As with any story, there is a beginning.
Ede’s beginning however, was quite different from any other planet in this universe – it was never planned, nor was it ever supposed to be.
For each universe created, there were celestials also created to maintain the balance of life. In our universe, the two celestials were named Elix and Draxa. Elix was chosen to be creator of all things. Draxa was chosen to be the destroyer, to maintain balance. For eons the two would work in perfect harmony, leading to a universe of parity and prosperity.
As time went on, Elix noticed he was growing older and weaker with every life created, whereas Draxa had been growing even more powerful while also maintaining her youth. Watching from afar as another world was annihilated, Elix’s mind began to wonder – “Was this my purpose? Was this all by design?”
Naturally, with Draxa’s continued youth and increased power came a much larger hunger for destruction. Elix was slowly losing his ability to create enough life to stay ahead of Draxa’s desire to destroy. Every life created was taking its toll, and soon the universe began to become dark as life faded away faster than Elix could create. As Elix’s powers continued to fade, he knew there was only one way to ensure he could stop Draxa.
Elix decided to move forward with one final creation. He also ensured that the planet would remain hidden on the other side of a tear in the universe he had created eons ago, unbeknownst to Draxa, in case things ever got out of hand. This final world would be known as Ede.
Ede would be the final resting place for Elix’s celestial powers, with the intention of these powers being harnessed by the lives he created. To do this, Elix transferred his powers to Runes he had placed underneath the planet’s surface, with the hope that the life he created would naturally evolve and discover these Runes. Overly cautious, Elix’s final act would be to create extensions of his own existence that would work to ensure the life on Ede would be given guidance and remained protected as their world evolved.
These extensions would be known to us as “The Ancients”.
Marvels
Joco and Kelchin
Mystics
Kreitz and Yve
Intellects
Tsu and Leona
Savages
Catos and Vyan
Draxa was heartbroken and confused over her brother’s departure, so much so that over the course of the next century she would go onto destroy every remaining world within their universe. The hunger had grown too great, and now she was left with no worlds to destroy and feed off.
As time went by, Draxa would grow weak and begin to age. At this point, she was nearing death and desperate to regain what was once hers. Wandering around her desolate universe, she finally stumbled upon something she had missed time and time again, a tear.
With no options left, Draxa entered the tear and what she found on the other side was the most glorious world she had ever seen. At first Draxa couldn’t help but be in awe of the work Elix had done, but that soon passed and turned to rage. Unleashing a guttural scream, Draxa plunged into the atmosphere of this unknown world to take what was she felt was hers.
As Draxa smashed into Ede, just outside of Anith, the ground shook across the planet. Jed awoken by the sound sought out Kelchin and Joco, the Marvel Ancients, to see if they could see past the outskirts to identify the cause. The sight of Draxa caused both to shutter at first, until they realized that her presence meant that Ede was at risk. Jed rallied his best men, led by Mak, to make the approach and defend their home. Kelchin and Joco gathered the Runes and distributed them to those most able to harness them.
Draxa had cracked the surface and exposed the Runes. As she began to break the Runes she noticed that she was drawing power from them, this then led to a startling realization – the Runes contained all of Elix’s power! This meant that the destruction of the entire world could possibly fuel Draxa for eternity; and now that Draxa had gone through the tear, she could easily begin traveling to other universes and become the strongest being to ever exist, even stronger than “The Great Creator”.
As Jed and the Marvels charged towards the giant pit of darkness that was forming, they all began to crack their Runes to unlock their Might. Jed was able to deliver the first blow, knocking Draxa out of the pit. Draxa was first in shock, for this was the first time she had ever been struck by a mortal, but that quickly turned into rage as she released another scream and easily began taking out each member of the faction, one by one. The more she killed, the more power she drew from the Runes that the Marvels had harnessed. The tide was turning quickly, and the Marvel numbers were dwindling.
