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The Plot
A prophecy will be made, and darkness will envelop the land...Can the creatures who live on Azeria survive? Or will even Xohlia crumble and fall?
Details
A new type of magic, blood magic, has suddenly appeared on Xohlia, along with a new race, the demons. The demons were never been much more than a centuries-old rumor to the Xohlians -- but now, they're a rumor that's terrifyingly real. No one knows why they've suddenly started reappearing, and they don't have much time to find out...Soon enough, the Guardians begin to realize that all of the magic is slowly draining from Xohlia. Two of them recieve a prophecy about this from the Goddess; a prophecy which explains that to stop the magic from draining, all of the beings that live on Azeria must work together. But that isn't exactly as simple as it seems: not all of the Xohlians are inclined to play nice. Centuries of rivalry and prejudice aren't the easiest thing to overcome, especially when it comes to races like the vampires. And at the same time, all of the Guardians -- the strongest spellcasters on all Xohlia -- are rapidly losing strength, since they are tied the most strongly to Xohlia and its now-waning elemental power.
Just to make matters worse, Xohlia itself grows more and more volatile as its core magic is drained, leaving the world fragile and out of balance. It starts with bad weather everywhere, starting with the desert and the mountains and spreading out from there. Horrible sandstorms start sweeping over the desert, and they drive the dragons over the mountains, where they try to take refuge in the forest. The faeries aren't too pleased with having a whole bunch of new neighbors in their territory, though, and soon the dragons and the faeries are about to break out in a full-blown war. To top things off, as the magic keeps draining, Xohlia's instability is causing patches of ground to teleport randomly and uncontrollably, transporting not just the ground but anything on it. Can all of the creatures be reunited in time to save Xohlia?
Plot Spoilers
The Nairevi, the demons, are from a parallel dimension, one similar and yet from the Xohlian dimension. (Check the lore page for more on the Nairevi and their culture.)A rare interdimensional rift spontaneously formed near the north end of the Frostfang mountains; but unlike most rifts, this one was relatively stable. It started transporting confused demons over to Xohlia, while Xohlia's magic began to drain into Nairevin's magically-depleted lands. The Seven, who had been preparing for such an opportunity, soon mobilized the demons for something much more devastating: a full-scale invasion of Xohlia.
They hadn't anticipated the rapid draining of Xohlia's magic, though. As the magic pours through the portal, it's begun to revitalize a small part of Nairevin, coaxing the tired land back into a semblance of its once-thriving self. But it takes so much more energy to return life to the land a second time... energy Xohlia can't spare. One planet can't possibly support the magical drain of two worlds, and Xohlia is fading fast.
If the rift isn't closed soon, all the beings will be faced with two dead worlds instead of one. The demons have just realized this, and they are pushing faster and harder, struggling to conquer this new land so they can close the rift before Xohlia bleeds dry. The Xohlians, in their turn, are fighting an ever-more desperate fight to drive the Nairevi back, so they can close the portal. With the beings of two dimensions at cross purposes, can it still be done in time? And which side will succeed?
Plot Log
1/12/08: The plot has started! The portal has opened, and the demons are beginning to emerge.1/15/08: More and more demons have arrived on Xohlia, and they're beginning to interact with Xohlia's normal inhabitants... often, not very nicely. Also, more and more denizens are starting to notice the unusual lack of power on Azeria.
1/17/08: A prophecy has been made by the guardians Celestia and Airmid:
Darkness is coming
Where the sun touches the frost
And with it is returning
Those who once were lost.
While some will be friend
and some will be foe
there is much more at stake;
which you must know.
The magic is draining,
leaving in its wake
Destruction's awakening,
and decisions to make.
If all do not gather,
where the sun touches the frost,
then soon it won't matter,
for Xohlia itself will be lost.
1/20/08-1/27/08: Demons are running rampant over much of Xohlia now, from the plains to the mountains to the faerie's forest. The violence is disturbing, but something even worse has emerged: The faerie king, King Hayden, has chosen to ally the faeries with the demons. What is happening, and why?
1/20/08-1/27/08: A highly-ranked elf lord, Skrael, has suddenly shocked Xohlia by turning to the demon side. The darkness is growing...
1/20/08-1/27/08: The first major sandstorm has appeared, and it is surely just the harbinger of far greater things to come. Some of the denizens are discussing getting together to form a Circle and try to stop the draining magic for once and for all. Will this idea work, even if they can really get all the beings to band together?
1/27/08-2/15/08: Conflict across Xohlia is growing at a fast rate, not to mention the rapidly weakening world. Two of the guardians, Celestia and Airmid, plan to talk to the council that rules over this world. Will their idea work?
2/16/08: A random blast of uncontrollable elemental magic served to transport a confused adventurer across the length of Azeria. This is a sign of just how chaotic the world has become, yet it is still only a harbringer of the doom that will fall if Xohlia can't be saved.
