The A.o.M. Story

[Shae the Bat]

This is just a special post where I'm going to reveal in detail what was planned for this incarnation of the RP, as well as a summary/review of what has already transpired.

Notes: * = Check the Dictionary

Chapter 1 : Rise of the Prophet
Part I - The Dawning of a New Day
Part II - A Gathering of Power
Part III - Fallen Warrior, Rising Evil
Part IV - Waging a Holy War
Part V - Ascension Part 1 - Beginning of the End
Part VI - Ascension Part 2 - He is Risen

This is the chapter most of us here are familiar with. It is our introductory storyline and one that veterans of the RP know very well. It centered around the Goddess Aurora and her rather dysfunctional celestial family. The Demon God of Destruction, Syntaru, has finally decided to attempt a rise to glory in the Prime Universe.* He had spent decades scanning souls finding those strong enough to aide in his ascension.

Eventually a young Lemur named Tala came unto his call. And he would have rather large plans for this young one. The Goddess knew that this would be the hardest battle against the Demon, who had grown much more determined and violent over the centuries, but she also knew that the mortal coil of Prime was much more powerful than in others. Taking only her general, Shae, she headed to the surface of Mobius to gather the heroes of what would soon become legend.

In all there would be 6 chosen warriors; A Psionic hedgehog named Amon, a Bounty Hunting Fox named Stealth, an enchanting but ferocious feline named CiCi, a turned Shadow Walker named Andre, a strong and noble Koala named Spade and a frosty young hedgehog named Myst. A new vanguard would even be appointed, this new Vanguard was none other than the Son of Death, Syth Thanatos who had become Paladin Twilight.

Many dark days befell our heroes, the General of Aurora's court had been turned against them while in the process of trying to reclaim the Soul Shards. Pieces of Syntaru's essence, vital to his re-awakening. Even amidst this unholy chaos, there were yet more sides to the unfolding story. Such as the battle between Eggman's forces and the growing armies of Simon Bloodclaw, aka Legion. And a rather unusual business arrangement between the good Doctor and a Vampire from another realm; Lucian.

Eventually, once all the Soul Shards had fallen into the hands of Syntaru's forces, including a transforming Tala who was made into a Shadow Queen,* all sides would gather together. The final battle was a harsh and bitter one. The Goddess had sacrificed herself, fading away into the eternity flow, leaving her heroes. The battle was a long one, a fierce one, every waking moment it seemed that each side had the other hand.. and Syntaru hadn't even dealt a blow.. but that would change.

The tension mounted, the heroes united their powers to deliver a powerful Holy Blast at the Demon, but their efforts it seemed had been in vain. But in actuality, their unison was not meant directly as a means of destroying the beast, but rather, reviving he who held the power to do so. The key to defeating darkness, is to turn darkness into light. A revitalized and once more holy Shae arose from a bloody battle on the side of darkness and delivered the final shattering blow to Syntaru's Soul Gem, the Crimson Star. Peace.. had been restored.. life eventually returned to normal.. as normal as it could be on the backwater Planet called Mobius. But sadness still loomed, the Goddess and many allies had left this realm.. what would the future hold?

[Shae the Bat]

Chapter 2 : The Egg Wars
Part I - Always Have a Back Up Plan
Part II - This Means War
Part III - Reign of the Four Horsemen
Part IV - Desperate Alliance
Part V - Struggle for Dominance
Part VI - Death of a Tyrant

Part I of this chapter is where we were in the progression, now, I'll reveal what was intended to happen:

It has been 6 months since the defeat of Syntaru on the tiny volcanic island. An trouble is brewing once more. Already, our mortal heroes of silent legend have come into turmoil. Amon, Ci Ci and their new acquaintance Tayuu have struggled against a dark beast from the Zone of Silence and had been marked as criminals because of it. Legion, had fully taken over Robotroplis, which had fallen during the battles those months ago. Eggman himself has spent this time plotting his revenge against the wolfen warlord.

He had dispatched his undeadite accomplice Lucian to start in motion the activation of The Horsemen. 4 deadly warriors, bred, built and cultivated by Eggman. His most powerful creations ever, even the mighty dragon Apophis was second to these fiends. And Lucian himself, was breeding his own army.. the army of the dead. A hoarde of mindless drones, relentless and vicious vampires. And he even managed to turn one of the mortal heroes unto his path; Myst, the frostbitten hedgehog had wandered into the creature's lair and had been taken.

