to save a dying Athrunial no matter the odds. With Saint Tryanna now with a Champion at their side, the warrior departed Keyathia with the Army of Light as their Champion as they set out to continue their journey in an effort to recruit others like the Warrior to become champions to the cause.

Following the assault on the Holy City of Keyathia and Saint Tryanna gaining their first Champion, The Army of Light continued it's crusade throughout Athrunial, growing in size once again as it continued to push back the Deadra Hordes where the hordes grew in strength. In the countless years since Saint Tryanna gained their first champion, seven other great Champions were recruited by Saint Tryanna to join the Army of Light to act as it's Champions, these Champions were Sovereign, Suzetta, Raphael, Cassian, Matsumuto, Bryrja and Athruis. The nameless warrior with his brothers and sisters became a formidable spearhead of Saint Tryanna's Army of Light as they achieved many victories thanks in part to their skill and valour but the utmost important feat was their determination to end this Age of Darkness no matter the cost, even at the stakes of their own lives If need be. During Saint Tryanna's later campaigns against the Deadra hordes, through the blessing of the Diving Beings, Saint Tryanna was able to acquire the legendary artefacts known as the Necron Stones of old where the legend told that each stone held a piece of Necris own soul, hence granting incredible power to anyone who wielded them. As a reward for their service, Saint Tryanna awarded all her Champions with a Necron Stone whom all accepted the honour and had these stones of power crafted into their weapons, granting them great power, on par with that of a Divine Being. The only one to decline this honour was Saint Tryanna's first Champion whom had refused to use a piece of the Supreme Being's soul to empower himself, seeing himself as not worthy nor being able to handle such power. Saint Tryanna in response honoured his decision and banished the Necron Stone back to it's resting place before the Army of Light continued it's crusade. Following this one event, The Dark Ages were almost brought to an end as Saint Tryanna's Champions wielding the Necron Stones infused into their weapons, brought the countless hordes of the Deadra led by the Dark Lords to their knee's, slaying almost every single Dark Lord in battle however as quick as these Champions came with their newfound power, it didn't take for Saint Tryanna's Champions to fall from grace simply due to the fact they still mortals with hearts that held sin within their heart. These Champions being mortal could not withstand the power of a Supreme Being and shortly after using the Necron Stones powers for their own, they all but one fell to the temptations of power and greed or fulling knowing their time was near, sacrificed themselves for the greater good of the world.

Sovereign, had died heroically at the battle of Delirium, choosing to sacrifice himself to allow others to escape with their lives at the cost of his own. Like the others whom would follow in his path, Sovereign willingly merged his Necron Stone with his body, temporary gaining the power of a true Divine Being and using such power until his body became no more due to his mortal body unable to contain's it's power any longer.

Raphael, Shortly after he fully realized the full extent of his Necron Stone's power, Raphael deserted the Army of Light as one of its mighty Champions out of greed and power. He returned to his land and by using the power of his Necron Stone, he made himself King of the land for a short period of time before he was captured in his sleep one night and was hung on a cross, being executed by being burned to death for abandoning his duties as one of Saint Tryanna's Champions.

Cassian, During the Night of the Crimson Tears, he was captured by a Succubus of the Deadra horde that had used the event to sack the city, Cassian eventually gave in to the temptations of power and greed, using the Necron Stone to become a Deadra Prince. Eventually, Cassian realized what he had become and in an attempt at atonement, he willingly sacrificed himself when The Army of Light had been routed at the battle of Flavano, hoping to redeem himself in death.

Matsumuto, Having felt he had been ignored and underappreciated by Saint Tryanna and the other Champions besides the nameless warrior, Matsumuto seemingly abandoned his role as one of Saint Tryanna's Champions and ventured alone into the world, wishing to travel on his own as a Hero, seemingly disappearing some time after he was given a Necron Stone. It was said many years later, Bryrja had found Matsumuto and killed him when she found him trying to perform a ritual to become a Divine Being using the Necron Stone, however, other tales said she hunted him down and killed him in single combat to obtain his Necron Stone for her own greed and ambition.

Bryrja, Despite being a Valkyrie blessed by Lindria herself, she had been considered Saint Tryanna's Champion whom had fallen the most, having killed one of her brothers for whatever reason she had to gain his Necron Stone than many years later, she was captured by the Deadra as well. The Dark Lords in response tortured and raped her endlessly and ruthlessly until her spirit was nearly broken. In a last fit of rage to save herself and exact revenge, Bryrja gave into the temptations of power and used the power of her two Necron stones to unknowingly become a Succubus Dark Lord and since that day. she still lives to this day as a Dark Lord.

