The first heroes were hand-selected by Aelor before the deity distributed his power amongst them. They assaulted the Destroyer¡¯s citadel but perished in the attempt.Maria knew that much already. The first heroes failed in trying to defeat the Destroyer. Their names were lost to history, as they had not accomplished anything major worth writing about. But then the statue appeared in what is now known as the duchy of Sonash, and with enough mana, new heroes would be chosen. Most groups of heroes attempted to fight the Destroyer after any span of months to twenty years¡but none were recorded as having the same level of personality changes that she had been seeing in James recently.
The statue of Aelor began to draw new heroes from other worlds. The intent, it is theorized, was in the hopes that their unique perspective, upbringing, and background would grant a chance at victory.More generations fought, she read, and the First Age persisted with new waves of heroes fighting and ultimately dying. But there were some interesting stand-out differences. Namely, a Revenant hero she had never heard of before.
Fel Ocer, the Revenant hero of the tenth cycle (the first group to be summoned from another world), was the last hero that remained alive after escaping the dread fortress. As a summoning could not occur until all twenty heroes were dead, he was pressured to give up his life. He refused and used his power and influence to create a fortress in The Teardrop Isles. It was here that the first instance of instability amongst a hero was recorded. It is theorized that his hero core warped his personality on a deeper level than seen in the nine prior cycles, due to the usual lack of a mana core in summoned individuals. He fell into madness, raising armies of the dead and staying on that island until he naturally expired from age.She began feverishly flipping through the book. Summoned heroes from other worlds ¨C like her James. She found the entry she was looking for.
Kor Khreld, the Paragon hero of the sixth cycle, slew Raevan the Destroyer. He, the Oracle hero Sherel Dior, and the Berserker hero, Skir Trisk were the only three who survived the conflict. As the need for heroes had vanished, the trio went their separate ways and founded the kingdoms of Khrelardia, Shereld, and Trisk respectively. Peace reigned amongst the three rulers for some time. After five years passed, the three surviving heroes began to experience changes that drastically altered their kingdoms. Kor pursued justice to the point that he began an inquisition amongst the people, becoming a beloved tyrant who saw any injustice as a death sentence. His rule was righteous and terrifying, and when he died, his son took the throne. Sherel went mad from visions of the future, and died in her palace, leaving cryptic warnings and messages that were never deciphered. Skir indulged in battle to the point that he became unable to discern friend from foe. He fought his own castle guard and was an unkillable force of nature until he eventually collapsed from lack of sustenance. He was then quickly dispatched by his daughter.Maria took a shaky, deep breath. Her hands were shaking as she set the book down. James¡¯ conversations with her and his vehement opposition to parlaying with this new Destroyer told her one thing¡James was changing because of the hero core within him. Because of where he came from. There has to be a way to stop it. She was no mage, but she knew one. Taking the book, she rushed down the halls of the castle ¨C past the servants and house guard, with her own guard rushing to keep up in their heavier armor as she went up the stairs to the large tower where the archmage resided. The most learned spell user in Khrelardia. Knocking on the door, she was greeted by the wizened old man who had first summoned her beloved. ¡°Yes?¡± he asked. ¡°Is there a way to remove a mana core?¡± she asked as she pushed into the room. The man stood aside and gestured to the nearby table, ¡°It is theorized to be possible. There is a record of the Mage hero performing such a feat. Why do you ask?¡± She flipped the book open and pointed to the passage about Fel Ocer, ¡°Read this,¡± she said as she went past him and shut the door. The archmage sat down and read through the section she had shown him. She sat opposite him. ¡°Hmm¡this is interesting. I did not know that heroes were changed by their unique mana cores.¡± He looked up at her, ¡°Why do you want to remove a mana core?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Maria flipped to the entry about Kor, ¡°The Paragon hero. This one was summoned from another world and went¡mad.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± the elderly mage stood up, ¡°You seek to ensure our King does not experience the same fate. Well, I can reach out to the Mage hero, but your best chance would be to contact her directly and inquire.¡± ¡°How do I do that?¡± The man went to a desk, pulled out ink and parchment, and brought it back to the table. ¡°This is specially inscribed parchment. For emergencies only.¡± He winked at her, ¡°The Queen caring for her dear husband qualifies, I believe.¡± Maria shook her head, ¡°I know how to read, but my penmanship is horrible. Could you take dictation?¡± ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±
The Elenthians successfully left their mortal coils and ascended to a higher state of being. This process was called ¡°entering the ethereal.¡± Mana cores may be affixed inside of people, but they are also partially phased out of our reality, in this ¡°ethereal¡± plane of existence. In the process of leaving behind their mortal coils, they lost their mana cores. An unintended consequence, which angered some who felt that Raeloran had betrayed them, by granting them access to such a spell without warning of the loss of their powers as a possibility. They hoped to have their powers whilst freeing themselves from their mortal coil. Those hopes were dashed. The ethereal-form Elenthians split into two factions. Those that wished to stay behind and linger on or around Ghomar ¨C enacting their will on an unknowing world by directly manipulating mana cores as a means of revenge against their creator; and those who wished to explore the stars and leave Ghomar behind, content with their lack of spellcraft as they traveled the cosmos as a pure being of thought. When Raeloran split itself into Aelor and Raevan, the Elenthians who remained ¨C all one hundred of them ¨C attempted to slay the two deities by attacking their mana cores directly, knowing that this was their chance to get rid of godly influence entirely, and thus being able to have all Ghomar subject to their hidden machinations. By possessing the mana core directly, they could exert some influence or even full control over the weak-willed. The two deities combined their power and sealed all the Elenthians that sought to rule the world from the ethereal realm through manipulating mana cores and altering the personalities of their host. A storage dimension. One that the new races of Ghomar called the abyss. For those who are scholars reading this, you may wonder why the proper noun is not capitalized ¨C that was done intentionally. People go looking for proper nouns, but not general ones. Thus concludes your history lesson.Lyn finished the passage, and the scroll melted to nothingness in her hands. Cecily¡fuck. If what Gina had suggested earlier was that Cecily planned to open this storage dimension and release these things¡ I have to get there. Now. If these ethereal Elenthians got out, they could interact with people¡¯s mana cores¡ that effectively meant that these entities would be interacting with people¡¯s souls. And she had no clue what that could do. She slapped her hand on the altar and returned to Ghomar, the dungeon vanishing behind her. She raised her hand. ¡°Anno nin i gwelu en-galad.¡± She turned into a bolt of blue light and raced across the skies of Ghomar. B2 – Chapter 28