Tuesday 24 July 2012

A Kingdom in Despair: The Searing


"The last day dawns on the Kingdom of Ascalon. It arrives with no fanfare, no tolling of alarms. Those who will remember, will speak fondly of the warm morning breeze. People carry on with their daily lives, unaware that in a short while . . . Everything they have ever known will come to an end."

My adventure started when, on what seemed like a fine summers day my path crossed with that of Sir Tydus. He asked for me to show my skills to Van the Warrior since the vanguard would leave the great city soon to scare the Charr from our lands, I left the city briskly to hear what Van had to say. I approached him, confident of my skills I asked what he wanted of me. He explained that I must fully learn the ways of the warrior, a task was set and my abilities as a warrior of Ascalon were in question here. I wasn't sure what to expect, were there creatures near the city which were particularly dangerous? I completed his task with ease and on return he told me that I had potential, however more training was needed in order to face the Charr. I wasn't sure at this point whether he was saying this to test my mental strength or give my ego a hit or was he simply telling the truth? It wasn't long before I found out the real meaning of his words.

"Saying goodbye to everything I knew was a hard decision to make, but it was a decision that had to be made."
The only way I would be able to fight the Charr with confidence was with experience, I headed toward Ashford to talk to Devona. Running across beautiful landscape, I could hear the wind slowly moving the grass and leaves. The waterfalls outside Ashford gave the whole scene a calm touch while the sun shining like blades through the waving trees made the short trip to Ashford a truly stunning and calming stroll. On approach, Devona seemed troubled. She explained that the people of Ashford had a dampened aura, rumours of trouble filtered through the people causing the current disheartened state of the town despite the glory of the surrounding countryside. Meerak the Scribe appeared to be the source of these horrific rumours causing the excessive affect on the towns people, Devona suggested I exchange words with Meerak considering the topic. He was situated within Ashford Abbey, a small monk establishment on the west of Ashford and an entrance to the catacombs below Ascalon. I pushed my way through the large gate entrance and found the scribe outside the chapel; he spoke of a vision from Dwayna (one of the human gods). This vision was said to contain hints of chaos, death and mass destruction all with a heavy focus on the Charr forces. Was Meerak just having nightmares or had he really received a message from the goddess of life? I couldn't be sure but either way this matter was urgent and Armin Saberlin in Ascalon City had to be informed.

I was ready to join Sir Tydus, saying goodbye to everything I knew was a hard decision to make, but it was a decision that had to be made. We gathered the forces and headed out, there was no turning back now. The sun began to leave the sky and our attack was about to begin. My first quest within the Ascalon Vanguard was to hunt down Vatlaaw Doomtooth, the Charr who had been spotted behind the great northern wall leading a small warband of grawl. Accompanied by Prince Rurik himself, we ventured to the old bunker to seek him out. There were many groups of grawl defending the once derelict cave system, but we fought through them. When we finally got to Vatlaaw; Price Rurik rushed forward and struck him down.

"It was on that day that the Charr discovered a way around the Great Wall. A way to bring it down. This is where the true story begins."


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