Suzetta and Athruis, using some unknown magic ritual, merged together as one being to battle and defeat the greatest of the Dark Lords, Beladriendel in single combat in one massive fierce battle that nearly shook the planet apart. This new, grand hero had succeeded in destroying Beladriendel, completely eradicating his souls from existence before succumbing to the power of the Necron Stones and the wounds they had received during the battle with Beladriendel.

After all the disappearances of Saint Tryanna's Champions, whom had willingly given their lives up for the greater good or gave in to their temptations, only Saint Tryanna's first Champion had remained, having to refused the power of Necris due to his belief mortals weren't worthy of such power, such belief had saved his life, If only the remaining Champions held the same beliefs, perhaps they would be still be amongst him and Saint Tryanna. Even with the disappearances of his brothers and sisters, the nameless warrior chose to continue his duty as Saint Tryanna's Champion, to continue their crusade against the Deadra and with the disappearances of his brothers and sisters only made the nameless warrior more determined than ever to fulfill his duty and bring peace to the world once more. For a time, the Army of Light performed it's duty admirably with their sole Champion but that all changed at the Great Seige of Glasuht, the last remaining Human Kingdom that still stood. The Great Seige of Glasuht proved to be the largest battle ever recorded during the Dark Ages where the Army of Light and the defenders of Glasuht were forced to battle the largest Deadra horde ever encountered with many saying there was well over a million Deadra assaulting the city which proved the harshest battle the Army of Light would ever fight.....and it's last. Led by their sole remaining Champion, The Army fought with a ferocity never seen yet, in the end, it proved futile as after a long, drawn out battle. The Army was completely and utterly eradicated to the last man and woman despite the best efforts of Saint Tryanna's sole Champion. The situation became so dire, even Saint Tryanna was mortally wounded during the battle so badly that even Saint Tryanna was beyond help even for the greatest of healers. In Saint Tryanna final moments, the Saint ordered the Army's remaining Champion to flee from the battle and continue their Crusade, it was obvious the Saint's sole Champion would refuse such an order, wishing to die alongside his comrades and to see his brothers and sisters on the other side after years of fighting. When the Saint witnessed his lack of faith in the sole Champion, they closed their eyes before laying their hands on the Champion's bloodied cheek for a brief moment before suddenly, out of the blue, Saint Tryanna's body dissolved, evaporating into a white light that flickered into the wind before finally disappearing. Little would the sole Champion know that Saint Tryanna had in fact in their final moments had transferred their life essence into him in an effort to watch over their last remaining Champion, guiding him down the correct path and aiding him against the Deadra. Not knowing the Truth, the Champion snapped after seeing he had failed his duty, giving into his insanity as he ripped apart friend and foe, becoming nothing more than a monster as he ripped his way out of the horde before finally passing out from battle fatigue sometime later.

