🎵: Dash of the Daring, Rise of the Iron Will, Mountain's Embrace, Whispers of the Unseen

Master Aldrich settled against the cold stone wall, his scholar's hands trembling slightly as he gathered his thoughts. The dim magical light cast deep shadows across his gaunt features, transforming him from the proud figure on the missing posters into something more haunted, more desperate.

"Have you ever heard of the Greedy King?" he asked, his voice carrying the measured tone of someone accustomed to unraveling complex histories.

Twylla nodded, a flicker of recognition crossing her face. "It's one of our bedtime stories in the north. A cautionary tale about a king whose greed destroyed his own empire." She paused, her brow furrowing. "Though I always wondered why such a simple tale survived thousands of years when so many other histories were lost."

"Because it's not just a story." Aldrich leaned forward, his eyes suddenly sharp despite his exhaustion. "What if I told you that the fall of the Greedy King's empire coincided with something far more significant—an attempt to completely erase an entire people from history?"

"The Kandari," Aldrich continued, the name rolling off his tongue with reverence. "They were more than just a lost civilization. They represented a pinnacle of magical achievement, their knowledge so advanced it still eludes us today. Their legacy was one of hope and connection, but it was twisted and buried under the weight of greed and fear. The scrolls I've translated... they tell a very different story than the rumours that survived the centuries."

Lady Moira shifted closer, her usual stoic demeanour touched by something I rarely saw—genuine surprise. "The Black Scale Brigade has been obsessed with gathering Kandari scrolls. Every report we've intercepted mentioned their recovery as a primary objective. They've killed for them, stolen them, paid fortunes..."

"Because they knew." Aldrich's voice dropped to barely above a whisper, forcing us all to lean in. "They knew what I've spent the last year discovering—that the Kandari weren't just another ancient civilization. They were the key to something that could reshape our world, just as they did thousands of years ago."

A distant echo of boots on stone made us all freeze for a moment, but the sound faded. When Aldrich spoke again, his words carried the weight of prophecy.

"To understand the danger we face now, you need to understand what really happened in the time of the Greedy King. It’s also crucial to know why the Kandari had to be erased from history itself."

Law rubbed absently at the bump on his head, his scout's instincts warring with his curiosity. "How much time do we have for a history lesson?"

"Not long," Lady Moira answered, her eyes never leaving Aldrich's face. "But something tells me we need to hear this."

I pressed my back against the cool stone, trying to ground myself in the present moment. The passages here reminded me too much of other dark, enclosed spaces I'd rather forget. But Aldrich's next words snapped my attention back like a whip crack.

"The Kandari weren't just scholars or mages," he began, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Their knowledge was revered and feared in equal measure. To some, they were miracle workers who brought cities closer and lives richer. To others, their power was a dangerous enigma, capable of tipping the balance of the entire Imperialis, the name of the Greedy King Empire.. They were masters of portal magic, able to connect nearby cities with their craft. But there was one among them who saw something more in the stars—Lyren Val'dahar, the World Walker. The Greedy King..." Aldrich's hands clenched into fists. "The king forced him to push beyond safe boundaries, to create portals between worlds without proper precautions or preparation. And now, the Black Scale Brigade has made me help them repeat that same terrible mistake."

The temperature in our hidden alcove seemed to drop several degrees. Or maybe that was just the chill running down my spine as I realized how much bigger this mission had suddenly become. History, it seemed, had an uncomfortable way of repeating itself when power and greed were involved.

"The Kandari were a people—and a city—within the empire of King Aldren," Master Aldrich continued, his scholarly tone taking on an edge of urgency. "While their portal magic was impressive enough—connecting nearby cities, facilitating trade—it was nothing compared to what Lyren achieved."

"Lyren saw what no one else could," Aldrich's voice took on that tone scholars get when speaking of revolutionary ideas. "He looked up at the stars and understood them not as lights in the heavens, but as other worlds waiting to be reached. In an age when such thoughts were considered blasphemy."

