Kandra

## General Info

Kandra is located to the far north of Etera. It is a much smaller landmass overall, inhabited by an estimated total of 2.5 million people. The landmass is varied with rolling hills, scorching deserts, vibrant fields, high mountains, ashen and volcanic areas, beautiful forests, a snowy region, ancient burial dragon sites, bustling cities, villages, ports, and shrines. It also contains an extensive underground network with many ruins and interconnected caverns and dungeons.

To the north west of the continent, just beyond the coasts, lies an ancient, abandoned isle that is shrouded by mists. This isle is called the **Isle of Solace**, and it was once inhabited by dragonkin and half-dragon hybrids alike.

To the north of Kandra, similarly just beyond the coasts, is a sunken, desecrated island. This was once known simply as "**Oni Island**".

## Leadership

The current leader of Kandra is **Empress Linka**, an Oni Tiefling who is a chosen champion of Nocticula the Redeemed. She is the daughter of Grandmaster Alara of House Genryu (her mother), and the former Dark Tyrant who once ruled the continent with an iron fist, Shiro (her father).

Linka is Chaotic Good. She is a powerful samurai with access to the Platinum Guard's magitech, and is a fair, kind yet resilient and tough leader. Due to her mixed heritage, the core worshiped deities of Kandra are Shizuru, Apsu, and with Linka's great influence, Nocticula the Redeemed as well.

## Locations of Interest

The core capital location of Kandra is **Sunrise City**, located at the Sunseer Region. This is where the throne is, and where most of Kandra's political work takes place. It's heavily guarded by samurai of various races, including humans, half-dragons, and tieflings, all working together in harmony. The main police force of Kandra is currently the **Twilight Samurai**, who were created by Linka herself.

Other locations of interest include :

**Genryu Academy :** Before the dark rule of Shiro, Genryu Academy was once the definitive hub for Samurai who trained under House Genryu, one of the core noble houses of the continent. Alara, Linka's mother, was its leader, before Shiro's reign ensued and crushed most history tied to House Genryu. With Kandra's complete liberation, House Genryu is restored. Some of Kandra's best Samurai are trained here.

**Castle Kol :** This used to be governed by the Inquisitors of Wrath during Empress Nirmenth's former reign. The Inquisitors of Wrath were the previous police force, led by Lord Bash. However, in truth they were dark agents secretly working for the Thii invasion, and with the aid of adventurers, their corruption was exposed. The Inquisitors of Wrath attempted to assassinate Empress Nirmenth in the name of their dark master (who was Raol, Herald of the Devourer), but they were quickly stopped by the Champions of Chronus. With Lord Bash and his Inquisitors of Wrath destroyed, Castle Kol fell to ruins. After the end of the Thii invasion however, it has been rebuilt, free of corruption. It now serves as a barracks for the noble **Twilight Samurai** police force.

**Mount Yama** : Located to the eastern Shrike Region, Mount Yama is a towering volcano that has influence from both the icy Kol Region, and the southern Ashen region. It is a symbolic location that highlights one of Kandra's more subtly worshiped deities, **Yamatsumi**. Here, Yamabushi Monks train, meditate, and push themselves towards achieving enlightenment in the volcano god's name. The spiritual energy of the region is strong, and it often attracts magical researchers and seers to perform divination rituals to gain insight on worldly matters. The Monks themselves are also divining seers, and they welcome any who would embrace spiritual goals for the greater good of the continent.

## History

### Chapter 1: The Golden Era

In ancient times, Kandra was once dominated by Metallic Golden and Bronze Dragons, who lived in harmony with the mortal natives. The dragons were revered as protectors and mentors, and helped shape the early civilization with mankind that would prosper throughout the land. Kandra enjoyed a great era of peace, until a critical turning point in history would alter the fate of Kandra forever.

Enter the Oni Island... which was inhabited by native Oni to Chronus. The Oni were always envious of Kandra's prosperity and rich landmass, and had the desire and ambition to conquer it all and enslave its people, with these desires inherent to an Oni's evil nature. However, one fateful night, a mysterious meteor was seen coming towards Oni Island itself. It was doomed to make fatal impact on the island to inflict immense damage to it, so the Oni had no choice but to flee to the continent of Kandra. Once the meteor crashed, the Oni Island had sunken, consumed by an unusual force of corruption.

### Chapter 2: The Shadow Hunt

This left the Oni people with no other choice but to settle on Kandra, though their dark desires and ambitions would take over. Frustrated by the series of unfortunate events, the leader of the Oni people, **Shiro**, would band his people together to make a stand, initiating a conquest to take over Kandra and rule over it with tyranny. However, in order to do that, they had to first eliminate the protectors of the continent.... the dragons.

