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Rockwail School of Orphans Rockwail has seen the passing of many kings and rulers, each leaving their own mark in history and on the city. Not all that long ago, relatively speaking at least, the iron fist rule of king Zoroaster took a particularly heavy toll on the residents of Rockwail. Many lives were lost due to his warmongering and exploitation of miners and labor slaves. As a consequence, the amount of orphans peaked during this period. When Theophraster I, Zoroaster's half-brother, claimed the throne, he sought to repair some of the damage Zoroaster had done. He believed orphans were a key to turn the ravaged economy around, so he built an orphanage and established an education program. His efforts bore fruit, for him and the city. His apparent philanthropy earned him the respect and support from the scarred people of Rockwail, and the word also spread beyond the city. In rough and tough Nocturnus, these 'soft' policies were looked down on by some of the greater Lords, but merchants and craftsmen flocked to the city! Later, despite dwindling numbers of orphans because of peaceful times, Theophraster II continued to invest in the future of the disadvantaged, by founding the Rockwail School of Orphans. The School of Orphans is not as big as it used to be at some point, but one of its most prominent and remarkable buildings is still in use today, and is maintained with funds from the royal treasury. And somehow, it's the place Exetrius Centario of Zotharith found himself in... He looked up from his reading material and gazed at the window. He put his book away for a moment and stood up to overlook the square of the Four Virtues. It appeared peaceful, a little quieter during daytime than Zotharith. The sudden thought of home, so far away, made his mind wander between the turns his life had taken ever since the Civil War, the places he visited and the people he met. Before the war, he was just a mage trying to climb the ranks. Okay, maybe not your average mage, but the second son of the wizard ruler, Onicius. Sometimes, he was sent out for a task by the Order of Zotharith, but generally he was around his home city a lot. Once, he traveled to Kyrrath to visit his aunt. That was the furthest he had ever been. His elder brother, on the other hand... Anyway, during the Nocturnus Civil War he joined the 1st Corps of Zotharith, which was hunting down Raavage through the Rakath mountains, and he eventually ended up defeating him. But if that wasn't hard to believe enough, he also got to attend the victory party in Cedrica, with Queen Ylspeth! As well as the legendary Warlords, with some of whom he discussed the future of Nocturnus, in Merodaquinas. No big deal, right? It was hard to fathom. After the storm of events, he returned to Zotharith. Luckily, he found his father, mother and sister (who served in the 2nd Corps) in good health. Furthermore, the city seemed to be completely unharmed by the war. It seemed like he would be easing into his old and familiar life again, until a letter from Rockwail came. It was a personal request from King Yurdtroth, the city's new ruler (since Raavage's occupation ended), adressed to Onicius Centario. He was looking for someone to fill the position of Wizard of Rockwail, as well as an ambassador for Zotharith, and had heard of Exetrius' hand in the victory against the Black Spire. Exetrius and his farther agreed that this could be a fantastic opportunity, thus they accepted the request. And so, within a month or two of being home again, he left for Rockwail indefinitely. From the letter, it was not fully clear what the position would entail, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Upon arrival, he met with King Yurdtroth. He was not as intimidating as he imagined, on the contrary actually. He soon learned that one of his tasks would be to teach magic at the Rockwail School of Orphans. Of all things, teaching children was somewhat daunting to him, and something he hadn't anticipated. On his first day, the stairs he had to climb to get to the oddly placed school building seemed to never end. An old wizard dressed in blue, which turned out to be the retiring Wizard of Rockwail, welcomed him. "Don't worry, it'll be fun", he said with a smirk. With the old fart's perception was nothing wrong, that much was clear... The earth sciences teacher, named Ruppert, asked him to come into the class. Still nervous, Exetrius climbed out of the study room. A little awkwardly, he introduced himself to the three kids in class. But soon, he found himself wondering why he had been worrying at all. The kids were very interested and asked him lots of questions. This wasn't so bad at all! ---- Later than planned, but here is the full build! Mine entrance part here. Figuring out the layout of this build, with the mine entrance, school and blacksmith was a fun puzzle, and I enjoyed putting my limited number of purple, magenta and pink bricks to good use. I'm also glad to be able to give an update about Exetrius. While writing the recap it became clear just how few and far between his backstory is. I don't blame you for never getting into the Exetrius Saga if you haven't. It's a mess, though it has good parts that still hold up, imo. Anway, if you read the recap, click the links and look at the images, that should give you a decent idea of Exetrius. Hope you enjoy! -
