The Abyssal War
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Event Summary
The Abyssal War placed the entire world in a state of constant siege as Eurogynes, an insidious entity who hailed from a different plane of existence, attempted to enslave the free peoples of Kharlia, annihilate all traces of civilization, and claim the world as his own dominion. The story itself focuses primarily upon the exploits, background, and character development of Atna al' Faea and his companions, and because of this he can be considered to be the main character throughout the course of the event.
The event in question was one of the largest-scale roleplaying events ever enacted on the Valikorlia server. Certainly the largest and most complex of its time, this event involved almost every resident on the server and involved all of them in meaningful roles that drove the entire server for weeks on end, bringing Valikorlia's roleplaying community together in a way never before thought possible. Even now, after many years later, few have even come close to accomplishing what was set in motion with the creation of this event. It was spearheaded by Lazarus, who served as the driving force behind the plot and orchestrated the sequence of events directly as the story's main antagonist. Jargo made a vital contribution as Lazarus' assistant and right hand man during the earlier stages of this roleplaying event, and also worked to keep the action going in Lazarus' absence, though he often did so at his own discretion and without Lazarus' approval. This roleplaying event is considered to be, by many, among the most successful in Valikorlia's history.
Chronology
Certain denizens of the Abyss can, without too much effort, travel to the mortal realm of Kharlia through temporary portals, and many often do just for the sake of a little mischief. As one's power grows in the Abyss, however, it becomes much more difficult to sustain their powerful spirits as they cross between realms. Circle-masters, despite the power lent to them by their circles, are also bound to this rule, inexplicably linking them to their region until death. This is such a link that Altima has the power to remove, though it is hard even by her standard of immense ability. Therefore, they can not stray to any sort of realm or plane that is far from the Abyss itself. The demon lords can enter the space between Kharlia and the Abyss, known as the Void, with moderate effort though they can only briefly manifest themselves in our mortal realm and they are no more than shades of their true selves.
Through years of scrying and secret research, Eurogynes creatively avoided this problem by possessing a mortal host (Exar Katarn) during his invasion. Also among his machinations were many mad rituals designed to bring the physical incarnation of his circle of power from the Abyss into the mortal realm of Kharlia. With the power of his circle in this new, untapped land, he would have been able to manifest his full, hideous glory without any of the limitations of his host body, and likely allowed him to dominate the realm of Kharlia with ease.
Cast List
The following is a list of significant characters and the players who took on their roles for the duration of the Abyssal War.
Atna al' Faea / Xau Faea - Atna
Jade - Oriah
Ares Warblade - Jargo
Exar Katarn - Exar
Jargo Furyblade, Rashidi - Jarge
??? (Angelic Warrior), Eurogynes - Lazarus
Wind - Wind
Yumer the Goblin (Not mentioned) - Hiryuu
Elven Brothers - Hiryuu and Malak
Seterwind (Not mentioned) - Virtue
Anonymous Demons - Goemon, Lazarus, Jargo, Hiryuu, Paladine, anyone else I have forgotten and we lost after going Pay-2-Play.
Weapons & Technology
To be added at a later date.
Success & Controversy
If the situation is examined more closely, then the success of the Abyssal War roleplaying event can largely be attributed to the closely-knit nature of the Valikorlian community at the time. Compliance on the part of willing level editors allowed for events such as the destruction of Dragoonia and a complete sense of faith and interest in Lazarus' intentions (as well as the absence of any officials willing to moderate his actions at the time) allowed the roleplaying community a limitless degree of freedom at the time. By taking advantage of the situation, Lazarus intentionally used the Abyssal War as a means of expanding upon Valikorlia and granting it a unique cosmology inspired by a variety of influences. This event marks the end of Pre Kharlia gameplay, and roleplaying on Valikorlia would no longer rely upon default characteristics such as class or stats. From this point on a high degree of emphasis was to be placed upon literacy and dialogue as roleplaying took on increasingly narrative characteristics as more and more roleplayers incorporated Lazarus' style of roleplaying into their own.
