<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 36pt;"><strong>Year 1001 of the Age of the Light</strong></span></div><br/>The Winter Solstice... the day when the least light reaches the world, the time when night is the longest all year. This is the day when every year, the benevolent goddess of light, Lux appears before the people, shining her warm, loving light over them, letting them behold her divine being while she reverses the advance of darkness and lets daytime reclaim more and more time for the next half year. While the shadow is never driven away completely, the sunmaiden has kept it at bay and the world was in balance, peace reigned for a millennium now.<br/>Today she was to appear again over the grand cathedral of Latun, and while the clergy would sing her praise, she would shine her radiance over the world.<br/><br/>Norton was among those selected in this chorus, with nearly five dozen other young acolytes, led by seven higher ranking members of the order, either priests or teachers. Wonder and excitement filled his heart, as this was the first year he got the honor of playing an active role in the festival. Only the students and initiates with the highest grade were allowed to welcome the goddess, to show an example for the others, something to strive towards accomplishing next year. Norton was quite eager to become a shining example of a paladin, but while he excelled physically and effort, he wasn't the best of students around. In fact, he couldn't have made the cut on his own, if not for the half-elven acolyte standing across the yard with the girl choir, the pretty brunette winking at him as she caught his gaze, her ever mischievous smile present on her face even here and now.<br/>Maya was one of the more talented acolytes around, with little doubt that she would be made a cleric in a few years time... she was also not so innocent as her pretty teen face would show, and would actually get into trouble more often than not. Luckily, Norton was there to bail her out one time and the two became good friends quickly, supporting another. She helped him with his studies while he would look out for her... and after two years it was clear that her feelings towards the paladin in training were growing beyond friendship.<br/>"After the festival, let's slip away and meet up somewhere." was her suggestion this morning, hinting that she wanted to spend more time with him... not an unwelcome thought, given how attractive the girl was.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff345/darkandbitten/Goddess_of_Fire_by_TomBebop.jpg)</div>When the sun finally reached its zenith, the ceremony began, and the 70 acolytes accompanied by 7 priests started singing the hymn calling to the goddess. Everyone has seen it happen before – the sky would be filled with bright light, like the sun was growing enormously huge, and from it would emerge the unspeakable, beautiful form of the radiant lady, clad in nothing but light and a gentle smile, her hair a wild mane of fire like the crown of the sun.<br/>This year however, something else happened. As if from nowhere, the moon appeared from beyond the few clouds on the sky and started eclipsing the sun, choking the light from it, like some great beast was consuming the very radiance the star shined upon the world, robbing the people of its warmth. The singing stopped and sounds of confusion rose, not just across the courtyard of the cathedral, but across the entire city. A solar eclipse was not an unknown phenomenon, but nobody fortold one for this day, and a full eclipse was unheard of so far!<br/>When the moon finally blocked the sun completely, its edges outlined by the rays it stole from the world, the unthinkable happened. As expected, Lux appeared, but not quite in the manner her worshippers were used to, nor in her glorious state!<br/>With a sound that resembled a death rattle, a last breath in a dry throat, a final whisper of a dying man, a great wind swept across the penumbra covered city, stirring up dust and making people cover their eyes. The eclipse seeming poured from the sky, in a slimy substance of mixed light and darkness, that shifted and wobbled disturbingly, taking a gigantic amoebic shape over the city. Then, with a sickening sound, the blackness took a solid shape as it withdrew from the bright spots and lines, revealing the goddess... utterly defeated and helpless in its grasp.<br/><br/>The sight was unbearable. Some people screamed and went mad, others just collapsed, and there were countless frozen in place, paralyzed in sheer terror, not mustering enough strength to scream or even take a breath for a long while. The towering monstrosity, composed out of solid darkness, Tenebrax the dark one, the consumer, master of all things sinister and evil... held Lux at his mercy, half a dozen black tentackles coiled around the divinely beautiful form of the goddess, suspending her in the air, in the skies above Latun, her arms and legs restrained and forced apart, her head hanging in shame. What appendages weren't restraining her, not that she had strength left to struggle at this point, were wiggling sickeningly across the perfect body of the higher being, lewdly caressing and teasing the searing, red-hot flesh of the sunmaiden. One of the tentacles wormed itself against the goddess's' womanhood, parting the petals under the patch of flame that burned where a woman's hair would have covered her sex. With one more push, the organ thrust into her channel, causing Lux to throw her head back, her hair made out of flames drawing an arc in the dimmed sky while her lips parted in a mute scream. The god of darkness crowned itself king of rape as he claimed his ultimate prize, beginning to take whatever pleasure he could from his conquered foe, causing the goddess to sway and rock in the air, her breasts bouncing with every invading thrust he subjected her to.