As Jed continued to watch his comrades fall, he became hesitant, and this hesitation soon turned into fear. This fear however would ensure the survival of his people, a voice called to him “there must be a future”. As Jed worked with Mak to gather their remaining troops, two large golden auras appeared from the darkness – Kelchin and Joco emerged.
The familiar feeling Draxa felt with Kelchin and Joco was unsettling. She could feel their power, similar to Elix’s, but not quite all of it. Knowing this, Draxa dispatched of the remaining Marvels around her and fled. Now that she had escaped her universe, it was time to wreak havoc on new worlds and regain her full power.
“Your power and your world will be mine.” - Draxa
Time has passed since the incident outside Anith and a lot has happened across the planet. On the other side of Ede, Zak and Van have been spending the years since Draxa’s arrival analyzing the power spikes that sent shockwaves through their home. Van, Zak’s now brother in-law, was drawn in by Zak’s charisma and vision – the ability to unlock the potential of the human mind. With the help of Ramus and Filip, Zak and Van were able to find an efficient way to mine the Runes beneath the planet’s surface.
For a while, everything was great. With Zak and Van spearheading the experiments they were achieving results far beyond what either of them had dreamed of. The Runes were not only unlocking the intelligence of their faction members, but in some cases, like Zak’s, they were able to shift their matter and the matter around them to allow for teleporting.
The possibilities were endless, especially when their experiments involved the use of the more distinguished, complex looking Runes – which Zak and Van would go on to coin as “Ancient Runes”. When an Ancient Rune was synthesized, an overwhelming power was generated, a power that would allow someone to build, create, restore life, and in the most tragic cases, take life.
This discovery would be the beginning of the divide. As Filip was researching the power spikes taking place on Ede, searching for those harnessing Runes, he stumbled upon Barrett, a powerful Marvel, training with Mak. The raw power coming off of them struck fear into Filip, knowing that although the progress being made by the, now named, Intellects, they were not prepared to defend themselves against any threat that also was harnessing the Runes of Ede. Filip brought the data from his research to Zak, and Zak called a secret meeting with both Filip and Ramus to discuss, and then called another that would include Van.
In the second meeting, with Van, Zak made his intentions very clear; he wanted to mine the Ancient Runes and wield them to create a fortress, a perfect city to be called “Aos”. Not only that, but he wanted to harness the Ancient Runes to be an infinite power supply for the city and to power the weapons they would need to defend themselves. Van was in disbelief, as this idea was never spoken about until now. Not only that, but the level of detail and passion Zak was speaking with was jarring. Van quickly began to put together that this plan was made unbeknownst to him, and slowly he began to slip from shock, to anger, to anguish. Van’s heart was broken, his now brother had turned into someone he no longer knew. All he could think about was his sister and the potential life she was being set up to live.
As Zak, Filip, and Ramus began the mining operation, Van was working in secret telling those who would listen about the man Zak was becoming. Van went as far to begin demonstrating the powers of the Ancient Runes to those outside of the lab to show off the mystic powers they held inside. To Van the Runes were sacred, gifts given by the Ancients to allow mortals to unlock their inner potential. The more Van began to sway members of the Intellects with these beliefs, the urge to start anew began to build.
As Van returned to Nexo he was greeted by Zapp and Shad, both anxiously awaiting the details of his journey. This anxiety of course stemming from a conversation the three of them had before the journey, where Van had instructed them to begin getting the rest of their people ready for real-time conflict. Before Van was to deliver the details, he started with a question, “Is it done?”. To which Zapp and Shad both nodded. Van then went onto give a full breakdown of what had been taking place with the people of Yeval and their plan to attack Aos.
“The Savages?” – Zapp
“They’re much more than that now.” – Van
Once Shad and Zapp learned of the potential threat they faced, beyond just the Intellects, they quickly realized their people were not properly prepared for what was to come. The Mystics were not a people of great strength, but instead relied on their ability to work together and harnessing the Runes of Ede to manipulate life itself to create an advantage. If any altercation with the Savages took place, they’d need to fully embrace the darkness within their powers to see their plan through to the end.