As interest and support in this event grew, Lazarus capitalized on the public's favor and used it in order to bend certain rules to his liking. Familiarity with several prominent members of Valikorlia's management staff and the recognition of his status as a Dragoon and a Rune Knight allowed Lazarus access to powers and features exclusive to administrators which he sought in order to enhance the quality of his roleplaying events, and these rights were sometimes abused, especially upon the event's completion. Characters were often permanently killed off without the consent or presence of their creators (such was the case with the dragoons Plo Koon and Esca'flowne, though this decision was eventually renounced) and those deemed to be a disruption during Lazarus' roleplaying events were banned or removed from the parts of the server were the events were taking place without warning or hesitation.
Ulteriorly, the event was used as a means to purge certain aspects of Valikorlia's history deemed undesirable by Lazarus, such as the Dragoons, and impacted his decisions upon which parts of Valikorlia to target during this event. Lazarus' frustration Gestahl for retaining his position as Taron's ruler despite his completely inactive status resulted in an unprovoked attack on Gadestria and an unsuccessful attempt to eliminate the administrator's character, and though this attack occurred entirely without Gestahl's consent, the popularity of Lazarus and his crusade prevented Gestahl from taking any direct actions against the audacious roleplayer. As an unintended side-effect, the unexploited world of political interaction as a roleplaying medium was once again revived in the aftermath Gadestria's raze, which had long since suffered due to rules of obligatory consent and the absence of key political figures like Gestahl. Though he attempted to undo what had been done, eventually the once skeptical administrator consented and went along with what had transpired, allowing half of Gadestria to burn to the ground as part of a compromise with the radical new roleplayer that had risen to challenge the server's traditional code of conduct.
"In the Mind of an Abomination, the First Abyssal War" as told by Lazarus
The following is an IC document.
Deep in the recesses of the barren, desolate, chaotic, eternally dark abyss that was the Void, all was silent. All was as it had seemed to be for what felt like a millenia to the lone entity bound to these infinite umbral depths. It had seemed like ages since the now bodiless entity battled Atna al' Feae and his loathsome band of mortal companions. Eurogynes, as the entity called itself still, often mused over the events that brought about his downfall, for there was little else that the fallen conqueror could do to retain his sanity. The incessant silence and complete emptiness was enough to drive one mad after no more than a day. Eurogynes, however, was not one to simply submit what was left of himself to the barbed edges of insanity that constantly skewered and pierced into his soul with every passing second, and so it was in his thoughts that the once formidable Dark Lord found what little serenity the Void could offer, and thought he did :
The relic of now forgotten age and race, Eurogynes hailed from a distant and vanquished star, and a world long since consumed by the cosmic struggle between the heavenly armies of The Enoch and the limitless legions of Her Dark Majesty, the dread queen Ultima, who came from the Unspeakable Worlds in Limbo, most wretched of all worlds trapped within the maw of The Void and the domain of The Queen of the Underplanes. After his world fell victim to the corruption of Altima's sabbat, Eurogynes and his people too fell victim to the twisted perversions of power. Wielding the unholy, alien magicks of their masters as their own, the residents of the now fallen plane became as warped as the ones who had come to enslave them, and with time degenerated into mere shadows of their former selves, assimilated forever into the horrifying interplanar armies of the Underplanes. Eurogynes had witnessed the deaths of a thousand worlds, and he was determined to witness the destruction of one more.
It should have been a relatively simple task. Domination of the plane now known to him as Kharlia shouldn't have posed much of a problem at all, for it was common knowledge to all those who inhabited the infernal pits of the Underworld that mortals were simple, horrid, utterly pathetic beings with no means to defend themselves against the forboding powers at play in nearly every other plane of existence imaginable. But it had been a clearly abnormal chain of events that conspired and eventually led to his eventual demise. The demonic champion Xau Feae and the mortal wretch called Atna al' Feae whom he was eternally bond to had ultimately been the cause of his defeat. The beginning phases of his plan worked out perfectly though, with his circle of power in this plane of existance not even the mightiest of Altima's subjects would dare pursue him, and from there he would conjure and raise a domain of his own that would rival both that of the heavens and even the infinite legions of the Underworld. With his circle firmly planted on this plane he could also ensure that no other lesser demon lords copied his movements and in turn would surely use the plan for their own pitiful intentions. Such concepts seemed beyond Eurogynes in his current state, but he continued to think, and to persue all the events that had come into play.