Exetrius Saga Previous chapters: Episode 18: Setting sail Sirius Centario and his companions had been searching throughout Kaliphlin for artifacts of water magic, which they eventually found in a wizard tomb in the Southern Desertlands. Having attained their goal, they were on their way back to Zotharith. Sirius insisted on travelling eastwards along the coastline , instead going north east, straight across Kaliphlin. The idea was simple: sightseeing, with a chance of boarding a trade vessel headed to Nocturnus. No luck thus far, although Stenran didn't mind. The white beaches, crescent bays and slanting cliffs were plenty interesting to explore on foot. They had stopped for a rest in a quiet bay. Sirius went for a swim, Stenran went ahead to see what was behind the next turn in the shoreline. He turned around the corner, but immediately froze at the sight. Another small bay, with dozens of gigantic turtles on the beach... In addition, there were a total of four vessels in the bay: a big one with two hulls and three similar, smaller ones. Young, muscular men - he could see at least five of them - were on the lookout, not on high alert but with unknown intentions nonetheless. Silently go back and inform the others... And then a recklessly enthousiastic Sirius came racing around the corner, propelling himself with water jets from his hands. Oh boy... In the end it all worked out, somehow, miraculously. Though they couldn't understand balls of what the 'turtle guardians' were saying, it was clear that they believed a benevolent sea god had come to visit them, which resulted in one big feast. There was dance and music, laughter and fire, meat and booze. Next day, Stenran found himself on one of the small rafts, embarking on an unexpected adventure... Helmsman "Eja, erm.. Stenran! Katapuja e." Stenran "Kata..puja.. eh?" Helmsman "Katapuja e!" Stenran "Whatever..." To be continued.... Hello guild mates! I present to you my Cat. C entry to the Safe Haven contest. Hopefully those who do not follow my saga don't mind the text wall intro, it's just convenient for me to combine personal storylines with challenge builds! Anyway, this was a great exercise in building a raft and a water surface, two things I had not attempted before. Thoughts and comments are much welcomed, of course!
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Exetrius Saga Previous chapters: Episode 17: Grave Discovery Somewhere in the south of the Desert lands, sometime in between the Kaliphlinian Civil war and the recent Civil war of Nocturnus... Some fifty meters from the mana pool, there was a stack of three stone blocks. Upon closer investigation, there was nothing special to them. It did not seem to be part of a ruin, either. Stenran suggested it could be a benchmark, which made perfect sense, given how their guide warned them for the thick fog that may appear every once in a while. The four travelers headed in the direction of the stones. More benchmarks followed. They found a water well, the remains of a cultivated field and a collection of ruined houses, burnt pieces of wood and pottery shards that lay scattered around the place. Plunderings. They discovered something remarkable on the cemetery: aside from the variety of gravestones, twenty-two stacks of stones, consisting of three each, seemed to have been added last. Next to that last stack, the sand grinded a bit, as if there was a hard surface underneath. Sirius "There is something here, I can feel it." He unearthed a heavy tombstone. "I'm going to shatter it with an arcane shock, gentlemen, take cover!" The stone crumbled and revealed a stairway underneath. Sirius told the others to stay outside until the coast was clear. He descended. There was a short hallway that lead up to a single room. He cast a light spell and entered cautiously. He looked around. For a tomb of these proportions, the possessions to be taken to the hereafter looked rather modest. However, above the grave in the back, he saw something that gave him goosebumps. This tomb didn't belong to an ordinary person! Sirius "Could this be...?" While he came closer to the artifact he stepped on a tile and felt a slight shock. "Dang it!" Water gushed out of a barrel and engulfed his head. Scooping away the water with his hands didn't work. The tried to scream, but his words didn't leave the bubble. He wanted to go to the exit, but he could hardly see where he was. He was about to drown, in the desert, by flying water... this wizard had a sense of humour, darn him! Kestero (Samurai guard) "... Sirius, are you there? Sirius Centario!" In a flash, the samurai froze the jet of water and the water bubble with his enchanted katana. Sirius "Buhugh hugh! ... I am grateful for that, Kestero, I owe you." Kestero "It is my duty, Sir. Let it be a lesson." After that, Sirius disabled the trap spell and reached for what he had been after.. .. the lost water runes of Kaliphlin! Sirius "Father, I have not failed you! I will bring you water magic, for the glory of Zotharith! Let us head home!" To be continued.... in the next episode: Setting sail Hi guys! Third time's a charm: Sirius Centario, the mystery man, has been fully revealed! I hope you enjoyed the read and the scenes! C&C appreciated!