Through unknown means or perhaps by just mere luck, the Champion was found by farmers the next day whom had treated his wounds from the battle he had fought before. Away from the war, the Champion remained at this farm for quite some time to recover however in that time, the Champion couldn't help think he had lost his purpose in his life and it didn't take long for him wanting to die after the memory of watching his comrades, the soldiers he lead and innocents he swore to protect, dying before his very eyes over the countless years, he kept asking himself what was to be his purpose now? He kept asking these very same questions in his mind until one day, he awoke to see the farm he was staying at, being pillaged by a group of Deadra. Apon seeing the farmer's daughter being deflowered by one of the Deadra, whatever depression he held suddenly vanished into thin air as he slew the Deadra without remorse. This very event snapped the Champion back into reality, he knew he was one of the few remaining if not the last hope for saving Athrunial from the Deadra. He knew he had to stay vigilant and determined If he ever wished to destroy the Deadra. After the Champion fully recovered and regained his resolve to wage war once more against the Deadra, he departed the farm and wandered far and wide for some time, rushing to the aid of those he could as well as aiding those in battle against the Deadra. Everything changed one day when the Champion was preying in a ruined cathedral during a thunderstorm. It was their, his prayer was answered, in a flash of light, a beautiful yet Seraphim named Lendira appeared before the Champion and gave him the guidance he needed to push back the Deadra, she told the Champion of the prophecy he was to fulfill, to destroy the Supreme Being Necris when he awakens and to take his place to save Athrunial yet she told him he couldn't do it alone, he would need to gain the full blessing from every Divine Being, to receive all four marks of power and even potentially gather the five remaining Necron Stone if he was going to have any hope to stand a chance against Necris. Despite being old as she was, Lendira herself was so impressed with the Champion's courage, his honour and his duty to his holy cause that she presented the Champion with a chalice of her own blood and asked him to drink from it. Hesitant at first, eventually the Champion stepped forward and drank from the chalice. Immediately the Champion was consumed in a flash of ever light as his body became infused with a portion of Lendira's own power. When it ended, The Champion was donned in white and golden armor with a golden aura, filled with strength and faith that radiated like an inferno, The Champion became the first ever Grail Knight of Athrunial, a Pseudo Divine Being knight pure of heart, lead by the light and with the gifts of the Aeadra at his command. Upon the drinking from Lendira's chalice, the champion became the personal champion of Lendira whom gave him his last and only order, to begin his journey immediately and venture forth back into the world and gain the favor of every Divine Being on Athrunial, granting the Grail Knight the power he would need to battle Necris and stabilize Necris once more as it was in the beginning. Immediately, the Grail Knight wasted no time in his journey, spending nearly the next century traveling the old world searching for the Divine Beings as well as acting as a peerless pure Knight of the light. He travelled to every part of the known world, to find every Divine Being he could, taking on the countless trails of combat and wisdom set before him to test him in every way feasible. Such trials tested him in ways it would had destroyed lesser mortals but thanks to the countless years of battle experience and wisdom he had learned and experienced from his past life as a normal human allowed him to pass the trials set before him, granting the blessing of the Divine Beings he had found in his journey. In an exchange for this power, The Grail Knight of Lendira took an oath to every Divine Being he found, that he would serve the Divine Being faithfully, to destroy Necris and rout the Deadra back into the Realm of Oblivion no matter the cost. After many years of proving himself in battle to save those who could not protect themselves and proving himself to the Divine Beings, The Grail Knight, in an essence became a Divine Being of War and order, able to sway entire battlefields with his presence alone however there was one last quest he would need to undertake before his fateful battle with Necris, to find the remaining five Necron stones and wield them against their creator.

Due to the sheer difficulty of the Grail Knight's final quest in finding the Necrons Stones throughout the world, Lendira herself decided she would travel with her Champion and guide him on his final quest to save the world, this would mark the first in millennia's, since the end of The War of the Heavens that an Aeadra would walk the ground of Athrunial once again. The Grail Knight understanding the full extent of the Necron Stones, didn't enjoy finding the very same artifacts of power due to the sole reason what they had done to his closest comrades but he knew such power was necessary to save Athrunial from it's creator. Under Lendira's guidance and companionship, the Grail Knight traveled with the Seraphim in the form of a beautiful Valkyrie warrior for nearly a hundred years, traversing many dangerous trials in obtaining the Necron Stones and in the process, nearly bringing peace to Athrunial however as soon as hope was beginning to take hold of what remained within the Mortals, all seemed lost when The Grail Knight and Lendira sensed the Supreme Being, Necris finally awakening from his slumber. When The Supreme Being did finally awoke from his slumber due to the disturbance of what was transpiring on the planet, Necris was now a deformed corpse of what he used to be, he saw the world with his eyes for the first time in thousands of years and saw it completely destroyed by war and famine, caused by its protectors whom had fallen to his own power. Seeing how the world he had wished to create was no more than a pipe dream, Necris had decided to destroy Athrunial and begin again. Seeing he had failed greatly in his plans, Necris travelled to the center of the world and prepared a massive spell that would destroy the planet. Although there was great hesitation in the Grail Knight as was to be expected, Lendira reassured her Grail Knight of his conviction and duty before infusing his sword with all five Necron Stones they had found on their century long quest before finally departing from his company to return to Aelthuan. With The Grail Knight's revolve reforged through Lendira's actions, The Grail Knight travelled to the center of the world alone and challenged Necris to a battle for the sake of the world when his spell was nearly halfway to completion. When he was approached by the Grail Knight, Necris was surprisingly brought with great shock as he learned his corrupted and dying world had produced such a pure being that he took pity on the Grail Knight, thinking of him as one of his Aeadra children. Necris did not want to kill such a being but it was far too late in his eyes, The Grail Knight's along with everyone's deaths were required so that he could start anew, however, he could not ignore the fires within the eyes of one of his own children so in the end, Necris accepted the challenge brought to him one of his own children. The result was a battle that shook the very planet as entire landmasses were destroyed and oceans swallowed up many others, many believed it to be "Time of Ending" once more as these two titans clashed in battle. No one know how long the battle was, with some legends saying a single day while other said a millennia but whatever the case was, after a long a long and bloody battle, Necris was mortally struck down by the Grail Knight's sword however in his final moments before finally falling back into a deep slumber once more, Necris used the last of his power to cast a corrupting curse on the Holy Grail Knight. This corrupting curse immediately twisted the man's soul and mind, making him into the very thing he swore to fight against and never become, this once Holy Grail Knight lost the purity granted to him by Lendira, the Divine Being, losing it all when the corrupting curse transformed him into the very first Vyreadra.