Shiro and his Oni people took time to carefully study the dragons and the people they lived in harmony with, in order to gain a much greater understanding of their enemy's strengths and weaknesses. Following this, they used subterfuge, infiltration, and assassination, to would weave through the masses to catch the dragon protectors off guard. One by one, dragons would be stalked from the shadows by Oni hunting parties, followed by being butchered, with their corpses taken away and skinned for their scales, while also claiming the treasures, trinkets, scrolls, spellbooks, ancient knowledge, artifacts and gold left behind by a dragon's hoard. The dragon scales would be used as a valuable resource by the Oni to forge newfound, powerful armaments, while the dragon hoards that were claimed would be able to provide a great deal of sustainability to significantly strengthen an army. Secretly, the Oni people had grown in power, morale, and confidence, further bolstered by their leader, Shiro. It was at this point that the Oni People had become resourceful enough to not only gather the resources they needed, but also armed with the knowledge of their enemies during infiltration to study Kandra's culture.

This was the rise of the dreaded **Oni Empire**.

### Chapter 3: Dragonfall

By the time the Dragons had become fully aware of the Oni Empire that had grown in the shadows, it was too late. They tried to launch assaults to stop the Oni threat, but they were completely overwhelmed, severely underestimating the tactical knowledge, skill, finesse and sheer brutality of Shiro and his new empire. Shiro himself was said to be an absolute monster in combat, favoring the katana as his primary weapon. He was completely unmatched and undefeated by any dragon that dared to oppose him head on. As a result, the dragon protectors were soundly executed by the Oni Empire, putting them dangerously close to extinction on Kandra. Those who survived had no choice but to retreat to a far away place off of the continent...if they were able to survive a retreat at all.

The mortals who lived with the dragons also attempted to join their dragon brethren to stop the Oni threat, but even they were fighting a losing battle. After a bloody conflict, countless dragons and mortal warriors met their end at the hands of the Oni Empire, who simply developed superior warfare tactics, skills and powers while the natives of Kandra were too relaxed and unprepared for a threat of that magnitude, only able to catch onto the threat when it was too late.

The natives of Kandra were left in shambles, and defenseless. The Oni Empire had claimed total victory. Shiro would become known as the **Dark Emperor**.

### Chapter 4: Demon Reign

The events that followed would become known as the the **Demon Reign**. Shiro ruled over Kandra with a tyrannical iron fist, and the natives were made into slaves, living in constant fear and turmoil. With the dragons all but extinct, and the native defenders nearly completely eradicated, much hope was lost for the common folk. For years, Shiro dominated the continent unopposed, as none would dare to rise up to challenge him.....until one man's fate changed that would lead into just that. During this time period, Shiro would have a daughter called **Linka** (She has The Spark of Potential), who is an Oni-based Tiefling.

Among the slaves, was a half-dragon hybrid who still had his draconic traits dormant, so none suspected of his true heritage. He was called **Xan** (He has The Spark of Potential), a slave who worked as an architect and heavy construction work. Given his profession, he was an excellent climber, stonecrafter, and athlete, which were further capitalized on due to the intense conditions he had to work in. In time though, one fateful day would change the course of history for the entire continent forever. It began with Xan spotting Oni brutally torturing slave children for fun during a high noon. While it is not an uncommon sight for Oni to do such things, Xan had reached his breaking point where he couldn't stand watching the oppression of the Oni remain unchecked. He stood up to the Oni, much to the dismay of other slaves present.

The Oni would turn their attention to Xan, and proceeded to torture him instead, but it gave the children a chance to breathe. Xan was beaten and humiliated in front of the other slaves, being taught a painful lesson, and set as an example of what would happen to the other slaves if they dared to oppose the Oni. However, Xan wouldn't back down, and his draconic heritage began to manifest. Claws of metallic gold would be unleashed, and in violent retaliation, Xan would slaughter the Oni before him, with the slaves looking on in shock and disbelief. It were as if a glimmer of hope had flashed in their eyes.

Xan couldn't quite understand what had happened to him, as not even he was aware of his draconic heritage. He didn't have much time to contemplate though, and before he could talk to the slaves, more Oni were fast approaching to investigate the scene. Xan ran off, which eventually led to a chase. A pack of Oni hunters pursued the man with dragon blood, and it took Xan's cunning, athleticism and finesse to evade execution. The chase led to a cave to the far reaches of the north western coast of Kandra, with a dead end within the cave in the form of a seemingly bottomless pit. The Oni hunters caught up to Xan, but before they could kill him proper, Xan would jump into the pit, using his climbing skills to navigate down the narrow slopes of stone in his descent. His dragon claws made it easier to traverse the drop, but he would lose balance on the way down, and would fall a fair distance down. His scream, followed by a notable 'thud' could be heard from landing, which then led into momentary silence.

