Arcaius, the Creator

## Arcaius, the Creator (Character)

Arcaius, known as *Skapari* to the Ymildane, is a diety that dates back to early life on Pangaia and resides within the Garden of Ediacara, where he keeps a watchful gaze over the Crucible of Life - a library that contains the blueprints for all life should a catostrophic event cause a mass extinction.

Arcaius is a chaotic-good character that supports the natural progression of life, yet despises mortals for their carelessness and destructiveness toward their environments, caring only for themselves and not the world they live in. During Deathrip's iron rise in the forests of Amazar, an ancient passage to the Garden of Ediacara was descovered during the felling of woodland, allowing mortals to enter and defile one of the most protected places in the world. Arcaius saw that the mortals were on a self destructive path, so he plotted to initiate the 'Rebirth Sequence' - a doomsday effect that would reset all life on Pangaia.

Players were able to enter the Crucible of Life and destroy it, defeating Arcaius. Although he would later return to carry out his plan.

## Crucible of Life (Raid Boss)

Arcaius is the final raid boss of the Crucible of Life raid. During the fight Arcaius explains about his apocalyptic plans after the invasion of the Ironwill pushed him over the edge. Arcaius is arguably one of the most difficult boss fights ever seen in the game, mainly due to it's long duration and many mechanics.
The encounter has three phases with two intermission phases. Players must battle Arcaius while he attempts to initiate the Rebirth Protocol, a sequence that would annihilate all life and re-distribute the seeds of creation across the world, allowing nature to claim the ruins of civilisation.
Arcaius is eventually defeated, the Rebirth Protocol disarmed and the Crucible of Life ruined.

## Arcaius' Return (Order of Chaos)

After his defeat in the Crucible of Life, Arcaius sealed off the Garden of Ediacara and spent the next year recovering. While the Terrormaw was looming above Nordas and the undead hordes where ravaging the land, Arcaius traveled to the land of Urozond - a large island that broke away from the continent of Gondana long ago.

He brought with him an ancient relic; a Blackseed, from the vaults of Ediacara. After learning that the Harvesters and their undead were losing the war, he summoned them to the shores of Orcosh where he would propose an offer. In turn for their allegiance, Arcaius would transform the remaining four Harvesters into a powerful force of unbridled power beyond that which they already possess, all they had to do was recover the four Apocalypse Stones. And so they did, following the defeat of Malthazar and the destruction of the Terrormaw.

Using the stones, Arcaius unlocked the Tomb of the Horsemen on the prison island of Azkaron - he resurrected the Apocalypse Equus and restored their powers, draining the stones and rendering them powerless. The four horses of White, Red, Black and Pale variants where assigned to each Harvester - forming the new Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Despite his betrayal, the former Harvesters rescue Zul from the island of Fungor following his shipwreck under direct orders from Arcaius himself. Zul posses the Devil's Phylactery - a dark heirloom recovered from the depths of the Dwarven temple Bael'raag that is said to contain an evil so powerful that it rivals Arcaius himself.

During the events of the Harvest, Zul found new allies in the orcs of Orcosh - the land where Dargon Deathgrip was from. He tutored the orcs in becoming warlocks and practicing void magic - within only a couple of months the fortress city of Aggra'Maron fell to darkness as the orcish leaders succumbed to their new, dark abilities.

On a small island between Orcosh and Urozond mainland, Zul'thurux kept Logan Talvus prisoner in an underground cave called the Ancestral Tomb. There, he underwent torturous rituals to prepare his body in becoming a vessel for the evil within the Devil's Phylactery. After the Horsemen rescued Zul and brought him back to the Tomb so he could complete his work.

Once Talvus was infested by Abaddon, Arcaius wanted Zul disposed of, however Abaddon prevented this and told the Horsemen to tell Arcaius that Zul must live and serve him.

Abaddon agreed to work alongside Arcaius to achieve the apocalypse and set up base on the Sorcerer's Landing with Zul'thurux. Abaddon goes onto fool the players throughout the levelling zones disguised as Logan Talvus.

Meanwhile, Arcaius helped his arch-nemesis, the demon lord Demios, to summon his armada of fire elementals into Magmaplume to serve as a distraction to the players while Arcaius continued his plan.

Arcaius, Demios, Abaddon and the Horsemen were dubbed the Monarchy of Madness - a council of powerful individuals who came together to break the 12 seals of apocalypse and destroy all life on Pangaia.

## The Nightshade & Oruous

Long ago, the raging elementals were sealed away in four prisons, each of which were assigned four locks, twelve in total, that were scattered around Pangaia. These locks were encrypted with powerful spells cast by the equine-like ethereal being Megasus that phased them out of reality, making them near impossible to find.
Years later, in an attempt to release the elementals to cause the apocolypse, four raiders captured the offspring of the ethereal Megasus, twisting and corrupting them. These fanatics became known as the Four Horsemen, or the Riders of Apocalypse. Their otherworldly steeds allowed them to phase in and out of reality, like Megasus, so they could find and break the twelve seals.
They were nearly successful, but Arcaius was able to defeat them. Worried that history would repeat itself, Arcaius build a powerful and heavily warded prison to entomb the corpses of the horsemen and their steeds. He used four small stones the drain the life essence from each, creating the apocalypse stones.
As for Megasus, the creator of the twelve seals who also served as the loophole in their descovery, was reluctantly imprisonned by Arcaius within the Crucible of Life and any remaining offspring of the beast were hunted and executed for the safety of Pangaia. Arcaius would take no risks in the security of the planet, even if that meant imprisonning one of life's most powerful and gracious creations.
After this ordeal, the gods of Asgal requested Arcaius create a final seal that would bind the elemental prisons themselves to the world tree, completely phasing them out of reality and making them hidden to mortal eyes. So, using ancient patterns from the depths of the Crucible of Life, Arcaius created a creature called Oruous; a tendrilled, serpentine-like being that would live outside of our three-dimensional realms in the heart of the world tree, Aln, binding the elemental jails to it.
Fast forward, enter Order of Chaos.
After his defeat and the destruction of the Rebirth Protocol in the Crucible of Life, Arcaius received a horrific vision. A planetary invasion from beyond the stars, a technologically advanced race far superior to anything on Pangaia that would come to claim the world's resources. He knew there was only one force that had the potential stop them - the elements.
Although they would ravage the world, he knew it must be done to ensure the survival of natural life. Arcaius teamed up with his arch-nemesis and demon lord of the firelands: Demios, to break the twelve seals and release the forces of nature. He recruited the Harvesters to acquire the lost apocalypse stones to ressurect the four steeds and together they would hunt and break the locks. Meanwhile, Arcaius needed an audience with the serpent Oruous in the multi-dimensional realm of Aln, to do this he needed a special seed. One that would grow into a Nightshade, a legendary plant who's roots could grow into the fabric of space and touch other realities.
In the Nightshade Raid, Arcaius and Oruous were defeated, but it was too late. The elemental prisons, still locked, but only barely, returned to the physical realm. Aln was sealed off and Arcaius was left to die.