Immediately following the battle with Necris, the Fallen Grail Knight fled the battlefield as the curse took control over him, continuing to twist and rot his mind with the very same corruption he had fought against. Despite trying to resist the corruption from entering his heart, mind and body, in the end, it only drove him to insanity before finally falling to the ground into a deep slumber similar to Necris had. The Fallen Grail Knight did not awaken until nearly three centuries had passed since his fateful battle with Necris when his entire body was dug out of the ground in the vicinity of the Order of the Martyred White Rose's covenant near the outskirts of a city. When he arose from his resting place, everyone including the sisters of the covenant became frightened with terror until a sister by the name of Seliah recognized the Fallen Grail Knight's armor from the tomes of legends that spoke of a mighty hero clad in white and golden armor that challenged the Supreme Being to single combat and triumphed, saving the world as they knew it. Once news had spread that the Hero, whom had saved the world was still alive, he was immediately made into a Saint like Saint Tryanna with a life that was fit for a king yet despite his duty now seemingly over, he had learned since his fateful battle with Necris, that humanity along with the other mortal races had begun to recover from the Dark Age as the remaining Deadra were slowly defeated and pushed back into the gates of Oblivion before Lendira's seals were strengthen once more by many magic users, preventing another mass Deadra invasion. Despite his new fame and honors he received, he could not forget nor heal the curse that was casted on him by Necris. This curse, gifted to him by Necris, forced him to awoken from his slumber every night from the extensive pain he could witness throughout his body along with the strange unquenchable thirst for mortal blood. Although the Fallen Grail Knight tried to continue his duties the best he could, over time slowly, his mind changed, he felt no humanity towards the mortals he served and the extensive pain he felt became worse, so unbearably so, it would only be eased when he drank the blood of the slain or willingly, however despite this, he clunged onto his title, refusing to become a monster however as the days passed into months and into eventually years, it became a desperate battle to control his urges until one day, his urges became so great, he could no longer withstand the curses urges and gave into the curse completely, wasting no time in slaughtering every man, woman and child in a single night in the city he had been living near. Feasting on their blood and their Seminalem, In a single night, he went from a fallen Grail Knight to a bloodthirsty monster. In his last act of evil on the city, he returned to The Order of the Martyred White Rose whom had found him and slew those who were weak, feasted on the strong and the desirable before finally fighting Sister Seliah and defeating her in single combat. To the sisters whom were strong and desirable, he used his newfound powers to make them his first servants, corrupting them to their core and instilling his will into them after he made Sister Seliah into the second Vyreadra, forcing her and all her sisters to serve him for all eternity. By this point, whatever remained of this once great Grail Knight was completely gone, consumed by the monster he had now become. With this new power that had manifested and servants that now lived to serve him, he left the ruins of the city where he was found and traveled throughout the world with his servants, consuming all those in his path, causing a War of Blood to occur by himself. He attacked countless cities to pillage, rape and feasted on the living for many years, gathering a large army of servants until he was finally defeated by three mysterious heroes with an army of their own. After this bloody battle, the monster and his army was eventually defeated with the vast majority of his army wiped out almost to the last man, only him and his original servants,t he warrior nuns of the Order of the Martyred White Rose survived. With such a devastating defeat, the monster and his remaining servants were forced to flee far and wide to avoid the wrath of the mysterious Heroes. Eventually, after some years had passed, he along with his remaining servants were able to escape his pursuiters by travelling to the throat of the world where Necris remained since his battle with the Hero of Time. Unable to travel anywhere else due to the risk of being potentially hunted down in his weakened state, he whom would eventually call himself **"The Nameless One"** had decided to make Aklator, the throat of the world his home for him and his servants to live in. What came next was simply a spectacular sight as he conjured all his mastery over the releases of magic's to create an ever changing ebony tower on the surface with a vast necropolis built underground.