The Oni paused for a moment, believing that Xan had fallen to his death foolishly, and laughed at his supposed demise. Little did the Oni Hunters know though, that Xan had survived the fall, but was simply unconscious for the time being. The Oni Hunters left, declaring the rebel with dragon blood destroyed, and went about their business, while ensuring to crush the hopes of the slaves to also inform them of Xan's 'demise'.

### Chapter 5: The Rise of Xan, The Legendary Dragonblade of Shizuru

Xan himself would stir to consciousness several hours later, at nightfall. Dazed and injured from the drop he survived, Xan pressed on, deeper within the depths of the cave. He realized that the Oni hunters had stopped following him, deducing that they might have really thought he died from the fall. Using this to his advantage, Xan would contemplate about his newfound draconic powers, wondering about the true origins of his birth, as he grew up as an orphan. Regardless, he thought that perhaps he could find a way to fight back against the Oni Empire somehow. While exploring the cave, Xan would come across an ancient shrine... a shrine to Shizuru. The shrine had draconic designs embedded with it, as if it was constructed countless eons ago, long before the Oni Empire came to rule.

Examining the shrine, Xan contemplated on the situation with the Oni Empire. He knew that he couldn't stop it on his own. He knelt before the shrine of Shizuru, praying and asking for guidance. In desperation, he pleaded about the lack of justice that plagued the land, and the evil that triumphed without equal, begging for a way to save his homeland. He offered to do whatever it took to see the light of hope shine through, and after a moment of silence from his plea, the shrine reacted. There was a subtle glow coming from it, and Xan heard a voice speak to his mind. It told him to venture beyond the shrine through a secret passage, where he would find a boat he could use to sail towards the Isle of Solace. There, he would find the answers that he sought.

Surprised that he even got a response at all, Xan would follow the instructions, making his way to the boat. Towards the Isle of Solace was shrouded with a mysterious fog that concealed the isle. He couldn't see past it, but he trusted the voice he heard from Shizuru's shrine to venture forth regardless. It wasn't long until Xan arrived at the secluded Isle, which contained many dragon burials and draconic architecture. There, he met the caretaker of the Isle, **Nirmenth**.... a **Bronze Dragon (who took on the guise of a human female)**.

Nirmenth introduced herself as one of the surviving dragons left in the aftermath of the Dragonfall. She was the one who was able to discern through divination of Xan's presence at Shizuru's shrine, and she was the one who contacted him. She also elaborates that Shizuru herself approved of Xan, that he was the key to restoring the balance of Kandra (due to him being a Sparkholder). Xan was more than ready to abide by his promise, that he was willing to do whatever it took to bring justice and hope to the land of Kandra once more. Through that, Nirmenth would respect his wishes, and she would be the one to train him in the following years.

On the Isle of Solace, Xan had to learn to master his heritage as half-human, half-metallic golden dragon. However, learning the ways of the dragon arts wouldn't be enough to stand a chance against the Oni Empire. As Xan was chosen by Shizuru, he also had to learn the ways of the noble Samurai to truly be able to match the Dark Emperor blow for blow. As such, Xan had undergone a series of rigorous trials over the years, forging himself to become a symbol for Kandra that would forever change its destiny moving forward. In time, Xan had proven himself to embody the best of both humanity, and dragonkind. Xan would be chosen as Shizuru's champion, becoming blessed by her power (becoming a Godling). He and Nirmenth would secretly rally all of the other surviving Bronze and Metallic Gold Dragons overtime, with Xan being looked upon as a new leader to stir a rebellion against the Oni Empire.

After all of his training, trials, and merging both the power of humanity with the power of dragonkind through the expression of his own soul, a new legend was born. Xan was now called '**The Dragonblade of Shizuru**'.

