Fall of Ascension Peak

**Fall of Ascension Peak** is the ninth and final issue in Series 1 of Paladins Chronicles.

As the developer note attached to the end of Fall of Ascension Peak states, "*Paladins Chronicles are short stories meant to enrich the world of Paladins & serve as context for future events."*

This story was originally posted here on Paladins.com, and promoted here on the official @PaladinsGame Twitter.

## Story

*“This was Ascension Peak. For it was here that Jenos enlightened a generation of lost souls wishing for a new future. After House Aico had been denied by Jenos, it would stand forever as a symbol for tranquility and the might of the cosmos. But then Omen arrived.” – Buck, after the Fall*

“Are you sure this intel is reliable?” Lian questioned her spy, who approached the Ruby Throne with urgency.

“Indeed. An assault has begun on Ascension Peak, by the Abyss itself. A being known as Omen has torn his way through the gates, supported by their Queen Nyx.” Skye responded in a sure tone, while pacing around the floor.

“The Abyss..,” Lian pondered for a moment before her head snapped back up, “Lillith?” She awaited for the familiar swarm of bats to form within the room & signaled she was heard.

“Yes, Grand Magister. To what do I owe the pleasure?” as the vampiric form appeared out of them, amused at the direct connection.

“Do you know anything about this? You assured me the situation in Seris had been handled.”

“It was. The Paladins under Inara saw to the burial of the Rift within. For my part, I presumed it in our best interest to allow the Abyssal queen her disciple.” As the realization dawned on her, Lian sat up in her throne concerned & reflexively beckoned for her retainer to join her side.

“And why did you allow another Abyssal threat into the Realm?” Rei stepped out from the nook she had in the corner, Aico spellbook in hand. “We already are on the edge of Pyre incineration!”

“Leverage. You see, all Omen wants is Jenos defeated. However, we know firsthand how hard that fight is. If we simply allow them to battle & be distracted…” Lillith begins to spin her weaponized Heart between her hands, revealing the crimson glow from within.

A voice came from outside, “…Ascension Peak is vulnerable and can be captured. My greatest defeat, reversed,” Khan entered from the outer hallway, banner in tow.

“What you suggest could lead to all-out war. The Magistrate is barely held together, with Resistance forces and Paladins who refuse to claim accountability for those criminals. My House is spread thin enough, this can not go awry.” Lian states firmly, with a hand placed on Rei’s shoulder. “This time, we must be prepared. Skye, you’re dismissed. Primus, Archmage; summon our troops back from their outposts. Lillith, I’m requesting your services once more. Corvus is still not to be trusted yet.”

“Of course, though there will be terms…” Lillith smiles as Skye and the others exit the Throne Room.

“…so Lian is working with the Abyss? Surely you can’t be serious.” Zhin relishes this information on his throne, formed from his conquered rivals’ weapons.

“It seems Lillith knew more than she let on, though the connection is dubious.” Skye ponders, sifting through the coin purse tossed her way. “Omen is a piece of a plan, one that Lian intends to enact to seize control of Ascension Peak.”

“Unacceptable. She doesn’t even deserve the throne she sits on & now she seeks more? We will stop this. Vatu!” As the bandit king calls out, his Shadow reveals himself from the wooden beams above.

“What is it you intend to do?” Vatu asks Zhin, with both respect and hesitancy in his voice.

“The Resistance finally has a moment to return. Gather young Talus, our traitors will follow him. Buck, Koga, Ying…they all won’t be able to ignore the threat. Whether they like it or not, they need us now.” Zhin stands, reaching for his blade at his hip.

“Be careful, warlord. I won’t be there to protect you this time.” Skye jests, pocketing her reward and begins to exit.

“I’m not the one who will need saving,” Zhin snorted, and turned away. As Skye makes her exit, the room is left lit by an inferno of flames.

“Good work, Skye. I know you’ve been walking a difficult line, but your work is integral.” Inara warmly receives her guest as she brings the assassin a cup of tea. “So, the Magistrate and Zhin’s Resistance will both be there for each other, but in order to settle their differences…”

“They’ll have to fight the Abyss first.” Skye replies as she takes a sip. “We were short allies & I had to report the intel to maintain cover.”