"Lyren's breakthrough came when he discovered astral energy," Aldrich went on, his voice dropping to an almost reverent whisper. "A rare and potent form of magic drawn directly from the stars, astral energy allowed for feats previously thought impossible. It acted as a bridge between worlds, both a fuel and a stabilizer for creating interdimensional portals. The King's interest grew with each successful experiment, demanding more and more demonstrations of power. Then..." He paused, his eyes growing distant. "Then Lyren achieved what many thought impossible—he opened a gateway to another world."

"And let me guess," I said, the pattern already forming in my mind, "the King wasn't satisfied with just looking through."

Aldrich nodded grimly. "The world they discovered was rich beyond imagination. Mithril—"

"Mithril?" Bron interrupted, his deep voice resonating in our cramped space. "But that comes from the mines of Lyserion."

"No," Aldrich corrected. "Every ounce of mithril, every vein of celestium, countless gem types and other metals we've never seen before or since—it all came from that other world. The King used this wealth to expand his empire, buying kingdoms outright when he could, crushing them with armies of well-paid mercenaries when he couldn't."

Law's hand unconsciously touched the bump on his head as he pieced it together. "Until it all suddenly stopped. The King and Lyren both vanished."

I watched Lady Moira's face as she absorbed this information, seeing the tactical implications form behind her eyes. "The Kandari turned against him," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Lyren and his people could no longer stand by while the King strip-mined an entire world," Aldrich confirmed. "They trapped him there, dismantled the portal on the resource side, and hid the components. Without access to endless resources, his empire crumbled. The mercenaries abandoned him, the bought kingdoms revolted, and..."

"And the Queen took her revenge," Twylla finished softly.

"She tried to erase them from history itself," Aldrich nodded. "But she couldn't destroy everything. Lyren's brother, Kiren, was also a portal mage, though far less powerful. He hid the ancient artifacts he helped Lyren build. He also wrote of something his brother had discovered, something that changed everything."

Lady Moira leaned forward. "The astral energy you mentioned?"

"Yes, and he also mentioned they knew of a place where magical nodes converged that could amplify Lyren's abilities. Thus he moved his work to the Vale of the Stars so he could increase his research speed, to help meet the King's timelines." "Which we now refer to as Night's Hollow!", I said.

"Yes. The convergence of magical nodes there amplified Lyren's abilities, sped up his research. Lyren's team created two types of stones—portable ones that could temporarily open gates between worlds, and eventually the permanent stones that would establish lasting connections." Aldrich's hands sketched shapes in the air as he spoke. "The portable stones were easier to destroy and as of now the black scale have found none of them. The permanent ones... those are nearly indestructible."

"The artifacts," Lady Moira's eyes narrowed. "That's what the Black Scale Brigade has been collecting. They believe the artifacts hold the key to controlling interdimensional portals, granting them unprecedented power over trade, warfare, and resource exploitation. Their goal is to monopolize the use of these gateways for their own gain."

"Eight of them," Aldrich confirmed. "Found over years of searching, each protected by ancient magic that had weakened enough to bypass. Though they lost several mages trying to bypass the security."

He shifted against the wall, his scholar's habits showing as he organized his thoughts. "When I explained to them about Night's Hollow—that it was where the World Walker had conducted his experiments—they immediately sent a team. Miners, explorers, mages... they spent weeks searching before they found a wall that looked deliberately collapsed."

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"A month of careful excavation revealed an enormous cavern," Aldrich continued. "And there, arranged against one wall in a perfect pattern, were six ancient portal stones. The Queen couldn't destroy them, so she did the next best thing—she buried them where she thought they'd never be found. The portal on Lyserion's side to the resource world."

"And then they brought you here to study them," Lady Moira said, her tone making it not quite a question.

Aldrich nodded. "The astral energy Kiren wrote about... it was still there, dormant in the stones. It took us three months of work with six of their most powerful mages, trying to understand how this astral energy worked. If it wasn't for Kiren pointing us in the right direction, it may have taken years. Once the mages learned how to attune their bodies to the astral energy and channel it into the stones, they were ready. We just needed to wait for the three moons to be aligned so they could channel enough power to create a portal."

I noticed his hands were shaking slightly. Whether from exhaustion or fear, I couldn't tell. Maybe both.

"Two nights ago," Aldrich continued, his voice barely above a whisper, "when the moons aligned, we activated the portal. Success meant they had no more use for me, so..." He gestured vaguely at his prison-worn clothing.