### Chapter 6 : The Golden Rebellion

The Oni Empire was none the wiser, as with the years that passed for Xan's preparation, the Oni Empire believed that they were untouchable. The land was still shrouded in evil and darkness, with misery and hopelessness clouding the hearts and souls of its many slaves. That was until Xan returned to Kandra from the Isle of Solace, where things would change forever. Out of nowhere from the light of the sun or the shadows of the moon, a mysterious half-dragon samurai, donned in gold with a strikingly eye-catching katana with a dragon's motif, would strike down Oni Slavemasters at tactical locations, freeing villages and outposts one by one. Each location that was liberated, would be brought into the fold for Xan's growing rebellion, uniting them with the secretive network of dragons that would work alongside the natives once more. A network would be formed, spreading far and wide through all of Kandra. Hope was returning to the natives, as if a miracle was unfolding before their very eyes for the days that passed by.

The Oni Empire at first merely dismissed the sudden attacks as mere mishaps that can be dealt with easily, sending Oni Hunters to deal with the so-called 'golden samurai' that took the spotlight in rumors throughout the land. Yet...every party of Oni Hunters that were sent to stop Xan were effortlessly destroyed, single-handedly by the Dragonblade of Shizuru, who was quickly becoming viewed as a sort of messiah for the people of Kandra.

Just as the Oni did before them, the rebellion would study the Oni Empire's moves, abilities, tactics and whereabouts. With Xan as the leader of the rebellion, he was just as influential of a figure as Shiro was, and it wasn't long until the rebellion grew into a significant threat that demanded the full attention of the Dark Emperor. Shiro became infuriated by the menacing 'golden samurai', attempting to send his best, most elite forces to track down and destroy him, in order to shatter the hopes and dreams of the slaves. Yet...no matter how hard the Oni forces tried, Xan had cut down every single one of them as if he were a ghost hunting down prey. It was evident that at this point, the Oni Empire had to unleash their full power to face off against Xan and his rebellion...but by the time they had attempted to do so, the rebellion was already in full swing, having substantial power of their own in order to wage a full blown war that raged across the continent...

### Chapter 7 : Awakening of Twilight

During the war that broke out between the Golden Rebellion and the Oni Empire, Linka (Shiro's daughter) began to experience strange visions and dreams, encouraging her to beware of the stars, and to one day train a new order of warriors when the time was right. The voice that spoke to her was that of Nocticula's. At first, Linka would dismiss the visions and dreams as nothing of consequence, but she would instinctively find herself observing the starry nights for anything unusual. She felt something was wrong, that there was more heading to Kandra than what was expected. She could not understand why she was chosen for these visions and dreams (she didn't know she was a Sparkholder), but she always felt somewhat conflicted about her hybrid heritage, being half-human, and half-oni as a Tiefling.

She began to see and feel more alarming signs of a deep threat from beyond the stars, and she would attempt to warn her father about the matter. Unfortunately, her father was blinded by rage, fixated on destroying the rebellion and having the desire for bloodshed to one day face Xan in battle in single combat. Only few Oni would heed her warning, though even they were skeptical about the mystery beyond the stars. It left Linka in a confusing situation, where the Oni Empire would not listen to her, yet the visions and dreams she had only became more prominent, nudging at her internal struggle between her human and demonic aspects.

### Chapter 8: Night of the Falling Star

A grand siege would be imminent between the two factions at war. Both sides had prepared their greatest assets and forces respectively, to unleash their full strength upon one another. However, because Shiro failed to acknowledge his daughter's warnings, the siege-to-be didn't quite turn out as expected. Under the pale light of the moon, an alien meteor would be seen by both factions before they engaged proper. The meteor would appear to be something coming the outer regions of unknown space. When it crashed, both factions were taken completely by surprise, with the exception of Linka.

Emerging from the meteor was an aberration... an agent of a Great Old One. Immediately, it unleashed mass destruction upon the land and the two factions with blind rage and extreme prejudice. It looked like it was desperate and hungry for something on Chronus...something specific, but it was unclear what it wanted. Both factions had no choice but to focus on the newfound threat, but the agent of the Great Old One was simply too powerful for even the combined might of both armies. That was when a miracle happened....

Following the meteor however, was also a glimmering, falling star. The star would be identified as a warrior, clad in spiked, black armor, while wielding a massive greatsword bathed in holy moonlight. This was the sighting of **The First Dark Knight**. In an instant, the Dark Knight crashed onto the agent of the Great Old One with all of his might, and in a dramatic, powerful display, he utterly destroyed the monstrosity. Both factions witnessing the scene were left awestruck by the sight, completely speechless as to what they just witnessed. As quickly as the Dark Knight entered the scene, he would glance between the two factions, and simply leap away into the stars, leaving no trace to follow.

With the two factions losing much of their strength from the clash against the aberration, tension rose as to whether they should press on to fight each other. However, Linka intervened, speaking out to halt the siege, and offered a temporary truce to the Golden Rebellion. While all were baffled by this, they couldn't help but admit that they both needed some form of recovery, or else the war would simply end in their mutual destruction, with no winners.

