Arc 1 overview

*The situation*

The first arc begins with the Heart of the Forest/Heart of Nature being stolen from the World Tree. It heavily affects the whole Iteria: nature stops growing and regenerating entirely. Any type of crop doesn't grow anymore, leaves don't decay, farming resources become incredibly scarce and meat becomes an expensive food. A famine starts spreading over the whole world, the main food source being fish, often hunted straight in the rivers, sometimes apples or chicken, because they don't require seeds to reproduce and can be born from eggs. The only workaround to crops not growing is later discovered to be bee farming, but the method is kept secret and used to gain profit, so it does not see the light of the world before the famine ends.

*The expedition*

Naturally, people get worried and demand answers, because a drought of this size is very unusual for Iteria. The Sakari Order and Othium leaders organize an expedition to the World Tree to investigate it and learn what happened, as they suspect the change in nature could have been caused by something happening to it. Members of the Sect of the Fallen One learn about it and ask Wilhelm to join, which he also accepts. The team travels to the island where the Tree grows and begins the investigation. They soon realize that the Heart of Nature, powering the Tree, is missing. Along with that revelation, they find some pieces of evidence of who did it, scattered around the place. Members of the Sect, infiltrating the expedition, plant some fake evidence as well to lead them to the wrong conclusions. Wilhelm collects the evidence from everyone to analyze it further.

*Actions of the Sect*

During that period of time, the Sect, who have the Heart stolen by their leader Mulac Meril, a powerful wizard, settle down next to the Volcano and begin construction of a research place in it, called the Forge. Their goal is to strengthen the power the Heart holds. The religious members of the Sect, led by Purity, want to free the Fallen One, who they believe is imprisoned in the Heart of Nature. The Sect believes that after releasing the power of their god to the world, nature will start growing so much faster than before and flourish so much more. They start experiments with the Heart to try and free the Fallen One, but the Forge completion is slow and only a small part of the god is released. It infuses Purity, a member of the Sect.
The Sakari Order and Othium struggle to find concrete evidence on who stole the Heart, although Mulac is suspected. The famine continues, bringing death upon the world, but the Sect believe that it is worth causing it, because they believe in the greater good that will be released after they're done with the Heart.

*Returning of the Heart*

However, a third party appears in the world: a demon, formed from many souls of the Nether. One of them happens to be the soul of one of the Category:Old Gods, Soltus, therefore making the demon incredibly powerful, although clueless about it. The demon, named Apowa, is naturally attracted to the Heart, which initially was belonging to Soltus, before starting to power the World Tree for a long time after the battle of the Old Gods took place. Apowa steals the Heart from the Sect's camp, returns it to the World Tree and to protect it, settles down in a nearby cave. All things of nature start growing again, slightly better than it ever used to - tall sugarcane, bamboo and cactus become a frequent sight on Iteria.

Eventually the word, that it was the Sect of the Fallen One who brought these events upon the world, spreads among people. Some want revenge and they want to stop the Sect.

*The Battle*

A battle happens inside the Volcano at the Forge. A fight breaks out, the Sakari Order and Othium on one attacking, the Sect with some helpers defending. Abelio manages to fall and die before even getting to the Sect. During the battle, Niko completes an End Portal by placing a missing piece of its frame and an eye in it, opening the portal officially for the first time. The Sect members jump in quickly, but they're followed by all of the attackers and the battle continues in the End dimension (the Dragon had been killed before, so the way back and a gateway are already open). Some of the attackers get injured. A few members of the Shadowhoods part of the Sect are killed, others injured, Teri and Purity are the only ones who have successfully escaped through the gateway and safely disappeared into the deeper end.

After the battle, while looking for people, the only one who the Sect can't find is the leader, Mulac. People guess that he got lost in the void, and presume him dead, and only a small bit of hope remains, that using his strong magic skills he managed to survive somewhere deep in the end. The Sect, as a whole, is reformed and soon abandon their religious ways, becoming the empire Eterna, based on valuing friendship and mutual help.

The Sect is gone, the nature flourishing again, and Iteria lives on.