Babel - Chapter 3

This page is a recollection of the events of Chapter 3. Contained in this page will be a brief overview of the events of Chapter 3 and other relevant materials to Chapter 3 that may or may not be significant moving forward into Chapter 4.

## The Two Years Peace

Following a great many forays into the various Towers of Magic that appeared on the the Eteran continent and the climactic defeat of The Behemoth, Etera experienced what many called in hindsight 'The Two Years Peace', a period of little to no strife that made many adventuring sorts restless but was otherwise appreciated by the common folk. On the 18th of Rova, 47 IA, towards the end of the two year period it was noticed that resurrection magic no longer functioned on most people, eventually narrowed down to just working for those with The Spark of Potential, leaving otherwise regular people at the mercy of a permanent death.

The first signs of trouble were the bouts of rage and and hysteria sweeping villages and towns beyond the protection of Babel's influence, leaving the settlements bereft of life as the people simply up and left. At the same time people began to report sightings of a fiery man, marauding across the countryside. The sudden surge of activity lead many to declare an end to the peace they'd enjoyed, but just how right they were was a shock to all as War came to Babel.

## War

War was a Horseman of The Apocalypse and major daemon of Abaddon that mustered a grand army of daemons and incensed mortals to directly assault Babel. His attack on the city began what became known as The Horseman War. He was supported by his four Champions; Radiant, Blitzkrieg, Pyra, and Winchester, each champion being an aspect of War himself. War and his champions were all former soldiers of the Verk Empire, with War's former, mortal identity having been Marcus Gael, one of the highest commanding officers within the mad emperor's army. Despite his loyalty, he along with almost his entire family, were just some of the great many victims of Emperor Maddox's ritual sacrifice in service to his ascent. The loss, betrayal and his innate capability all festered until he clawed his way into the saddle of The Horseman of War and ruled in Abaddon. Perhaps sentimentally he tracked down the souls of his former champions in life, imbuing them each with a facet of conceptual war to create his champions after death.

Unknown to him for the longest time, his son, Aurelius V. Gale, survived The Emperor's sacrifice and would ironically go on to fight and defeat his father in the final encounter alongside his friends and allies.

### The Champions of War

#### Radiant

The Radiant, War's Bardic Champion, is a stylishly clad fellow who wields a Golden Violin. His powers included control over weather with the vibrations of his instrument summoning tempestuous storms. He was present at War's first attack on Babel, resurrected after his initial defeat and there again at the final siege. He, along with his fellow champions, was sealed away in a voidgalss dagger by Alloces Veil, Elorin, Gwen Embergaze, Kyras and Sera Sage on the 29th of Desnus. His violin and bike were left behind in the wake of his defeat.

#### Blitzkrieg

Huge, imposing and brutal. Blitzkrieg lives up to his name as a champion that faced his enemies head-on with his colossal, intelligent greataxe. It was he that was sent to flush out Solaris and their leader, Lantera, and again deployed to tear down the gates of Babel during the final siege. Blitzkrieg was eventually overpowered and defeated in a true contest of strength by Aldria Ikandral, Aurelius, Haru, Gwen Embergaze and Rylan Odinsteinn on the 29th of Desnus, sealed within the voidglass dagger made to contain him. Left on the battlefield was his axe, which also functioned as his bike.

#### Pyra

A masterful pyromancer and caster, Pyra is the fallen Horseman of War's chief mage. The flames she conjures burn hot enough to harm even elementals of flame and harbor a profane energy. During her service she worked with an old red dragon that assaulted the inner walls of Babel from the skies before the city became frozen in time. Alike to her comrades, her fire was doused and she sealed with a voidglass dagger made to contain her unholy flame on the 30th of Desnus by Akalis Giandras, Aldric Longbottom, Itō Mikuno, Mhorina, Nerys and Trish Delvorde. With its master sealed away, the dragon was rendered inert and quickly revealed to be an intelligent bike that can assume its draconic form on command or of its own volition.

#### Winchester

War's greatest champion and a marksman of unparalleled skill, Winchester's uncanny accuracy and power over space allowed him to strike from impossible angles and distances, landing unerring shot after shot. He too was defeated, but his dagger lays empty with reports saying he was entrusted to Heaven for rehabilitation on the 30th of Desnus by Arcana, Akalis Giandras, Delvar Starbreaker, Jacob Johnson and Sera Sage, leading to his eventual redemption. Regardless, his bow and his giant owl, which could assume the form of a bike, were left behind on the battlefield as spoils of war.

