In the time of demons and darkness the land was a terrible place, not fit for man nor beast, it was in this time that the gods banded together to banish the darkness from the land and bring the light to cleanse it. And so The War of the Light beganâ€¦..<br/><br/>The skies seemed to rain blood, the very earth weeping from the amount of pain and carnage that was waged on its surface till finally it appeared that the demons had the upper hand and the Gods were going to lose; the light gone forever from this world. It was then that the mighty God Arthios, the leader of the God, stood alone to face the demons, refusing to give in to the demons and to allow the darkness to win out. Calling forth all of the power that he had, even the energy that was his immortal soul, he rushed into battle with a war cry so fierce that the shook and trembled. When his raging light collided with that of the darkness the world was bathed in silence and light that was akin to the exploding of a thousand suns. Some feared that they had undone everything, including themselves, then the light faded the darkness gone from this world and left standing among it all was Arthios.<br/><br/>A cheer arose from the other god as they rushed to him only to gasp in horror as they stared at his empty armor that stood tall and brave; Arthios had given his all for the light to prevail. With reverence and care they silently disassembled his mighty armor a piece going to each of the surviving Gods for safe keeping while they rebuilt the world that they nearly destroyed. Thousands of years past and the gods watched over creatures of the earth as they grew, evolved and split into their own tribes and species. Nearly a millennia had passed when an oracle foretold of a time of darkness returning to the world and that the great Arthios would be needed once again.<br/><br/>Unsure of how this was to come to past the Gods deliberated with one another until they came to the decision of placing the armor of Arthios in the world of mortals; though they had to figure out a way to ensure only those who were pure of heart and light could get the armor in order to be the champion in the coming times. It was then that they had their Master Blacksmith melt down four pieces of the armor, crafting each into four long swords each possessing a unique magic and power all their own. With the four swords crafted the Gods enchanted them so that those seeking them had to be found worthy in order to unlock the swords powers.<br/><br/>Still they left one piece of the armor intact; building a large temple they placed the helm of Arthios there sealing it off where the only means of entering would require the presence of all fours swords. Once gaining entrance to the temple the chosen person would be granted access to the helm once they passed the final test. With the combined powers of the relics the mortal would be blessed with the power and strength of the fallen Arthios. In this way the Gods hoped that the prophecy would be fulfilled and that the light would be able to defeat the coming darkness.<br/><br/>With all in place they scattered the swords throughout the land and with them a whisper of the prophecy on the winds to carry to all listening ears. The swords and prophecy were set now all there was to do was for the Gods to wait for the time to come; little did they know it would be several more thousand years before even the barest hint of the prophecy would begin to sow itself.<br/><br/>The Drow have risen from their subterranean world in numbers far greater than any could have realized, the arrogance of the mana elves cost them dearly for they were hit hard and fast. Soon overwhelmed and chased from their great cities to run about the land like a nomads, those unfortunate enough to be unable to flee were caught and sold into slavery. Brutalized and mutilated beyond recognition, most were driven insane by the pain and other wished they were so lucky, instead of having to live with the memories of what was done to them each waking moment of their lives. The race of men seeing what befell their Elvin allies fall made preparations to secure their own major cities, but even they know that this was only a temporary fix to a problem that was growing fast.<br/><br/>Hope was soon a forgotten concept among those living as many struggled to just get by and survive in a world that was growing darker by the day. It came to be that even the tiniest bit of supposed hope was clung too like a piece of drift wood in a sea of despair. Such was this fleeting hope that when the opportunity arose a group banded together in hopes of righting this wrong that had been done to their land. Best intentions though were not enough to make the mission succeed and as they reached the end of their journey it was revealed that the tale was fake, born from the desperate people seeking a thread of hope to cling to.<br/>The group disbanded each going back to their old lives, or starting new ones, it was the lives of two that were forever changed from their time spent together and the time apart from one another. Ten years from that fateful parting in a tavern filled with the hopeless and down trodden our story beginsâ€¦..<br/><br/><br/>Sitting at the bar the hooded figure drank slowly from the cup of water they ordered, even though that had gotten several odd looks and even a good laugh from those who heard the order. Still that did not seem to phase the person who was quieting sipping at the water, it was something they had picked up while traveling with a friend; a habit that she picked up and continued on her own. Times were hard though and they were here looking for some information on a legend that could be the key to all their problems. That was the hope really, which was all any of them had left.