Quote from sentineL on 01.07.2022, 17:30

Getting to know the world of Alfira

 

Acquaintance with the dying world of Alfira begins with a dungeon under the Bastion of the Guardians. Waking up and getting out of the sarcophagus after a long sleep, one of the legendary Guardians sees the priestess of the Goddess Elfira in front of him. The woman is very unhappy that the awakening process did not go too well and the Guardian's memory was damaged. Now the ancient creature, created by the asura race to resist the demons, is forced to re-learn how to walk and use their combat and magical abilities. The ghost of one of the Guardians' colleagues, who died during the assault on the Bastion by the Archilich army, should help him in this. The Archilich was then able to capture the Bastion, captivated the souls of the Guardians and turned them into his puppets with the help of dark magic. Only one of them remained lying in a hidden sarcophagus under the Bastion, was able to resist the influence of the necromancer and was now awakened by the power of the Goddess of Life. What about a ghost? After his death, he wandered around the Bastion for decades, witnessing a variety of events, but not being able to influence them. It is he who can tell the story of what happened in Deia, a town near the Bastion, and in the world as a whole, while the Guardian was sealed in a sarcophagus.

The Bastion keeps many secrets of the Guardians, but most of the underground passages were destroyed during the battle with the undead and it is simply impossible to get into it now. Now, in order to get out of the dungeon, you need to bypass the traps and deal with the dead wandering there. Fortunately, even if the Guardian dies, thanks to the Book of Destiny, he can be reborn again. What is the Book of Destiny? Once upon a time, the asuras won the war against the demons - the destroyers of worlds, imprisoned them in the dimension of Limba and went to other worlds, becoming a different, more perfect form of life. However, before leaving, they left an artifact with the souls of great warriors imprisoned in it in case the demons could escape from their imprisonment in the Limbo dimension. When that moment arrived, the artifact activated, releasing the Guardians.

Then the question arises, how did the “ghost” die if the Guardians are immortal? This is something we have yet to find out. First you need to get out of the dungeon and cope with the first task of the priestess - to activate the Stone of Life in Ancient Gorge. It is necessary to protect the territory from Filth - the poison of chaos that distorts nature and destroys all life. See purple flashes in the air? It is it - the bane, the main reason for the slow extinction of the world of Alfira. Most of the plants, animals and inhabitants that fell under its influence died, but some mutated and were able to adapt, turning into terrible monsters. The flora has also changed, now on the way you can meet predatory vines, exploding acid mushrooms, or magical anomalies. The bane distorted and killed everything in its path, but the Guardians, who possessed the knowledge of the Asuras, were able to create protection - the Stones of Life and quickly spread throughout the main cities of Alfira. Since the bane affects any manifestation of life, the Guardians also suffer from it, their physical shell weakens and only infusions of pure magical energy can extend the time they spend in the aggressive environment of the bane. Therefore, it is worth moving along the Ancient Gorge faster, because every minute of delay spends valuable energy.

Ancient Gorge is the territory adjacent to the Bastion, it can be called the cradle of the Guardians, because it was here in the grot that the Book of Fate was kept for many centuries. Later, a Bastion was built next to the Gorge by the Guardians, and Grot became a symbolic monument to the ancient race. The bastion became a closed territory only the holders of the medallions of the Guardians could enter. From now on, all interaction with the inhabitants of Alfira took place exclusively in Ancient Gorge, so hotels and taverns quickly appeared in the nearby town of Dey and after the appearance of bane - a separate Stone of Life.

But now Deya is dead. And all because after the final battle, when all the races of Alfira united with necromancers and Guardians and, regardless of the losses, destroyed the army of demons, Archilich Margud decided to stab his allies in the back. His plan is to become the God of Death and make all the remaining living beings part of his army. After that, many battles took place between the inhabitants of Alfira and the undead, and as a result, the Bastion of the Guardians fell, and the Ancient Gorge was almost completely destroyed, and the Stone of Life was broken into pieces. However, you can still find in the ruins some artifacts of the Guardians and other useful items.

After activating the Stone of Life in the Ancient Gorge, the air is cleared of bane and a Priestess and a Merchant appear. Each character has their own goals, we have yet to learn about them, but the benefits of their presence are undeniable. The merchant knows alchemy and can help with revolver bullets and other consumables, and the Priestess is able to unlock new Guardian abilities. Now it's time to move on to Deia.

As mentioned above, the town of Deia was actively developing due to its proximity to the Bastion of the Guardians. The architecture of the city has become unique, absorbing the styles of the locals, as well as the defenses of the Asurs built by the Guardians. Thanks to the help of the dwarfs, complex systems of underground passages were created under the city. During the invasion of demons and the subsequent war with the undead, refugees gathered in Deya from all over the area hoping for protection, and the Guardians successfully guarded the city from any attacks.

We enter the Down Town and immediately see the dead archers taking up comfortable positions on the walls. Perhaps it is better to bypass them for now, because there is not much time to activate the next Stone of Life. Once upon a time, life was in full swing here. Even with the appearance of the bane, the people of Down Town did not lose hope. Yes, they did not live as well as aristocrats from other parts of the city, but it was here that people really worked. Blacksmiths, alchemists, cooks, ordinary hard workers are the flesh and blood of this city. Here, various dark personalities also pulled their deals, and here everything was already not so rosy: murders, violence and dirt ... But among all this there were quite a few good people. It is a pity that both those and others have now become only material for replenishing the army of Margud and no one will even remember their names. However, thanks to the "ghost" we can learn the history of Deia and pay tribute to the memory of its inhabitants. The best way to do this is to clear the city of the undead and defeat the Archilich.