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Die Verlorene Insel2.
Der Todesritter3.
Kreaturen-Kombination4.
Gilden-Update5.
Hidden Dungeons6.
Neue ItemsDer Todesritter
The Death Tyrant is a suit of armor that has become possessed by a restless spirit that seeks revenge on the living. As they grow, they recover more pieces of their suit of armor and finally gain a spectral horse to ride on. Death Tyrants are vicious creatures that focus on dealing melee damage with a quick attack speed, and they can afflict their enemies with a variety of debuffs and drain health with their attacks.
Curious CatsTwilight was falling in the frozen Marduka outpost. A group of four scruffy Marduka explorers warmed their paws on a fire crackling over a patch of dirt that was freed from the smothering blanket of snow that seemed to engulf everything. The weather was quite unfriendly, and it had been a long day of work getting the outpost up and running. The exhausted explorers were already feeling refreshed from their well earned supper and the warming glow of the campfire, but the downtime let their minds wander and their aggravation rose once again at being chosen for the expeditionary team to the Veiled Island.
"I can't believe we were forced to come to this abysmal island to set up this outpost!" growled Terjahn, the largest of them. The veteran warrior's gray fur was patchy from the multitude of battle scars he had received from the lucky few of the countless foes he had slain, and his left fang was chipped severely from a blow to the head from a heavy mace. "What do the chieftains even expect us to find here? What enemies could possibly stand this weather and still be strong enough to fight against us?"
Shuno, the wise and charismatic healer, gave a carefully calculated reply, "The constant fog and extreme temperatures that have prevented us from exploring in the past have now lessened. This climate change may have resulted in strange and potentially aggressive creatures awakening, or perhaps their awakening is what has caused the change in weather. The chance of finding foes is as good as the chance of finding allies or even treasures, and it makes this a valuable expedition that could greatly benefit our people." Shuno habitually motioned with his intricately adorned arms as he spoke, occasionally stroking the fur on his chin while his mind worked. While the others had left their gear inside, he still rested his staff against his shoulders, never leaving it out of his reach. Experience had taught him that a good spell always comes in handy.
Shier and Veli listened intently to the words being spoken, as they too were curious as to why they had been sent to explore this desolate island. Shier's blue fur blended in perfectly with the surroundings, making the hunter easily able to sneak up on prey to be turned into dinner, though unfortunately his especially acute sense of smell was dulled by the cold air. His sister, Veli, sat beside him, idly manipulating the tongues of flame from the campfire into dancing shapes with her magic, making her green fur glow.
"What about the legends of those animated suits of armor that roam the secret depths of the Veiled Island?" questioned Veli, "If the legends are true, the lands we are exploring could be their prison." She shuddered at the thought of the cold, heartless Death Tyrants endlessly searching for them.
"The Death Tyrants..." muttered Shuno with a sense of doom, "It is said that many years ago, when the land of Gaia had barely been tread by the Asura and Deva, a mighty and evil Asuran king sought to unify the world in the terror of his icy grip. Parched from his thirst for power and complete domination, he sought the four swords of ice that were forged by the Goddess. The swords were created for the purpose of protecting the Goddess; however King Marek knew that if he could acquire them, he would be able to fully control the element of water and ice. With this power, none would be strong enough to stand against his rule."
"He gathered a massive army of the most powerful warriors and magicians and sieged the holy domain of the Goddess, crushing her guards and taking her servants captive. Asura are known for their swiftness, and by the time the Goddess received word of the attack they had seized the four swords of ice from her armory and were attempting to escape. Enraged at this act of hostility, she struck down his armies, their bodies falling back to the earth on the island we now know to be the Veiled Island. Marek fled to the safety of his kingdom with not only the swords, but with the lovely maiden named Kaia. He had fallen in love with her at first sight and kidnapped her to make into his wife.
"Shortly thereafter, he took a sizable expeditionary force to the veiled island to search for any survivors of his fallen army, taking Kaia and the swords with him. They found the countless bodies of his army scattered across the land, and set out to bury them and set their souls to rest, however the work could not be completed in a single day so they camped there for the night. This was the fateful night that Kaia crept from her bed and stabbed Marek with a tiny dagger while he slept. Merely wounded from the attack, he rose in a fury and cast her aside. Seizing the swords in hand, he condemned her to lie at the bottom of the lake at the center of the island, frozen solid. After freezing his beloved Kaia, he slowly bled to death and froze as the unsatisfied swords took hold of the entire island, smothering it in a blizzard."