Eurogynes began approaching the situation very timidly, he answered the pleas of a mortal called Rashidi, who was easily influenced by promises of power and the like. Of course the dark lord had no intentions of keeping his word in alignment to such a pitiful mortal, but in order to ensure that his mortal pawn did not attempt to betray his new master, he had granted this "monk" the power he desired, to an extent of course. With all this said and done Eurogynes cornered the sniveling master of the third circle of the Underworld, Ireazuel, the lord of demons, and had him grant the mortal "monk" a legion of his demonic minions. Such things were essential, for Eurogynes's own minions could not exist in such a plane without the dark lord's own power there to anchor them, and the innate versatility all demons exhibited would be enough to surmount such a simple task. Eurogynes then realized that such events would odviously summon the wrath of the heavens to intervene on the events in play, and with things in their current state of weakness this was something the Archlich could not afford. He then forced Zalera to take his legions and assault the boundries of Eden. This would buy Eurogynes the little time he needed, and so the Abyssal War began.
Very few complications came into play in the later stages of Eurogynes's attempt to conquer the overworld. A lone dragoon named Jargo Furyblade was odviously unto the "monk" who was Eurogynes's pawn. This problem was easily dealt with, and little after his second attempt to harrass Rashidi he was brought to his knees and taken prisoner. Such a stupid way of dealing with the dragoon was the suggestion of Rashidi, and Eurogynes could not be pestered with trival matters in this delicate stage of his plan. Another problem was the lone celestial agent stalking his minions. Because of the serious problem invention on behalf of the aethereal planes posed, Eurogynes was forced to deal with the matter of the angelic outsider personally, and it was not long before the lone warrior was captured and killed for his insolence. Before the annihilation of Dragoonia, Eurogynes ordered Rashidi to bring him a host. The scrawny being chosen by the mortal was an odd choice, not one the dark lord would have overly preffered, but one he would abide by. Eurogynes recalled that this mortal's name had been an "Exar Katarn" but that mattered very little to him. At this point he could not turn back, and his plan was finally fully in motion. He used the legions granted by Ireazuel to crush the remaining ranks of the dragoons and burned Dragoonia to the ground. Eurogynes even went as far as to land a killing blow to one of the miserable wretches that lay dying on the ground. With the citadels of Setengar's finest crumbling before him, the Archlich was certain no other force in this plane of existence would pose much of a problem. All that was left to do was summon his circle of power into this realm, and then all his desires and ambitions would finally be realized as the paramount force in this world. This was far from over though however, as many already know.
With the remaining servitors of the local God Setengar in a state of disarray, Eurogynes was easily able to settle into the abandoned temple at the peak of Mountain Phoenix where he went about making all the necessary preperations required to draw his circle into this realm. He allowed Rashidi to do as he wished for the time being, for now the mortal "monk" was beginning to be an annoyance. By then but a small band of mortals had surfaced and drew attention to themselves by harrassing Rashidi's minions, but he cared not, it was up to the "monk" to deal with them now. One of these mortals was a half-seraphim, or one of Archangel Sirrow's children as many preffered, named Ares Warblade. Another was a ruby-armor clad mortal female who went by the name "Jade". Rashidi chased the duo into the depths of the elven forest as the north-eastern border of the continent. While Rashidi bothered himself with this the dawn of Eurogynes's victory was finally at hand.
After what had nearly been a week of laboring and summoning he was finally on the verge of drawing his circle through the gap between dimensions and into this plane of existence. By then Rashidi had been defeated with the unified efforts of The Half-Seraphim Ares Warblade, Mortal Jade, Mortal Wind, and a few other mortals whose names he cared not enough to know. The mortal nation of "Taron" threw itself in the midst of the current growing conflicts at hand. Such idiocy was to be rewarded in kind, Eurogynes mused. He sent a legion of Ireazuel's demons and crushed the Taron capital of Gadestria, preventing them from being a further annoyance. To rid himself of the rogue band of mortals led by Ares Warblade, Eurogynes sent a particularly powerful corrupt fire elemental to the mortal city of Bikou to rid himself of them. However, not only did they manage to defeat the marauder, it also appeared that Atna al' Feae and Xau had returned from whatever state of dormancy they had first been in and had now allied themselves with Ares Warblade! Such an odd chain of events with so little time at hand. The Abyssal War was drawing to a conclusion, but to which side it would favor not even Eurogynes could predict now.
