Ephalon - Triumvirate
Chapter 1 - Desperation
SPOILER WARNING
The events described below coincide with the events that take place within the first three Ephalon novels. Read ahead at your own discretion
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The return of Lucenbris
The fourth Era - part 2
Rhea meets Riptor
I was thankful that Lord Maeyl had generally been speaking less and less with me, though it did leave me out of the loop a bit. However, on this day I had a rather informative encounter with Lord Maeyl. He relayed to me that he had been tracking 'the last' living Ancient. I was most surprised to learn that one managed to escape the tragedy of fifteen years ago. Maeyl had been following this man closely for quite some time. The Ancient had chosen to morph into the shape of a human in order to get around more easily. An ability I was not aware that these wolf beings possessed.
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Maeyl had tracked the man down as he visited the ruins of Kuronai. It was no coincidence that the Ancient later met up with the last survivor of this fallen village. My master wasn't privy to their conversation, but he had paid some bandits to 'test' their resolve. I can't say why Maeyl did that, I found it odd, though no doubt he had his reasons.
These two individuals, Riptor Stormwolf and Rhea Loveheart, the last survivors of two great tragedies had more in common than they thought. The strands of Fate had brought them together to usher everyone one step closer to Eschaton.
Maeyl's defeat
Lord Maeyl's weapon skills are unrivalled. I do not say this lightly as ever since the defeat of Lord Halcis I'd witnessed every win he achieved over his enemies in the Caldrigo arena. The man is skilled with no equal, and he's able to wield numerous kinds of weapons with ease. Axes, hammers, Scythes, polearms, swords to name a few.
I state this information because he was defeated by a duo who had nothing more than a wooden staff, quite peculiar if you ask me. Maeyl awoke me in the dead of night, again, I truly hated when he did that. He told me that he'd nearly died in battle. To hear something like that was possible was a blessing, regardless I listened on almost feeling sympathy for the man... almost.
Riptor Stormwolf and one Noir Wavebreaker a Navaridian, also oddly the last survivor of a tragedy that took place a few years prior. As I suspected and was soon informed, that a few years ago Maeyl had visited that island in the hopes of locating what he referred to as an Elemental Master, an individual of significant affinity with one of the nine governing elements. The monks of Malanaca island were all trained in the art of the 'Toridal Force'. Supposedly, these individuals were strongly in tune with the element of water.
Something I quickly learned to be very real indeed, as the monk Noir had used this very power to launch Maeyl out to sea, but not before almost drowning him in a sphere of water.
Falloir's fall
I can't speak to the overall relevance to everything that had transpired, but I recently was informed that 'The Lonely Tower' Lord Falloir's resting place had wholly collapsed into itself. An odd occurrence to be sure, though I couldn't help but wonder if it was connected to all that was happening around Erafar.
It took place no less than the day after a murder at Telneth; perhaps it was some form of revenge from my old mentor?
Cult of the Ninth element
One of my informants who'd been tracking Riptor Stormwolf's movements found out that he'd infiltrated a settlement which was allegedly the mainstay for a cult that had established itself in recent years. I have since come to believe that this cult might very well be the source of all our problems.
They are known as the Circle of the Ninth element. I do not doubt that their name refers to the governing aspect of void-energy, the mysterious necrotic energy which comes from Limbo. The informant admitted that he felt like he was being watched, so he chose to pull out and stopped investigating Riptor or the cult.
I empathise with the man, as so far, many people who'd been looking into the cult had mysteriously disappeared. I guess I'll have learn to be content with what little I do know.
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Destruction of Kuronai
Fifteen long years passed since the fall of the Ancients, though surprisingly many commoners weren't even aware that this progenitor species had been wiped out. What a sad way to disappear into history. I knew the truth, however, and that will suffice as I will write of them from the few conversations that I had with Grimack.
Within my little network of informants, I'd managed to accrue some intriguing information with regards to a place known as Kuronai, a town formerly known as Shinzi. The settlement acted a sanctuary for hybrids, welcoming any who'd been shunned away. A noble pursuit and sadly a needed one, even after all these years of peace.