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Exetrius Saga Chapter 1-15: Episode 16: I found something! Somewhere in the southwest of the Desert lands, sometime in between the Kaliphlinian Civil war and the recent Civil war of Nocturnus... The village where they had arrived a few days ago was, fortunately, home to a navigator who was willing to guide the Zotharian travelers. In a day's time, he led them towards a region of the desert that was said to harbor ruins of mining activities. Being frank with his clients however, he admitted that he had never seen the ruins on a reliable map or in a trustworthy travel journal. Nevertheless, the navigator was of great help and the desert they found themselves in looked like it had the potential to hide something they were searching for. At the break of day, their guide returned to his village. Not long after they had resumed their exploration, Stenran spotted the remnants of a road, but it didn't seem to go beyond the foothill in front of him. He went ahead of the others to check. As he walked up the slope, a tiny structure emerged from behind the edge. On top, Stenran gazed into the shallow pit... Stenran "Master Sirius! I found something!" Sirius "It better not be another one of those so-called 'rare' cactus species of yours, because I've seen enough of those..." Stenran "What, Sir?" Sirius "Nevermind. I'm coming! What have you found, let me see?" Sirius "Ah, look at that! Not as big of a discovery as I had hoped, but this is quite impressive, Stenran. Judging by the surroundings, this mana pool must have been here for a long time." Stenran "Any chance that we could break out the crystal?" Sirius "Of course not, haven't you noticed how well-maintained this one is? There must be some mage around who is depending on it. Take a step back, I'm going to test if it is functional." To be continued.... in the next episode: Grave Discovery Hello guildies! Sorry that it took so long, I hope you like it! The build for the next episode is already done and photographed, so it won't take another few months. Comments & criticism appreciated!
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3) 12: The ranks are out! 13: Taking a stand, for Nocturnus! 14: Ride through Nocturnus Episode 15: Refreshment at the lavoir Somewhere in the southwest of the Desert lands, sometime in between the Kaliphlinian Civil war and the recent Civil war of Nocturnus... It felt like he was carrying half of the deserts that they had been exploring for lord know how many days. It was everywhere; on his back, between his toes, in his neck, in his nose... Sand, dust! Especially the last week, which they had spent crossing yet another sea of dunes, it was annoying Stenran to no end. Being a military scout, he was always looking for adventure in the landscape; an unusual rock formation, a hidden cave entrance, ruins of buildings lost to time, but they hadn't found anything of the sort for days straight. Bored and boiled, he headed to the top of the next dune. After so long, it seemed like his eyes had to adjust to the collection of square shapes, but there it lay in front of him: a village! With more joy than energy to express it, he reported to the others, then rolled down towards salvation. There was quite a bit of life in the streets. Women were chatting, children and older folk were sitting in the shade, playing some games. In the distance, Stenran spotted a lavoir. The thought of running water alone... As he walked down the narrow street, the carefree chatter made place for a slightly uneasy calm. He could feel the curious, yet somewhat hostile stares from all around him. He had almost forgotten about the sheathed katana on his side and the armour he was wearing. He was confronted by the guard of the lavoir. "Foreign traveller! By order of the Major, you are only allowed to refill your water flask! This town's public water sources are limited." Aside from the strict tone, the guard kindly inquired what brought Stenran to this village. He replied that his master was searching for looking for the most unusual places of the Desert lands, which wasn't far from the truth, honestly. One of his companions joined him. The lively street noises muffled once again. Like in many other places they had visited, his aura left a deep impression. The master, the man he had accompanied, guided and admired for more than a year now, entered the square. All attention was focussed on this graceful, auspicious and charismatic figure. He walked up to the lavoir and quietly started washing his face, hands and feet. Then, he turned to the woman who had been sitting on the bench. "M'lady, would mind telling me where we may find a navigator for this region?" To be continued.... in the next episode: I found something! Hello! I hope you are excited to learn more about this mysterious person, I've been waiting to indroduce him since November last year. Stay tuned! It was fun to do another Kali build, also using a load of newly acquired, much-needed, round tiles. Of course, I'd be glad to receive your comments & criticism!
