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sylver valis lore placeholder

Sylver Valis

Most people noticed when Anthousa Mona entered a room. Heels clicking, staff tapping on the marble floor, she strode into Sylver’s workshop, but neither the inventor nor his assistant Stavel paid her any mind. Stavel hunkered atop the gleaming machine they were working on, going at the rivets with a planar tuner, while Sylver had slid entirely under the chassis. Anthousa smacked the butt of her staff on the floor.

Sylver

Stavel, at least, looked up, then jumped down. “High Priestess. How may I serve you?”

“You may not. I must speak to your… to Sylver,” she said as if his name left a nasty taste.

“Of course.” Stavel kicked Sylver’s outstretched leg gently. The inventor started, smacking his head against the underside of the machine with a loud klang.

He slid out and sat up, rubbing his bruised forehead, ignoring Anthousa entirely to talk to Stavel. “I think it’s ready. Proceeding with test run.”

“Wait, Sylver—” Stavel called, but the inventor was already at the controls, fingers pattering on the keys like raindrops in a storm. The machine whirred to life, six planar pressure gauges filling with the color of their element. Stavel had no choice but to run to his station.

Sylver looked over his shoulder. “Yes, priestess?” Then he turned back to Stavel. “All levels stable for elemental bonding. Death levels lagging.”

“Stabilizing,” Stavel said. Then he muttered, “Don’t forget her holiness,” too low for her holiness to hear.

Anthousa rubbed the bridge of her perfect nose. “The general staff is convening shortly. And spirits know why, but that includes you.” She turned on her heel, and was halfway to the door before she realized no one was following. Sure enough, Sylver was still hunched over his meters. "Oh, do come along you spiritless nalthema.”

Stavel’s eyes flicked from Sylver to Anthousa, concerned for the first, blazing at the second. Save for a quick twitch in his brow, Sylver did not react to the slur. “I’m busy,” he finally said through his teeth. “Tell Asha I agree with whatever.” Then he waved the priestess away. “Water reading optimum levels. Fire. Earth.”

The High Priestess of the Kelari pointed her staff at Sylver. That same gesture had doomed riftspawn and Guardians alike. “You ignore the general’s summons for this idiotic contraption? Just yesterday you were moping at her heels like a spurned puppy.”

Valis

“This Attunement Chamber will allow the Ascended to bond with energy from the planes. It could win us the war. But it doesn’t work by moaning and waggling your fingers, so you wouldn’t understand.”

“Tell me, Valis,” Anthousa said, “why does your research so often involve bonding to external elements. Is it because you cannot form a bond with the spirits that love our kind?”

Noticing something in the dozens of dials, Sylver began hammering at the controls. “So inventors are motivated by crushing insecurity. But then why doesn’t Orphiel devote his life to finding a cure for collars?”

Stavel suppressed a laugh by coughing and calling out, “Fire feedback spiking. Compensating.”

“Compensate for Earth as well!” said Sylver.

“One single spirit bond,” Anthousa mused, “and you could predict this malfunction. Poor, poor lonely nalthema.”

“And yet this nalthema perfected the Ascension process. Will perfect. In the future. If we fail. Whatever! Not now, Anthousa!”

The machine began to rattle and scream, all the meters flashing their colors angrily.

“Sylver, she’s done for! Abort!” Stavel vaulted over his console, hiding behind a well-scorched blast shield a bare moment before the Attunement Chamber exploded. Shards of jagged metal flew on jets of elemental flame.

“Idiot,” Anthousa said, walking toward the door with a smile on her flawless face. “The Ascended are already one with the elements. They don’t need your machine.”

“Sylver! Gods and spirits,” said Stavel, beating his way through the rainbow smoke, “Gods and spirits, please be alright.”

The haze parted and there against the wall sat Sylver, his jerkin scorched and his hair standing on end. Blue soot covered his face, making him look like a tiny, starved Bahmi. “Already imbued with the elements… already imbued…” he said to himself dreamily.

Stavel threw his arms around the inventor, all but sobbing with relief. “You’re alright! Thank the spirits!”

“Don’t thank them,” Sylver patted his assistant’s back, then pointed to the burnt-out sourcestone disc smoking on his belt. “Thank my personal disruption field. That works, at least. Imbued with the elements… Ascended…”

“Oh, don’t listen to her,” Stavel said as he sat down beside his master, rubbing his shoulder as pneumagic vents sucked the smoke into the ceiling. “What would someone who dresses like that know about anything?”

“The same thing we know!” Sylver flipped his goggles down and the lenses blinked to life, casting multicolored light across the floor as they scanned the wreckage. He grabbed Stavel’s face and laughed his high-pitched mad-scholar’s laugh. “Asha’s meeting can wait. We have work to do!”