Interestingly, Xan noted that Linka did not possess an evil alignment, and grew curious of her. He stepped up to respond to her offer, and agreed, accepting that there should be a truce until both sides have recovered. Shiro was furious, but he had no choice but to also abide by the agreement. However, he promised that next time, he and Xan will duel each other in single combat, to determine the true victor of Kandra once and for all. After the exchange, both factions would turn back to lick their wounds, and recover their respective strengths.

### Chapter 9: Intermission - Rise of The Twilight Order

Since the Night of the Falling Star, more of the Oni began to understand Linka's perspective. This allowed her to gain the support she needed to proceed with her plans that she had seen in the visions from Nocticula. First, Linka had organized a band of trusted comrades to join her in an expedition to discover the nature of the meteor that had caused Oni Island to sink in the years prior to the arrival of the Oni people on Kandra.

What they learned was that the meteor was a threat from beyond the stars, housing an alien race called the 'Thii', who were aberrations that were fixated on assimilating other lives and worlds. When Oni Island had sunk, the meteor sunk with it, and the Thii contained within had scattered into the underground regions on the outskirts of Kandra, bleeding into the continent in secret. They appear to be led by a mysterious leader, but Linka was unable to identify who it was. Realizing that Kandra was in danger from a threat within, Linka realized why Nocticula reached out to her. She was the only one among the Oni with authority who would be able to reach out and delve into the truth (in addition to being a Sparkholder).

Through this, Linka formed an expedition, personally choosing only the most elite and trusted among her kind to join her. They ventured into the underground network of Kandra, to establish a new organization called the 'Twilight Order', in order to fight back against the alien threat. Linka had sent word to Shiro about the threat they discovered, but Shiro left the alien threat to be dealt with by Linka, while he himself was much more concerned about the war on the surface.

The Twilight Order proved effective in unraveling many of the Thii's secrets underground, and battling them across many skirmishes. However, in order to truly destroy the Thii once and for all, Linka would need the support of the full Oni Empire's strength, and then some. Unfortunately, she couldn't get that during the war, so had no other choice but to keep the Thii at bay as best as she could.

### Chapter 10 : Xan VS Shiro

Meanwhile, back on the surface, the war would reach its pinnacle. The Golden Rebellion and the Oni Empire had recovered their respective strengths, and were primed to face off in a grand finale to dictate the fate of Kandra's future in a significant way. The destined siege would finally occur, where the full might of both armies would clash head to head. At the heart of the battle though, would be the epic showdown between Xan and Shiro. However, throughout Shiro's life, he never met anyone who could be his match in combat, as he believed himself superior to all. Xan, on the other hand, honed his entire life to perfecting his skill and power, fighting to protect his homeland. As such, Shiro found himself bewildered by Xan's might, greatly underestimating him. While Shiro was still no pushover for Xan, the fact remained that Xan's calm and focus throughout the fight gave him a monumental advantage over Shiro's bewilderment and confusion at the concept of a foe who could actually match, if not overpower him outright.

Slowly but surely, Shiro was sent on the back foot, and just before Shiro thought he could turn the tables, Xan would unleash the full strength of his draconic heritage. He took on a hybrid visage of a humanoid dragonkin, clad with metallic golden scales. With Xan's draconic powers thrown into the mix to catch Shiro off guard, the victor would already be decided. Shiro would be completely overpowered by Xan's relentless tenacity and determination in his hybrid dragon form, leading Xan to deliver a strike so intense that it would signal the end of the entire siege. He struck his sword down at Shiro with such immense force that he sent Shiro crashing through the entirety of his throne room, causing it to be destroyed in an instant, with Shiro's body severed in half. The shockwave of the impact would tear open the earth itself, causing Shiro's battered corpse to fall into the abyss.

The Golden Rebellion would be inspired, rallied by Xan's victory, while the Oni forces would be baffled, shocked at the sheer power that Xan had been hiding all along, which was the result of his grueling training for so many years. The Golden Rebellion proceeded to utterly destroy the masses of the Oni opposition, leaving only remnants to flee into the underground network out of desperation.

At long last, the Oni Empire was destroyed.