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3) 12: The ranks are out! 13: Taking a stand, for Nocturnus! Episode 14: Ride through Nocturnus Several weeks have past since that fateful day; the day the Council decided to rebel against the Black Spire, by rejecting Lord Raavage's forceful request to deliver 500 soldiers. Furthermore, on that day, Onicius had vowed that he would turn Zotharith into the strongest Resistance stronghold. The next day, Damascian, messenger and knight of the sky, set off to summon Zotharith's wandering wizards and warriors, from every corner of Nocturnus. (Full story here) The message was simple and the purpose was clear: "You are ordered to abandon your mission and return to Zotharith at once, to defend headquarters." Within two weeks, every major force of the upper ranks had been notified. In the meantime, Onicius temporarily transferred his duties of ruling the city to his son Exetrius, for the first time ever, assisted by Zeruko Urima. He descended into the underground research vault, where he locked himself in to complete the Arcane Regulation Core (ARC), intended to play a key role in Zotharith's defense. (Full story here) Among the wandering warriors, was Murgon the Dragonslayer. He had come from a mission at the very north of the Darklands. Travelling on horseback, the road back had been long and exhausting, but finally he entered the familiar autumnal forests of the valley that surrounds Zotharith. Apparently, his brown traveling companion started to smell the stables, as it suddenly accelerated from walking pace to a full gallop. After this turn in the road, they would be greeted with the sight of the watchtower, at the edge of the city... Almost there, home is waiting for us around the corner! To be continued.... in the next episode: Refreshment at the lavoir Hello GoH, I'm back with a build! I still have heaps of characters to introduce, so here is at least one of them. Hopefully, you don't mind the little recap of lore that appeared in my Challenge V entries. Be sure to give C&C, it's always appreciated! Oh, and the obligatory overview shot:
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3) 12: The ranks are out! Episode 13: Taking a stand, for Nocturnus! Three weeks ago, a messenger from the west brought the word of the new heir of Cedrica to Zotharith. The prevailing mood was positive, but some warrior folk and a couple of small bounty hunters groups were clearly displeased with the unfaithfulness to the rightful ruler of the land, Lord Raavage. His influence in Zotharith had been minor up to this point, since its existence had been little known by the non-magical society. That is bound to change, for a city that is continuously growing in size, prosperity and strength... In the heart of the city hall, also known as Zotharith Headquarters, Onicius was leading a periodic council gathering. Onicius Minister of the Department of Magic, please fill me in on the latest developments of the crystal reserves. Have the stocks recovered from Festival of the Ranks yet? Durkon (Minister) Your highness! The total volume of crystals is exceeding the last recorded level, before the Festival of the Ranks, by one fifth. However, two thirds of this total volume consists of mere red crystals. I estimate that the total mana capacity will be around 62.500 equivalent spells, which is a decrease of two fifths. On a more positive note, we once again created purple crystals, which means that it should be possible to reach the power level of... Onicius I assume the matter is urgent? Damascian (Messenger) Sir! My apologies for interrupting the Council. In the town of Carakath, a dark figure, who claimed to be an archmage of the Black Spire, gave me this letter. I heard they have been recruiting lately... Onicius Thank you for your duties, Damascian, take a seat. As for the rest of this council gathering, we will continue at a later time, you are dismissed! The councillors quietly left the room. Onicius took the letter and looked at the seal, it was genuine... He went into cold sweat, put the letter aside for a moment. He took a deep breath, opened it and started reading. "... By order of His Majesty, Lord Raavage, rightful Ruler of all Nocturnus, each settlement in the Darklands is obligated to send armed and trained troops on His call. ... Zotharith is requested to deliver an army of 500 worthy men, trained and equipped. ... Any resistance shall be obliterated under His own hands. Hail Nocturnus!" It was as he feared... Onicius Damascian, summon the Order of Zotharith, whoever is in the city right now! General Zeruko, Taskmaster, 1st and 2nd Division commanders, Lady Asagrim, Ryo, my son, wherever he is hanging out these days... Also, I want Durkon to be