<br/><br/>Utter panic broke loose, everywhere as the scene finally reached everyone. The protector of the world was being raped, claimed by her greatest foe, left defeated, powerless and ultimately humiliated as she was subjected to the stares of her worshippers, the most loyal, devout among them. Tenebrax succeeded not only in defeating and violatin the radiant lady, but also breaking the minds of her followers. It wasn't a minute after the start of the abhorrent scene, when monsters started to swarm the city. Goblinoids, undead, shadow-creatures and all sorts of horrors poured forth from inky portals and shadowy pools of darkness, slaughtering anyone who came in their sights. A great, reptilian creature emerged near the cathedral, one that resembled dragons from the legends, except its scales were indistinguishable from the void it rose from. With a blast of wind, it took to flight and swept over the courtyard while Norton was still shaking in terror, attempting to muster enough willpower to move, even a finger...<br/><br/>The shadow dragon breathed darkness upon the masses of acolytes and priests, leaving mountains of corpses behind as it flew by, mere shells of bodies, the very life force drained from them. When Norton could finally scream in outrage, fear and near insanity, the dragon took another swoop and this time he was covered in its breath attack as well, and he fell into darkness. He felt cold and alone in the dark, but a flicker of light soon appeared before him. He could feel the goddess call to him... bestowing strength upon him, asking, no begging him to find a way to turn the tides so darkness could be driven back... the tiny globe of light entered his chest, and warmth spread through him once more. Snapping his eyes open, he awoke in the aftermath of the attack and the massacre. Everywhere he could see, corpses of his fellow acolytes were lying scattered. Some didn't seem hurt, merely lifeless, fallen to the shadow dragon's necrotic breath. Others have been slaughtered by weapons, and some were torn into peaces.<br/>Norton felt like throwing up, but his attention was drawn to the barely visible shadow creatures stalking the body piles, heading towards him. He tried to scuttle away, but the insubstantial creature was upon him, ready to drain him of his life! There was nothing he could do now, punches and kicks would do nothing against this creature of darkness, he instinctively raised his arm to strike nonetheless... and felt a weight pulled with his arm, much like the swords he used for practice  and learning swordplay. His warrior instinct kicking in, he changed the motion into a rising slash, a to his wonder, a shining, golden blade sliced through the creature, burning it away in a flash of light. Somehow... some he received a weapon from the goddess. No, not a weapon, a tool to restore light to the world! He felt a gentle warmth in his chest as he looked on the beautifully crafted weapon decorated with sun and feather motifs, perfectly balanced and shimmering slightly.<br/><br/>Getting up he couldn't find any other survivors in the courtyard. No trace of Maya or his teachers, everyone was gone and the unspeakable ordeal in the sky above was still going on, Lux taking a tentacle between her legs and one in her mouth as she was helplessly bounced between violating thrusts. The snaking tendrils would then swell and pump several gushes of liquid into the body of the defeated goddess, the sticky substance, dark as night oozing down her thighs and chest, blemishing, staining, tainting her entire being...<br/>No, not her entire being. A small flicker, a last mote of light was not tainted...the last ray of light she hid inside Norton. As he realized this, he could almost see the goddess look at him, but she quickly cast her gaze away, to protect him probably, to protect her last hope from being discovered. And that was when the real pain hit the boy. He could do nothing here. He lacked the power to save anyone, certainly not the goddess, not his slaughtered friends, not even himself. The radiant lady was betting everything on him getting away now... so they could both make their return one day.<br/>With a tortured scream, Norton felt the weight of his immense task and turned his back to the cathedral. At least he would try to save whom he could while he carried that remaining pure spark of the goddess away from the horrific scene.<br/><br/><br/><div align="center">(http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130306051818/tesfanon/images/e/ec/Kek_The_God_of_Darkness,_Lies,_and_Murder.jpg)</div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC for Norton</div><div class="spoiler_body">In addition to what you already have, you gain the following:<br/>Bond: <em>I lost many friends and loved ones during the great eclipse, never finding their bodies. If there is a slight chance that they are still out there, I want to see them again.</em><br/><br/>Flaw:<em> The minions of Tenebrax will hound me to the ends of the world, not resting until they kill me or steal the light of the holy lady from me. Even though I want to use this power for good, I must keep my identity and powers secret from the servants of darkness.</em></div></div><br/><hr/><br/><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 36pt;"><strong>Year 3 of the Eclipsing Age,<br/>Aboard the Esmeralda</strong></span></div><br/>The young man woke without a scream, without any sudden motions, or without any surprise. As he sat up from his bed in his cabin, he could feel his cheeks wet. He was mostly used to seeing the nightmarish memory of that fateful day by now, the day that became the epoch of the new calendar, marking the downfall of the Sunmaiden and the invasion... no the massacre of Latun.