Mission 02 - Initiation

## 02 - Initiation

The trial of the Testament of the Source reaches it's climax.

### Aftermath

Trial concluded.* Karak ascends in leadership of the Children of the Izlar, as the Testament of the Source.

## Belligerents

* Karak's pack.

* Mondor's pack.

* Unka's pack.

## Commanders

* Karak

* Mondor *(Surrendered)*

* Unka *(KIA)*

## Forces

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Astray Minds called into Karak's pack.
* Simple colony, including Agarics and Ponds.
* Karak

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Simple colony, including Agarics and Ponds.
* Mondor

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Simple colony, including Agarics and Ponds.
* Unka *(Destroyed)*

## Objectives

* Defeat all rivals and emerge victorious.

* Defeat all rivals and emerge victorious.

* Defeat all rivals and emerge victorious.

## Casualties and losses

Minimal
Substantial
Total

## Involved Characters

* Karak
* The Source
* Mondor
* Unka

> "I have called upon you and other prime Alphas. You already know that the Eternal one who you have worshipped all these years has awakened. Hundreds of prime Alphas were called but only three of you - Karak, Unka and Mondor - have proven yourselves worthy of the honor. As the strongest and wisest of the chosen, you must battle to shed light upon who you are. There are no rules on this battlefield. The Children of the Izlar will listen only to the favored one...
>
> - The Transcendent Source

*Initiation* is the second mission of Chapter 03 - Cataclysm in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

Three days passed since Karak was chosen by the Source in preparation for the trials which would elect the Source's chosen one. In that time, several other Alphas had eventually fallen to both Karak, whom rapidly grew in leadership abilities since his introduction to them, as well as to two other Alphas, Mondor and Unka, whom were already in lead of their own packs.

Now, with only them remaining, the Source has now put one another into a final clash, in which only one would eventually become her Testament, to whom the Children of the Izlar would listen to.

## Baptism of Fire

Karak's pack would establish themselves in close proximity to the positions of the other two packs, which were already quite developed and sending forces to fight one another, allowing Karak room and time to prepare. Knowing that numbers of the nimble Guards would not be enough, Karak had a Spawn morph into a Pond to secure a haven for Ventators, a more fierce breed whose Fiery Suptums would harm any on their path. Along the way, Karak's pack would encounter other stray beings, in particular a pair of Minds, which would join Karak.

Karak's first target would be Mondor, whom despite his aggressiveness, did not have the foresight Karak had acquired in his training, days ago, and thus his defenses could not hold for long. Karak wasted no time targeting Mondor's Argus and destroying it, on which Mondor himself, feeling overwhelmed, pleaded for Karak to spare his life. Karak accepted on the terms Mondor would serve him, and Mondor accepted, seeing Karak as the chosen one. Mondor's pack and colonies became as one with Karak's from that point on.

Unka, on the other hand, would not yield even outnumbered, the ambition to becoming the Testament of the Source for being the eldest and most experienced getting the best of him, and thus would continue fighting on to the very end.

With Unka fallen and Mondor surrendered, the Source had decreed Karak to be her chosen one, to which the Children of the Izlar and it's minor Alphas would listen exclusively to, from that point on.

## Walkthrough

The player will start in command of Karak, an Argus, a pair of Workers and Spawns and eight Guards. As the player will be building a base from scratch, immediate focus should be put on hatching more Workers (eight to ten) to gather metal. There are two locations on the minimap *(image)* on which rescuable Zhogarn units can be found, a pair of Minds to the north and a trio of Ventators to the east, both of which will be very useful for defense until the player can have a footing to start building an army, as it'll take a while to set up an income. As these rescuable units also consume supply, it's advisable to the player to wait until supply is maxed out while building Workers before sending a Guard to each location. As the units are rescued, the player should bring them to base, they should be able to return before the first enemy waves ever start coming up. The Minds rescued will be all the player will have, and should be kept in defense as they'll prove to be an useful anti-fighter cover due to their instant hit attacks, although Agarics shouldn't be ignored for guarding the player's Metal and Helium-3 fields.

To field Ventators, the player should erect a Pond, but the player will also need to set up a small number of Metabolists (+10 to +12 income) for a proper energy income, as Zhogarn gameplay can be too voracious concerning this resource. The player can, later on the game if desired, build a Digestivator at the Tachyon field at the center of the map to research Lvl. 2 upgrades at the Pond, but focus should be put on researching Digestivator upgrades - Gastric Evolution, Extraction Operations and Superacid - and then Guard and Ventator speed upgrades - Caudal Augments and Funnel Glands - first.

Both Mondor (green) and Unka (blue) will be attacking periodically with small numbers of Guards and Ventators and can be easily held off by the player's defenses, although at times the player should retreat the workers at the resource asteroid fields if they feel too threatened. The player's first target should be Mondor, to the east of the player's position, due to it's proximity. The player should have a force of Ventators (ten to twelve) and a wing of Guards (sixteen to above) to lure away enemy defenders and neutralize the sole guarding Agaric at the base's entrance to the Northwest. The player should then focus all efforts on solely destroying the enemy Argus. As it is destroyed, Mondor will surrender (including his structures and units), providing the player with another income source, although additional Nutrient Colonies may need to be constructed to accommodate the supply of the surrendered units.

The player can then, after claiming Mondor's base, use one of it's Digestivators to research Prefining although this requires Tachyon. While Mondor's structures will become the player's, they'll mostly be withered as there are no Helias nearby after the enemy Argus falls. This includes defenses, so the player should have some Guards nearby to intervene should the Digestivators and Workers at Mondor's base ever become attacked.

The player should, then, replace losses and breed a large enough number of Guards (above thirty-six) and Ventators (Above sixteen) in preparation for sieging Unka's base, which will have Helias powering it's structures. The player should attack from the eastern entrance, which has an open field to lure out Unka's defenders towards the Ventator's firing line and then flank them with the Guards. The stellar cloud fields to the south should be avoided as there is an Agaric guarding it that can damage the player's forces, as the projectiles do deal splash damage, as well.

As the player enters Unka's base, Unka himself will charge the player's forces or base, mostly alone. The player can handle him with a force of guards or pull back to base until he comes and neutralize him. With both Unka and Mondor defeated, the mission is finished.

## Notes

While the player's built Digestivators aren't able to research Prefining, the Digestivators once belonging to Mondor can. It's not known if this is a bug or intentional.

## Trivia

* This is the second mission that features the entire character roster of a race in Five Nations, the first case being *War-Path* in Chapter 02 - Ascension.