What of the Vanguards? They were tending to their duties of the Chaos Realm. Shade, newly appointed surveyer of the Void* and shadow of Syth had been doing reconaissence, and discovered that Tala had not perished during the great battle, but rather had escaped to battle again. While the Vanguards dealt with this troubling matter, as well as the unheard of pregnancy of Ishillar, things on Mobius were turning from bad to worse. Eggman had upgraded his dragon with nuclear capability, instructed Lucian to siege the shores of Robotropolis and ready the way for Crocbot's naval forces and Eggman's own airship.

Our fugitives had also made their way to the steel shores of the fallen city in an effort to escape the pursuit of their former ally, Stealth. Who was being tricked and co-ersed by a servant of the Shadow Queen, attempting to reawaken the subsided darkness within the Fox's soul. The world was on the verge of war, the city of steel rattled and shook from the chaos. Undeaite bodies and flaming machinery littered the streets. Lucian was making his way through the central tower to find the magnificent bastard himself; Legion.

Crocbot's forces would arrive, sending yet another barrage of destruction upon the shores, clearing the way for Eggman to land once more. The doctor stepped out from his ship and made his proclamation of war whilst climbing upon the back of his precious pet. Lucian would become locked in a battle with Legion's own diabolical creation, Legion himself would become embattled with Eggman and his nuclear dragon. The neverending dance of fighting would hit a stalemate, just as Amon, Ci Ci and Tayuu would come to their own battle with their former friend, eventually reconciling and focusing on the bigger matter of the war.

Just when it seemed Legion would take the struggle, four thunderous crashes would rock the foundation of the city. The Horsemen had landed, and quickly lay waste to Legion's armadas. The day was Eggman's.. Legion escaped, barely, only to be captured by the EDF corps that was hunting Ci-Ci & Co. He would eventually tell of the imminent danger of Eggman and his Horseman and the nuclear dragon. A decision would be made by the head of the EDF, considering the greater risk of Eggman's forces, they would temporarily release the contracts on Amon, Ci Ci, Tayuu and Legion so that they may aid against the maniacal Doctor.

The struggle would continue for weeks.. many cities would fall unto the horsemen. For a while it seemed none could stand against the burning rage of Eggman. That is, until Legion managed to capture the dragon.. the tide would turn, Eggman's forces were pushed back to the shores of Robotropolis, here Eggman's own creation would be his undoing. The uneasy allies had managed to stop half of the Horsemen. Only two remained; Stryfe and Mysery, both of whom disappeared sometime during the battles. Eggman was alone.. even Lucian and Myst had abandoned him. But, ever defiant and determined.. Eggman made his last stand.. he triggered Apophis' nuclear Egg, if he was going out.. he was taking everyone with him.

There was barely enough time for everyone to escape, but amazingly there were only minimal casualties on the side of EDF Corp members. Stealth, Ci Ci, Amon and Tayuu all managed to escape alive.. Legion was nowhere to be found but was presumed dead at the site of the explosion, sicne he and Eggman were in the Central Tower wen the city was evaporated. The charges against Ci Ci and friends were officially dropped and they were recognized as honorary EDF members, special division A.P.P., Anti-Paranormal Paranormals. The feline and Amon moved away from Casinopolis to the city of Mobotropolis. Tayuu remained in the bustling city of Casinopolis, but instead of returning to his life of thievery, became a sort of mysterious hero. A stalker of the night who tracked down criminals and served them justice..

But all would not be well.. looming in the darkness.. the Shadow Queen had regained her strength.. her plans for vengeance would soon be laid in motion. Strangely, unbeknownst to her for now.. she was carrying with her new life.. a tainted dark soul waiting to be born into the world..

(To Be Continued....)

[Shae the Bat]

Chapter 3 : From the Ashes
Part I - Historic Repetition
Part II - The Return of Magnus
Part III - Of Master and Pupil
Part IV - Warriors to the Helm!
Part V - Crimson Star in the Sky
Part VI - The Last Stand!

This was to be the 3rd installment, after another Intermission chapter in which Ishillar gave re-birth to the Goddess herself. But in returning light, would darkness too be reborn?

We join our Vanguards in the Chaos Realm, a year has passed since the rebirth of the Lady of Light, Aurora. Things, for a time had been quite peaceful and calm. Mobius had returned to a state of joyful living on the most part. There had not been hide nor hair of any of the major villains. Eggman was long dead, Legion was presumed to be, Lucian's undead army had been keeping low profile in Sandopolis. But as history shows, just when things begin to look their brightest a dark shadow casts itself over the light.

Deep in the pits of Mt. Kahkari, the bitter Shadow Queen Tala had been building up a hefty following of shadow beings.. Walkers, Wraiths, Beasts and Harbingers.. though her abilities could not rival Syntaru's vast army, she managed to build up an impressive legion of black souls. In her year and a half of preparation she happened upon an old Tome which contained Syntaru's journey throughout the ages. She discovered a passage giving detail of a powerful dark mage named Magnus.

