The final entry in this chapter of the Summoner's story is the demonic relic shield, Adrath:
To wrap up the story, here is the lore.
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I followed Ardelrius through the broken wall into a dark
corridor. A singe row of multi-colored stones faintly lit the way. The end of
the hall slowly opened into another large room with a carved metal altar in the
center. A large indiscernible object sat on the platform, sealed under deep
black crystal chains. Four brilliant columns of light burst around the altar,
forming before us.
The first shape was a brilliant yellow-gold light that faded
around what appeared to be woman of unknown age. She had deep glowing strands
of golden hair and was clothed in a flowing armored robe. A sharp crown-like
ornament sat on her head, bound with intricate gold chains. The second form
emerged from the green aura. Taller than the first, a large male figure clad in
deep green armor made of tangled vines and thorns stood silently, his mouth
obscured by a large metal extension of the armor. The third, emerging from the
pillar of crimson was another male was slightly shorter but heavily built. His
frame was protected by a layer of asymmetrical metallic plates of dark red
armor, colors that contrasted against his spiky orange hair. Finally, the
fourth ray of blue light shattered around the form of the final being. The male
creature looked human but was cloaked in a deep gray cape. An armored hand
parted the covering revealing scale-like armor beneath. Two narrow yellow eyes
pierced from behind cold blue strands of hair that reached to the man’s
shoulders. A black carved circlet sat upon his brow. An odd few moments of
silence passed, the four staring ominously at the Faceless Summoner before
them.“So,” the orange haired man growled. “This is the Seed that tests the might of the four gods.”
“Yes,” answered the second in the green armor. “It would
that seem the tree very much retains a will of its own.”
“We, the four gods have taken this form since our ethereal
bodies were destroyed,” explained the woman. She spoke gently but with little
emotion. “I am Diyara.”
“This one is called Ferroq,” spoke the man in the green
armor. His voice once again seemed to echo, his mouth hidden behind his armor.
“I am Kulradon,” the orange-haired one declared, gesturing
with a plated gauntlet.
“I am the leader of the four gods.” The armored blue-haired
being walked up to Ardelrius. He was easily a head taller than the Summoner.
“You know me as Sairos.”
“What is this?” I managed to mutter from behind Ardelrius.
All five immediately turned to look at me.
“The four gods were once humans that lost their lives
protecting something they held dear,” answered Ardelrius, looking over its
shoulder at me. “Their souls were given eternal power in exchange for serving
as guardians.”
“For many generations we were sealed within this temple,”
Diyara explained, her green eyes locked with mine. “It wasn’t until the relic
was brought to this inner sanctum that we were awakened.”
“The one who crafted it must have feared its power.”
Kulradon offered with a grunt. “We were tasked with keeping the unworthy from
laying a hand on it.”
“Many a beast and demon tried to brave our trials,” Sairos
crossed his arms. “Their greed and feeble souls were smashed to pieces by our
power. Now, it seems one with true purpose has appeared.”
“I am wary of the Tree of Souls,” Ferroq muttered.
“However, if the great trial is nearly upon us, it cannot be helped.”
“We, the four gods relinquish the forbidden relic,” Sairos
spread his arms. “With nothing more to protect, we shall become the guardians
of the Tree.”
Before I could speak, each of the gods vanished into bursts
of light. The branches of Ardelrius’ staff resonated, glowing with the same aura. On
the main body, four new “eyes” appeared, each matching the colors of the gods.
In seconds, the glow faded, everything receding back into the staff. My
companion had apparently acquired the gods’ power. We moved forward to the
altar.As Ardelrius stood before the obscured object, the crystalline chains broke, shattering into millions of shards and dissolving. A large rectangular form was revealed on the altar. Looking like the face of a demon contorted into a snarl, the object was shaped like a Great Shield. Bright stones were set into the surface and four twisting extensions spoked out from the corners. The beast’s head was crowned with three black horns. Ardelrius reached down with its free arm and hefted the object. Securing the shield to its arm with a pair of heavy chains, the Faceless Summoner brandished its staff in the other hand.
“You now possess the Soulsealer Aegis, Adrath,” we heard
Sairos’ voice echo. “It will awaken when in the presence of one with
unbreakable conviction.”
With that, Ardelrius turned and started out of the temple
without saying a word, carrying the shield on its arm. I followed after.
“Where are we going now?” I asked the Faceless Summoner.
Ardelrius stopped and glanced over, burning through me with hollow eyes.
“To find its owner.”
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| Front/rotated view |
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| Adrath's emblem |
That's the last new entry in this chapter of the Faceless Summoner's story! I've got some ideas on where the lore will go next but I don't know when all of the parts of the next big piece will be done. I have considered using the site to post lore articles in between major events and I might start doing that. Lore articles would be small to medium-length written narrative pieces meant to either further the story or explain some of the characters. We'll see. I might do a compilation video for the Four Gods pieces so that might go up in the next week or so. I also want to do a full product review of the pose figures I posted on Twitter. In the meantime, content will continue to go up on DA and I'll be sticking to the regular video posting schedule and (mostly) regular drawing streams on Twitch!
Thanks for visiting!
~Zan