chronicler of this gathering. ... This is of utmost importance, be quick! Two hours later, everyone had assembled in the overcrowded conference room. Onicius recited the letter. After the tumult had subsided, he continued. Onicius My esteemed fellow wizards in the Order of Zotharith, gentlemen, ladies. Lend me your wisdom! Today's decisions will inevitably carve out our fates, even that of the city itself. Give me a piece of mind. Zeruko was the first to speak. Zeruko First of all, an army of 500 strong is ridiculous! Theoretically, we would have enough men, but what would that mean for the city? Farmers, tradesmen, fishermen; they would become soldiers, but soldiers don't feed themselves. Kira Derisquar How about the equipment: helmets, chestplates, swords... iron, barracks, everything! Our resources are gravely insufficient to support an army that large, am I wrong? Ryo Kokoro Can't you use magic for that or something? Zeruko Look kid, it's not that simple. You need... The discussion was getting out of hand and everyone was talking at the same time. Onicius SILENCE! ... Alright, continue. Exetrius Eh.. If I may say something? .. Let us start with our motives. Is there anything we can gain from having Lord Raavage as our ally? Zeruko Our motives? I suppose we want to save our pride, Zotharith, from complete devastation.. We built this city with our own hands, a place where we can all research the ways of magic to our hearts content and become powerful wizards! This is our home, is it not? We may not be rich, but we have powerful knowledge, which we must protect from falling into the wrong hands. Exetrius Then, is it right to entrust Raavage with this knowledge? Sooner or later he will certainly find out that the true power of Zotharith is magic, if he doesn't know already. Deliora Asagrim Lord Raavage already holds a vast amount of power, but he craves for more. In his vanity, he would slay anything and everything that stands up to his ultimate dominance. Mark my words: Raavage will take down his strongest allies, one by one. It happened to Covenant Lord Anfauglir, and the same fate will befall the others; the Algus, the Drow and eventually the Archmage Senurhem... It would happen to us as well. Onicius But, even if Raavage himself will try to take our power for himself, perhaps we can at least retrieve knowledge and power of his allies for our own benefit. Imagine the incredible advancements we could make, if we were to lay our fingers on Drow magic, or Algus... Deliora Asagrim With all due respect, Sir, but do you really think, there will still be a 'we' after our submission to the Spire? He will shatter our unity! When we are all on our own, what would happen to our ambitions? Our powerlessness as isolated individuals would break our spirit. Fear, despair and the terror of war will bring us to our knees, enslave us to the iron will of Raavage, until all that's left of us are shells without soul. Are we going to accept this rotten destiny? NO! We must join the Resistance! Onicius Thank you, Lady Asagrim. .... I have made up my mind. We shall protect our city, not only for our own sake, but for the fate of Nocturnus! Henceforth, I, Onicius Centario, Leader of the Order of Zotharith, will ensure that Zotharith becomes the most powerful Resistance stronghold of Nocturnus! All Hail Zotharith! Hail the Resistance! Hail Nocturnus! To be continued.... in the next episode: Ride through Nocturnus Hello everyone, here's a pretty small MOC with a pretty big story! Altogether, it took me long enough, so I hope you enjoy! Anyway, now that the epic revelation is done, I can finally do my Cat. A: Rider build without spoiling the fun. Thank you for viewing/reading, C&C appreciated! Oh, I also took an overview shot, I know some of you can appreciate :
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3) Episode 12: The ranks are out! A month had past since the Festival of the Ranks took place. The celebration, which had fulfilled its purpose of answering the cravings for leisure of the city folk, was over. Revitalized, the people of Zotharith had slipped back into their usual, daily rhythms. The warriors and mages, on the other hand, had been less at ease, as the new rankings had not yet been established. Not all of them were able to participate in the festival's battles. Some were desperate to attract the attention of the Zotharian elite and prove their strength; recklessly accepting tasks beyond their capabilities and getting into unrequested duels with strong fighters. However, the occurrence of these events came to an end, as on this day, the new ranks were revealed. Following tradition, the 30 highest-ranked wizards and warriors were announced at the city square, by none other than Zeruko