Peace, however, seemed to be in short supply these days. One day, I received word that the entire village had burned to the ground, and at first, it was claimed that no one escaped alive, though later I received an update that spoke of a single survivor, one Rhea Loveheart. A person who unknown to her at the time had been afflicted by the worst condition imaginable.
The Rocky Mare's final voyage
I didn't initially want to include this in my historia, however, considering what this lead to I most assuredly must. All shall be revealed soon, do not worry dear reader.
A particular boat that left Telneth whose first stop would be Malanaca island was sank amid the Areanas sea. A black dragon had killed everyone onboard, well almost. There was one survivor, Riptor Stormwolf. I did some digging into his past and found out that he had ties, although minimal as far as I could discover, with the Arramore family. This connection led me to believe that the black dragon in question was likely Dragorax Arramore. Why this dragon attacked Riptor and destroyed that ship, I do not know, and I will probably never find out either.
There are many mysteries which surround the path that Riptor travelled along, many hooks which somehow dug deeply into the woven tapestry of Fate. I cannot deny his involvement was significant if perhaps not more so than Lord Maeyl. These two were soon to meet...
Return of Lucenbris
Fate is a cruel mistress, one that will stop at nothing to get her way. The town of Efas had fallen onto hard times, a curse they cried out. I later learned the truth of what transpired in that place, and unsurprisingly, one Rhea Loveheart was the centre of it.
I had many parts of this particular puzzle but lacked a connecting image, until today. Lucenbris had somehow managed to possess Rhea, and it forever eludes me how that horrid entity accomplished this task. Regardless, it is the truth of the matter, and it came to fruition within that town. Thankfully, Riptor Stormwolf turned up to play hero and saved the day, halting Lucenbris' advance.
Lucenbris, more commonly referred to as the shining darkness, is oft spoken of within old wives tales in order to keep children from doing naughty things. From what I've researched, Lucenbris is unkillable. Even the mighty Triumvirate who had supposedly defeated this creature by trapping it within a weapon had failed at their task. The entity was here to stay, though its purpose remains a mystery.
Disappearing mist
Ever since the day that miss Loveheart and sir Stormwolf had met, strange occurrences kept happening. The one I am about to describe is perhaps the most perplexing of them all.
It is common knowledge for those who sail the waters of the Areanas sea that there is an island hidden within a veil of mist that no one has ever been able to reach. Any who had tried to traverse the fog merely found themselves coming out the same way they entered. Simple gadgets such as the compass were also useless within the mist, as they ceased to function upon entering.
There were numerous reports of a massive wave following the sudden disappearance of the mist as well as any traces of a supposed island amid its former white veil. Whatever secrets that place held, they were now at the bottom of the Areanas sea.
Final judgement for Lucenbris
Even I could feel the subtle shifts in the winds that pass overhead of Caldrigo. Something huge had transpired. It took many weeks, but I eventually learned that a world-shattering struggle had taken place at the Temple of the Keeper located deep in the Great Eastern Forest. Riptor Stormwolf, Rhea Loveheart, Dianne Morrigan, and Dragorax Arramore had journeyed to the temple with the goal of defeating Lucenbris.
Once there the vile creature escaped and was released upon the world. It's hard to get exact details on what happened that day, but sufficed to say; Lucenbris was defeated once and for all, and it came at the cost of Riptor and Dragorax. The Ancients were now officially extinct. This incident also left Selene Arramore as the final living heir to the throne of the Dragon Queen.
Lord Maeyl came to me once again, though this time the man was furious and wrecked part of my library. I succeeded in calming him down... somehow, and it was then that he revealed to me that part of his 'master' plan was put on indefinite hold because of what had transpired at the Temple of the Keeper.
It seems Fate had been dealt a decisive blow. For once, she was on the losing side of the eternal struggle as she was no longer able to exert her absolute dominance over the battlefield of continuity.
For all intents and purposes I thought things would calm down after that, and honestly, they did, for a while, but as is the case with time, it flows like a river, eventually rising from the ocean and settling atop the mountain peeks renewing their source.
It would take three decades of waiting, but the final year of the fourth Era was quickly approaching, and it heralded that old familiar feeling I had felt as a child, the looming sensation of war.