"But why the rush?" Law asked, still rubbing at the bump on his head. "If you didn't have all the scrolls—"

"The alignment," Lady Moira cut in, her tactical mind putting the pieces together. "They knew they wouldn't get another chance for—"

"A hundred years," Aldrich finished. "They couldn't wait. Not when they were so close."

I had a thought that made my stomach turn. "The scroll we have... they didn't really need it, did they?"

Aldrich shook his head. "They believed it was another scroll written by Kiren and contained additional information about portal alignment and something called 'The Sundering,' but we had enough from Kiren's other scroll. Astral energy was the key. The portal stones in Night's Hollow were already arranged in the correct pattern—we just needed to understand how to power them."

"And now?" Bron's deep voice rumbled with concern.

Now they're constructing a small fortification on the other side. They'll send scouts to locate the richest deposits, followed by miners..." His voice trailed off, the weight of what we'd discovered settling over our hidden alcove like a heavy cloak.

"Something's been bothering me," Lady Moira said, her tactician's mind clearly piecing together a larger puzzle. She paced our small alcove, each step measured and controlled despite the tension I could see in her shoulders. "The scale of this operation... it's beyond anything a simple mercenary company could manage."

I watched her tick points off on her fingers: "The resources to build two fortresses. The network to gather artifacts from across the continent. The small army of skilled mercenaries. And most telling—" her eyes narrowed, "the military patrols that never investigated our reports, buying them the time they needed for the three moons' alignment."

The pieces clicked together in my mind like an unpleasant puzzle. "They'd need people in positions of genuine power to conceal this."

"More than that," Master Aldrich's scholarly voice had taken on a harder edge. "They'd need influence across multiple power structures. The artifacts alone—some were protected by ancient magics that took teams of skilled mages to unravel. That kind of talent doesn't come cheap, and it certainly doesn't stay discreet."

"Who has that kind of reach?" Twylla asked, though something in her voice suggested she already suspected the answer.

"I believe some members of the Council of Eighteen are involved," Aldrich said quietly, the words falling into our hidden alcove like stones into a deep well. "The evidence is circumstantial but compelling: the deliberate silencing of military reports, the disappearance of mages who specialized in artifact protection, and the seamless coordination of resources across multiple regions. Only individuals with significant influence and reach could orchestrate something of this scale."

Lady Moira's sharp intake of breath told me just how significant that accusation was. The Council of Eighteen wasn't just another governing body—they are THE governing body, eighteen of the most powerful individuals in the nation, each representing different aspects of Eldorian society from military to commerce to magic.

"And they're not working alone," Aldrich continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "The funding, the resources... I wouldn't be surprised if there's support flowing in from other continents, other races entirely. This is larger than just Eldoria's ambitions."

Suddenly, our little band of infiltrators felt insignificant indeed.

"The fortress..." Bron's gravelly voice carried a note of dawning comprehension. "It's not meant to keep something in, is it?"

I watched Aldrich's face as he shook his head, his scholar's mind laying out the cold logic of it all. "No. It's to keep people out. Think about it—vast amounts of wealth suddenly appearing in certain coffers? New resources that can't be traced to any known mine? People will notice. They'll investigate. Eventually, all paths will lead back to Night's Hollow."

"Wars have been fought over far less," Aldrich continued, his voice grim. "This goes beyond keeping out curious eyes. The Brigade is preparing for the day when someone powerful enough figures out what they've found. That portal must stay firmly in their control."

Lady Moira pulled out a scroll case from her magical storage with a deliberate, measured movement, her gaze sharp and unreadable. "This other document then," she said, her voice calm but weighted with significance, as she extended it to Aldrich. The faint tightening of her jaw and the careful precision in her gestures suggested she knew the gravity of what she was offering. "The one we thought was so crucial..."

"How did you—" I started to ask, my mind jumping back to the careful plans we'd made around securing that scroll.

Lady Moira cut me off with a slight wave of her hand. "Captain Reed and I decided it would be prudent for me to carry it," she said, her tone carrying that note that meant there was more to the story. "We knew by the time we reached the fortress, the three moons' alignment would have passed. Whatever they needed it for would already be done."