With the disappearance of the legendary Grail Knight of legend, The Necron Stones, The gates to Oblivion strengthened once more and Necris once more slumbering due to his climactic battle with Lendira's fallen Grail Knight, over a thousand years have now passed since the Dark Ages. As with the Age of Fire, a new age had begun, The Age of Cinders. Under this new age, humanity along with the countless other mortal races had recovered from the Dark Ages, spreading once again throughout Athrunial and rebuilding civilizations over the ruins of the civilizations of the last age. Once again, Peace was established for some time, allowing technology to progress and culture to develop once again. Of course, such peace wasn't meant to last forever as all mortals of the mortal realm housed the same sins as their ancestor's. Although Civilizations were far more advanced and culturally, smaller wars became commonplace once more for control of land or for to grab power from others, leading to mass death once more. Despite the fact that mortals hadn't learned their lesson from the past ages, it was far from the worse thing they had to worry about. Magic users around the world were baffled when they learned the soul of the Supreme Being, Necris was being used to fuel and stabilize the planet's unstable core yet despite this almighty soul feeding the planet the energy it needed, the Soul of the Supreme Being would eventually flicker away and die, causing the world of Athrunial to cease to exist however it was soon discovered, that as long the Supreme Being's soul was fed with the souls of the strong or those strongly intoned with magic, the Supreme Being's soul would continue to burn brightly, ensuring Athrunial survival. To add even more problems to an already horrified populations was the news that the seals that prevented the Deadra from entering the Mortal realm where beginning to weaken, thus it would only be a matter of time before the seals would be broken yet again unless a large number of magic users could appear yet again to strengthen Lindera's seals. Such news pressed the many mortal kingdoms of Athrunial to wage war against each other for the necessary resources and lands needed to survive the coming apocalypse while others used the opportunity to rise to power and take what they desired by force or by dialogue. With constant wars between the mortal kingdoms, thousands of individuals sacrificed every day to the Holy Flame to keep Athrunial alive, The Deadra prepare for the coming invasion, The Aeadra prepare for the Deadra invasion of the mortal realm while the Vyreadra prepare for their own plans, such future events will conclude the Age of Cinders........

## **Character Overview and Creation**

### **How to Avoid making a "Mary Sue" Character**

In SOTS, creating a character is serious business and should be taken seriously when attempting so. Creating a character that isn't a "Mary Sue" can be a rather a difficult thing, especially for beginners but what is a Mary Sue you ask? Most people have a vague understanding of a mary sue, essentially being a character that is often perfect in every regard and can never do any wrong or have taken certain traits to the extreme. Below will be a simple guide.