### The March of War

#### The First Siege of Babel

The first to reveal himself, The Horseman of War's arrival was preceded all consuming spats of rage that drove ordinary folk to take up arms and join his ever growing army, worming its way across the landscape until, eventually, it met the walls of Babel itself on the 16th of Lamashan, 47 IA where they were opposed by the defenders of Babel aided by Alesia Al'Verath, Annabelle Sinclaire, Avalia Naramoore, Delvar Starbreaker, Elorin, Jacob Johnson and Luna Atreides. At first headed up by Radiant, playing the role of the pied piper, War took to the field when the fiery bard was laid low and proceeded to demonstrate his might first hand. Though some of Chronus' strongest stood against him, they all fell short and were either slain outright or brutally maimed beyond the ability to fight back. Only the intervention of The Young Master himself, Babel's resident patron genie, stayed War's fiery hand and banished him back. This was but a temporary measure though and both sides were now building their forces for the inevitable final battle.

#### Godling of The Sun

From that point War's daemonic hordes wreaked havoc in the countryside and across Etera, all the while bolstering their forces and gorging on souls. Blitzkrieg, another of War's champions, deployed to a small town on Babel's outskirts to investigate the cult, Solaris on the 23rd of Neth 47 IA, only to be met by Aurelius Gael, Avalia Naramoore, Delvar Starbreaker, Haru, Jacob Johnson and Zelyae Maelstrum and pushed back. The cultists, thankful for the aid, agreed to arrange a meeting with their leader, Lantera. Some of the initial team fell back to try to trace Blitzkrieg and his forces while others filled in to attend the meeting. Lantera, a powerful worshipper of The Demon Lord Nurgal, tasked Akalis Giandras, Arcana, Bhelgra Jathslag, Delvar Starbreaker and Gibran Sayigh with locating her daughter in exchange for her aid. Sadly, for whatever reason, the adventurers failed to deliver and in doing so pushed Lantera and Solaris as a whole into the ranks of War's army.

#### Babel in Flames

Though War could not assault Babel directly after The Young Master's previous intervention, Solaris could. On the 14th of Calistril, 47 IA, cult leaders lead daemons to infiltrate and wreaked havoc upon the city, setting it to the torch in their quest to interrogate members of the city council. Alloces Veil, Everett Hawke, Ezzi Pounamu, Itō Mikuno, Renny Sebek, Shura, Tai Soren and Zor'Kylo intervened as best they could as the genie patron focused all of his power into keeping the Horseman himself at bay, the chaos even halted mid-way through by a truly legendary chronomantic force that lasted all the way until the 2nd of Pharast. Eventually the heroes tracked the champion, Pyra, and her dragon ally to a major council building at the center of the city. After a prolonged battle Pyra and the dragon both were forced to flee and remaining daemons mopped up.

#### The Court of Seasons

The next stage in War's grand plan was to deploy the champion, Winchester, to The First World with a sizeable army of elites alongside Lantera and what remained of Solaris, intent on laying waste to the Court of Seasons. Aurelius Gael, Avalia Naramoore, Delvar Starbreaker, Elyn Dayne, Voradale Forean and Rylan Odinsteinn, some of Etera's greatest champions, journeyed to face them and came across Lantera rather early into the excursion. With some quick words and passionate arguments, they managed to turn the Solaris leader from her course, learning that she'd been promised by War what the others had failed to deliver to her, her daughter. With the cult forces no longer aiding Winchester, the adventurers pressed on to the heart of the Winter Court and faced off against the wily champion and consummate marksman. As with all the others, he eventually fled and the plot was thwarted, with the adventurers brokering the return of Lantera's daughter from the care of the Court of Seasons.

#### The Final Siege of Babel

Finally on the 29th of Desnus, following the infiltration of War's floating castle by Dingo, with Almara Azureleaf, Cormick Thale, Eliana Shirli, Iselia Azureleaf, Elisabeth, Somnus posing as his bodyguards, The Horseman showed his hand, pitting his entire force against Babel and then, personally, setting upon The Young Master to leave his champions the city, undefended by their guardian. With thanks to the corpulent benefactor, Lord Vothery, War's armies were thinned to the point where Babel stood a chance. However, this was not to be without consequence. In the meantime, the city put in motion its plan to further weaken the remaining daemons. Four teams were set up, one for each champion, and issued a voidglass dagger capable of sealing the fiery champions away. Each battle was hard fought, but ultimately successful until only War himself, barred within his floating castle, remained.

