Raining Ashes (Game)

## Premise

Vlix's army of Shadow Demons has arrived at the foot of The Floating Kingdoms and a battle ensues resulting in the kingdom's cables being severed and the kingdom is lost to space where Vlix's threats continue to harass them.

## Synopsis

With Grimlock dying in a streak of his blood on the floor of Knil's Tower and Vlix's army of Shadow Demons imminent, Leaf commands Knil to rally all the soldiers The Floating Kingdoms can muster for battle. During his plea, a Shadow Demon spawns and attacks Leaf which Quint fends off with his sword. The group decide they have no time to wait and leave the tower. A large boulder is flung across the stage and collapses in upon Knil's Tower killing Grimlock. They ride down the elevator to meet Vlix head-on at ground level.

King Mouse and Quint meet with Vlix and Count Morti at the elemental cables that tether The Floating Kingdoms to the earth and King Mouse fruitlessly tries to mediate their course of madness. Vlix tells Quint to run along as they're only interested in his father's corpse and King Mouse then dismisses his son.

On the dark and scorched battlefield, Quint is assaulted by several Shadow Demons and fights alongside the guards of The Floating Kingdoms. Pitfalls and lava tear up the land, which prove fatal for some unfortunate guards, and massive boulders are flung around crushing their victims. Two new types of Shadow Demons are revealed, a ball-bodied one with skinny limbs which makes a habit of hopping towards its targets, and one that disguises itself as dark patches or holes before opening its one large eye and attacking. Quint and the others retreat to The Floating Kingdom's elevator which leaves without him. In the time it takes for the others to send the elevator back to Quint, all four types of Shadow Demons appear before Quint but do not harm him or attack in any way. The elevator arrives and Quint rides it back up being accosted by the new eyeball Shadow Demons as the environment becomes pitch black.

Leaf meets Quint as he arrives back into The Floating Kingdoms but questions where his father is. The cables are shown to be severed one after another until The Floating Kingdoms lifts off into the sky, and soon, space.

A meeting is held with Quint, Leaf, Shy (a Floating Kingdom's guard they've befriended) and the Council of Five, which Knil introduces one at a time. He acquaints them to Chase, a magical storyteller whose stories become reality, Rigby, who's extremely smart and fast, Ghost, who doesn't speak but is reliable. Leaf questions who the fifth person in the Council of Five is and they reluctantly show the group Haze, who is a Sentry with the Dark Mark on his body. His appearance and existence on the Council is controversial but Knil defends him despite the war. Haze leaves after feeling un-welcomed and goes back into Vlix's Tower, where he is kept. Knil tells Leaf and Quint to make themselves at home and dismisses them.

Sheets of thick snow cover the outside of The Floating Kingdoms as it drifts through space and gravitates towards a cold planet. Shy has a snowball fight with Quint as Leaf is left behind, upset by Haze's position in the Council. As the two explore, a frozen Shadow Demon emerges from the snow and corners Quint and Shy. Suddenly they are saved by a scarfed and heavily-cloaked individual that immediately runs off. They catch up to him and ask who he is. He responds with "The Winter Hero" and leaves.

The two regroup with Leaf in The Stock Pot Inn and tell Leaf what happened. Leaf mentions that he's been hearing quite a lot about this Winter Hero and tells Shy to check The Lotus Observatory for an estimation on when the cold planet's winter may end. They deduce, after peering through the telescope, that the snow will last less than a day. Upon leaving, four Shadow Demons ambush them and chase them away to Leaf who becomes intimidated by their numbers. The Winter Hero saves them and Leaf approaches him slowly. Leaf swiftly blows off his disguise with a magic blast revealing Haze. He beats him up and Shy threatens to kill him if he doesn't back off. Leaf storms out in a rage and Haze asks how he can get Leaf to change his mind about him. Shy suggests bringing Grimlock back to life and warns him that if Leaf is to find him again, he probably won't hesitate to harm him further.