"His fallen army, lying mostly unburied, became frozen into the hard soil, and his expeditionary force would never make it home alive through the storm. The restless spirits of his armies roamed the frozen wastelands, possessing their old suits of armor, and they became known as the Death Tyrants. They are still rumored to wander the depths of the island to this day, seeking vengeance against the Goddess and their master for their fate and slaying any that come in their path. We can only imagine what forces could have caused the swords to lessen their grip on this island."
"I don't want to be slain!" cried Veli, holding her tail tightly. "What if they come for us?" Distracted from the gentle magic she had been weaving, the fire had gratefully returned to obeying nature instead of her will.
"Those old wives tales are meant to scare cubs into obeying their parents! You can't possibly believe that they are true?" scoffed Terjahn, "Don't worry, kitten, I won't let the big bad Death Tyrant get you. Hah!" He chortled with a thick vigor that would instill fear into the strongest of enemies, but it only set his allies on edge.
Khani, the leader of their group, strode out from inside their tent, curious of this talk of Death Tyrants. She was a very small but fierce looking Marduka battle summoner; her fur was colored in the shapes of runes from the powerful control spells she commanded so easily, yet her right ear was missing from a taming attempt that went wrong when she was still young. Her magnificent white dragon remained in the tent, slumbering peacefully while its card remained secured in its owner's pack.
"What ghost stories are we telling now?" she asked the group in her gently melodic voice. "We don't need to be twisting our tails with tales of these supposed Death Tyrants. For all we know, they don't even exist. Proof of a Death Tyrant has never been found, so there is no point in losing sleep over them. Even if they do exist, I'm sure we could handle them. After all, we are the best, right?" Her fangs glistened as she grinned confidently, setting her companions at ease. Little did she know that as she comforted her companions, a lone Death Tyrant had spotted their campfire from the distance and was making its way to investigate.
"Wait a minute, do you see that over there?" Shier asked. He pointed into the darkness where the flickering light of the campfire feared to venture. Their feline eyes pierced farther through the shadows and saw the outline of a shape coming towards them, with two fiery green eyes glaring emotionlessly at them.
The Death Tyrant's suit of armor was cracked and broken in various places, but all of the fragments lingered as if they were attracted to the spirit. The ornate helmet levitated above the suit of armor, with an intricate red tuft adorning the spear protruding from the top. The mail that was to be worn under the suit was shredded and dangled uselessly in the air along with the tattered red cape. The shoulderplates were massive and were adorned with golden horned faces to intimidate enemies, but the most frightening thing was the massive two-handed sword being dragged through the snow by the gauntlets that were floating in the air near the armor. The lower half of the armor was missing, presumably buried somewhere on the island.
As the Death Tyrant slowly approached, the Mardukans scrambled to the tent for their weapons. The Death Tyrant brought with it a coldness that dampened and finally killed the fire, causing darkness to fall around the camp. Shuno remained outside and prepared to engage the spirit that was now approaching at a much faster rate. He channeled his energy and in a burst of holy light the Death Tyrant was bombarded with six slicing beams. Shuno followed this up quickly by summoning a bright spear of light from the heavens to crash into the Death Tyrant's helmet, knocking the tassel off of it. The spells were executed masterfully, but only caused the Death Tyrant to pause for a brief moment before continuing its approach.
The others emerged from the tent, prepared for combat. Terjahn roared mightily and charged the Death Tyrant, swinging his massive axe with such force that when it crashed into the ground it shook the earth. The Death Tyrant had nimbly dodged the attack and was swinging back at the warrior with lightning fast speed. Before the blow connected, Terjahn imbued himself with the essence of invulnerability, causing the attack to only lightly cut him across the chest. He leapt back, clutching his wound as Veli had just finished casting her spell. A flurry of orbs constructed from dark energy spiraled down, disintegrating the Death Tyrant's helmet and shoulderplates, revealing the nothingness inside of the suit.
"This thing is too fast!" shouted Terjahn to the team of explorers, "It shows no fear or pain at any of our attacks!" Even Terjahn was frightened by the strength and heartlessness of the Death Tyrant.