Harnessing the unnatural is what the Mystics have the ability to do, but they’ve never been faced with the potential of war. Van, unable to save his sister Leora, has been obsessed with learning the art of revival. It has taken years, but with the power of the Ancient Runes and some willing participants, mostly Wisp, he has been able to do it consistently without too much effort. The only thing undetermined now, is to what scale in which he can execute a revival. This was just only a small part of their plan though, Van has much more in store for the upcoming conflict.
Growing up, Veida was incredibly sensitive to the power of the Runes. This power only continued to grow, but in ways that seemed unimaginable. Veida was not just able to delve until the unnatural, but she was also brilliant and had the ability to manipulate the world around her. The only downside, however, is that she was still unable to fully control the full extent of this power. Her upbringing and this level of power constantly begged the question, how? Only those closest to Van and the Ancients, Kreitz and Yve, knew the truth; a truth that would only be revealed to her when the time was right.
With Veida’s untapped potential, combined with his mastery in the art of revival, Van knew that his people were on the precipice of finding a way to win this war. The only thing left to be determined was how would they be able to ensure that Zak and the Intellects would fail to recover from the Savage assault. Van called upon Victor, an elder that has remained loyal dating all the way back to when they themselves were Intellects. Victor early on had a gift for being able to infiltrate the minds of others; a gift that when combined with the Ancient Runes would allow him to even take control of the mind without the person knowing.
The plan was simple, ensure the mining operation is cut off and destroy all remaining Runes within the Intellect stockpile. This is where Victor’s abilities would come into play. They would first need to understand the complexity of the mining operation, and then learn where the stockpile was being stored. This plan however would require that Victor at least get to the walls of Aos in order to find an open mind to infiltrate and get the details they needed. Van wouldn’t send him alone though, he knew the perfect party to accompany him – Vera, the most fierce of the Mystics with a true warrior spirit, and Dreg, an up and coming Mystic with the ability to temporarily weaken any enemies that may attempt to stand in their way.
“It is time, sound the horns.” – Ren
A flame lights in the middle of Yeval and is quickly followed by the traditional Savage call. With the horn blaring, Sen begins to rally the elder warriors while Kal and Max meet with the young Savages one last time.
“Dak, Dani, Mara, Sid, and Tin – you are the pride of Yeval and you will be the reason we will break these chains today. Harness these Runes provided by our Ancients and unleash your ultimate potential. Let our enemies know what being a ‘Savage’ truly means; that we fight with passion, love one another, and defend the lives of the innocent as if it were our own.” - Kal
Meanwhile, in Aos…
Filip, Mal, and Dean were spending time in the lab working through the latest batch of research done on the Marvels of Anith. Zak and the Intellects were certain that they were the only threat to be concerned with and spent all these years trying to decipher just how their powers grew to be so great. The Marvels weren’t just the strongest beings on Ede, capable of demolishing an entire city, but they were brave, strong-willed, and above all, a united people.
The research revealed the truth in how the Runes of Ede impacted those who harnessed them; showing that the Runes, when harnessed, embraced the characteristics of the user, and heightened them beyond measure creating an eruption of newfound power. As unbelievable as this all seemed, they quickly started to realize that the signs were always there – even when reflecting upon themselves and even their leader, Zak. Zak was brilliant and powerful, but he was also paranoid of losing everything, and arrogant in that the way of the Intellects was the only way; the Runes took that even further. On the other hand, Dean, Zak’s son born from the Runes of Ede, was full of joy, brilliant, and loved to build and create; these were such beautiful traits that the Runes only took further.
After these revelations, Mal began to call into question whether there were any other harnessers on Ede. All this time Filip’s scope had only been focused on the power spikes taking place in Anith, as directed by Zak and Ramus, and now for the first time in years Filip began to move the scope across their world. It didn’t take long before Filip found spikes in Nexo, the land in which Van and his followers were exiled to. Filip, shaken, wanted to bring this to Zak immediately but Mal made him keep searching.