Sylver Valis stood at his podium, wearing new robes of purple and green. The sun beat down on Epoch Plaza, gleaming off the chrome of the rebuilt machine that stood on the steps behind him. The inventor’s hair was still a wild mess, and he had forgotten to flip up his goggles, but if anything, that added to the affect. Stavel stood at the controls of the steadily-humming console. Every now and then, he cast Sylver an admiring smile.

“… A wise Kelari reminded me recently that the Ascended are already bonded to the elements,” Sylver said. “With new bodies crafted from sourcestone at this nexus of the planes, Defiant Ascended are literally overflowing with elemental magic. In early… er… prototypes, I had tried to add power needlessly. All one needs do is harmonize existing power with the music of the planes. Defiant, I give you the Attunement Chamber, built to unlock the true potential of the Ascended!”

Standing in ovation with the rest of the crowd, Asha Catari looked askance at her friend Anthousa Mona. “A very wise Kelari, to recognize such hidden potential,” she said.

The Attunement Chamber opened, and out stepped the volunteer. From the audience, the High Priestess clapped as loudly as anyone to see what Sylver had made.

faceless man lore placeholder

Faceless Man

If yawning chasms could speak, they would have his voice. Deep and dark and empty, it echoed off the cliffs overlooking Meridian. “I admire your research. Very ambitious for such a young scholar.”

“Thank you, sir,” I stammered, eyes flitting from the jagged, narrow cliff-side path to the giant who led me. The wind yanked hard at the edges of his white cloak, and he took heedless strides while I had to pick my way by inches. It felt like every loose pebble I kicked down the mountain landed in the pit of my stomach.

“You say you discovered the story of my past?” he said, turning back to regard me, that featureless silver mask swallowing his face.

“I think so. Nothing about your days before you... um... whoa!”

Stumbling over my words, I tripped over my feet, and the world pitched upside-down. I plunged off the path. He caught my wrist and swung me in front of him, setting me down on my feet. I threw myself against the cliff wall and breathed in long, keening gasps. His hand was deep-sea cold. “Th-thank you.”

The mask nodded. “Go on.”

“Nothing about your days before joining the Abyssal. Some accounts about what you did in the cult.”

He towered over me. He could even loom over most Bahmi, in his ornate robes and ornate mask, with his simple, deep voice that drilled into your chest. “Some of it was quite terrible.” With one huge hand, he bade me take the lead. I didn’t know where we were going, but there was only one path.

“Some of it, yes. I do know that the cult made you Tidelord of Meridian. But you approached Asha and Orphiel, offering them the stronghold in exchange for amnesty and a position of power within the emerging Defiant.”

I lost track of how far we trekked through the mountains. There were times I had to scramble on hands and knees to climb over rocks, while the Faceless Man simply stepped over them, never breaking stride. At last, he said, “Well found. You’ve earned this initiation.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said, not without pride. Here I was, being led by the spymaster of the Defiant to join their network of infiltrators and agents. Now, at last, I would serve my faction, and learn what lay at the end of this mountain path besides the rasping roar of the ever-closer ocean.

“You must have many questions,” he mused. “How could a sworn Tidelord defy the will of Akylios? And why would Catari and Farwind trust a cultist? By all rights, they should have taken the city and slain me, not put me in a position of such power.”

“If I had to guess,” I said, “you somehow resisted the confirmation ritual and fooled the other Abyssal. And your position comes from having some leverage. The Defiant need you, or you wouldn’t be alive.”

The Faceless Man chuckled behind me. “Spoken like a true spy.”

“Thank you, sir. I know I’ll serve you well.” I turned a corner and found myself at the end of the path, a spike overlooking a thousand-foot drop to waves and rocks and froth. “What sort of leverage is it?”

“What do you think?”

I took a deep breath. “I’ve heard of an Abyssal ritual, known only to Tidelords--a series of sigils surrounding a stronghold to keep enemies from getting in. I’m guessing you altered the sigils to keep the riftspawn at bay, and keep their locations hidden. Am I right?”

The Faceless Man stood behind me, and I heard him cross his arms over his chest. For a spymaster, he carried himself like a Warrior, every gesture swift and cutting. “Asked like a true spy. Of course, you know I won’t tell you, but the effort shows bravado. Also, we’re far past the vulgarity of requiring leverage. I have given the Defiant years of loyal service, so I hold trust on my own merits, though I still keep my secrets.”

“Trust, you will find,” he went on, “is just as important to the Defiant as it is to the Guardians.”

I nodded, looking out at where unsettled sea and stormy sky blended into a long, cobalt cord stretched tight across the horizon. “I will remember that, sir.”