To make matters even worse, the Dragon Knight Jargo Furyblade had escaped whatever bizzare bonds that the now deceased Rashidi held him in, and had fled the fallen monk's monestary to presumably join up with Ares Warblade and his misshoden band of idiots.
The first wave of resistance was not exactly what Eurogynes had been expecting, for it appeared that a mere two mortal elves were evading the legion of demonic vanguards that protected the desolate ruins on Phoenix Mountain and appeared to confront the one who called himself the master of the world around them. This small quarrel ended quickly, for he mortally wounded one of the miserable wretches and tossed his crippled body from the mountain side, it was later figured out that he survived to tell Atna al' Feae and Ares Warblade of his tale, giving away the location of Eurogynes's sanctum with it, but that had yet to happen at this point in time. The other one of the elves was far more amusing and he ended up being banished to Void to live out the remainder of his existance in a prison of eternal darkness from which there was no escape.
It was another day before the crippled and mortally wounded elf managed to choke out what little of his tale he could remember to the Half-Seraphim and the Knight of the Shadow Rune. With the elvish scout's tale in mind, Atna al' Faea set out towards the ruins of the Phoenix Mountain Range with grim resolve, with his friends and champions of every race imaginable united and standing beside him, to end Eurogynes' reign and save the doomed plane of Kharlia. The audacious horde engaged in a violent confrontation with the legions of winged nightmares that were Eurogynes' vanguard, finally arriving at the peak of the highest of Saurvold's mountains to challenge Eurogynes in all his glory. The battle started off slow, He was forced to wound the wretched mortal named "Wind", banish Jade and Ares Warblade to the Void, and then finally confront Atna in a glorious battle of the likes that none the inhabitants of this realm would have seen before.
The battle took place in the skies above the temple on Phoenix Mountain. Eurogynes was startled however, to find out that Xau's presence no longer lingered in the body of the mortal Atna al' Feae, but rather, had become a part of him. What was more startling was the fact that Atna seemed to be niether mortal, nor demon, but a twisted hybrid whose creation and purpose, only her Dark Majesty could understand. Such a pathetic fate for the mighty Xau Feae, Eurogynes pondered, I will enjoy ending it for him. What sort of sick and perverted individual would voluntarily merge with a mortal?! It just simply made no sense. None the less the Archlich took flight and began the long battle with the creature who called himself Atna al' Feae.
The battle was a long, glorious one. The Archlich used his host mortal "Exar's" innate skill with the tool mortals called "swords" to counter Atna's own skill with his blade. While doing this he was also free to blast the creature with his superior mastery of magic. What alarmed the dark lord was that it seemed his initial "sheer power" strategy was not working on Atna. The explainations as to why this mortal simply was not annihilated by his spells escaped him, and he continued to blast and hack away at Atna while he countered with his own inferior spells, yet superior swordsmanship. Also, it seemed that his unified power when elaborated and magnified with his circle of power was somehow being blocked by a force that escaped his preception. After what must have been hours Eurogynes took a wide swing at Atna's head, only to find that Atna had evaded it, taken advantage of Eurogynes's weakness, and impaled the Archlich with his sword. How could his mortal host die at this stage of the game?! While he quickly worked to regenerate the wound, the initial damage had already been done, and Eurogynes's grasp upon this world was waning. The infuriated circle master drew both himself and Atna into the void where the Archlich could finally attack this insane creature with his full and renewed fury. He watched as his mortal host plummeted to the ruins below and the welcoming darkness of the void greeted him and a confused Atna al' Feae. Eurogynes could have smirked if he would have had the ability, this game was far from over.