“You did well; no worries,” Inara turned to her other companion, “Furia, should we expect Seris and the others? It sounds as if our battle didn’t prevent the war.”

The angel of vengeance has been spending her time healing her wounds properly after two bouts against the Oracle. “I can’t imagine a world where she hasn’t envisioned this all.” Furia responds by standing, and with some strained effort summons her blade. “We must depart at once.”

“We will, however we must be careful. Jenos is a friend and vital to the Realm’s safety. No matter what, he must be rescued.” Cassie strolls in while feeding Zigs some nuts. “Everyone here is ready. But with all of the Realm fixated on this it’ll be hard to keep watch everywhere else.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve called in a favor.” Inara reflects, looking at a familiar crystal sword hanging on the wall. “We have allies watching for other incursions. Let’s go save Jenos.”

“En garde!” Tiberius launches forward at Raum, thrilled at the chance for a rematch. The demon has been watching over the gates of Ascension Peak since the attack began, but Tiberius is here to settle a score. Raum cackles as he begins to spray shots at the tigron, who effortlessly jumps and dives between them.

“You’ve really got to work on your aim.” He dashes towards the rageful beast, plunging his sword into its chest. As he takes a moment of pride to fix his fur in battle, Raum rises and throws Tiberius across the path into the temple.

“SILENCE, YOUR SOUL WILL BE MINE.” His voice booms as the weapons master stands up to dust off himself.

“Oh how I’ve missed you! And this!” Tiberius always loves to fight a good foe, and Raum is one of the best he’s ever known. As he begins to lead Raum away from the gates, he sends a suggestive wink towards the arriving Lian, Magistrate following behind. The gesture doesn’t faze her, but Rei’s face betrays a look of jealousy. She tethers Lian’s spirit to hers on impulse.

Aico troops immediately begin to relieve monks of their external positions, offering their support to the ongoing assault from Dredge’s ships. As they do so, more monks rush to the central courtyard, attempting to comprehend the ongoing crisis.

As they approach the innermost temple near the edge of the mountain, Omen stands in front of the stargazer, having shoved him into a jade rabbit statue and placed a pool of fire at his feet, sapping his power.

“You are so misguided, child.” Jenos sounds of pity as he attempts to reason with Omen. “We failed you, but this is not the way to deal with failure.”

“Failure? I am so much more than I ever was before. What your puny gods denied me, I have taken for myself. Soon, death will be your only ally.” Omen blasts towards Jenos, but suddenly finds himself plucked into the air by a swirling nebula summoned by the stargazer.

“You fail to see beyond your own loss, fail to see the chaos around you. Your family was lost to tragedy. All you do now is create more.” Jenos pleads as he slowly pulls his weapon up from the ground.

“And all you do is watch as others SUFFER!” Omen growls as he summons from the Abyss a beam of destruction from beneath Jenos, forcing him to the ground & searing off chunks of his mask.

“You misunderstand the will of the cosmos…” Jenos coughs out as he struggles to stand. Omen saunters up and rests his reaver on Jenos’ forehead.

“Your stars cannot save you. Your lies end today. Your life is forfeit.” Omen cackles as he pulls on the trigger…and Jenos falls apart into shards of glass, the Illusion broken.

“Time to take charge!”

Buck, Koga, and Ying reveal themselves as Buck begins to volley shots into Omen, pushing him back from the courtyard. Ying pushes forward, healing Jenos who had hidden behind the statue when Omen hit him with the beam. As Omen begins to recover, a force strikes him across the face out of nowhere.

“That’s the strength of the Ska’drin!” Talus shakes off his fist as the Resistance groups up and prepares to fight. As they do, Vatu emerges and readies his kunai to slice through Omen into his heart.

“KNEEL!” Lian’s voice rings out as both Omen and Vatu are caught in the blast. House Aico troops descend on the Resistance as fights break loose. Buck takes Jenos and begins to pull him away from the conflict, while Koga and Ying fight off Khan’s troops. Talus hurries over to help Vatu.

“C’mon, Mr. V. You’re tougher than that!” Talus grabs his mentor and lifts him up. “We’ve got to show them what we are made of.” Vatu gives a brief smile before scanning for Omen, who has vanished. His attention is then turned to Zhin, who had been hiding above on the roof.

