Rise of the Phoenix

**Rise of the Phoenix** is a Story Arc of the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Interra, in the Land of Mu and follows the perspective of young mercenary Gawyn Belten.

## Main Arc

### A Legend is Born

A five-years old Gawyn, alongside his childhood friend Oligan, live in a poor village that is often assaulted by bandits. After witnessing several horrors, with royalty refusing to help them, Gawyn decides to train at a small academy led by Fubuki Kakita, a woman who trained Oligan from birth. Before Fubuki can properly train Gawyn, however, the village is attacked by the bandits and Gawyn sees his mother raped and killed before his eyes. He swears that one day he will be the one who oversees and protects.

Seven years later, Fubuki passes away. Gawyn, a prodigy in the art of the blade with quite high charisma, proclaims the start of a mercenary band, the Band of the Silver Phoenix, led by him, and with Oligan as his main teammate. Supported by the trio of Ryoma, Arthus and Pierrik, they start by defending a royal caravan from bandits. While doing so, Gawyn rescues the young Vesscal from rape at the hand of nobles and recruits her into his band.

### The Phoenix Grows

Now seventeen, Gawyn finds himself in a dire position. Oligan has disappeared for a long time and resources are dwindling. Gawyn is forced to negociate with countess Augustine, a noblewoman, who abuses and tortures him in exchange for money. Humiliated and heartbroken, but more than ever determined to ascend into nobility, Gawyn returns to the headquarters, supported by Vesscal.

There, a broken Oligan returns, suffering grievous injuries. With mysterious blood from a purified Akan given by Ryoma, Gawyn treats Oligan's injuries, and both individuals begin to know eachother better, culminating with them having sex. Gawyn then prepares for his next plans.

Five years later, Gawyn is contacted by Augustine who promises him a place next to royalty should he bring proof of the defeat of an Akan Lord. Oligan dashes first towards said Akan Lord, Hades, only to suffer a brutal and painful defeat. Gawyn arrives and attacks Hades, and after a single strike, Hades retreats, not before promising Gawyn that he will eventually suffer an atrocious end.

### A Royal Ascension

Gawyn, taking part of Hades's horns, goes to the royal capital of Cerestia where king Cerestia IV welcomes him gladly. His close followers, the silent Yseult Belten, the tricky Fallouche and the brutal Ser Sanderson, welcome him with less enthusiasm. As Gawyn encounters the young Honoree Cerestia, daughter to the king and heiress to the throne, he quickly charms her, much to Sanderson's annoyance.

Sanderson hits Gawyn and plots to murder him as he goes hunting with the king the next day. However, Gawyn overhears the plot and with the help of Oligan and Vesscal, manages to frame Sanderson for an attempted murder of the princess instead. Sanderson is disposed of, and Gawyn is victorious. The King then grants Gawyn nobility and a title of crown's protector.

### The Nightmare Begins

However, Augustine attempts to abuse Gawyn once again during the night, only for Gawyn to threaten her in response, as he no longer needs her help. As Gawyn attempts to recover from his past emotional trauma, Vesscal comes and tells him that Oligan is leaving the Phoenixes. Gawyn rushes to her side and attempts to prevent her from leaving ; then, Augustine poisons her and causes Oligan to fall to her death.

Gawyn, truly broken, looks for Augustine's secrets and finds out that she is a Necromancer ; he uses this information to his favor by organizing Augustine's burning at the stake. The presence of a mysterious woman in black comforts him and tells him that his true enemy is fate itself, in the form of a cursed Seed. Returning to the castle, Gawyn is then supported by Vesscal who sleeps with him while comforting him and promising him to stay by his side.

### Funerals and Revelations

As promised, Augustine burns at the stake ; however, she resurrects as the Tragoedia of **Obsession**, **Hera**. As Hera attempts to seize Gawyn, he manages to break free of her hold and send her away. Those events are too much for the king who collapses due to cardiac failure. Honoree takes her place at the throne, and crowns Gawyn, whom she deeply loves, as a king.