Upon drawing Atna into the Void, Eurogynes quickly mazed him into a smaller demi-dimension manifested easily by his Circle of Power. With Atna successfully trapped and cut off from the Overworld, The Archlich figured he would have no trouble eliminating his adversary, as he would finally be able to manifest his true form and eternally rid himself of this mortal pestilence. Eurogynes could sense the fear in Atna’s mind as he drew his actual visage into existence. He then decided he would enjoy ripping Xau’s essence from it’s mortal shell and casting it forever out into the depths of the void, leaving his arrogant mortal pawn to be slowly tortured to death, only to be resurrected by his own hand and wracked again until his life force extinguished once more.
Atna looked up to meet the gaze of the tall figure that stood in the center of the odd dimension he was bound to. The Dark Lord easily loomed over the dazed mortal, and his tall body was shrouded in a thick veil of darkness not dissimilar from the cloaks mortals used in the mortal plane. The only distinctive feature the towering dark figure displayed were the two, glowing, pale-blue, inhuman eyes that stood out like beacons on Eurogynes's face. While they were a source of light, Atna could not make out any of the Archlich’s other features that remained hidden by the cloak of shadows that covered nearly every inch of Eurogynes’s body. While Atna tried to shake the extremely strong force that held him in an almost floating state just a few feet above where Eurogynes’s feet met the invisible barrier that stood as the dimension’s floor. A daunting, inhuman laughter filled the vast plane of darkness as the tall figure extended a long, skeletal hand from the recesses of it’s “cloak” and brought it forward as if to grab Atna, it’s grasp fell short by a considerable distance, and Atna wondered the meaning behind Eurogynes’s actions. All at once, the laughter turned into a hypnotic chant, and Atna suddenly felt himself being constricted by a stronger, almost immovable invisible force. The dark figure then flexed it’s fleshless, ancient hand, and Atna realized that the invisible force that compelled him now was somehow connected to whatever actions displayed by Eurogynes’s hand. The figure than fiercely clenched it’s fist, and Atna grimaced in pain as invisible, skeletal claws closed around his smaller body, bypassing the thick protection of his armor and cracking his ribs and bones. Atna tried to mentally counter the Archlich’s actions with a spell of his own, but as the dark spell came into effect, it was immediately shrugged aside by Eurogynes as if it had been child’s play. As the pressure around Atna suddenly tightened to an unbearable extent, he suddenly felt his grip on reality wane, as it seemed that Eurogynes would actually be the victor of the Abyssal War.
What happened next was a blur to Atna, for just as he felt as though he could not live through another second of Eurogynes’s bizarre malicious torture he suddenly felt Xau’s presence re-emerge into his mind. Such a thing shocked Atna, for he had thought his demonic adversary was gone forever, eternally at one with Atna. Regardless of this, Xau immediately overpowered Atna’s own mind and then took control of their single body into his own non-existent hands. Atna observed the next events in a dream-like state, for Xau did not allow him to regain control of their body until after the events that perspired happened. With a sudden surge of power, Xau mentally overpowered Eurogynes broke free from the Archlich’s mental grasp with increasing anger and frustration. Xau then immediately countered with a dark spell of his own, firing a thick beam of unholy energy at the towering mass of darkness. The beam flew true and struck the dark figure squarely in one of its shoulders. The blast of dark light ripped through the figure’s shadow cloak and the ethereal substance flew in pieces from the wounded spot. While it was obvious that the substance was slowly regenerating the wounded section, Atna could clearly decipher the crude, skeletal anatomy that lay beneath the cloak of his opponent. While much unlike a human or elven skeleton, Eurogynes’s twisted form did feature many crude irregularities and features that Atna could only guess served as intimidating and horrific features for Eurogynes in life. While Atna only caught a glimpse of the lower jawbone before the ethereal cloak began to regenerate, he could clearly make out the sharp, jagged, fang-like row of teeth that lined the exposed mandible. It was here that Atna drifted into a dream-like state while Xau took full control of their body and plunged head-long into the fight.
Related Articles
- The Abyssal War II roleplaying-event is a direct continuation of the Abyssal War created by Phantos.