As the scope was coming closer to Aos, they all began to feel a slight sense of relief. That relief quickly turned to dread as they came upon the city of Yeval and the hills leading to the walls of Aos. The spikes were beyond the capacity to which the scope could even measure. The screen was blood-red from the lights trailing from Yeval to just outside their city walls. Panic set in, even for Dean, always the most joyous and levelheaded of the Intellects. Their first call however wasn’t to Ramus or Zak, but instead to Raine to determine the level of threat, the ability of the walls to contain the threat, and a way to combat the threat if they happened to breech the walls of their “Perfect City”.
It wasn’t long until Ramus and Zak came to the lab to check on the work being completed for the day. The door swung open, and Zak quickly realized there was something wrong. As he approached, he could see that Dean’s demeanor was off while the light in the room was overshadowed by a blood-red glow emanating from the screen. Raine had the map of Aos on the table and called to Ramus, the master of arms, to talk through the problem they faced.
For the first time in their history, the Intellects were faced with a problem they didn’t have a solution for. Every step of the way had led to this, and all Zak could think of was the vision from the Ancient, Tsu; the vision of his son. Zak’s paranoia and arrogance took his people down this path, putting the future of his people, and ultimately his son, at risk. There wasn’t much time before the Savages of Yeval would begin their assault, but there was still enough for the brilliance of Zak and the Intellects to find a solution to their biggest problem yet.
Standing atop the walls of Aos, Ramus and the Intellect forces braced themselves for the initial Savage assault. Ren and Max were the first to approach, but then called their warriors to form two lines, enveloping the structure from each side and leaving a gap in the middle. As the warriors began to crack their Runes, the wall began to tremble and all that could be seen from above was a sea of blood red. Ramus ordered his team to harness the runes to begin shielding the wall to prevent further degradation. This proved pointless however, as the gap in the middle was then filled by an even brighter light; it was the Savage youths, led by Mara.
Back in Nexo, Victor was going through his debrief with Zapp and Van regarding his trip to Aos. After harnessing an Ancient Rune, Victor was able to infiltrate the minds of many of the lower-level Intellects and piece together that the mining operation and stockpile were located beneath the “Heart of Aos”, the laboratory in the center of the city. Once the location was disclosed, Victor then went into their near miss with the Savages of Yeval.
Whilst traveling back from Aos to Nexo, Dreg was suddenly alarmed by the amount of power he could feel surging through the path leading to Yeval. Beyond the power Dreg could feel within the aether, it was accompanied by the rumbling of hundreds of footsteps, and a traditional Savage Call coming every few moments. The words Van had spoken about the Savages were true, they were indeed going to be the ones to break down the walls of Aos. Fearing for the well-being of Vera, Victor, and himself, he still couldn’t help but show a smirk since Van’s plan was coming together as he had predicted.
There is one thing Van still hasn’t been able to foresee though: the Marvels of Anith and the role they would play in this “plan”.
The Marvels were well on their way to Aos to join the fight. Bale’s statement of being able to control the fate of the Marvel people had moved Jed to prepare their mightiest warriors, plus Medo, for the first conflict his people have faced since the incident with Draxa, a celestial. As the Marvels marched, they were led by Jacob, the most outspoken of the Marvel leaders, who happened to be singing Marvel folk songs and delivering some inspiring words whenever there was a break in song; never allowing for a moment of silence.
“Woahhhohh, Joco’s got us going loco ohohhh.” – Jacob
The wall wasn’t going to hold. The young Savages had already started breaking through, and Sid was about to deliver the final blow to bring the whole structure down. Ren and Max called for all their warriors to pull back as Sid cracked an Ancient Rune. For a moment, the Savage passion had calmed, this didn’t last long though as a bright red light began to consume the base of the wall and was followed by an epic explosion. The Savage forces were blown back and a huge cloud engulfed Sid, the young Savages, and the walls of Aos. As the smoke cleared, the wall began to tumble to the ground; along with the crashing of stone, all that could be heard was the blaring horns of Yeval followed by the cheers of their warriors. Ren, Max, and Kal all looked to one another, proud of what their people were on the brink of accomplishing.