### Chapter 11: Aftermath of Shiro's Reign

Peace had returned to the surface of Kandra at last, with the Golden Rebellion cheering at Xan. The people were finally free of demonic tyranny, as a new era would emerge for the continent. However, upon the Golden Rebellion's victory, mysterious strangers from the stars arrived to confront Xan directly. These strangers were none other than a band of Dark Knights, much like the one who was seen before at the Night of the Falling Star. The Dark Knights revealed their allegiance to Tsukiyo, and requested the urgent aid of Xan, who was a champion of Shizuru. They spoke to Xan in private, speaking of an imminent threat to Kandra that demanded their full attention.

Xan recalled the Night of the Falling Star, and the immensely powerful abomination that ravaged the land. He understood the gravity of the situation, and he would agree to travel with the Dark Knights. Before he left, he assigned his trusted comrade and mentor, Nirmenth, to become Empress of Kandra. He would then bid his farewell to his people, before venturing off into another journey towards the stars. Empress Nirmenth would rule the land with kindness and fairness, allowing both mortals and dragonkind to prosper, while honing their skills and talents to ensure that their hard earned peace would not be destroyed ever again.

Meanwhile, in the underground network, Shiro's corpse would be retreived by a malevolent force.... the mastermind behind the Thii incursion. Shiro would be revived and corrupted to serve him, and his inclusion, along with many other Oni who fled blindly into the underground network, would likewise be corrupted by the Thii. This gave birth to a new strength within the Thii's arsenal, which proved difficult for the Twilight Order to deal with. The Twilight Order would be ravaged, with most of its members destroyed. Linka was captured and corrupted, and the Thii forces continued to secretly plot their conquest to assimilate Kandra and beyond.

This led to a new order on the surface being formed...called the **Inquisitors of Wrath** (or Dark Inquisitors of Kandra). Their origins remain a mystery to most, but they seem to serve Kandra's people, having deep prejudice for all things demonic.

### Echoes of Twilight (World of Babel Campaign)

Linka would eventually be rescued and purged of her corruption by a band of adventurers from Etera, during the events of the Godfall and the quest to defeat the Fifth Horseman. Since her recovery, she has fought alongside the Champions of Chronus to deal with the Thii invasion threat. Their journey began with meeting with Empress Nirmenth in secret, as the Inquisitors of Wrath held extreme prejudice to any Oni-based entities, including Tieflings. Empress Nirmenth however, holds no such racism to these individuals, especially if they are aligned with Nocticula the Redeemed. Together, the Champions of Chronus, Princess Linka and Empress Nirmenth worked in solving the mystery behind the Thii threat, and this would lead to investigating the underground network of Kandra, where most of the Thii were hiding.

The Riftstalkers and Time Knights from Lumina would also provide aid in this campaign, as many battles and conflicts took place across the underground network. Together with Linka's Twilight Samurai forces, a war occurred between the forces of good, and absolute evil. The Champions of Chronus would be at the forefront of this campaign, striking key locations to deal with the Thii's authoritive figures. Eventually, they would discover the true mastermind behind it all, who was **Emperor Raol**. Raol was once an antagonist on a previous world who sought to gain blood control (draining and dominating everyone's blood) over all living creatures to usher into a new dark age as the ultimate ruler, but he was defeated by adventurers on that previous world. In his defeat however, he was discovered by an entity known as 'The Devourer', who had the remnants of an alien force at his disposal, but he needed a herald to do his bidding, as his capacity was limited to act in the mortal realm, being a deific being himself.

Raol became this herald, and the remnant Thii forces were passed onto him to command them. Thus, Raol became the Hivemind of the Thii invasion. His objective was to assimilate the Towers of Etera under complete Thii corruption, in order to use the power of those towers combined to pull the Devourer directly into Chronus, so that the Devourer can consume the world completely. The sheer aggression and lethality of the Thii pushed the forces of good in a long, drawn out conflict that took place over several years. It was violent, brutal, and every fallen soldier of good meant another addition into the Thii ranks. Due to how resilient and persistent the Thii were, the Riftstalkers, Time Knights, and Twilight Samurai came together to forge something new. They adapted, with members of the Time Knights taking greater advantage of their knowledge of various timelines and technological advancements, combined with Riftstalker spirituality and harmonious magitech, in addition to the Twilight Samurai's great array of techniques for combat and mass scale war. This led to the creation of the Platinum Guard, and Linka would be one of its core leaders, representing the Twilight Samurai's aspect in the organization.

The Platinum Guard would use their greatly advanced magitechnology that has been primed and specialized into large scale siege warfare, and unleashed it upon the Thii forces. The Champions of Chronus played a vital role into leading the armies of the Platinum Guard and their mobile base technology against the Thii, leading to a significant battle in history within the underground network of Kandra. Raol did not expect the sudden advancement and adaptability of the forces of good, which took his Thii forces underground by complete surprise. With a hard fought battle, the Thii forces in the underground network were utterly crushed, which greatly thwarted Raol's progress in amassing a Thii swarm large enough to overtake Kandra through the shadows.