As it turned out, Magnus was the teacher and high councilman of Mercia the centuries ago where Shae, the General of the Vanguards had been marked. Shae, was Magnus' pupil.. that is until Magnus betrayed him and lead him to be executed. All of this was part of Syntaru's plans for his ascension in the Prime Universe. She would read on to discover that Magnus had not died, but in fact was imprisoned deep beneath the seas surrounding The Eye of the Prophet. That burning island which seemed to be locked in legend and myth when relative to darkness. And of course, held a deeper anguish within the blackened heart of Tala.

She dispatched her four finest Walkers to find this prison, bring it to the surface and free this glorious dark mage. In hopes that he would know how to bring the Dark Lord back from the endless stream of the Eternity Flow. However the Walkers would meet with some resistance on the island. Shae, Aries, Paladin and Naia were waiting for them. A long battle would ensue, the forces of light and darkness clashing once more on the ashened beaches of this forsaken island.

During the struggle, Tala herself managed to slip by unnoticed. It had seemed that the four Walkers were merely a diversion. She dove deep into the sea, streaming down more than a thousand feet into the cold inky black waters. Finally reaching bottom, she saw a temple strikingly similar to the ones that held Syntaru's Soul Shards. She would enter and make her way to the center discovering a strange glowing red orb.

Without a second thought she would shatter it, a wave of dark energy would effluate out revealing none other than Magnus. The Dark Mage fo Lord Syntaru himself. The powerful druid teleported the duo to the surface to the utter horror of the Vanguards. Most particularly, Shae. The sight of his former teacher, his betrayer sent chills through the otherwise calm and stern body of the vanguard. Without even a breath Magnus quickly did away with the Vanguards sending them hurdling through the air.

They would regroup in the Chaos Realm to plan their attack, but they would not be undisturbed. Magnus had made his way into the Chaos Realm and into the Goddess' chambers. He subdued the Vanguards and trapped the Goddess in a similar fashion that he himself had been imprisoned, only this orb would not be broken by physical force. Hope, it would seem, had been all but lost.. The dark forces gathered their strength.. recruiting none other than the famed Vampire, Lucian Ostrum and his hoards to their cause.

Shae, being the first to recover from the attack, would head down to Mobius, gathering the remaining mortal heroes. Ci Ci, Amon, Stealth, Spade the young Tayuu, as well as a new group of heroes.. Brash a bounty hunting Hedgehog from Sandopolis, Terra a champion martial artist Overlander and lastly a rather immense Komodo Dragon named Enzan who happened to be skilled in a number of magicks.

A race against time had begun. Magnus and the Shadow Queen were collecting various artifacts needed to summon the true Crimson Star into the skies above. A key destructive element in the revival of Syntaru..as well, the darkness growing inside Tala, this tainted life force was also key. Its life would be sacrificed as a physical form for Syntaru to enter. Many losing battles were faught between the dark forces and our heroes.

For every stride forward they made, the darkness made two, and eventually their enemies had succeeded in calling the Crimson Star. This celestial darkness sapped the planet, stealing all the darkness in the hearts of Mobian kind and building power to restore the Dark Lord. Not even our heroes were spared from this.. the final battle would take place between these heroes.. and the dark versions of themselves. Empowered a hundred fold from the Crimson Star and controlled by the Dark Mage Magnus.

Like so many times before the epic battle was waged. Clashes of fist to fist, elemental power to elemental power, Ki to Ki. Shae, already having conquered the darkness in his heart during the first resurrection waged battle against the Mage himself.. During all of this, Tala was growing closer and closer to giving birth to the vessel that would reincarnate Syntaru. The darkness was overpowering our heroes of light.. it seemed that the end was imminent.. then from nowhere a streaking blast of holy energy blared through the skies, piercing the Crimson Star.

The dark forms of the heroes faded into ash, Magnus distracted by the Star's destruction was defeated and subdued by Shae. They did not know how they had won, nor who fired the holy blast. But all that mattered was that they had won. Tala, however, had given birth to the vessel and managed to escape with her dark child. Back to the dark recesses of Mt. Kakhari. The mortal heroes returned to their lives once more and Shae, with Magnus in tow to face trial and sentencing to the Void after being stripped of his powers, returned to the Chaos Realm. The Goddess was freed from her spherical prison and Magnus was cast into the depths..

There was only one burning question.. if the Goddess was imprisoned in the dark orb.. then just who was it that fired that blast of Holy Energy? Thanatos did not have access to Holy Powers.. was there another Holy Being? Another God or Goddess.. even Aurora did not know the answer.. but with time.. they would soon discover the truth..

(To Be Continued....)