Zhin drops down into the middle of the battle, as many on both sides gasp at his presence. Ying and Koga both attempt to rush towards him, but Aico troops keep them occupied. He pushes his way through, headed straight for Lian. The second her eyes lock onto him, she smiles and orders her troops make way.

“Oh, so the criminal finally shows his face.” Lian aims her rifle right at him as he continues to approach. She fires, and Zhin begins to deflect shots away & back towards her. As he does, Rei bounces support to Lian from cover.

“The false leader leaves her stolen throne. What an honor.” Zhin mocks as he billows towards her to strike. As he emerges, she retreats with grace. They trade blows as he slices at her ankles while she lands a shot in his shoulder.

“Stolen? You of all people.” Lian scoffs as she orders Khan to seize Zhin. As he attempts to, a bolt flies in from the distance & blasts him backward. A whistle rings out as stone erupts from the ground and Inara makes way for the Paladins emerging from the gates. Cassie and Lian meet eyes briefly as Seris’ advice returns to Cassie’s mind. A thought for another time.

“CEASE. No one wins this fight if the Abyss is left unchecked. For once, leave your loyalties behind and fight for the Realm. None of you can see to the futures you seek if we all are in peril.” Inara’s rally speaks to some on all sides.

Koga and Ying let Aico troops go from combat, and Talus looks up to her with a smile. Zhin and Lian, after sharing glares, both begrudgingly tell their sides to pause.

“So, where is she?” Inara continues, looking onward at the chaos before her. “Where is Nyx? Omen? Does anyone know what their plan is?”

Lian looks around for Lillith, but she is nowhere to be seen. She should’ve brought Corvus.

“They will be below. The heart of the mountain.” Jenos foretells, standing up from his cover and gliding towards Inara. “They seek power beyond their own.”

The cistern beneath Ascension Peak has long been ignored, outside of a wayward monk falling down the well. However, as Seris chants her incantations, the room is filled with wailing souls and glowing Crystals. Omen kneels before Nyx, who is sifting through the catacombs of fallen worshipers disappointed.

“My Queen, I have failed you. Jenos lives.” Omen reports with a bit of shame.

“Oh, darling. I didn’t need him killed, though that would’ve been icing on the cake.” Nyx chuckles as she gestures for Omen to rise. “You’ll get your revenge no matter what. All others who failed will join you in it.” She points his vision towards Seris, as souls from those in these walls are pulled into the pool below her. “Seris was just the start. There’s the capacity for Rifts across the Realm, and very few hold as much power as all this…fallen belief.”

“There truly is nothing stronger, my lady.” Lillith shares as she enters from the stairs leading from the temple. “Nyx, the Paladins have arrived. My diversion won’t hold much longer.”

“No matter. Let Furia & Inara come. I have something to share with them.” Seris speaks as she finishes her ritual and holds her filled Soul Core. Lillith nods & returns to the surface.

Soon after, the two of them make their way down through abandoned tunnels. Inara senses the pain within these bricks, corrupted by eons of Abyssal influence. How did this lie right below such a holy place? Furia did not hold such questions, she knew in her heart that much like her own town evil brews right beneath good. As they enter the room, Seris is alone waiting for them.

“Welcome, Sarah and Stagalla, to the seen future.” She greets them coldly as she holds her core close to her chest. “You fought so hard, brought together so many…just to let them suffer.”

Instead of speaking at all, Furia and Inara leap into action. Furia ignites them both and Inara begins to launch stones at Seris. As they do, she disappears before them and continues.

“You both hold so much rage…where does it come from? You both have so much to fight for, though you already have lost what mattered most.” She taunts them until she reappears, launching souls towards them both. Inara shields Furia, taking all the force herself.

“Terminus…Abigail. You can’t bring them back. Both are shells, vessels to be used for our will. As a reward, they received eternal life.” Inara falls down to her knees, weighed by grief. And yet Seris continues her vigil. Furia screams once more and charges towards her, but right before she strikes Seris speaks again.

“Sarah, please. Don’t let them take me.” The sound of Abby’s voice breaks Furia. She can’t move, can’t breathe. She stares at Seris as her blade clatters to the ground. The Oracle smiles.