This led to Raol falling back to his backup plan, which was to corrupt the surface of Kandra from within, using political manipulation and subtlety. It turns out that the Dark Inquisitors of Wrath, were in fact, agents of the Thii themselves, and they were Raol's secret weapon into claiming Kandra once and for all. Luckily, Princess Linka and the Champions of Chronus would intercept these plans, learning that the Inquisitors were planning to assassinate Empress Nirmenth, so that the Inquisitor leader, Lord Bash, can take over the throne and do his true master's bidding in order to bring forth an era of darkness to the continent.

Empress Nirmenth would be warned of the plot, and she would set up a simulacrum decoy in order to fool the Inquisitors. The Inquisitors would destroy the simulacrum, believing that Empress Nirmenth was dead. She was branded a 'traitor' through manipulative propaganda, as the Inquisitors claimed she supported the 'corrupted Oni who doomed Kandra in the first place'. Many civilians were confused, and had doubts, though some would believe the Inquisitors. The seeds of chaos and mayhem were being sown, but Empress Nirmenth would be safe with Princess Linka, the Platinum Guard, and the Champions of Chronus.

With Lord Bash and the Inquisitors in control of Kandra, they would reveal their true colors, taking civilians aggressively in order to be assimilated by Thii corruption, much to the horror of the civilian population. This is where the forces of good made their move against the heart of the Inquisitors... Lord Bash at Castle Kol, which was the primary headquarters at the time for the Inquisitors of Wrath. Utilizing stealth, guile and cunning, the Champions of Chronus intercepted the civilian slave transports going to Castle Kol (where assimilation would take place), rescuing all civilian groups along the way, and proving that Empress Nirmenth and Princess Linka are in fact, innocent. With the civilians witnessing the truth before their eyes, they came to understand that the Inquisitors of Wrath were never genuine at all, and they began to open up to Princess Linka and her Twilight Samurai, realizing that they were nothing like Shiro and his Oni forces.

During the mission however, the Champions of Chronus would come across various locations corrupted by either the Thii, or ancient forces that lingered in Kandra before the Thii. They would cleanse one of the major Shrines of Shizuru, along with the Shrine of Apsu, gaining blessings from both locations that aided them in their quest. They would also liberate another location in the Kol Region known as the Ancient Flower Gardens, though this area had a history to it. Maidens who were tortured and killed by Shiro's dark empire had their souls linger here in eternal torment, and among one of those souls was Linka's own mother, Alara. The Champions of Chronus helped Linka free the souls so they can find peace, and with Alara's soul being freed, she revealed the truth to Linka about her actual legacy and heritage. Alara was once the leader of House Genryu, one of the most potent Samurai clans of the nation. When Shiro's dark reign occurred, he conquered House Genryu, in spite of them putting up the most difficult fight for Shiro's forces back then (until Xan's rebellion, of course). He took Alara as his prize, and made her his bride. When Linka was born, Alara wanted to guide Linka towards the path of honor, enlightenment, and justice... a flicker of hope in the dark empire that Shiro created. However, Shiro saw this as a threat, and had slain Alara. Through this, he would lie to Linka, claiming her mother died in child birth. Worse, it had been confirmed fully that Shiro is still alive, and he is Raol's right hand man.

Linka would be enraged, vowing that she will make sure that she sees the war through, to avenge her mother's death, and restore the honor that was lost. With this fiery resolve, Linka and the Champions of Chronus would push forward, to face off against Lord Bash at Castle Kol, after all civilians had been freed. There, they would clash against Lord Bash's guards, along with Thii forces in the hundreds (swarms) that would attempt to overwhelm the Champions of Chronus, with Lord Bash joining the fray with honorless, poisonous tactics that was not befitting of a samurai at all.

In spite of Lord Bash's dirty tactics, the Champions of Chronus had prevailed, and Lord Bash, along with his Inquisitors, were destroyed forever.

With Raol's plans thwarted yet again, he grew restless, and reckless. With a Thii corrupted Shiro at his side, Raol desperately unleashed all of his might and his remaining forces against the world. Thousands of Thii that he would create through his final blessing from the Devourer, would attempt to completely overwhelm various locations across the world, including the Towers, to conquer Chronus once and for all. Forces of good, such as the Platinum Guard, and the Crimson Templars (from Aetveris) would make the valiant stand to defend key locations from the Thii invasion on the loose. However, Raol came to the realization, that the one thing that would give him an advantage, is claiming the Champions of Chronus themselves...