#### War's End

It was less of a siege and more a careful exploration. Akhutai Jenkshi, Avalia Naramoore, Aurelius Gael, Delvar Starbreaker, Elorin, Slovo Hashmodai, Babel's champions scouring the empty castle for signs of The Horseman. Though they learned much of The Horseman's past, it was not until they reached the top of the tower that they found him and, after a short exchange, did battle within his demiplane. The battle was long and costly, but eventually the heroes slew The Horseman, signalling a turning point in The Horseman War and sparing Babel ruin. In the immediate aftermath, Aurelius, the son of Marcus former identity, took on at least some of his power in the absence of any suitably powerful Warbound daemons.

Bizarrely, sometime after War's defeat, Lord Vothery's corpse fell from the sky over Babel and into it's streets, much to the abject horror of passersby. Exactly what happened is unknown, though some postulated that the large lord might have had ulterior motives in aiding Babel and outlived his usefulness with War defeated.

## Death

Once known as the King Amon of Summoner's Isle, he was a wise and powerful ruler who bore a daughter and son who would serve to continue his legacy. Upon choosing his gentle, kind son to take on the mantle of ruler over his cruel, sadistic daughter, she sought to free imprisoned Horseman of Death in exchange for the power to take over Summoner's Isle by force. The Horseman, weakened from his long imprisonment, was slain by King Amon who, in his victory, fell under the influence of Death's mantle and began to warp as he became the next incarnation. During his transformation, the citizens of Summoner Island all turned to stone save for his son Deimos, who was placed into the Plane of Time with the entire island at the last moment.

### Summoner's Isle

South-East of the islands known as Lalotai, the Summoner's Isle re-emerged from the Plane of Time shrouded with thick fog and guarded by great whirlpools and dead-magic zones. Near perpetual lightning storms lit the sky periodically. Between all of that and the titanic sea-monsters, the area seemed almost impossible to traverse for all but the most consummate of sailors. It was then that a group of nine adventurers helped man an expedition of six ships to the island with only one returning. Thankfully all of the adventurers arrived intact though many were worse for wear.

After a second attempt, this time with more powerful individuals, the Island's horrid defenses were breached and a safe enough passage formed. Coming up against some form of construct known only as "The Guardian", the spherical, tentacled construct was determined to be the one causing the unbearable conditions protecting the isle. The adventurers were ultimately able to dismantle The Guardian, leaving the Island's waters now traversable. Following that, many adventurers travelled to the Island to discover it's secrets. Thought it took some time a base of operations would be constructed on the Island to coordinate further exploration, drawing the attention of a certain Saint Gestalt.

### Saint Gestalt's Plans

Leading the adventurers through the jungles of the Summoner's Isle, Saint Gestalt would share with the players the story of King Amon, also revealing to them the state of which the Island was in. Seeing the petrified citizens, the adventurers with Saint Gestalt tried everything to break apart or reverse the petrification to no avail. Revealing himself later on as *the* Deimos himself, the adventurers were tasked to put an end to King Amon, the current Horsemen of Death, and save the Island from the curse King Amon's title bore.

### The Plane of Paradoxes

It was not a matter of "where", but "when" the adventurers needed to travel. According to Saint Gestalt, Death was split between two different timelines; the past and the present. In order to defeat him, it was necessary that they first materialize Death's present self, which by all logic does not and should not exist. It is then that the access to Plane of Paradoxes became necessary, for it could be only there, a place of nonexistence which lingered just outside the Plane of Time, that Death's present self could be created. Upon finishing his explanation, Saint Gestalt revealed the sole item necessary to access this plane, his soul. Placing trust in the adventurers, the son of Amon would indeed sacrifice himself to create the necessary gateway. Though no tears were shed for him, the adventurers would honor his resolve and entered the Plane of Paradoxes to defeat Death once and for all.

### The Beginning, the End, and the Now

* Death, Horseman of the Apocalypse. (King Amon, Past)
* Death, Horseman of the Apocalypse. (King Amon, Present)
* Death, Horseman of the Apocalypse. (King Amon, Future)
1/3The adventurers travelled through time itself in order to defeat Death; for in order to even confront his present self, they first needed to destroy Death's past and future. Landing within the Plane of Paradoxes, Saint Gestalt's sacrifice somehow created for the adventurers two portals through time which led to the respective past and future versions of Death. As the party split into two groups, one to enter the past, and one to the future, one member of the group opted to stay behind in the present — cautioning that the rest of the party would be unable to return without a familiar point to recall back to. And so, with the precautions set in place, the adventurers proceeded to finish their mission once and for all.