“Now, watch as everything you all fought for…is destroyed.” Omen reveals himself and raises his hands above the pool Seris created. “No gods can save you, no light awaits you. Step into the dark…and die.” A giant pillar of souls erupts from below, tearing the ground beneath them and rocking the whole mountain to its core. As the arches around Furia collapse, the light fades as she is surrounded by stone walls. She sees Inara struggle to brace herself as the temple comes down around them.

On the surface, Lian watches as Lillith emerges from the well, unbothered by the chaos around her.

“So, where is this so-called Omen?” she asks, unconvinced of Lillith’s control over the situation.

“They’ve taken hold of the heart of this Peak. Your best bet would be to evacuate. I tried to prevent them, for your sake.” Lillith bows, her lack of honesty not fully lost on Lian, but with too much to lose she orders Aico troops to begin evacuating.

As this occurs, the ground shakes and Abyssal fissures begin to form. Harrowing laughter rings out from the oceans below as Dredge’s fleet increase their fire as monks begin to flee their dwellings. Paladins, Resistance, and Magistrate all spring into action to escort innocents out of the temple.

Jenos, in a fervor, attempts to focus the cosmos to fight back. As he does, Omen rises from below and cackles. The two stare at each other intent on ending this, until Buck rests a hand on Jenos’ shoulder.

“You’re more important than this. You are a source of faith…and today we lost a lot of that. Leave, let them win. We need you.” He pleads, trying to reflect the wisdom of failure Jenos had taught him.

In a human moment, Jenos sighs before putting a hand on Buck’s shoulder an opening a path using his stellar winds.

As Ascension Peak fractures around them all, Nyx emerges from the wreckage. She punches into a statue, breaking it into a new throne to sit upon. Her court expanded once more, from the Dawnforge to Ascension Peak. Soon, the whole Realm would be her domain. This was simply an omen of what is to come.

**Directions**Anti-Abyss  •  Anti-Darkness  •  Nature Protectors  •  Neutral
**Groups** Bomb Kingdom  •  Deepwerks  •  Eternal Pyre  •  Followers of Io  •  House Aico  •  House Arturos  •  Outer Tribunal  •  Paladins (Former)  •  Red River Orcs  •  Sentinels  •  Shadow Tribunal  •  Summer Court  •  Tau-Kor Monastery  •  Thousand Hands Guild  •  Warders  •  Unknown Groups
**Noteworthy Items / Forces**Crystals  •  Magic  •  Souls  •  Warder's Key  •  Warder's Relic
**Notable Positions**Abyssal Lord  •  Border Lord  •  Grand Magister  •  Pyre Lord
**The Realm**Abyss  •  Aico Tundra  •  Crosswind Hold  •  The Eight Oceans  •  Enchanted Forest  •  Greenwood  •  Lunar Coast  •  Seris (Village)  •  Temple Isles  •  Trade Row  •  Warder's Watch
**Races**Abyssal Creature  •  Animal  •  Construct  •  Darkness  •  Dragon  •  Deities  •  Dwarf  •  Elemental  •  Elf  •  Faerie  •  Goblin  •  Human  •  Leipori  •  Orc  •  Pyre Creature  •  Ska'drin  •  Spirit  •  Stagalla  •  Tigron  •  Transformed  •  Undead  •  Vulpin  •  Wyrin
**Complete Timeline**Complete Timeline  •  Paladins Chronicles
**Story Arcs**Crystal Arc  •  Darkness Arc  •  Ska'drin Arc
**Time Periods**The Ancient Age  •  The Age of the Paladins  •  The Golden Age  •  The Age of Resistance  •  The Lost Future
**Notable Events**Dragon Scourge  •  Goblin Scourges  •  Golden Age  •  Crystal War  •  Koga's Revenge  •  Destruction of Seris  •  Battle of Ascension Peak  •  Warders Return  •  The Fight of the Shattered Desert  •  Shattered Goddess' Return  •  The Summoning of Raum  •  The Darkness Released  •  Shift of Power
**Other**NPCs  •  Updated Bios  •  Alternate Realities  •  Canon Skins  •  Statues  •  Legends  •  Misconceptions  •  Retcons  •  Character Feats  •  Alpha Lore