Lore

The story speaks of a hopeless battle of good against evil. The heroes of the alliance must do everything to protect the mystical Fell Crystal.

The lore is given to the player trough NPCs. The Scribe in Castle Drayton provides the player with a short story or a description before each wave. To find out more about the situation you can converse with other NPCs.

The tendrils of dark magic have reached far. At first it's not many, but there will be more.

A more organized force appears, their archers are ready to lay siege to the castle walls. A dark force is behind those attacks.

There is not a soul that sleeps in the castle most nights. The soldiers are anxious and the people are scared. They have been attacked before, but never by such sinister, dark magic.

New enemies charge towards the castle, but Draydon is not without new allies: the Elves from the woods and the Dwarfs from the mountains. Everyone in the land knows of the Fell Crystal - it is their last and only hope in destroying the enemy scourge.

Under the cover of darkness, the Torch Bearers will light the way. Torch Bearers are poor souls from the lower castes, forced into the front lines of battle without a weapon. In the midst of war, there is no time to pity them.

The scourge has built an outpost near the castle, getting stronger and bolder with each attack. No one knows where the source of their attacks come from, or what they want. Perhaps it is simple, and they only want death.

It is said that champions, heroes and mages have a special bond with the Fell Crystal, granting them strength and power beyond that of an ordinary man. Likewise magic is said to be a gift of the Fell Crystal.

Sometimes the power granted by the Fell Crystal is too much, consuming the weak minded and driving them into madness. Many great mages have fallen from grace, becoming nothing more than skulking necromancers.

The great mages' numbers dwindle as they sacrifice their lives to keep the scourge at bay. They draw their power from the Fell Crystal, but it is not enough. Their tortured screams and cries of pain are a reminder of their sacrifice.

Though they do not say it, many begin to think the King is a coward. He has not been seen for weeks and it is said to be hiding underground.

Morale is low and people cry out for a voice of hope - but there is none. As the King remains hidden away in darkness, the people's spirit is drained along with his absence. The army of Draydon looks weary.

There are legends of a distant stronghold, Hinton, said to have destroyed a similar scourge decades ago. Dark magic has always been present - always with the same mindless goal to destroy life.

In the legends of Hinton, they speak of a great Emperor, so powerful that he was able to ward off the undead horde even while near death. In the past, magic was innate. Now, it has since faded and been replaced only by the power the Fell Crystals decide to grant those who are worthy.

The army of Drayton grows anxious. How long can they defend? There must be a source of all these attacks... there must be a reason for it. Many are restless and eager to march towards the North in search of a source.

A single scout returns from a mission. His eyes are wide and his speech is incoherent. He raves about a giant robed figure in the North, devouring souls and rending bodies into ash.

There is a legend of a man named Noter Kah, who lived centuries ago. He was a wise, powerful mage with magic nearly unmatched. It is said he was the first to find the Fell Crystal. The power was too great for him, twisting his mind and body into something no longer human. They say he has since been cursed to wander the world for centuries in never ending agony.

Noter Kah's agony and pain was so great that he searched for all the other Fell Crystal shards in order to absorb their essence and end his pain. It is said that if he were able to die, he would have gladly done so.

Many say that Noter Kah is just a legend, however some of the fanatical Fell Crystal followers believe he was the first great disciple. Despite his notorious savagery, they treat him as though he were a great saint.

The King was once a great warrior. He became King at perhaps too young an age, but his youth inspired many, and his prowess allowed him to win many battles. Decades later, he become a recluse... The people yearn for his courage to return.

The reports of the King growing mad grow. Some claim to have heard his cries from underground. Some claim he is in a coma. How can anyone be sure when they haven't seen him for so long. Either way, the doubt of his people grows to a dangerous level.

There once was hundreds of Fell Crystal shards scattered throughout the lands. While many were able to live better and repel dangerous evils, most Crystals were destroyed or drained of their magic by power hungry mages. Noter Kah is said to have destroyed over half of them - along with countless protectors - by himself.

With the reports of the King, champions no longer fight for him. they fight only to protect the Fell Crystal and defend the castle people... and themselves. Castle Draydon may be the last line of defense in all the land.

As the days continue, it is said that the mages have shifted focus in a last ditch effort for victory. They now exhaust themselves trying to locate the enemy stronghold.

After weeks of trying to locate the source of the enemy scourge, the great mages sense another Fell Crystal, far to the North. There must be a powerful necromancer to the North using its power to attack... at last, there is hope.

A shockwave of magic ripples through the land, as Castle Draydon continues to fend off attack after attack. Their attacks will only grow stronger from here.

Deep in the cover of night, the King surfaces for the first time in months. They say he fled with his group of bodyguards. Is all hope lost? Word spreads quickly as panic begins to set in.

Despite the King abandoning his people, the champions still stand strong. The King gave the people no hope before, so why should his leaving affect their morale? The army still believes there is hope and the mages continue to channel the magic of the Fell Crystal in their towers.

A new report from the North about the King. How people misjudged him... He did not flee. He rode to attack the enemy with his closest bodyguards, desperate to save his people, even if he had to try himself. They managed to weaken the enemy Crystal, but were ultimately lost in battle.

People across the land wept at the news of the King's death. They wept out of sorrow and out of guilt. The King was never mad, nor was he a coward. He had secluded himself in order to use his own magic to find the enemy's stronghold. The toll it had taken reduced him to a shell of his former self, but he rode anyway. Long live the King... his courage will not be forgotten.

With the King weakening the Fell Crystal, there is renewed hope. The mages can sense this is the enemy's final attack! One more glorious defense and it will be time to push back and finish what the King started.

Wave 31

Just when it seemed like victory was near, the enemy builds up their forces again for a renewed attack on castle Draydon.

Wave 32

It has been weeks, and people still mourn for their slain king. Songs are sung and poems written about his heroic deeds. But it will all be vain if no one can destroy the enemy's Fell Crystal once and for all.

Wave 33

In the days during the reign of Hinton, all the lands were ruled by the Emperor. After the Emeror's death, the decline of man began. Greed and lust for power was all that ruled mankind since then. The young king of Draydon was the first sign of a new era.

Wave 34

There were 5 kings of the Dwarfs. Since the undead attacks, only one of them pledged their army to the defense. The others did not see that the defense of Draydon would be the defense of the whole realm.

Wave 35

Once again, the oppurnity for an attack on the enemy's castle seems imminent! The scouts report that no new attack is approaching... but the enemy grows more cunning with each passing day - no one knows how sure the scouts can really be.

Their Fell Crystal has been destroyed, but even still the undead linger and attack. Their attacks are more unorganized, but they are still a threat. Perhaps magic still lingers in their bones, or perhaps there is more to the scourge than anyone thought... At very least things are safer now and the army of Draydon and its allies grow stronger each day. They will not fall to darkness... not today, not ever.