## Famine

The Horseman, Famine, attempted to spread drought and despair throughout the land. He established a lair as close to Babel as possible, located several miles to the north west, though the lair itself was hidden underground. There, he conducted many experiments, creating all sorts of monstrosities and plans to wither Babel into his own twisted visage.

### The Lair in the Mountains

Being informed of Famine's plans by a group of Paladins and Clerics of both Sarenrae and Iomedae, the heroes ventured out to assault Famine's lair directly, while the paladins and clerics kept Famine's forces at bay on the outside, which gave our heroes the opening they needed to delve into the domain of evil. Battling through their way across Famine's insidious dungeons and traps, they faced many challenges, though they also learned that previous warriors, who had all but fallen, sought to face Famine before. Among one of these lost warriors was a mysterious Dark Knight, who vowed vengeance upon Famine for demolishing his home village, friends and family with withering death.

### The Dark Knight's Sword

The Dark Knight left a powerful sword behind, which granted the heroes a fighting chance to finish Famine once and for all. Still containing the Dark Knight's essence of vengeance, the sword was able to channel the wielder's primal potential in the form of vengeance. With the Dark Knight's sword held in hand, with all of the heroes supporting the wielder, they were finally ready to enter Famine's throne room, to face him once and for all.

### The Final Battle

Famine did not stand alone, having several of his monstrosities, including a deadly sniping champion at his side in the final showdown against the heroes Cormick Thale, Ferrus Moltenblood, Kanda, Ordan Solas, Taurus Shade and Tesha Talosan. The battle was not easy, but with sheer determination, resolve, and the unification of all of the heroes' powers combined, they defeated all of Famine's allies, then channeled their very essences into the Dark Knight's blade for the finishing blow against Famine in the climactic clash against him, which would determine the very fate of all of Chronus. The heroes prevailed, as the final strike managed to break through Famine's full power, unleashing a devastating blow so intense that a ray of blistering light shot through Famine and into the skies, for all of Chronus to see.

While the sword lay in pieces from the strike Famine was, at long last, utterly destroyed.

## Pestilence

While each of the other Horsemen made their presence felt, and later known, Pestilence was mysteriously absent throughout The Horseman War despite minions of his occasionally lending their sickly powers in pursuit of mortal ruin. It was not until months after the defeat of Famine that planar scholars noted a dark mark, more accurately described as an absence itself, on the Daemonic concept of Pestilence. Further observation, questioning and even expeditions finally revealed the truth, that Pestilence had been slain by The Fifth before stepping foot on Chronus, effectively triggering The Horseman War earlier than The Four had desired. Whether his death was always planned or whether it was simply a reaction to The Four conspiring to foil The Fifth is unknown, though it is hard to deny that the results played directly into Thane's hand.

The fallen Horseman's minions assisted the others partly out of their nature but mostly by way of vying for the saddle of Pestilence. Ultimately, whatever was done to slay Pestilence has made such a task incredibly difficult. These forces were easily beaten back though, at least in comparison to other daemonic hordes, largely due to the ineffectual nature of their disease and plague based powers in the absence of their patron.

## The Fifth

With all Horsemen dead through one means or another The Horseman War was finished, though the trouble was not yet over. On the 10th of Arodus, 48 IA, a mysterious figure on horseback, accompanied by riders of his own, took to the field near Babel. Avalia Naramoore, Carou, Delvar Starbreaker, Gwen Embergaze, Kanda, Luna Atreides, Ronda Azureleaf deployed to meet him, only to find that what battle might have been had would not even begin as they were all drawn into an unknown plane. There they met Thane who was unmasked as The Fifth Horseman, The Horseman of Final Death, being utterly forgotten. Whatever plan he'd hatched, it became clear that the failure of resurrection magic was his doing and, upon growing bored of entertaining questions, The Fifth drained the being of Ronda Azureleaf to fuel his machinations and partly drained the being of Gwen Embergaze before being 'struck down' by the tiefling. Freed of that plane and with Thane's corporeal form no longer present, the adventurers returned to Babel to discover that sightings of a strange warped angel were noted, descending into The Ghostlands.

What followed was an intermission in divine power among clerics, paladins and the like. It would later be discovered that this marked The Godfall, signalling the fall of almost all major deities to the planet of Chronus. In light of these events, one could be forgiven for thinking more would transpire in short order, but instead came an eerie and lengthy period of calm. Whatever The Fifth was doing, he seemed in no rush to do it, leaving the gods bereft of ideas as to how they'd fallen and of a way to address the matter. Only in time would more become clear.