Urima. Exetrius attended the ceremony, like just about any other inhabitant of the city. Seeing the tables turn at the very top is always exciting! Afterwards, he went to the town hall, to check out the complete rankings. It turned out that he had climbed four places on the mage ranking, form 43rd to 39th, despite the fact that he hadn't won a magic combat match during the festival. He had also established a warrior rank: 121st place, which was a little underwhelming... Meanwhile, Yukino climbed an whopping 17 places, obtaining the 55th warrior rank. He went home, packed a bag, and set off for an afternoon training session in the forest, to get some piece of mind. On his way out of the city, Enzan Armafur, whom he had become friends with, caught up to him. Of course, there were important matters to discuss... Enzan Dude, have you seen Kira Derisquar today? She's hot! Exetrius Enzan, we've talked about this... But I'll tell you what's hot: the flames of my new spell, it's on fire! I'll show you in a moment. Enzan Hah, bring it on, I'll absorb them and fire them back at you and I will beat you! Exetrius Sure, I bet you can't! Afterall, I'm ranked more then ten places above you! Enzan You're pushing your luck... To be continued.... in the next episode: Taking a stand, for Nocturnus! Hi all, it's been a while since I've done a GoH build! I'm sorry that the build is unrelated to the story, but I've been wanting to physically expand the city of Zotharith, while I also really needed some story progression. This watchtower is found at the edge of the city, near the forest. More pictures can be found on my Flickr, thank you for viewing! As always, C&C appreciated!
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) Episode 11: Festival of the Ranks (part 3) It is the seventh day of the festival. About three hundred battles have taken place in the arena over the course of the last six days, with day six for resting, recovering and - for those who were still able to - celebrating. The city council had made sure that this year's party was extra grand, compromising a triathlon across the city, a two-course buffet for all of Zotharith and finally, a magical arts and fireworks contest. In addition, many pubs were offering free booze to the participants, which might have been the reason for the half-empty arena the following morning... Whatever the case, Exetrius wasn't bothered by the lack of crowd at all. The loud folk was absent. A healthy dose of quietness and suspense filled the atmosphere; perfect conditions for concentrating on what would probably be his last chance at a good battle. In his arrogance, he had lost his first fight in the blink of an eye. Even though the team fight had turned out better than expected, especially considering it was only his second fight for the regular combat ranking, it would not effect his rank as a mage. There would simply be no room for another blunder; the only way of compensating the first match and maintaining his upper middle class status was through the upcoming fight. He'd better go for it! One thing was, probably, in his favour: it was already day seven. The newbies, lower-ranked classes and those in the intermediate regions had all had their battles. Now, a whole different league was about to take the stage. Exetrius was, apparently, deemed worthy enough to enter this tiny pool dominated by big and dangerous fish, like taskforce commanders, dragon slayers and sub-elite sorcerers. If he could win against one of them... Exetrius and his opponent entered the battlefield. Like his first rival, this.. mysterious character did not have a visible weapon, which implied that he/she/it either had spells bound to the body, or integrated in the clothing and armour. Consequently, his opponent would always have an advantage in mobility, due to having both hands free. On the other hand, spells bound to cloth and skin are vulnerable, because they could be rendered useless by a small rupture or wound. He decided that he would start with a few energy blasts as a speed test. "My son, you might as well give up right at this moment, if this is the only technique you are going to use against him." Onicius thought. Exetrius was struggling hard to keep his rival at a distance. Whatever his opponent was; beast, human, or something in between, it was incredibly fast. He had never seen anyone with this level of skill in mobility and strength enhancing magic. It was using the sides of the arena to gain extra speed forward, at an increasing pace. Exetrius started to loose track, so he created an pillar under his feet to get an overview. Within seconds, his rival was blasting right towards him. This was the chance he had been waiting for: a full-frontal charge in midair, nowhere to