Name: Kenric Ordheim
Class: Prophet
Level: 5
Title: 4th Son of the Earl of Ordheim, Squire of Eastcheap Manor
Divine Domain: Fate
Attributes
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 30
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 43
Perception: 21
Charisma: 16
Active Spell Slots: 4 of 9
Minor Heal
Minor Cube of Confusion
Lesser Barrier of Light
Caretaker’s Guidance
Passive Spell Slots: 0 of 2
(None)
Skills:
Lore Sight
Equipped:
Weapon: Warden’s Staff
Body: Monk’s Habit (Brown)
Legs: Linen Pants
Feet: Blight Wardens Boots
Inventory
Rune Lockbox
The Gateway to Heaven and Hell-Book
Skills of the Purgatorium Mystics-Book
Strategic Domination-Book
Dungeon Delver’s-Book
Eye of Xat
Ring of Light’s Promise
Quests:
Deliver the Rune Lockbox to Hierophant Johannes. There is no time limit on this quest.
Success: Ord +500 Renown. [1] Rare Item
Failure: Ord -500 Renown.
Locate the Shards of Ara! (1 of 6)
Locate all Shards of Ara to unlock the lost Skills of Ara’s Priesthood!
Success: One ARA Skill unlock per Shard
Failure: Skill lost indefinitely
Locate the Lost Temple of Twilight
Success: +100 Faction Light and Shadow Pantheon.
Failure: -100 Faction Light and Shadow Pantheon.
Duration: This Quest has no time limit.
Before I took another step, I finally equipped the Ring of Light’s Promise I had gained within the Spiral of Ara, which gave me another +3 to my Wisdom and increased all my Enhancement spell effects by 5%. It was unfortunate I had no such spells at the moment, but spells to buff myself would undoubtedly come with greater Faction gains, so I didn’t worry about it.
Ring of Light’s Promise
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Grade: D
Class: Priest
Level: 5
Slot: Finger
Quality: Uncommon
Primaries: +3 Wisdom
Secondaries: +5% Increase to all Enhancement Spells
The first room I encountered upon entering Monk’s Cell reminded me of the first chamber I had entered in the Spiral of Ara, a safe room. There was artwork on the wall, of all things. Perfectly rendered scenes of a man and a woman…no, a male Elf and a female Elf walking hand in hand through sunny valleys, resting beside a flowing river and standing atop a wide plateau looking down onto the cloud covered tops of a forest.
ARA AND MIR BIRTH THE WORLD
“Hmm, well this coincides with everything I’ve been taught. Minus the Elf part.” I figured it didn’t really matter what race a God was. A God was a God whether they were shown as Human, Elf, Dwarf or whatever. Even Great Ord could choose to appear as a Dwarf if he so chose, I suppose. I had once seen a picture of Hul depicted as an old, barefoot degenerate with barely any teeth in a book once.
Choose your path! Faith is Belief, but it is also a challenge to one’s understanding of their place in the Universe. Each picture will lead you down a different route that will test your faith. Only one path can be chosen. Abandoning the challenge prematurely will result in automatic expulsion from the sub-sector.
“So, each of the portraits will lead me to a different challenge?” I scratched my head. Which do I choose? I’d like the path of least resistance if at all possible. There was no way to tell which one that would be. Walking through a Valley. A River. A Plateau looking over a Forest. There was really nothing to indicate what degree of difficulty each one was or if one of them would be harder or more dangerous than the other.
“Ord, I’m such a fool!” I smacked myself in the forehead and activated Lore Sight and looked upon each picture once more.
Lore: When Ara and Mir first created the Valley of Summer in what is now Blightmoor upon the Northern Continent, they discovered the first Well of Mana they used to prompt the first Dungeon Cores into existence.
Ding!
Lore Sight has advanced to Tier IV! Lore will now provide Advanced information.
Advanced Lore: Not all Dungeon Cores were removed from the Well of Mana and likely still rest somewhere with sub-sectors DY9830, RZ8764 and KL2323.
“Mir’s Grace!” Using Lore Sight had been the right move. The experience I had gained from using the unique skill had been enough to lift me all the way to Tier IV.
“So if I take this path, I have a chance to find an actual Dungeon Core?” The implications of that were staggering. If I was interpreting the Lore correctly. A Dungeon Core was a gateway to incredible wealth, without question. Should I then try my luck with this challenge?
