Adam Harbinger

The Traveler

Empyrean's Chosen

Sapheliant Merriweather - Half-brother

*"My uncle lead me here for a reason, and I am done letting fear control me. If many us die, I will seek solace in the many I was able to save because of it."*

*—* Adam on traveling to Elvaria

**"Adam Johnston Harbinger,"** is a traveler who made it his mission to aid Elvaria and the first manvay in thousands of years. Originally a man who wanted to find his parents, he found himself transported from the Ashman. This eventually lead Adam to cross paths with Percival, as well as Esmerelda Larexen and Gina's Rebellion until being granted the abilities of the lightbringer. He nearly went into aeternum after dying from his injuries to defeat the Liberating Ten. The god Empyrean, sensing an impending apocalypse, eventually brought Adam back with a higher purpose. With time he would become a goliathan of light, then fighting and destroying Vesuvius Holistere in a climactic battle known as the Obliterance.

## Pre-Arrival

Adam grew up under his uncle's distanced care, secretly disguised as his father, and as such became a person quite detached from love in his young age. He began to push people away, becoming an introvert. However, inside was an uncertainty boiling, and he wanted to find his real parents, who he thought alive. Adam did question his power to control light and why his father looked the way he did. A cloak he had found, which his uncle claimed belonged to his mother, intrigued him, as it looked like nothing he had ever seen. Upon the him discovering the Ashman by accident when out with a group of friends, Adam noticed a symbol written on the wall was the exact same as his mother's cloak. This led him to believe that it may lead him to her, and went back the next day to investigate.

## The Bridge Between Worlds

### First Arrival

Adam ended up in the Galaway burial ground. He began asking around about the symbol, wondering if anyone knew of it. There he met up with a thief who demanded that he hold onto a jewel she had stolen. The two were eventually caught up with and cornered. The thief claimed innocence, pointing the blame to Adam, proving that she had set him up. The guards almost immediately knocked Adam out.

He then found himself chained up in a cell, with the thief right next to him. She claimed that she was sorry that she set him up and that the guards recognized her anyway. Adam was a bit bitter to her however, upon her saying that she could not unlock his cell from the outside. Adam quickly asked her about the symbol, wondering if she recognized it. She immediately told him to search for the rebellion and Georgina Merriweather. The thief then ran, leaving him for dead after realizing she could not take out a garrison of suid guards on her own.

### Held in Chains

Without options, the guards pushed Adam back into his cell but later brought him back out for interrogation. He was met by Pernicious Larexen, who, after asking Adam's religion, claimed that they were both godless. Adam, however, claimed to be nothing like him. Pernicious then gave up, demanding that Percival be the one to watch over him. Adam attempted to convince Percival to help him but the lungari was hesitant. He confronted his fear in return, claiming that Percival had watched many men come to die and that he was a coward because of it. The lungari then broke down, claiming that he wasn't. Adam asked him to prove it. To do so, Percival began freeing him, but yelled for the guards to come get him once Percival learned of his want to find the rebellion. Adam then accidentally suffocated Percival to death, feeling a moment of regret. Withdrawn, Adam escaped the prison, again dedicating himself to finding the rebellion the thief had spoken of.

Adam was led to a secret passage after making bribes to find it's location, but was told he would have to search the underground on his own, as it's pathways were uncharted. Adam took on the challenge, but was forced to walk for days, nearly losing his sanity. Just as he saw light, Adam's feet gave out and he passed out from exhaustion. He then awoke on a bed, being nursed back to health. The impatient Adam realized that he wasn't being allowed to leave. He then asked about the symbol. Georgina Merriweather revealed herself to him, telling him he had found what he sought, but he was unable to stay to continue his search unless he proved himself useful. Only then would she tell him the origin of the symbol.

After performing well in sword combat, Georgina hadn't been fully convinced. She then forced him to fight the thief he had encountered before. Adam relished in the fact, still blaming her for betraying him. The two were able to bring the battle to a stalemate, which convinced Georgina. She then told Adam of the origin of the symbol in that it belonged to House Merriweather. Georgina said she believed it could have belonged to any number of the women in her court who were killed in Pernicious' invasion. Adam inferred, asking her about her past and her son. She stated that the father of her child had long since abandoned them, and she created the rebellion in her grief. Adam honored her, as did she to him, he then regretfully began to leave, hoping to find more information on his further travels.

Just as Adam began to leave, the underground became under attack from Vesuvius Holistere. This forced Adam and the thief to leave alone to assimilate a contingency should they be compromised. Knowing there was a traitor in their midst, Adam and the thief began to travel westward, either one not knowing if the other was the traitor, but suspecting one another.

They arrived at a brothel one night, with Adam getting drunk. The next morning, Adam woke up being dragged in the dirt on a sheet by the thief. He called her out on this, stating that he knew who she was. She denied his knowledge. He then confessed to killing Percival, trying to get at her. She became emotional and threatened him, telling him to shut his mouth. The two then arrived at Millicent's forest house to negotiate a deal. This went sour, and the thief's identity was completely revealed as Esmerelda Larexen, former princess of the Larexen monarch.

The quiet Esmerelda did not speak to Adam for awhile after, until they began settling in at a camp. They began talking to one another, laughing, and sharing stories. Esmerelda, however, subtly revealed she still believed him to be a traitor, but that she would feel for him regardless. Adam restated this to her, believing that the both of them were the same in their own ways. The next morning, the two found a few wingsuits and soared through the clouds together. However, upon realizing that Vesuvius had reached the Berae encampment before them, Esmerelda became enraged. The two then headed further east, realizing that Vesuvius was looking for a staff that could make him all powerful.