“Remember also not to swear by the Vigil under your breath, even when you think you’re alone. Faith in the gods is a rare thing among the Defiant. More common among foolish Guardian sneaks.”

Before I could stop myself, my fingertips flew to where I normally wore my symbol of Thontic. I wheeled to find his sword point grazing my chest, having slashed through my robe with only the force of my turn. “Please...” I said.

“You must have enemies in Sanctum, to send you so inexperienced on such a dangerous mission. Infiltrate the Unseen?” I wondered if he could smirk beneath that mask. “Unheard-of.”

“Please, I’m not an agent!” I pleaded. “I chose to do this, to serve the Vigil. I didn’t learn anything that wasn’t already in your library. Please, I’m not even Ascended. Just let me go, and I promise, you’ll never see me again.” I took a step back, heel hovering over the drop.

He stared at me a long time, masked head tilted. A drop of blood welled up on my chest, running over the tip of his sword. At last, he nodded and stepped back, blade at his side. “Turn around.”

I did, my heart fluttering against my ribs. I heard him walk away. I would go home to Silverwood. I would disappear. I had friends who could hide me, from both my people and the Defiant. How had he known? For now, at least, I was safe, I

was—

His massive hand wrapped around my head. He had never left.

*KRAK.*

!!!!!!!!!!!

He squatted like a gargoyle at the end of the long promontory, the wind whipping his cloak back and singing against the silver of his grotesque mask. He watched the boy begin to fall, and then rose and walked back toward Meridian. To his credit, the giant seemed to look back, but without a face, who can say for sure?

[Off Topic] Patch 3.2: Echoes of Madness

     So, it's patch day again! Well actually it was several days ago now, but I've been really busy at work now that it's summer, and enjoying the nice weather that I haven't had much time to myself, let alone to log on and keep this updated! But never fear, I am still here! (Yup, that totally rhymed!) Anywho, looks like there's some neat stuff happening in Rift right now! Woot! Can't wait to dive in! :)

Here's a list of what's cooking:

• Return to Hammerknell: Apparently while we Ascended are distracted by beating up Lord Arak's army in the Plane of Water, he's been busy doing all kinds of naughty things. Mainly, cooking up nightmares for us to experience. Oh joy. Apparently we're scared of the Dwarven home, so it's back to Hammerknell to put an end to Akylios...again. Lord Arak has the mojo to bring Akylios back to life, or to a semblance of life, and we need to stop him before Aky devours everyone's minds. According to Trion, the whole spirit of the raid has staid the same, but it's now geared toward the new end game (lvl 65). Sadly, I don't have time to dedicate to raids in Rift now, but I play to! Some day...
• Improvements to the IA scene: The adventure will now randomly send us Ascended anywhere in the world, in groups of up to 20 players. Approximately every half hour, it will send us to some other random location, just to keep things exciting. Let's see if things actually keep exciting eh? I find IA exciting and chaotic enough as it is lol!
• Also in the IA department, they've done some good things toward trying to weed out moochers and afkers, which has always been a problem in IA's. Lots of people like the fast track to end game, so just hop into an IA and than sit there and reap the rewards without doing any of the work. According to Trion, they've added some things to help cut back on that.
• There's a new currency now, called Commendations of Renown, instead of just that zone's rep. You can then turn in these commendation thingies at a vendor and pick whatever rep you want for whatever faction you want to level first. That's actually pretty cool, as there's a few factions I'd really like to level above all others!
• And some other stuff pertaining to zone events, which I didn't really care either way about.
• Wardrobe Updates! They did a LOT of work on the wardrobe system. I noticed that immediately upon logging in. Instead of having to hoard armor to keep the unique appearance you want for your wardrobe, you "collect" that armor's appearance when you first acquire the armor. Or weapon for that matter. That way you don't have to use up your bank spaces for armor and weapons you want to keep! Which is a HUGE plus for me because I LOVE wardrobe and cosmetic stuff!! Now I'll just have to weed through my stuff and get rid of the weapons and armor I don't need anymore! The dyeing process is also easier, although the dyes are CRAZY expensive! Like omg expensive.....ugh! But now you can rename your wardrobe, get special achievements, and even earn unique wardrobe items just by collecting more looks!
• Fishing Derbies have now come to the Plane of Water. Well, I'm not really sure what a fishing derby is... but I bet it's fun!
• New Twisted Artifacts. Twisted Artifacts added to Nightmare Tide zones! Woot!!
• New Nightmare Rift tiers. Well that should keep the end gamers happy. For 2 seconds.
• Nightmare Tide Onslaughts. Oh joy, we now have onslaughts in the Plane of Water. Daily and Weekly quests are now available for Onslaughts in Goboro Reef, Tarken Glacier and Draumheim.
• Also lots of updates and improvements to general UI and gameplay stuff, updates to minions, more immprovements on the IA front, tweaks, changes, nerfs, etc to souls, changes to dungeons and zones, all the good stuff that comes with a big patch.   

frederick kain placehold lore

Frederic Kain

This is what I have for you

“VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE FOR KEENBLADE MILL!” shouted Kaspar Massi as his raiding party fell upon the Guardian caravan.