"We can beat this thing, together!" yelled Khani as Shuno masterfully mended Terjahn's wound with a rapid heal. She cast a spell that would normally cause the victim to fall into a fitful slumber filled with their worst nightmares, but it had no effect on the Death Tyrant. Sheir pelted the Death Tyrant with bolts from his crossbow, which barely phased the spirit as it advanced upon Veli. She froze in terror as the Death Tyrant's fiery gaze pierced into her eyes, causing her soul to begin slowly evaporating and her flesh to soften. She screamed as its sword sliced through her staff and struck her as she feebly attempted to block. Shuno called upon his godly favors and performed a miracle, healing Veli's wounds completely before she shed too much blood. His attempts to save her were in vain as the Death Tyrant ignored the fireball Veli hurled at it and completely drained her soul from her body. The party stared in horror as Veli's empty body slumped to the floor, and the Death Tyrant's armor rapidly repaired itself.
Rejuvenated, the Death Tyrant turned to the others with a clink of its freshly repaired armor. Sheir flew into a mindless rage at the death of his sister and assaulted the Death Tyrant with lightning enchanted bolts. The electricity had little effect on the empty suit of armor, and the Death Tyrant advanced upon him with little regard for his attacks. Sheir fired a bolt that was spiraling with great force which slammed directly into the chest of the Death Tyrant, knocking it back and stunning it briefly. Terjahn took advantage of the Death Tyrant's weakness, and in a barbarians rage he dealt two swift blows to it with his axe, slicing the Death Tyrant's armor into pieces.
Sheir sprinted to his sister's fallen body and held her in his arms as he wailed mournfully. The others looked on and knew that they had a grim journey ahead of them. Khani walked over to the defeated Death Tyrant and looked at the pile of armor lying in the snow. She pondered over her years of experience, thinking of a way to tame one of these spirits. If she could get one on their side, it would greatly sway future battles in their favor. It would be a huge challenge to tame a Death Tyrant, but she was confident that if there was a way, she would find it. She was one of the first battle summoners to tame a white dragon, after all.
"Khani?" asked Shuno tentatively. She had been staring at the Death Tyrant's remains for quite some time in deep thought.
She instantly snapped to attention, "Apparently Death Tyrants are no legend," she said grimly, "We will have to be extremely cautious with this expedition. Shuno, you will need to help me study these remains to learn as much as we can about these things. Terjahn, I want you to help Sheir bury Veli; do your best to help him through this tragedy." Terjahn nodded gravely at Khani's orders, and kneeled alongside Sheir with his hand on his shoulder. Sheir was still clutching his sister's lifeless body in his arms and had calmed down to a choked whimper. As they talked in hushed tones, Shuno moved to inspect the Death Tyrant's ruins with Khani.
"It takes a powerful spirit to possess a suit of armor like this," Shuno speculated, "Its ability to consume souls is extraordinary and means we must be careful with how we fight them, assuming there are more of these things." Shuno sighed as he glanced toward the pair kneeling over Veli's corpse, "I can bring people back from the dead, but their spirit must be returned for the spell to be successful. I can't even sense a trace of Veli's soul; the Death Tyrant has consumed it completely."
Khani felt a chill down her spine as the priest spoke. The Death Tyrants ability to consume souls made the prospect of taming one even more dangerous. "What can we possibly do to fight these? Our spells seemed to hardly do anything, and they are so fast that hitting them is a real challenge. We have no idea how many of these could be wandering around out there. Let's just hope they don't attack us in groups next time." Khani crossed her arms pensively at the situation they were in.
"Well, if we can immobilize them and separate the parts from each other by a good distance, it should break the spirits control over the armor," Shuno ventured. "They are already separated at the elbows and neck; we just have to keep them stunned long enough to move them without getting killed."
While Khani and Shuno were discussing their new opponents, Terjahn and Sheir had gone to bury Veli nearby and were returning from their endeavor. They were on edge from the Death Tyrant's attack, and the cold seeping through their fur made their exhaustion painful. The thick of night was coming, and the defeated fire had no chance of revival as it was now covered in snow from the battle. They looked at it sadly as their heavy breaths escaped their lungs in tiny clouds of warmth, quickly dissolving into the air.
Khani rubbed her eyes and thoughtfully glanced at their tent, "We will need to get some rest for the work to be done tomorrow," she said. "We will take shifts standing guard at the front of the tent through the night. We can't risk a surprise attack from a Death Tyrant."
The others nodded and plodded through the snow towards the tent. As they piled inside for the night, Khani took the first shift outside with a blanket to provide added protection from the cold. As she peered into the snowy darkness around her with expert eyes, she wondered what would become of them.