2/17/08-3/8/08 The world continues to lose strength and magic at an alarming rate. The Gardians, now so weak they are nearly mortal, have finally made it to the elusive council; will they help, or will the beings of Xohlia need to deal with this on their own?
3/16/08: A new theory has been put forward: The demon dimension is an older, weaker dimension, and the portal is allowing it to steal magic from the younger Xohlia, draining Xohlia but not really revitalizing the demon world. If this keeps up, soon both worlds will have changed beyond all recognition.
3/20/08: Two of the guardians, Celestia and Airmid, have finally found the council... but something seems to be wrong. The council refused to see the guardians, an event which has never happened before in all of Xohlia's history. Could something be corrupting the council as well?
3/21/08-4/4/08: A consensus is forming amongst the beings scattered all over Azeria: they must meet in the Frostfang mountains, and try to find the portal. Then, they must fight to save their beloved world; the demon armies are massing to cross through the portal, and they are many thousands strong. The only hope they have is to muster enough power to close the portal, before it becomes too late.
4/5/08-6/11/08: The demon army gains strength and power, as they prepare for the final battle; the demon advance guard alone numbers more than five thousand. The outnumbered Xohlians race towards the portal, hoping they can somehow get there in time and close the portal, before it becomes too late.
6/12/08-8/15/08: Xohlia is literally falling apart, the edges of the land starting to crumble. Uncontrollable magic is running rampant over Azeria, which has been a relatively safe haven until now. Only the strongest mages can possibly even hope to direct this power, and the sheer force of the magic is tearing the world apart before the very eyes of its inhabitants. Their only hope now is the army, still not fully assembled. But what can such a small force do against all the demons?
8/15/08-4/15/09: Groups of Xohlians are tricking into the mountains, already exhausted by the long and dangerous journey to get there. Shocked, they discover that the portal is no longer the small gap it had been; now, it's a giant, swirling hole through their dimension, large enough for ten demons to march through side by side, and so tall that it seems to have become a giant doorway. Meanwhile, on the other side, a demon army many times stronger then the Xohlians masses for war. How can they ever stop this power-thirsty horde?
** Portal description:
The portal started as a small thing, nearly colorless -- rather like a heat haze (albeit one in the heart of Frostfang), barely big enough for a single being to squeeze through. After weeks of continuous work by the demon warlocks, though, it's been widened and stabilized. Now, it's large enough for ten foot soldiers to march through abreast, and a good thirty or forty feet high. And it's no longer colorless: swirls of deep purple-black crawl over a lighter violet background, ever moving and changing. From the Xohlian side, you can catch a dim view of the demon lands beyond; and vice versa, as if it were a giant window of malign magic.
The portal needs to be maintained and stabilized by constant blood sacrifices, and teams of demon warlocks work on it in relays around the clock. To close the portal, the Xohlians will need to fight their way through the demon army, and kill the casters holding the rift open. The portal should close on its own if they can do that; but there's no way to tell how many bystanders such a large rifts would take with it, Xohlian or demon. Not only do they need to kill the warlocks, but the Xohlians need to find a way to control the rift as it closes.
4/16/09 - 5/10: The Xohlians have lost their race against time. The majority of the Xohlian army is still mustering in Riian, an elven city-state in the north of Silvermoon; but the demons are already coming through the portal, and set up a temporary camp on the other side. The few Xohlians who've made it to Frostfang watch in horror and despair. Quite simply, their only chance is to close the portal now. But what will happen if they do? How will they control the magical backlash? And even if they manage to survive, what will they do with the entire demon army trapped in their world?
5/10 - 11/10: A small spark of hope has come in the form of the Guardian of Arcane, Rhaevyn. Rhaevyn has offered to move the Xohlian army from Riaan to the edge of Frostfang through a series of portals. The massive effort required for such a task, difficult even for a Guardian at full power, will strain Rhaevyn to the limit and will destroy some of the networks of arcane magic around Riaan, leaving the city without the magical power it uses for everyday tasks. But what choice is there? Xohlian warriors and mages turn their footsteps toward Riaan as the word spreads, hastening to catch up with the army before it leaves.
11/10 - current: The Guardian of Arcane has opened the first portal outside Riaan, sending the allied army's scouts through to a lake near the Frostfang foothills. Almost simultaneously, though, a blast of demon magic alerted Sophina, Guardian of Air, to the demon's widening of the portal. Nearly twice as wide, now, the gaping rift can transport the remaining demon soldiers even faster. Shock and desperation ripple through the army outside Riaan, but they can only move as quickly as the Guardian of Arcane can open portals.
Credit
Coding and graphics made by Mist.Everything on this page is property of Xohlia and its members, so don't steal. Or you'll have a lovely spot on the Wall of Shame.