They broke down their walls, but this battle was far from over.
“Their walls have fallen, gather the others.” – Van
With Zapp and Shad gathering the rest of the Mystics, Van went to Veida. Veida’s ability to control her power remained out of her grasp, but that is exactly what Van was counting on for this battle. If all else failed, Van could count on Veida’s unnatural abilities to annihilate those who posed a threat to their mission. As Van approached Veida, the glow in her eyes intensified as she was manipulating the life that surrounded her, moving it back and forth through the aether. Van asked Veida if she was ready for what was to come, she confirmed, but there was tension between them. Van was still keeping a secret from her, and she knew it.
The Savages were now within the “Perfect City”. As they pressed forward, Ramus harnessed an Ancient Rune and ran interference to derail their assault. With the cracking of the Ancient Rune, a forcefield began to surround him and with his weapon charged he began to fire, taking Savage warriors down one by one. Frustrated, Dani, powered by a Rune, grabbed her hammer, and smashed the forcefield, rendering it useless. Once it came down, Ren and a swarm of Savage warriors overtook the space that Ramus was previously occupying.
Ramus quickened and fell back to convene with Zak and Filip. They knew that they were outmatched on the ground and needed some way to turn the tide. Overhearing the conversation, Dean spoke up and called to Filip to come to the lab with Mal and Raine. Raine dove into the fact that the lab, aka “Heart of Aos”, was the most fortified part of the city, and with that Dean was hit with a stroke of genius!
“What if we lured the Savages into where our stockpile is and harness all Runes within the stockpile to create an infinite forcefield, sealing them within the ‘Heart of Aos’!” – Dean
As the excitement began to fade, Mal went into what the plan would require: time, which they didn’t have much of, a way to lure the Savages into the mines, and that someone would have to be the one to harness all that power. Filip then brought this plan to Zak, and without hesitation Zak went along with it, trusting his only son. Zak called for Filip and Ramus to be the ones to lure the Savages, since they were the best at quickening. He then asked that Mal accompany Dean down to the mines and begin synthesizing what was left of their stockpile. Lastly, he asked that Raine come with him and with the power of the Ancient Runes, isolate and force the Savage warriors into the “Heart of Aos”, to which she smiled.
As they walked through the rubble at the entrance of Aos, Van couldn’t help but smile at the occasion. The city had been taken and now it was time to ensure a Savage victory and close the book on this quest for vengeance that had consumed Van all these years. Zapp quickly pointed out that they would need to find a way around to get to where the stockpile was being stored, as the Savages had moved in a direct line towards the heart of the city. Van then directed Victor to infiltrate and see what was happening. As Victor wandered, he stumbled upon the sea of Savage warriors and attempted to break into one of their minds. Unbeknownst to him, it was Mara. Immediately upon the attempt, the rage within Mara’s untamed mind sent Victor to the ground, he was incapacitated. This was a first, and Van was enraged by the damage done to his eldest friend. Van called to his followers and ordered that they unleash the power of the unnatural upon the Savages of Yeval.
Ren’s passion continued driving her people in this fight. She was the harbinger rage, but more than that she was the leader her people trusted to take care of them. With Max by her side, Ren pushed her people forward proclaiming, “we are no longer just survivors begging for the mercy of those around us, we are the Savages of Yeval!”. As they closed in on the “Heart of Aos”, they noticed two men suddenly appear in front of them – Filip and Ramus. “Press forward”, she yelled as the two men surrounded by a blue forcefield began to harness their Runes, opening fire on the approaching warriors. The warriors’ numbers were dwindling, but they still outnumbered the Intellects 20:1.
