Weight of the Heart

**Weight of the Heart**is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Kharos and follows the perspective of the rebellious noblewoman Leila Monica.

## Main Arc

### Curselike Affliction

Leila Monica lives serenely in **Opara**, the capital city of Kharos. A member of the prestigious Monica artificer family, but also bitter and tired of the system, she spends her time in the lower quarters of the town, helping those in need. However, after rumors of a strange gas that infects and kills those it touches, Leila finds herself in a cloud of red smoke which engulfs her and makes her lose consciousness.

She wakes up in a haze only to find herself taken into custody by Vincent Okian, a strange man working for the administration. She then encounters for the first time face-to-face Kharos's political leader, senator Quincy Areil, and his emotionless chancellor Nathan Steele. Quincy tells Leila that she is afflicted with a deadly illness, but that they will cure her.

Leila, doubtful and worried, attempts to run away, but Quincy orders Vincent and the stern warrior Clemente Nessia to give chase. However, the timely intervention of the young Mattheo Irio who exhibits strange magical powers helps Leila run away from the government officials.

### The Freedom and Curse

Mattheo helps Leila hide in the wilderness of far Kharos. He tells her that those who have breathed from the red mist are chosen ones, with incredible powers. He helps her awaken her powers as well, which, for Leila, is the manipulation of gravity. Leila seems to believe that she has found happiness.

However, it is far from the case. A strange man, Ame Ciaran, briefly appears and annihilates part of the forest where Mattheo and Leila hide, forcing them into running away. The nocturnal visit of another 'chosen one', the catlike streets kid Cat, hints Leila that something is amiss, and that she will soon find out.

By the time Mattheo and Leila arrive in a nearby town, Leila is insulted by one of the town's inhabitants due to her unusual dressing style. Mattheo, usually soft-spoken and sweet, defends her by entering a strange frenzy and slaughtering the whole village in a thunderstorm, before disappearing. Clemente then returns and retrieves a shocked and wounded Leila.

### Heart About to Explode

Quincy, encountering Leila once again, tells her that the magical powers she is developing are the symptoms of an **infection**, due to her being exposed to raw Heartstone mist. This infection will cause her to develop more and more powers as her mind becomes instable and her rationality vanishes, ending with her turning in a chaotic mess of rage and anger with the power to blow up the world.

Quincy offers Leila to work as her soldier, controlling her power by force in order for her to remain stable, just like he did with Vincent and Clemente. Leila accepts at first, although when it comes to attack the fortress of a rival infectee, Leila deserts once again Quincy's ranks and escapes to the fortress. The fortress's master, Dana Steele, agrees to protect Leila and to find a way to prevent them from going berserk.

Leila briefly works for Dana, first by saving the young infected girl Lilia who holds great power over life and death, then by recruiting the extremely powerful infected One, artificially made from experiments using Heartstone. Leila and One start to fall in love with eachother, and Leila starts to investigate One's past, which leads her to the story behind Ame and Quincy.

### Dukkha, the Tormentor

Leila finds in Quincy's old files that both Ame and Quincy were once researchers investigating Heartstone formations. Ame hypothetized that those formations were bound to ancient scriptures speaking of the Conceptual Avatar of impulses, Dukkha. Quincy ended up discovering that the rise of a censoring and oppressive civilisation caused Dukkha to lash out through Heartstone attacks, possessing Ame and turning him into a savage beast.

Leila, with the help of Dana and One, attempts to unite all the infected she finds in order to defeat Dukkha. She enlists Cat and manages to enlist Lilia with helping her. The next step is finding Mattheo, who since his last frenzy has been wondering in the ruins of the towns he destroyed. Then, discussing with Vincent Okian, she manages to appeal to his guilt and desire to protect those he holds dear.

The next step is convincing Clemente. Learning that One and Clemente were once rivals in the same facility which experimented on both, Leila sends One to negociate with her and finally allows her to join her. As a final member, Leila learns from Dana that Nathan was her husband a long time ago, an infected juste like her, who ended up almost killing her and sealed his emotions due to guilt ; she finds him and asks for his help, hoping to shatter Dukkha's influence.

### The Final Page

Ame is getting closer to the gathering of infected. Leila marches first and attacks him head-front, while Cat leads a mental attack destined to extract Dukkha from his consciousness. Several members of the party die but Lilia resurrects them, and Mattheo ends up crushing Ame's body.

Dukkha emerges from Ame's body, only to be immediately attacked by Nathan who seals his energy long enough for the close-range fighters to finish him. The exhausting battle ends up purging Heartstone from all infectees, curing them and shattering Dukkha's presence. The Avatar disappears, leaving a weakened country and a shattered world, but allowing it to recover slowly.

## Other Arcs

### Vayu Monica

The eccentric genius Vayu Monica, brother to Leila, has avoided most of the crisis by remaining into the capital city and sculpting his own creations. However, one day, he was captured by Nicol Bolas who granted him more powers in exchange for his servitude. Vayu grudgingly complied, and awakened as a Planeswalker.

## Characters

* Leila Monica
* Dana Steele
* Mattheo Irio
* Lilia
* Cat
* One
* Quincy Areil
* Nathan Steele
* Vincent Okian
* Clemente Nessia
* Ame Ciaran
* Dukkha

## Trivia

* Dukkha has not resurfaced since, but since he is a Conceptual Avatar, he probably exists in all Planes and Timelines, only suffering a minor defeat.