Meanwhile, Gawyn researches Tragoedias at the library, and ends up being helped by Hades, who desires to help him. Hades tells Gawyn that there are four main Tragoedias bound to Gawyn's fate. She also tells him of a last man who could help him. Gawyn decides to find and interrogate that man - who turns out to be the silent Ryoma.

Ryoma, the Tragoedia of **Apathy**, tells Gawyn that he is himself a Tragoedia of **Ambition**, the most powerful of all. He tells Gawyn that his life repeats endlessly : a cycle of failures and tragedies culminating in Gawyn's resurrection as the Tragoedia of Ambition, and Gawyn refusing this outcome and sacrificing the previous world to start anew. He also tells Gawyn that he trusts him this time with succeeding.

### A Mysterious Foe

Rumors of a powerful Akan in nearby villages causes Gawyn to investigate it ; he finds an exceptionnaly powerful, yet strangely minded creature that acts on anger instead of instinct. Gawyn briefly confronts the beast, while being helped by a yellow-armored woman. However, he is forced to leave the woman to confront the beast alone as he is ambushed by Yseult, another Tragoedia of **Tyranny**, who desires to kill Gawyn and end the endless cycle.

Yseult cuts off Gawyn's left arm in battle, before being interrupted by Hera who does not take lightly to Gawyn being wounded. Gawyn escapes as the two wage battle, only to find out that Yseult's strike imprisoned him into temporal stasis for several weeks. Rescued by Ryoma and Hades - the Tragoedia of **Bedlam** - he learns that princess Honoree is herself another Tragoedia, **Acedia**, and seeks to bring him back by sacrificing Vesscal. He rushes to the capital city.

### The Zenith

A Black Sun's Zenith has been initiated by Honoree's actions. Now determined to end everything and fly away from the endless loop, Gawyn reaches the throne room only to see that Honoree has already killed most members of his Band, with only Vesscal alive.

Manipulated by Hera, Honoree seeks to forcefully take control of Gawyn, but she is interrupted by the return of Oligan - who was, in fact, the strange Akan-like creature spotted beforehand and was healed by the yellow-armored woman. Oligan, now human again, kills Hera and allows Honoree to go by Gawyn's side. Victory seems to be Gawyn's - yet, the Zenith does not end.

A mysterious woman appears then, Hestia, who claims to have been Gawyn's lover and sacrifice from the first loop, and the one who turned Gawyn into a Tragoedia. She asks of Gawyn to kill her in order to end the loop. Gawyn defeats hordes after hordes of zombie minions summoned by Hestia, slowly regaining memories of past loops, before attempting to strike down Hestia.

### Hesitation and Renewal

As he attacks, Gawyn glimpses part of Hestia's past ; as his lover, she unwittingly attracted despair and desolation to Gawyn and destroyed his dream, but sacrificed herself for him by binding herself to Gawyn's destiny and allowing him to loop time, serving as a catalyst for Gawyn's pain and Tragoedia seed for all these loops, as the Tragoedia of **Suicide**.

Refusing to kill her, acknowledging her as part of his dream, Gawyn instead turns his weapon towards himself and chooses to die, gambling on a miracle granted by his legend. Through sheer force of will, he breaks free and becomes a pure **Divine Servant** of Leo.

Gawyn's newfound powers allow him to break through the seeds of the Tragoedia, annihilating their existence - a feat previously thought impossible even for the most powerful beings - and ending with crushing his own seed and freeing Praline from her curse. The Zenith is shattered, and Gawyn is freed. Despite having lost part of his kingdom and sacrificed his band, he smiles, content alongside his New Band of the Silver Phoenix - Oligan, Vesscal, Hades, Ryoma, Praline and Honoree.

## Characters

* Gawyn Belten
* Oligan Nialta
* Fubuki Kakita
* Vesscal
* Praline
* Hades
* Ryoma
* Augustine
* Honoree Cerestia
* Yseult Belten
* Leonida di Prava
* Pehelesse
* Other Phoenix Characters

## Trivia

* This story's basics are inspired by **Berserk**, albeit told in the point of view of another character and with several differences.