* **Character Flaws and Strengths -** Often a main issue for Mary Sue characters, It is a good idea to give characters multiple positive and NEGATIVE traits and when your character is in action, it's a good idea to never go to the extreme or go over the top with one personality treat. A good Example would be a Grail Knight of Laetannia, they are essentially Knights from Arthurian legends whom are Heroic, Courageous and Chivalrous warriors whom fight to defend all of Athrunial through battling the Deadra. If your character became a Grail Knight, they can act as selfless heroes of justice BUT they are human and realistically, they would have other traits such as a short temper or perhaps they drink a little bit more than they should. They are humans, they should be imperfect and their flaws should be obvious.
* **Have your Character's flaws always be present -** A character's flaw should always have permanent consequences and should be taken into account when doing threads, it should never happen when you find it convenient.
* **Avoid making a character related to a Canon Character -** This is often overlooked by beginners but this can be annoying to other players and is often unoriginal, not to mention it could be considered unfair. If you really want to play as a character that is related to a canon, you should apply to play a canon or ask to be born into the world as a character to a canon,
* **Make a Character with a dark past believable -** Usually, a character with a dark past or has had a painful life before the beginning of the RP. These characters can come off as poorly written with having parents whom hate them, no one liking them at all, having sibling whom are perfect etc but what could be considered horrible is that these characters often have no reaction to other injustices or those with similar experiences. These characters often spend an amount of time speaking of their awful history which unless written well and goes with the flow of the story, it can come off as really annoying or boring to others. Characters can have horrible past but their character should not be based entirely on it, would you want to listen to a person ranting on and on about the tragedies that occured in their life in the real world?
* **Your Character should have difficulty in the things they do -** This one is obvious but often overlooked or forgotten by beginners, it is extremely easy for a beginner to make a character that is perfect or has little difficulty in whatever they can do, like a Squire automatically adapting to horseback and using a Lance on his first attempt. Your character is no different you or me, you may know how to do something in the real world but that does not mean you know EVERYTHING about that subject.
* **Avoid Godmodding -** This can be subjective by many people but most people tend to agree that Godmodding is a term when a person makes their character all powerful with weaknesses, they know everything or know something they logically wouldn't know, controlling another character or altering the story for your own ends.
* **Avoid stealing the plot for your character -** This usually occurs when a person is unhappy on how a story is progressing with their character not receiving the spotlight or not enough attention. We know, it can suck at times but your character can't always be in the spotlight and it's unfair to others whom worked for it.
* A**void the usage of unexplained abilities or magic -** If your gonna use a new spell of magic or ability given to you through some means, make sure to explain it's pro's and cons, you don't need to be extremely technical about it but you should make it believable and fair.
* **Don't play a race than look completely different -** Pretty simple, If you were to play as an Eeldra(High Elf) whom are tall and have blonde hair, it would make no sense how an Eeldra would be short, have black skin and have red hair
* **Romance -** This is an issue found amongst all RPers, not just Beginners. When you want your character to have a love interest and possibly want to make a romantic relationship, MAKE SURE you flush out their relationship and making it realistic, most people whom want a serious relationship are not going to get together in a day or two and that should be reflected with your character's relationship with their love interest, they should not be getting hitched together in one or two thread unless the threads spans countless days, weeks or even months with heavy interaction.
* **Extreme Alignments for no reason -** A character should not be super evil or extremely good just for the heck of it. It's common for a story to justify why but there is often no motivation as to why.
* **Avoid making a character super attractive -** It's common knowledge in role playing and in the real world, most people don't want to be ugly and possibly deal with those whom are ugly but that does not mean you should make a character that is so attractive, it's ridiculous.
* **Your Character has a godly like physical physique -** So unless your character is a Divine Being(God), your character would not have super strength and be able to ou pace everyone that has the body of a child
* **Refrain using special titles -** Unless it's for story purposes or has been granted it in the world through some means, your character is not the "Chosen one" like from star wars and you are not of royal blood.

### **Notes on Characters played by players**

* Characters advance in skill through increasing their **"mastery**" level
* Characters advance their knowledge about the world and subjects through **"Lore"**
* SOTS is a serious and realistic RP, expect things to be difficult at times
* Death is permanent under normal circumstances
* Most choices of players will usually have some consequence in the world
* Region and World Altering choices and consequences made by players is certainly possible If a player plays their cards correctly
* New characters can either spawn in the city of Ivalice, anywhere in the Thrymir region or in the special DM area called the Abyssal Cemetery
* Players have 5 character slots but can buy more from the store with in game currency
* Players do not have NPC's slots at the beginning, instead, NPC's tokens must be bought from the store using in game currency
* Time flows differently than in the real world, one weak real time is a month in game.

## **Character Death**

When your character dies in an SM/DM thread, death under normal circumstances is permanent. A player character with Yang Release(Light Magic) can resurrect a player character If they have just died similar to CPR but a character cannot be resurrected back to life after a few hours have passed, Those whom have mastered Yin-Yang Release(Dark and Light magic combined) can resurrect a player character from death If they have been dead for a few weeks up to a month. The only beings who can resurrect the dead no matter how much time has gone by is a Supreme Being, the highest tier of a Divine Being(a god)

There are two types of death

* **Physical death -** Characters who were physically killed but their soul is still intact and can be placed within an object, a person etc If they person performing the ritual or action is doing the action right after the physical death of the character
* **Body and Soul obliterated -** Quite rare, those who were killed physically and spiritually where both their bodies and souls were completely destroyed from existence cannot be resurrected by any means. Such actions such as this can only be done by a character who is absurdly powerful.