Mathosia (Rift Lore)
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For the King!
- On the last day of his reign, King Jostir Mathos walked to his throne, leaning on the arms of his sons. The king and the princes wore their plates of war, and though Jostir's eyes could barely see, his hand did not shake around the hilt of his sword. From the seat of power, he spoke his people's history, thus:
The Eth made their Empire in the lowlands, but all men know they never went into the mountains. For there roamed the Northmen, the war-making sons of Mathos, who banished more dragons than any race of Telara. While they lounged on silken cushions, we battled in the dells and valleys, and on the crags, against each other or the Dwarves or Elves. At last, even these ancient peoples sought peace with us. Then the Dwarves taught us to do wondrous work, and the Elves mighty magic.
All the while, the Eth built tall towers to mock our mountains. Of course they toppled, and the sand swallowed their Empire. Then up from the dunes rose hungering horrors, and out of their boltholes the cultists scurried, and wicked men sought to yoke the leaderless masses like oxen to a grinding wheel.
So these folk sent their runners into the highlands, to beg on bended knee for deliverance. And we raised them up onto their feet, where men belong, and in Thedeor's name we formed an army, and girded ourselves with Dwarven steel and righteous magic. Down we marched into the flatlands. We cracked the jaws of beasts, and burned the flesh of dragon-slaves, and hung the heads of the tyrants on their castle walls.
For Thedeor!
We could have gone back home, but they begged us, “Stay! Rule us with courage and justice, and teach us never again to kneel.†So we remained to rule the flat places. Those who did not invite us, we came into their lands anyway, for we would let no spot in Telara fall prey to the dragons' wiles. Then the sun never shone on any part of Telara that was not Mathosia.
Then stood King Jostir, supported by his two sons, and though his knees shook, his voice rang clear.
Thedeor thus served, it fell to us to honor every god of the Vigil. For Tavril, we left the forest sovereign, taking only what we needed, even from the great granitewood groves. For Bahralt, we built cities without forbidden magic, cities of honest stone and white wood. The greatest of these is Port Scion, and no city before or since has been its equal.
For all the Gods!
In Thontic's name we sent merchants out from Port Scion, to ply the storming seas and trade with the strange folk of distant lands. And then, to honor gentle Mariel-Taun, we covered our realm in peace and plenty. Music and light are in our cities, good hunting is in our fields, and the wicked shrink from our eyes.
So we have conquered, by banner and drum!
So we have ruled, by scepter and sword!
I am Jostir, of unbroken lineage, and let no man cast spite upon my rule! I leave you my son Aedraxis, of unbroken lineage, who stands at my right hand.
I go from you, the King of Mathosia, to the halls of my fathers, and my fathers' fathers, where Mathos himself stands at Thedeor's side! His sons rule from sea to the east and sea to the west, and also in the north and the south.
- So his chin touched his chest, and his eyes gently closed. As death came to Jostir, the men of the court stamped their feet, struck their shields, and beat their breasts, so the King could depart to the din of arms. And to this day, his tomb stands shoulder-to-shoulder with those of his fathers, as every man should be, forever on his feet.[1]
Twenty Years Ago
- This section covers quests from the Mathosia quest series.
After King Jostir's death, his eldest son, Aedraxis, ascended to the throne but, unknown to his father, he had long been a servant to Regulos. He corrupted the Court of Mathos, renaming them The Endless Court, and began seeking a way to bring his Master into Telara. His brothers, Corwin and Zareph Mathos, remained loyal to The Vigil and thus began a civil war.
Orphiel Farwind, founder of The Defiant, stayed loyal to the throne and served as Aedraxis' chief Technomage, building machines to make war on the rebels. One of the machines he built was used to crack the Ward and thus began the Rifts and the beginning of the invasion of the Planes upon Telara. In response to this, The Vigil sent their Messengers amongst the fallen to choose the mightiest and resurrect them as Ascended. These Guardians were made to stop Aedraxis, Regulus and the Rifts.
Now we come to your story, Guardian. Having reawakened to a new life as an immortal Guardian, you begin your journey to discover your new powers and abilities. Time is short, for even as you are taking your first steps in this new life Aedraxis is planning something big, something terrible.
Your first hint of what is coming is found in Bloodmurk Grove, when you see the traitor, Orphiel. He is examining a letter but, as is so common with him, having read it he completely forgets its existence a moment later and leaves it on the table for your to read. It is a communique from Aedraxis and discusses a new machine, the Ethect, that Orphiel has just designed.
At Valor Hold you meet the general and commander of the Guardians, the Ascended Cyril Kalmar. The counter-offensive begins with the mission to stop the use of the tainted altars that Aedraxis is using to raise the fallen as Undead.[2] Carwin Mathos himself sees your signal and arrives in time to help you kill many Undead and a drake.
Impressed by your performance, Cyril taps you to destroy this new war machine of Orphiel's, the Ethect.[3]
On Vigilant Rise, the path up to Ascendant Hall, you encounter Orphiel again, and he tells you to leave this, and that he will steal the power of the Vigil if it's the last thing he does. Could it be possible that this Ethect is based on the fabled machine of the Ethian Convocation, but designed to steal the power of the gods rather than channeling the power of mortals?
As it turns out, Orphiel is trying to do something much worse. he is trying to duplicate the holy miracle of Ascension using foul Ethian technology! You destroy the Ethect and fight Orphiel but he uses some sinister trick to stun you and runs away before you can put an end to his sacrilege.
Your victory over the arch-traitor is short-lived, as a Messenger of the Vigil greets you and tells you that you must give your new life to push Regulos back through the Ward. To this end you are given your third and final soul to make you complete.
Now we come to the proof that the Vigil chose you well. At the Eye of Regulos, the rift that Aedraxis opened to draw the power of his Master through the Wards and, giving his own body over, to become the Avatar of Regulos on Telara! However, he did not count on you! You slew him and, using the Hammer of the Vigil, you shattered his body. This act was, however, fatal for you...[4]
And then, miracle that you are, you awake on the beach of Silverwood and 20 years have come and gone. Aedraxis was destroyed that day long gone but the Rifts still open and the Planar invasions still ravage the land. You have work to do, Guardian! Best you be about it, then?
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