Jacob had finally lost is voice just in time for the Marvels to approach the fallen city. The Ancients came to the front of the pack, followed by Bale and Mak, with Jed trailing up the rear. The scene was unreal. The Marvels were stricken with the reality of what had taken place, and the visions of the past once plaguing Jed’s mind had returned. Jed ordered that his people turn back, stating that they had no place to add any more casualties to this fight. Bale, backed by Barrett and Ria, opposed, and called upon Kelchin and Joco to intervene. The Ancients refused, and Kelchin went onto tell them that in times like this they cannot intervene, for they must decide their own fate. Jed, caretaker, left it to his people to decide and even Mak, Jed’s only surviving comrade from the battle with Draxa, sided with the young Marvels.
Wisp and Vera were unable to contain themselves as the Mystics approached the site of the battle, that is until a huge bolt of energy knocked them off their feet, followed by a flash revealing Zak and Raine coming in behind a sea of Savage warriors. Zak had in his hands the newest weapon to be created from the Runes of Ede, and along with Raine they quickly were able to turn the tide of battle, forcing the Savages towards the mines just in time for Filip and Ramus to get away. Van was in disbelief that Zak was willingly pushing these warriors towards their stockpile, effectively destroying the power of the Intellects. Zak and Raine were unaware of the Mystics behind them. That is until Zak happened to glance over his shoulder and see Van.
In shock, Zak lost all focus and their forcefield collapsed. Raine was shaking him, trying to get him to continue with the plan, but he was unresponsive. As Zak surveyed the group of Mystics, he noticed a girl, around Dean’s age, by Van’s side. As he tried to reconcile who it may be, Raine was able to pull him back into the fight as the Savage warriors began to charge at them. Raine, a master strategist, recognized the distance between them, the Savage warriors, and the Mystics behind them and waited patiently as the two forces drew closer. Just as they came within a few feet of them, Raine cracked the Ancient Rune she had stored in her pack and teleported them to safer ground.
Tin, bewildered as to how Raine did that, was face to face with an enemy they had never heard of before. Leading the charge, she was able to dig her sword into a Mystic and she was met with laughter and a smile, it was Wisp. As Wisp fell to the ground, she harnessed a Rune and with her fall, multiple Savage warriors began to be met with phantom sword strikes, taking them out as well. Like Wisp, with any Mystic death, they were immediately revived as soon as Van walked through their path. Van had mastered the technique and now with the power of the Runes he could revive his legion as many times as necessary and put them right back into the fight.
“They’re reapers!” – Tin
Dean and Mal were still at work in the mines, preparing the stockpile for the final phase of their plan. As time passed though, the two grew concerned that there was no sign of the Intellects or Savages. At this point, they knew that something had gone wrong, so they quickly climbed back up to the lab to see what was happening on the ground. The view was incredible yet horrifying all at once. A sea of red, blue, and purple filled the grounds beneath them, and they couldn’t help but be amazed by the power being displayed. Once the shock and awe wore off, Dean started to look for his father amongst the sea of colors clashing against each other.
Zak and Raine had teleported to the outer rim of the city to regroup as the Savages and Mystics began battle. From afar, Zak couldn’t help but be amazed by the ability of the Mystics to inflict critical damage to the Savage forces when slain, causing fatalities in their wake. He then noticed that the fallen Mystics would rise as Van passed by their bodies, allowing his small army to continue the onslaught.
As this onslaught carried on, Ren was struck with the realization that her people were not prepared for an enemy of this magnitude. The Mystics were smaller in number, but their “reaper” abilities combined with Van’s harnessing of the Runes to revive his fallen warriors was proving to be too much. Ren was heartbroken looking on and watching her people take on losses, Mara and the rest of the young Savages knew they had to act quickly.
With rubble beneath their feet, the Marvels continued their trek through Aos to join the fight. As they drew closer, the skies were filled with color and what was revealed was quite jarring. All the information the Ancients brought to them was being shown on full display and though Jed remained cautious, the young Marvels and Mak were ready to fight. Medo, excited, began passing out the Runes to her comrades. Once the Marvels were armed, Jacob led them in a full-on sprint to join the battle. As always, Jed took his time trailing up the rear – patient, humble, measured.