Once the two withdraw from Haze, Shy steams in front of the Stock Pot Inn over Leaf's racist and hateful actions. The snowing stops and melts within an instant and Shy excitedly leaves Quint to check the Lotus Observatory. Leaf approaches Quint and asks if they're still friends and tries to make him understand his actions towards Haze. Shy shouts for Quint in alarm and Quint meets him to find Haze lying in a pool of his own blood. Rigby arrives in a flash and sentences Leaf to death. Shy tells Quint to talk to Leaf in the jail cells before his demise as he takes care of Haze.

Traveling across the watery path to the Jail Glades, Quint is met by Celios who explains that he was found and put here by the people of the Floating Kingdoms. He explains that Leaf would never become this violent towards a sentry and that there must be something behind this. Leaf apologizes for his actions and asks for Quint to free him by finding the jail cell keys suspended on the weight wire which was uprooted as The Floating Kingdoms floated away. He does so and Leaf then uses the keys to also free a boorish bird woman named Firefly.

Quint meets back with Shy in front of the Stock Pot Inn and he's informed that a planet is coming with a mouth. Quickly, The Floating Kingdoms is under attack by the Planet Eater monster and they directly fight it with cannons. Quint lunges inside its massive mouth and destroys some of its organs from the inside before leaving. Along the way to the cannons, Quint is faced by Shadow Demons which Haze helps him take out. They are then halted by Leaf and Firefly, who Leaf identifies as his girlfriend now, and Leaf shoots a magic ball at Haze who created a reflective shield and knocks the orb back at them, knocking them both out. They reach the cannons and fire away at the Planet Eater, fending it off and saving the kingdom.

Shy enthusiastically celebrates the defeat of the Planet Eater in the Stock Pot Inn with Quint before Knil arrives and informs them that The Floating Kingdoms is heading back towards TwoMoons and that the Shadow Demons have been possessing people. Shy believes this is why Leaf has been acting so strangely and finds him to tell him this information. Leaf denies any possession but reveals that Rigby has been. As this is said, Rigby blurs overhead in a shell of power and Quint chases after him to the cargo trains.

The two battle upon the trains between a barrage of cannon fire before Rigby succumbs to several mis-aimed attacks that defeat him. Quint reports his death to Shy who questions who may become possessed next. Quint finds Ghost along a grassy path and he tells him that he's never talked to anyone before now but he must inform him that Chase will be the next one possessed and they are to find him in Vlix's Tower.

They climb up the tower which is rife with dangerous obstacles rife with spiked objects and deadly crushers. On the final floor, they meet Chase who begins telling a story. In the story, Shadow Demons appear and take the life of Ghost, then the floor turns to water and Quint is attacked by a whale. This is followed by rafts appearing and a Hopper Shadow Demon jumping between them. Then finally, grass appears before Quint's feet and spike vines assault him. Chase's story ends with him telling of his own demise and it comes true.

On his way to Knil's Tower, Quint is met by Shadow Demons who begin speaking to him, asking him slowly to free their souls. Haze is found outside the tower and lifts up the boulder with his powerful magic. Inside he sees Grimlock's rotting corpse and mocks Leaf by extripating it. In the central square of The Floating Kingdoms, Quint is once again met by Shadow Demons who tell him to free their tortured souls.

Inside the Stock Pot Inn, Quint discovers a button beneath a chair which reveals a secret chamber beneath a table where he finds Knil. Knil divulges that the Shadow Demons aren't behind the possessions and it's been Vlix the whole time. Furthermore, Vlix had Leaf release Firefly in order to burn The Floating Kingdoms to the ground. He orders Quint to find and stop Leaf. Quint scales Knil's Tower, which is fitted with traps and boundaries involving fire, boulders, and bloodied spinning spikes, before finding Leaf at the top. Leaf looks down upon the city sadly knowing that Vlix's magic can't reach him here. He knows Vlix's plans and he knows that he's powerless to stop them. Firefly sets fire to the Stock Pot Inn and the two depart as chaos ensues with Leaf asking Quint to kill him if things get out of hand.