 

The sixty handpicked fighters charged with weapons held high, Kelari and Bahmi copying the ululating cry of their nomadic Eth cohorts. Massi himself came from nomad stock and howled long and loud as his scimitar ended a caravan guard’s attempt to call a rally.

Beside him, a Bahmi swung his warhammer from the back of a tartagon, pulping heads as his beast’s twin mouths gnashed at flesh. Behind them, a row of archers turned the caravan’s carts and beasts into writhing cacti.

The Defiant herded the survivors into a tight circle, and Massi had just drawn breath to call for surrender when he heard the winding horn.

The sound was deep and grim, as if the ancient granitewoods themselves roared their displeasure at the Defiant, and followed by the tromping of steel-clad feet. Thirty men crested the hill, gleaming in green plates, their banner reading “XII.” But Massi had eyes only for the man beside the standard-bearer.

This commander glared down at the Defiant mustering to meet him as if wishing he could wash them all away by spitting. Eerily silent, he led the charge, his men keeping pace beside him. As he ran, he held aloft a black battleaxe. Frederic Kain did not swing the weapon like a berserker, but brandished it before him, his grim eyes saying “this is all I have for you.”

 The moment before impact, the Guardians gave a single enraged scream. They swung their weapons in unison, sweeping away the first rank of Defiant. Massi was pleased to see his forces hold, bolstered by pride and superior numbers. Their archers were even good enough to whittle down the Guardians’ rearmost ranks. Shouldering through the press, Massi came to blows with Frederic Kain.

Massi howled as he fought, and his forces followed suit. But Kain did not care. The gray eyes were still as granite in the square-jawed face, and his only sign of exertion was a thick vein that stood out against his graying blond crew cut. He beat down Massi’s guard twice, seemingly uninterested as to which Defiant he was killing, but Kaspar’s agility (deceptive for a man with one leg) saved his life—and dealt the big Mathosian a cut across the brow.

It was then Massi noticed that the archers had not joined the melee. Kain took a step back to clear the blood from his eye, and Massi used that moment to disengage and look over their position.

The 12th had overrun his archers, and the last of them screamed as a knight’s maul fell toward his face like a meteor. Massi looked back at Kain and found the Guardian commander smiling amid the fray, the wide, toothy grin a lion gives an injured hyena. Already, Massi knew the ambushing Guardsmen were advancing to close the textbook pincer.

“Full retreat!” he cried. “Ascended only, hold them!” Only when he was safely over the hill with his remaining mortal soldiers did Massi hear the booming war-cry of the victorious 12th.

“DEATH!” roared Kain. “DEATH ANSWERS DEFIANCE!”

“Do you have it?” said Frederic Kain to the fatherly caravan master.

He sat across from the Paladin in one of the caravan’s covered wagons, tears in his eyes. “Again, Commander, I must thank you and your Guardsmen. Without you, we would all be—"

“We enjoy our work. Now. Do you have it?”

The older man nodded nervously and opened the chest that stood on the table between them. Something awful screeched from the darkness of the box. Kain pulled back from the noise, his face a mask of utter despair that slowly hardened to determination. He reached in and seized whatever was in the box, crushing it in his fist until the shrieking died.

“Please, Commander,” said the merchant. “Why did you want it? Such an evil thing, whatever it was. By the Vigil, you appear paler than you did a moment ago.”

“This is my burden alone,” said Kain, iron in his voice and spine. “If I will not bear it, someone weaker will.”

Kain rose and walked to the head of the caravan, where his men broke away with the prisoners and the catapult.

“Sir,” said Captain Ledisko. “The catapult is within bombardment range of Perspice. But we can’t sack the settlement with just one.”

Kain looked down at his captain. “I don’t plan to sack anything, Captain. Not with this ammunition.”

Ledisko looked perplexed. “Ammunition? Sir, you didn’t have us bring any hurling stones—" and then he followed his Commander’s gaze to the Defiant prisoners, chained in a row, their faces grim and distant. “I see.”

“Death rewards defiance,” said Kain, unslinging his axe as his men grabbed the first prisoner under the arms.