go. He wouldn't be able to dodge this! A giant rock boulder shot straight out of the ground, towards his rival. But, he soon came to realize that something was not right... His confidence was turned into outright fear, as his opponent's right leg started emitting a powerful green glow, and it was aiming right for the boulder! The devastating impact of the kick blew the giant rock to smithereens, together with all Exetrius' hopes of standing a chance against this monster... ..who, by the way, appeared to be surprisingly friendly. This would be as far as it would go, this year. He would stronger next time around! For now, all he could do was waiting for his results, praying that he would not drop down into the lower ranks again... To be continued.... in the next episode: The ranks are out! So, I guess that concludes the Festival of the Ranks. I was planning to have a few more exciting battles with interesting characters, but school has started and a lot of other contests suddenly showed up, so those will be saved for another time then. I hope you enjoyed anyway. This build is also a CBC 2016 entry in the category "The Final Duel". Once again, if you feel like creating a little magic action scene related to this festival, go right ahead! C&C is always appreciated!
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf 2: Message in Kyrrath 3: Equipment upgrade 4: Subjection of a legend 5: Family Dinner 6: Attack of the Hunters 7: Taking the Runestone 8: Supplies Arrive! 9: Festival of the Ranks (part 1) Episode 10: Festival of the Ranks (part 2) Day three of the festival, early afternoon. Exetrius was called out to the battlefield for his first magic battle. His heart skipped a beat and let out a sigh of relief. However, his little moment of joy was soon overruled by nervousness. As he walked through the stands, to the entrance of the battle arena, he felt hundreds of gazes upon him. To him, the overwhelming cheering meant one thing: they were expecting a good fight; they wanted to see him win! But, could he really live up to this? Would he be able to display the same progress as he did in his training, in front of all these people? On the bottom of the ladder, climbing five places in the ranks (his current objective) is a walk in the park. But, in the middle to upper class, the competition is very tough. Exetrius looked up from the projection of his anxious thoughts. Time to man up and focus! And then, his challenger appeared before him... He was struggling hard not to laugh. This was definitely the most plain looking chap he had ever seen! It seemed as if there was simply not a single thing going in that head of his. The announcer told he was rankless, even. Seriously, what kind of joke was this!? How did he even get in the middleclass for his first battle? There must have been some sort of mistake! Furthermore, the referee requested Exetrius to remove his armour and head gear. Fair enough, this won't last long either way, he thought... Exetrius was right indeed. The match was over before he even knew what hit him! He got beaten with a single punch... such incredible power... He swore that he wouldn't judge a book by its cover ever again. Curse him! He got on his feet and faltered back to the stands, hoping that his next fight wouldn't come too soon. A few battles later, it was Enzan's turn again. His rival was, judging from the insignia on his robes, a Kaliphlinian fire mage. This would be a very important test. They chivalrously shook hands and wished each other the best of luck. The fire mage uttered a spell, after which Enzan found himself running around the arena, chased by a flaming whip. Strangely enough, the flame only seemed to come after his right hand. Suddenly, he came to the realization that his act of chivalry was where he got tricked. During the handshake, his opponent must have transferred a magical mark onto his hand so he became target of the spell. Sly move... Luckily, the marker could be dispelled quite easily. Now, his rival had to switch to manual coordination of the attacks. This bought Enzan a little bit of time, which he used to activate the fire absorption spell on his staff. He turned around, took aim... ... and fired the energy of the flames right back at their caster in a powerful blast. Another victory for Enzan. Plenty of interesting duels took place afterwards. The last battle of the day was a much anticipated one: a clash between the Order of Zotharith's taskforce of warriors and ninja assassins, and the city's largest independent alliance of bounty hunters. The stakes of honour were high, for both both parties. The arena was trembling to its foundation under the crowd's massive excitement, generating a noise that was hardly bearable. It turned out that