What if it deposits you in the middle of Blightmoor, Kenric? That’s a lot of Undead.
Maybe I would just look to see what the other pictures offered first? I looked at Ara and Mir resting by the river.
Lore: Ara and Mir’s youngest child was Una, the Elemental of Water whose elation over her parent’s creation sent her dancing across the world, creating the rivers, lakes and even the snowy tops that blanket the tallest mountains. However, when she accidentally intruded into her eldest brother Pyr’s domain within Stonefire Mountain, the two argued for a century over whose claim to the mountain was greater. The argument was mediated by Eui, who convinced them to share the mountain. Together, the three Elementals created new wonders of metal, crystal and stone that can only be found within Stonefire Mountain.
Advanced Lore: When the Dwarves first discovered the deeps of Stonefire Mountain, they raised a temple to honor the Gods for the gifts of metal they discovered there. Long abandoned, ancient secrets still rest within sector BD0002 regarding the earliest priests of Aramyr.
“Now that would be useful to have,” I said excitedly. One of my biggest personal challenges with my class was that I was all but certain no Trainer existed for the Prophet class and I therefore didn’t have any sort of blueprint to follow for what I should do to organize a proper build for myself. If there was something within the Temple that could help me with my search for more knowledge, then this was likely the path to take. “One more to check first, then I’ll decide.”
Lore: With the races and creatures of the world being watched over and managed by the Mystics of Purgatorium, Ara and Mir rested and took great pleasure in watching their creation grow. However, denizens of the Void grew jealous over the abundant use of Mana and began to plot over how to take Aramyr for themselves.
Advanced Lore: The first Infernal incursion occurred when humans still lived as tribal clans, whereas the Elves had created the White City of Elion dedicated to Ara. Both sides had largely avoided one another up to this point, but united against the Infernals at the Battle of Tall Trees (sector KF2354).
Ding!
Lore Sight has advanced to Tier V!
Additional advancements available!
Skills can gain extra powers?
That was something he hadn’t read about before. Skills gained levels the more they were used. Redundant skills and spells could be “retired” when more powerful abilities were learned. I doubted I would use Minor Heal as often once I was able to learn the stronger Heal spell, for example. I focused upon the Lore Sight skill and examined the new power options.
Lore Combatant: When used upon a Hostile target, Lore will now display {1} Weakness and {1} Active skill or Passive. Cannot be resisted.
Lore Seeker: Your Status Map will now indicate where *hidden pieces of Lore may be found once you enter within a 5 mile radius of its location.
*Note: Not all indicated Lore will be guaranteed to be useful or safe!
Lore Deep Sight: Gain increased insight and knowledge into Target’s background and motivations/functions. Raising this skill’s level will allow for greater knowledge to become available and a deeper understanding of the Target itself/themselves. No level limit.
“Well, that first one is definitely out.” While I could see the benefits of knowing an opponents weaknesses, conflicts were not something I actively wanted to seek out. “But am I being shortsighted?” I paused. “I’m going to have to fight if I want to keep leveling up. I imagine Sneed or even Leif must have some weakness I could exploit?”
I’ll come back to this one.
Lore Seeker was unfortunately probably out too, despite being the most interesting. Having a way to locate points of interest or even possible treasures loaded automatically onto his Map? Oh yes, that would be wonderful! Yet, it wasn’t really a priority that I go on treasure hunts. Or could it help me find more Shards of Ara?
“Wik, take these decisions!” I swore aloud. If I was being honest with myself, I wanted all of them, including Lore Deep Sight. What might I be able to learn further from a big upgrade to the current skill? They would all be incredibly useful. However, I could only choose one and I made my decision without further hesitation.
You have selected Lore Deep Sight.
It came down to what was useful in the here and now. A better Map wouldn’t help him in this challenge, and while he would undoubtedly encounter enemies, he would rather know more about them than how to kill them. Lore Deep Sight was the only logical decision.
“Alright, now for this,” I said as I turned back to the three paintings. I had made my decision on this as well. I approached the painting of Ara and Mir resting by the river and tentatively reached out a hand. The painting began to glow and as I placed my hand fully upon the picture there was a flash of light and I was once again sent somewhere else.