Using his magic book, Quint saves a man from the smoke and fire within the Stock Pot Inn, and then advances to Firefly who attempts to kill him in a blaze of fire. The two fight and Quint manages to fend her off enough to run. She stops him at a bridge she threatens to melt before two guards emerge and shoot her with arrows. She laughs and chooses to self-destruct and the guards try escaping via the cargo trains with Quint. An explosion overtakes The Floating Kingdoms and leaves most of the population dead, including Knil, Haze, and several guards. In the wreckage of trains, conflagrations, and blood, Quint finds a remorseful Leaf.

Leaf laments his forced actions sincerely before Vlix overtakes his mind and the two struggle for his consciousness. Quint is forced to battle Leaf and his powerful magic using his sword, magic book, and crossbow throughout the battle. Vlix becomes agitated and questions how he is unable to kill Quint with Leaf's body, which he sites as being the most powerful wizard in TwoMoons. Leaf responds to Vlix telling him that he wouldn't kill his best friend. Through Vlix's dialogue, we discover that King Mouse has gained the upper hand on him and in a moment of clarity, Quint escapes from Leaf.

Quint makes his way to Celios with Leaf hot in pursuit. In one final effort, Vlix attempts to kill Quint before Celios uses his magic to destroy Vlix's possession on Leaf. The Floating Kingdoms lands and the three make it off safely. The Shadow Hands gather around the cornered Vlix and King Mouse gives Quint the right to kill him. Quint stabs at Vlix viciously until his body falters and morphs into a Shadow Demon which escapes. King Mouse damns Vlix and Vlix mocks them with laughter.

Elsewhere, we see Shy wake up bloodied on a pile of grass asking for his friends. He names his sister and a cloaked figure recognizes the name "Shyro" and asks him to follow.

## Main Characters

### Quint

The main protagonist and son of King Mouse. He is caught up in the conflict of Vlix's war against The Floating Kingdoms and becomes the main target of Vlix's as his possession of Leaf strengthens and comes to a climax.

### Leaf

Quint's best friend and the most powerful wizard in all of TwoMoons. He wreaks havoc in several ways on The Floating Kingdoms before it's revealed that he has been mostly possessed by Vlix.

### Knil

The counterpart to Vlix and leader of The Floating Kingdoms. He is the main voice of the kingdom's journey and aids greatly in deducing the source of the mysterious possessions on the Council.

### Vlix

A dark wizard who brought an army of Shadow Demons to The Floating Kingdoms to wage war. He serves as the

adventure's primary antagonist and deals significant blows to the kingdom via possessions on its most powerful members.

### Shy

A new friend to Quint and Leaf that they met on The Floating Kingdoms. He's enthusiastic and meets most events with fervor and a kind heart.

### The Council of Five

A council consisting of the five most powerful inhabitants of The Floating Kingdoms. The Council consists of Knil, Chase, Rigby, Ghost, and Haze. Some of the members are fought as bosses when possessed by Vlix and others are involved heavily in plot points and conflicts among the kingdom.

## Trivia

* Raining Ashes is a personal favorite between Onni and SG for its dark tones, large environment, focus of plot, general creativity, and depressing climax.
* Onni laments how fitting Chase's name would have been for Rigby's character, and vice versa. Looking back, it seems like some sort of oversight or twisted form of irony that will haunt him forever.
* Onni considers the last few panels some of the most embarrassing ones he's created. Specifically the "Shyro" cliffhanger and Vlix money shot.
* The Onni sprite can be seen shrunken down in the elevator of The Floating Kingdoms when its shown in full shots.
* At the time, the Rigby boss fight was Onni's proudest encounter.
* The Stock Pot Inn is named after an inn from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
* It's rather unclear why Chase's powers were never put to practical use considering the extent of their capabilities.
* The whole plot of Raining Ashes can be considered a sort of fan fiction extension from the book "Midnight over Sanctaphrax" from The Edge Chronicles in which the floating kingdom of Sanctaphrax was severed from its bonds and floated into space similarly to The Floating Kingdoms, but in The Edge Chronicles, we don't know what may have happened on the rock since then.
* Vlix's Tower was a sort of remake of Hell's Tower when Ferias Terras voices his general boredom with the game and sited missing the old, direct style of gameplay the earlier Powerpoint games offered.