Looking on, Zak and Raine noticed the group of Marvels rushing towards the fight. Raine quickly then recognized that as the Marvels attacked from the rear, they naturally would begin pressing the Savages and Mystics back towards the mines. Acting quickly, the two moved to the base of the lab as quickly as possible to regroup with Mal, Dean, Filip, and Ramus. Closing in on the lab, Ramus and Filip were running through their stockpiles at absurd rates just to maintain a protective field around themselves and the “Heart of Aos”, Raine and Zak knew they had to act quickly to execute this plan at greater scale to account for additional Marvels and Mystics.
With a supply of Runes at her disposal, a shield in one arm, and a sword in the other, Mara, the Savage Savior, called for the Savages to fall back to the heart of the city and to allow for the Mystics to come to them. With Ren worried for her people’s safety, Max and Kal were working through a strategy with the young Savages and caught on to the fact that the Mystics were only being revived as they pressed forward, and Van was able to walk along their paths to revive them. To slow this revival, the Savages must force the Mystics into a smaller space, forcing Van to move horizontally, leaving gaps in the protection formed by the Mystics around him. As the Mystics drew close enough, Mara and the young Savages all cracked their remaining Runes, igniting the sky in blood red. Ren, inspired, joined the line, and called to her people, “This moment may be yours, but remember who we are fighting for. Our children and their children’s children deserve to live in a better world, and today is the day we create that new world!” What followed were guttural screams of rage and passion as the Savage warriors began working through their newfound enemies.
Van wasn’t afraid of this; he was prepared for this level of passion, power, and rage. What did strike fear into him though was when he heard the footsteps behind them and began to look over his shoulder, revealing a small tribe of Marvels igniting their might with the power of the Runes of Ede. As each of the forces collided into one another, the light of the Mystics was quickly enveloped by a sea of red and gold. After all this time and all this planning, Van never thought it could end up like this. The Marvels were working their way through the enemies in front of them and Bale’s ferocity was shining through. Each strike delivered was causing him and his band of Marvels to grow in power and strength. As they pushed forward, they only continued to transcend the stories that had been told of the Marvels of the past. Van and Zak’s shared nightmare had become a reality.
As the Mystics were fighting to survive, Van looked to Veida. Veida had been spending the entire fight by his side and now as the walls were closing in, the two of them had no place to go before they and the rest of their people would be vanquished, unable to be revived. Turmoil overtook Veida, fighting to reconcile the secrets kept from her while also fighting to ensure that her powers, held within the darkness of the unnatural, would not consume her or those she cared for. Her eyes, glowing, began to wander until she locked eyes with a man. A man she had never known but in this moment had always known. In that moment she erupted and allowed the darkness to flow through her and all those around her, devastating the battlefield and collapsing the ground beneath them.
Suddenly, amongst calamity all that could be heard was a voice screaming, “NOW!”. The man she had locked eyes with, Zak, along with his son Dean by his side and the remaining Intellects worked together to harness the full power of all the Runes within their stockpile and form an impenetrable fortress of energy, sealing the Savages, Mystics, and Marvels inside all at once.
The damage done to their city was immeasurable, and with Veida’s harnessing of the darkness, the grounds surrounding the heart of Aos were completely caved in. The mines were still intact, and with that lied the hope to rebuild their home, but what were the Intellects to do now to keep their enemies sealed away?
As everyone stuck within the fortress was scrambling, the Marvels were only looking for one person: Jed, their caretaker. As they slowly started to realize that Jed had never made it to the battlefield, they noticed that the sky was beginning to darken, and the city was beginning to fill with the rumblings of thunder and the cracks of lightning. The Intellects had never seen such a thing occur so rapidly, and Dean’s eyes began to wander. The answer was found within seconds and an eruption of cheers began coming from the sealed fortress.
His eyes were completely white as he held his patented weapon in the air with the power of the Ancients flowing through him. This was something only Mak and the Ancients had seen many years ago – Jed, the Awakened Marvel.