• RAGNOCK
    By:J.L.Roebuck




    Prolouge

    Long ago before the four nations were formed, and before the great campaigns of Renald the conqurer, The world knew peace and many that lived in this time believed that this peace whould last forever. Little did they know that even gods must prepare for war. Gates to Hell itself began to open all across Wrick and the great demon hoards began to butcher humans like cattle. The god Ledah had a sword forged from the great metal adamantite, the sword whould be known to all mortals as Ragnock. With the sword forged, Ledah began his crusade to rid the demons from the realm of man. However even gods can be matched in battle, knowing this Ledah called upon the Divine Crusaders a holy order of knights each a master of a different form of magic or weapon. The youngest of the knights Valtarsh was a headstrong and bold lad, but was noble and gallant. Ledah took a shine to the young boy and personaly taught him the ways of magic and swordsmanship. Valtarsh became the most respected and feared of the Crusaders, and once whilst looking through Ledah's presonal archive he stumbled upon an ancient tome, there was no title to the book but many believe it was the infamous Tome Of Unlife, some also called it the Necromancer's Bible. Within he tome Valtarsh found every secret of necromancy, alchemy, and the most deceiving magic of all time. The book corupted the young boy and within turned him into nothing but a monster. Ledah however knew nothing of this, but had fallen in love with a mortal woman from the far off continent of Bedrano, her name was Evylar. The beutiful valkyrie also fell in love with Ledah, Valtarsh realized this and saw it as an oppritune time to strike Ledah where he was most vulnerable. Using magic he learned within the Tome of Unlife, Valtarsh mirrored Ledah's appierence and ended young Evylar's life, by cutting out the heart that loved Ledah. To distract Ledah whilst he did his foul deed, Valtarsh told him that demons had been terrorizing and slaugtering a village in what is now known as Northern Crimea. When Ledah arrived he found that there was no village at all, he hurried back to find Evylar's heart impaled with a dagger to the door to his home. Ledah also found a note of challenge from Valtarsh asking Ledah to meet him on the Kavin Plains. Ledah accepted the chalenge and gripping Ragnock traveled to the Kavin Plains. Historians tell us that Ledah slew Valtarsh in their first combat encounter. However that conclusion is false, the two's struggle went much longer than that.

    Valtarsh and Ledah both came to the Kavin Plains. Ledah quickly almost destroyed Valtarsh entirely, but in the final moments of the battle Valtarsh made himself to look like Evylar and managed to escape. Knowing that without a source of almost limitless power like Ragnock, Valtarsh could never defeat Ledah. So he spent the next eight months searching for a deposit of orichalicam ore, He succeded. A deposit small enough to make a single sword was found in the highest peak of the Skavin Mountains. Orichalicam is just as strong as adamantite but almost indestructable just like adamantite, orichalicam is a solid ebony color while adamantite is a bazzar pale. Valtarsh then using magic instantly forged his own magic sword. Ionsare is what he named it, a sword powerful enough to challenge the gods many still believe it never could have happened, however these theories are quickly disproved for there is much evidence to that a great battle ocurred on the plains of eastern Crimea. Once again Valtarsh sent a challenge to Ledah, only this time not for a duel but for a war. Ledah prepared the Divine Crusaders for battle, and Valtarsh opened gates to Hell and summoned a huge demon army. Again the two clashed. Ledah with the crusaders by his side, and Valtarsh with his demon hoards. Valtarsh had no problem slaying every last one of his former allies. Ledah knew that if their battle continued that the entire world could be destroyed. Knowing that the consiquences could be great and that he himself could be destroyed Ledah unleashed a cataclyptic final attack destroying Valtarsh's phisical state and banishing him to the pits of Hell, where is vile soul had spawned. However in Ledah's great victory would be sung in the tales of many a wandering troubador, Ledah's final attack had completly destroyed every continent except for the one which he stood on, Wrick.

    Ledah could no longer consider himself a god, for if what he had done, and the thousands of innocent people he had slain, he could not call that godly. He erected a castle where he could live, but where no mortal except for those of his blood could enter. Within the catacombs of the castle the tombs of the seven crusaders who gave their lives for a brighter tomorrow. Deep inside the catacombs some say there is a shrine where the great sword Ragnock sleeps the sleep of the ancients, awaiting it's new master to come and find it. Little did it know It's master could never have dreamed what would await him. "Only those strong of arm and gallant of soul and whom the gods have deamed worthy, may walk the path of the Crusaders and see what they saw, hear what they heard, know what they know. May enter their eternal resting place face their challange, if one should succeed then the gods will have found their new champion." These words have echoed in temples and in prophets speeches for nigh a century, but many are biggining to wonder if it will ever come true.