the organization had chosen representatives from the different hierarchical levels of each side. And so, Exetrius ended up alongside his sister and Commander Kira Derisquar, as the weakest member of the team. The enemy team consisted of the leader of the alliance, wielding two katanas and sporting a straw hat, as seen on the insignia of all members. Despite being their leader, he was at the greatest disadvantage of the team, because his strenght relied mostly on his skills with his enchanted katanas, which had been replaced by unenchanted ones for this regular combat battle. The other two seemed to be average fighters. If nothing else, the girl attracted lots of attention, mostly that of the audience. Commander Derisquar quickly came up with a strategy: she would fight the leader, Exetrius would take on the girl and Yukino would switch between defending her brother from the boy and attacking the girl. The strategy worked out more or less as planned. In a fierce battle, they gained the upper hand. And when Yukino managed to take the boy down, the fate of the battle was almost sealed. Exetrius responded by directing his attention towards the leader, who was still being attacked by the commander, leaving the girl to his sister. Together, Exetrius and the Derisquar cornered the enemy leader, directly under the noses of Onicius Centario and Zeruko Urima. Check. Mate. To be continued.... in part 3 Hello there, here is the second part of the Festival of the ranks, and there is still more to come! I'm well aware that there is still no overview of the entire build, so therefore I suggest to wait patiently and check out the next episode. Since many of you thought the last episode ended rather soon, I have made this one longer, I hope you enjoy it! C&C always appreciated! (Oh, btw: someone on Flickr pointed out that the fist is from a right hand, instead of a left one. My fault...)
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Exetrius Saga 1: Fallen leaf Episode 2: Message in Kyrrath It has been a couple of weeks since Exetrius was tasked with the delivery of a letter to a client in Kyrrath. Due to several delays - including many cases of 'side-step exploring', getting lost in an unexpected snowstorm and taking part the annual Carakath festival celebration - he arrived in the City of Purple several days later than planned. If anything, his journey had given him new energy. Though he had already reached the city of Kyrrath, his instructions for the exact location of his client were a rather vague. The only thing it said was: "Small house with dragon statues." As usual, the addressed person was anonymous... So there he was, walking the streets of Kyrrath, hoping to find the house by luck. He asked around, but nobody knew the place. The city really impressed him, though; such bizarre, intriguing architecture, unlike anything he had seen before. And so much purple.... The stories he had heard turned out to be true. He found himself in the outskirts of the city, when he saw a small house that matched his descriptions. He stepped towards the door, but someone already came from the garden. To his great surprise, it was his aunt Alicia (Onicius' sister). He hadn't seen her in almost two years. It turned out that she moved to Kyrrath about four months ago. After some some catching up on the state of affairs, Alicia opened the letter. Onicius was the sender! He had probably set this up from the very beginning, Exetrius thought. She visibly enjoyed reading the letter, but suddenly her look neutralized and she shook her head. She handed the letter to Exetrius: "(...) By the time you receive this letter I am most likely already in Mitgardia, in the high North. I have some important things to figure out here and I will be back in a few weeks. I'd advise my son to head back to headquarters, to practice his Archane magic flow skills (...)" No doubt that his father was up to something! 'Important business' in the North could only mean one thing right now: Algus business... Now he was certain that his father planned this job from the start; it was to lead him away from The Order and the Algus affairs which it was probably about to deal with. Obviously he wanted to protect him, but this was a nasty trick... darn! He said goodbye to his aunt and embarked on a journey whose path he had yet to determine. To be continued.... in the next episode: Equipment upgrade I am back with a build for the Exetrius Saga, I hope you enjoyed it! With the build, I really focused on style consistency with Nocturnus member jaapxaap's builds for his city, Kyrrath. Most of the used techniques were entirely new to me, they were challenging, sometimes frustrating, but fun in the end Thanks for viewing and C&C appreciated, as always!