Esmerelda and Adam then came to a cross roads which forced them to either stealth their way through an encampment of forest giants, or cross through the ferdow woods. Crossing through the ferdows would be deadlier, but was quicker. The forest giants were easier, but alas the slower path. Adam and Esmerelda chose the forest giants and outsmarted them. Once arriving in a place known as Salvo, they began making their way through the deadly volcanic terrain to a distant castle. As expected, Vesuvius had arrived before them so the two watched him from afar before trailing behind. After hearing screaming coming from inside the castle, they headed in to find Vesuvius and his men battling the Verglas. Esmerelda chose to hide, hoping that Vesuvius would be busy fighting so they could sneak behind and take the staff. They were spotted, however, and were forced into the fight anyways, with Adam heading up toward the staff while Esmerelda bought him time. Adam seized it, standing up at a glass throne as Vesuvius and all ceased their fighting to see. Esmerelda ran back into the battleground, surprised to see Adam with the staff. She beckoned him that they had won. However, Adam simply stood in silence. He walked down from the throne, handing Vesuvius the staff as the Verglas stood. They claimed that any who could defeat them and wield the staff, they would consider a god and follow without hesitation. Vesuvius then commanded them to kill Esmerelda. Adam stopped him, claiming that they needed her alive. Esmerelda simply looked at Adam, wondering why. He looked away from her as a few soldiers took her to be held in chains. He left the staff with Vesuvius, who glared at his arm, a gaping wound. The arsonal and his panthera Nero began destroying the Verglas, eradicating their entire population.

Adam was brought to Pernicious Larexen, who granted him vast pleasures in return for his sworn fealty. Adam simply stated that if he could stay by Pernicious' side until they could weed out the soldier who killed his mother, he would be grateful. Pernicious commanded his forces to rally up, asking them if any knew of the slewing of his mother Mary. None of them spoke up, but Pernicious promised them gold for their return of the information. Seeking personal glory, a soldier, Markus, stepped forward. He claimed he knew the woman and killed her, but that he felt it was his duty to do so. Adam unexpectedly stabbed the soldier to death in a rage. A confused and lost Adam simply noted that it didn't make him feel any better, and that he had only become more lost. He then turned his blade on Pernicious, who was able to dodge every one of his attacks and disarm him.

Adam eventually found out that his parents being alive was simply a lie made up by his uncle to hide his shame of being unable to save them after Adam was captured for the last time. However, rather than keep him captured, she allowed him out of the cage. Adam, bitter, did not know what to do with the information, and henceforth went to Pernicious' side. Upon the battle of Caglar beginning, he was stabbed and killed by a soldier. He then died and met with the deity Empyrean. She claimed to have seen his future, and that it would be greater importance than he believed. Adam, in chains once again, broke through as Empyrean blessed him with the genes of an Elvairy, giving him the power of the Lightbringer. Knowing what had to be done, Adam was resurrected. In a quick flash, he was able to turn the tide of the battle, annihilated most of Pernicious Larexen's army and then, after saying goodbye to Esmerelda and his true mother Georgina, left the battle of Caglar to eventually fade into seclusion, a future and destiny left most uncertain.

## The Bridge: Obliterance

Adam eventually came back out of seclusion as the visions shown to him by Empyrean tortured him. He wished to know the truth of his destiny and called upon her once more. She informed him that one person would be the first step at leading him to what he sought. Adam, confused on where to go from here, eventually rode to East Guild once more to find Esmerelda. Once arriving, he was not surprised to find himself wanted and walked into Georgina's newly formed counsel. The now queen had been divided on what to do with him when the public called for his imprisonment, arguing with Esmerelda that his actions should be forgiven. However, Georgina arrested him upon his return, upsetting Esmerelda.

Sometime in the future he would learn the location of the Well Chamber, and found Nyx, giving her release.

Adam would eventually turn into a goliathan of light and fought Vesuvius Holistere, empowered by Ononoch. Using his brightsword, he was successful in killing Vesuvius, finding that his destiny was to become a hero.

## The Bridge: Protectors of Light

Hailed as a hero by the people of Elvaria, Adam set out to prove himself worthy to Esmerelda as she had seen him before. Thereupon in the great Battle of the Bridge, he fought and killed his cyclone and helped to destroy the Sub-men, redeeming himself in Esmerelda's eyes.

## Final Years

Long after saving Elvaria, Adam would disappear from his chambers after being captured by Karl Moon's assassins. This sent Esmerelda into a great chasm of grief, as she believed he had been killed. However, she would eventually find his whereabouts after a ransom note demanding her capture for his would be the only thing to keep him alive. To Adam's great detestment, she allowed herself to be captured so he might live. However, he fought back in a futile effort to rescue her. He would then meet up with Marxis as they formulated a plan to interrogate a soldier for the whereabouts of the Temple of Exoneration. Once there, a soldier would start the battle after Adam witnessed Karl execute a prisoner. In the midst of this, Karl's abilities proved too strong for him and he began to lose. Much to his horror, Esmerelda put herself in front of Karl's blade. A stunned Adam simply blasted Karl away and tended to her. She would then die, obliviating. Adam, in shock, carried her to the Table of the Exonerated, where she would become in aeternum.

Her death had a darkly sombering effect on Adam. His health eventually deteriorated, and he was unable to produce heirs to the throne. As such, the throne was decided to go to his personal adviser upon his passing. So then his final years, he wandered the now empty halls of Bayclear, confused by memories of the past in his now dementia. He would hear voices of people he didn't remember, see faces without names. The giant royal paintings on the walls would lack meaning to him, including his own, as he would eventually forget his own face. Adam would then die peacefully in his bed, and his body was given a great funeral, and he was remembered fondly and loved by all.

## Notes

Adam, in his first appearance takes on the role of a tragic villain. His second appearance he is more of an anti-hero, who does things to reclaim his honor. By the end, Adam becomes a hero.