And so, the stage would be set for the final battle. Raol made his grand entrance, rising from a crater on the surface of Kandra in order to confront the forces of good, and the Champions of Chronus. He challenged the champions to face him in his domain where he waited, and the only way for the Thii invasion to be stopped for good, is by destroying the hivemind, Raol. The Champions of Chronus would face the challenge head on, and within the domain, was not just Raol, but Shiro himself, who was more powerful due to the Thii corruption.

Raol, Shiro, along with several Thii Priests who were attempting to give them an unfair advantage over the adventurers, would aggressively attempt to defeat and claim the Champions of Chronus in order to assimilate them into Thii corruption. However, the Champions of Chronus proved far more resilient than expected, though Raol and Shiro were not too concerned. After an intense clash between the two forces, the Champions would prevail, but it would lead to Raol and Shiro unleashing their true power, fusing into an unholy entity blessed by the Devourer directly. They became **Raol-Shiro**, which was the final form for the Herald of the Devourer.

The Champions of Chronus remained steadfast, battling the immensely colossal and powerful monstrosity, leaving no chances to be exploited. As a team, they endured together, giving it their all to ensure that Raol-Shiro will not claim them, for it would doom all of Chronus if Raol-Shiro were to succeed. To make matters worse, Raol-Shiro unleashed a squadron of his own, of six dark spirits who he had been secretly forging in the background before the Champions entered the domain to begin with. These Dark Spirits were to be primed with gifts and promises of great power if the Champions of Chronus were defeated, but something went terribly wrong...

In spite of Raol-Shiro's terrifying and awesome power, he still could not destroy the Champions of Chronus as easily as he had hoped, even with the aid of the Dark Spirits at his side. The sheer resilience, defiance and heroism of the Champions of Chronus were so potent that it made even the Dark Spirits doubt their master, and the supposed promised power. Raol-Shiro was being driven back by the Champions of Chronus, and as the Dark Spirits sought confirmation in the identities in the champions, and why they fight, they received their answers, which managed to convince them that the Dark Spirits were fighting on the wrong side. The power of the Champions of Chronus combined as a team could not be matched in this moment, and not even the deific blessings of the Devourer were enough for Raol-Shiro to close the gap. Even though the Champions did face strain in the fight, their spirits were never broken, and their resolve never faltered.

The Dark Spirits, moved by this bold defiance, sheer will and focus, would turn against their twisted master, and joined the Champions of Chronus to destroy Raol-Shiro once and for all. With teamwork, the champions would be able to weaken Raol-Shiro enough to make him vulnerable for a final, finishing blow, which was so potent that it not only severed the connection between Raol-Shiro and his Thii forces, but also severing his connection entirely with the Devourer, leaving absolutely no chance that the Devourer would ever find Chronus. With this immense disruption to the Hivemind, all of the Thii forces attacking various parts of the world were utterly destroyed, leaving a weakened Raol-Shiro alone.

Wasting no time, the Champions of Chronus acted upon the opportunity, and would utterly annihilate Raol-Shiro once and for all. Thus, the Thii invasion is no more, and corruption that once plagued Kandra in various ways, has been finally purged.

## Age of Hope (Post-Campaign)

With peace returning to Kandra, it wasn't a moment too soon as Xan, fresh from his journey from beyond the stars, would also finally return to Kandra. Thanks to the Champions of Chronus, the world is safe again, and the continent of Kandra can finally usher into a new age of peace, and hope. However, the throne would still be vacant. Thanks to the actions of Princess Linka and the aid of the Champions of Chronus, she was the most promising candidate to claim the throne as its new leader, as she was the one who set everything in motion on Kandra to help save it in the first place.

The former Empress Nirmenth would approve, and Xan, having remembered Linka from the past, was also fond of how far she came on the path of justice. The Champions of Chronus would also vouch for Linka, along with the many civilians who were saved from the jaws of evil. With this, Princess Linka, heir to Alara of the noble House Genryu, would become Empress Linka. Rebuilding and restoration would begin, as House Genryu would be restored to its full glory and honor, and the new police force of Kandra would be Linka's Twilight Samurai. Racism towards oni-based beings would ease, as Linka is half-human, half-oni herself, uniting all of Kandra's denizens together to live in peace and harmony.

With this, Kandra has returned to its spiritual noble roots, and it has now joined the rest of the world officially in the protection of Chronus.