The tactical logic hit me like a physical weight. Of course. While we'd been climbing mountains and infiltrating fortresses, she'd been carrying the very thing we thought we needed to protect. The irony of it almost made me laugh, if the situation hadn't been so dire.

His hands trembled slightly as he accepted it and confirmed it was written by Kiren. I watched his face as he read—scholarly concentration giving way to confusion, then concern, then something that made my blood run cold.

Ten minutes passed in tense silence, broken only by the distant sounds of the fortress. When Aldrich finally looked up from the scroll, his face had gone the colour of old parchment.

"How could I have been so mistaken," he whispered, the words falling like stones into a deep well. "Wrong about everything." He looked at each of us, the weight of revelation heavy in his eyes. "We haven't opened a portal to a resource world. We've just caused the destruction of Lyserion itself."

The silence that followed felt like a physical presence, pressing against us from all sides as the true horror of his words sank in. Something in his voice told me this wasn't just a scholar's dramatics—we'd stumbled into something far darker than any of us had imagined.

Lady Moira's face hardened into the mask I recognized from our most dangerous missions. "Explain."

"Aldrich passed a trembling hand across his face. 'We were so obsessed with finding the resource world, so convinced these stones that we uncovered would lead us to it... but they don't. Kiren must have gathered all twelve stones that were used to connect to the resource world and hidden them away.'""What do you mean?" Twylla asked softly..

"The story we thought we knew—it was only half the truth." Aldrich's voice grew stronger as he pieced it together from the scroll. "Yes, the Greedy King exploited the first world they found, stripping it of mithril and precious resources. But he allowed Lyren to continue his explorations, encouraged it even. The World Walker kept searching, opening temporary portals to other realms until..."

"Until he found another promising world," Lady Moira finished.

"One that seemed even richer than the first." Aldrich's eyes were distant, seeing a history that had been buried for thousands of years. "The King demanded another permanent portal be established immediately. But this world... it wasn't empty like the first."

I felt my throat go dry. "Who lived there?"

"Multiple races, locked in an endless war. The King..." Aldrich's lips twisted bitterly. "The King saw opportunity. He thought he could profit from their conflict. He didn't understand what he was dealing with."

"What happened to Lyren?" Law asked.

"The stones we discovered were never meant to lead us to the resource world at all—they lead to a world, what the ancients called 'The Sundering'. The very world where Lyren trapped himself, the King, and his entire army. And we... we just reopened that portal."

New Quest Available: The Sundering Portal

Quest Automatically assigned!

Name: The Sundering Portal

Type: Critical Main Quest

Difficulty: Extreme

Time Limit: 72 Hours

Quest Giver: System

Description: The opening of the Sundering portal threatens to unleash ancient warring races and destructive forces upon Lyserion.

Primary Objectives:

* Establish a defensive perimeter around the portal

* Repel waves of invading forces from the Sundering

* Complete one of the below

* Build a fortification

* Protect the engineering teams as they construct fortifications

* Hold position for 10 days until reinforcements arrive

* Close Portal

Rewards:

* Experience: 2000 XP

* Title: "Portal Defender"

* Lyren's Diary

I stared at the system notification that had appeared before me, detailing our desperate mission to defend the portal. The weight of responsibility settled heavily on my shoulders as I processed what we had to do - hold back whatever horrors were about to emerge from the Sundering for ten days while the engineers worked, or somehow close the portal and end the nightmare.

The irony of it made my stomach turn. All these defenses, all this preparation—the Brigade had built walls, recruited mercenaries, and corrupted officials at the highest levels of power, all to protect what they thought was their gateway to endless riches. The Council of Eighteen's schemes, the Black Scale Brigade's careful plans, every resource poured into this dream—it was all based on a terrible misunderstanding. These fools weren't guarding a path to wealth and power; the fortress had been built around something that should have stayed buried forever, something the cost the Kandari entire civilization to be swept away. The Council thought they were setting up the greatest mining operation in history. Instead, they reopened a door that led straight to what ancient texts called 'The Sundering; the name given to the world whose forces would have likely brought Lyserion to its knees had Lyren not destroyed the portal before they could cross through. It was a realm that should have remained sealed away forever.