<br/>When he wasn't reliving that helpless day he lost everything in his dreams, he would see images of Lux, swallowed up in an endless dark void, unwilling body twisting in forced pleasure in her endless violation. And he knew that wasn't just a dream either. He had a connection to the goddess ever since, and would sometimes see her torment and feel her strength fail as she tried resisting in vain, only to be drained completely. When she would stop struggling, it would be only to recover some of her power to begin her defiance anew, ever unsuccessful in everything but amusing the monstrosity, the abomination that was her jailer, rapist and usurper all at once. It was too much to bear sometimes, that was when his mind escaped behind the traumatic memory of how it all began. Dealing with that was simpler, and going mad or giving up was not an option for Norton, though he felt himself at his mental limits quite a few times in the past years.<br/><br/>Somehow he got away from Latun, found help in people committed, or desperate in stopping the dark forces that were slowly spreading their influence throughout the world. The world that was covered in the eternal twilight of the great eclipse's penumbra for the past three years.<br/>After getting dressed, Norton looked at the golden blade he was gifted with, the solid piece of divine power granted him in order to set things right... the blade that would share its power with no one else, as there were no other faithful of the radiant lady. If any remained out there, she wasn't answering any prayers in her current state, and it was a wonder she could afford as much as she offered Norton. Taking up the gleaming longsword, Sunmaiden's Kiss and fixing it on his sword belt, he was finally finished suiting up. The others would be already up and around, ready to figure out their next move...<br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">The blessing of Lux</div><div class="spoiler_body">Gain <span class="bbc_u">one</span> of the following:<br/><em>Blessing of Health:</em> Your Constitution score increases by 2, up to a maximum of 22.<br/><em>Blessing of Protection:</em> You gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws.<br/><em>Blessing of Magic Resistance:</em> You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.<br/><em>Blessing of Understanding:</em> Your Wisdom score increases by 2, up to a maximum of 22.<br/><em>Blessing of Wound Closure:</em> You stabilize whenever you are dying at the start of your turn. In addition, whenever you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, double the number of hit points it restores.<br/><br/>The selected blessing is permanent, but if you stray from the cause of Lux or become corrupted by the forces of darkness, the blessing along with the essence of the goddess vanishes from you.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Equipment</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatright">(http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/13/134170/3033728-excalibur.jpg)</div>Other than what gear Norton has gathered piece by piece (representing items up to starting gold value), he received the <em>Sunmaiden's Kiss</em>, a magic item on par with the three sacred artifacts. In fact, it is the fourth of the set that was never given to mortals before.<br/><br/>The <em>Sunmaiden's Kiss</em> is a holy avenger longsword, meaning as long as you are a paladin attuned to it, you wield it as a +3 weapon and deal an extra 2d10 radiant damage against undead and fiends. While you hold the drawn sword, it creates an aura in a 10-foot radius around you. You and all creatures friendly to you in this aura have advantage on saves against spells or other magical effects.<br/>Additionally, the blade never gets dirty and can shed bright light in a 10-foot radius, and dim light for an additional 10 feet. This power can be activated and surpassed at will.<br/><br/>It is possible that recovering its sister items might draw forth further abilities from the weapon when attuned to multiple sacred items of Lux.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC for everyone</div><div class="spoiler_body">Feel free to mingle and interact after introducing your characters. In some form or another everyone has witnessed what happened in Latun three years ago, but most were not close enough to do anything about the massacre around the cathedral. You might have saved some civilians, but you were equally devastated, terrified, driven near insane or paralyzed by fear at the sight of Tenebrax's unholy triumph.<br/>Consider that the party is together for some time now and you have learned how to trust each other and work together. You know eachother and some of you might be related even. Consider how your characters relate to each other and feel free to roleplay your characters personality, bonds, ideals. Roleplaying your character flaw in a situation where game mechanics matter is worth <em>inspiration</em>. When you have inspiration (as a game term) on your character, you can expend it to get advantage on any attack, check or save you make. You can also grant this to another character as a reward for good roleplaying or contributing in a way you approve of.<br/><br/>The <em>Esmeralda</em> is currently on the open sea after departing port a week ago, en route to your next destination. For the specifics of this destination, I will eventually require Intelligence (arcana, history, investigation or religion) from everyone. If you don't have proficiency in those skills, you roll a plain Int check with only your ability modifier. The kind of checks you make and succeed on will determine the available leads you could be pursuing right now. For the past year, you've been chasing false leads and fairytales, yielding verly little towards completing your mission, while Tenebrax's minions slowly gather to expand on their territory.<br/><br/>Deck plan for the ship:<br/>(http://brennor.dyndns.org/~trogdor/savage_tide/images/sea_wyvern.jpg)</div></div>