Nearly a decade passed before Dalindana was free and Chan was coaxed back to the surface. Ultimately it was James Swift who made contact with Chan and drew him back to the Realms with an opportunity to undo the consequences of his negligence and to reclaim the lands of Darkvale.
The night before the war it was The Red Knight that suggested that if Chan sought redemption that he seek to right the wrongs he had done and to not leave the battlefield with any regret in his heart. Once the army had finally destroyed The Disciple and marched on Darkvale City Chan finally understood his role. The gods had provided a holy hand grenade to destroy Rexan once the evil god had been forced to take an earthly form. Chan said his goodbyes just in case. If anyone was going to fall upon that bomb to shield others it would be him. It was his choice. His path. His redemption.
Time came to face Rexan. His blade, Valor, felt extremely effective as he struck at the any heads of the evil god. Finally a tear was ripped into the stomach of the great beast and without hesitation Chan grabbed the grenade and rushed to lodge it deep within the beasts form. Others began to run, but Chan knew it was too late and accepted his fate.
A godslaying blast struck him and several others. Some narrowly escaped with the aid of their "Knight"ly powers.
They were dead, but lingering in some form of limbo.
Chan looked about and saw many heroes of the past and newer adventurers of great potential and decided it was not their time.
He touched the Tear of Aurora he has been carrying in his pocket and called out to Dalindana. He pledged himself to her service as a member of her Silver Legion. He simply begged that she let him be a shield for the others.
"You know that you cannot return to them if you do that. Not ever as a mortal. Are you certain."
"Absolutely. No regrets."
So lived and died Sir Chan Ottokar.
Sir Chan Ottokar, Justari's Benevolence
Knight of the Red Branch
Knight of the Crown
Knight Avatar of Chimeron
Angel of the Silver Legion
Avatar of Justari
I got to use the Vesta regionals for the first time. I had been planning to make them last all day, maybe ride a spell reset (or two!) and cast Orion’s Final Spell in time for the night quest. I soon realized that I needed to shorten that timeline significantly—get as much use out of my spells as I could as quickly and possible, because I was not going to make it to the next spell reset like this. My Militia and my Company needed me.
Actually, as I think on it more, there were some stand out moments on that field. I got a lot of mileage out of Pas, But It Works. I even discovered that I could cast it while dead! (Story: I was killed in the enemy backfield moments after I made a mad dash to help Cecil Get Home Safely. It worked and I’m content with that trade. I was at risk of being rendered out a third time when the NPC said “give us some cookies and we’ll leave your corpse alone.” I did, and they did. Pas, But It Works.)
- Ryan "Orion" Welch
As grueling as the battle was, there were a couple dozen times when I called out across the field to give instructions to members of our Militia, of Chimeron, or to our many friends fighting alongside us. Almost every one heard their name, realized their part in our formation, and followed instructions to work with their nearest allies and prevent a collapse of our line, capture a point, or get our dead or injured back for healing. Each time, I felt a surge of gratitude for their trust, skill, and battlefield awareness.(And of course, pride in Chimeron and the Militia, for them in particular).
- Pat "Saka" Bobell
In the flag battle i got to play rock paper scissors for some meat. Which was the either dead or soulless body of Sir Chan. It was fun. After the aspis tried to brake our accord but i pointed my axe at them and said I am a fae, you will not break a bargain with me. And they left, and i ran away with my well earned corpse.
- Zack "Bogen" K
I didn't know what I'd do during this fight [the bridge battle] as a one path. At first, I thought I'd be healing people but more dedicated casters had that covered with the infinite raise banner. Thankfully, I brought my big shield and dagger combo and Orion saw me and physically plopped me down in the front to block the pikes. I could keep my self up faster than the Aspis could hit me so Frontline shield worked really well with my one path build.
- Noah "Jogaiła"
Orion is a knight of many talents, but at his core he has the soul of military commander. Despite that, there have only been a few times in his career as an adventurer where he has so fully invoked his true nature.
As we reached The Cut, I called for our backfield circles to be set up in a hurry. Bridge battles demand a lot of supporting magic and we couldn't afford to waste any time. The healers, blacksmiths, and banner carriers knew how crucial they would be here and took their positions quickly. Confirming this, I turn to make my way to the front, but Cecil stops me.
"The Warlord is in the field. Sir Orion, this is your battle."
The change is instant. Orion is Saka's second, so I am more than prepared for this. Just as a soldier would draw their sword, I reach for the ears and minds of the army. My grip is steady; like a blade, the assembled forces of Chimeron and our allies become an extension of myself. We march forward, plant our feet, and the horizon of reality draws in close around me. There is nothing else in the universe beyond this narrow bridge. There is nothing beyond the enemy and their immense shields, nothing except the road towards victory. The Rexan's forces will not stop us. Rexan cannot stop us. This is my bridge. You are in my way, and you will die.
There is no room on this bridge for such trivial things as minutes, hours, and seconds. There is no space for numbers less than one or greater than two. "Head one!" "We need armor over here!" "Head two!" "We need armor over here!". Three makes room for itself. "On my mark, one step forward! Three, two one, MARK!".
People come off the line. People come on the line. We press forward yet it seems as if our backfield never gets any farther away. Tarnisha--bless her and bless her hammer--keeps the armor up. I put shields on the line, and pikes on the line. I drop them into position, each a brick in our mighty wall. "On my mark, one step forward!"
...
We crossed more than just The Cut on that bridge. We crossed a threshold. In the heat of battle, true heroes had been forged. Relentless, driven, unstoppable heroes. Every shield, every blade, every arrow, every spell--as we crossed that bridge, these things were blessed not by the gods but by our own mortal will. Rexan didn't stand a chance.
...
Looking back on it, I'm taken aback by the parallels between this fight and the one we faced in the Olivine Fields. Saka and I--brothers in arms and sworn commanders for our Kingdom--basically swapped placed. One of us was afield trying to get around the Aspis lines to subvert their defenses while the other directed the main power of the assembled armies.
Personally, there was another element as well. I said that Orion is a military commander, but there was something about this fight that made it different from any other battle he has ever been in.
When Cecil gave me that order, it was backed by a level of trust I've never felt before--not from Cecil, because I know he trusts me, but trust in myself. In every battle previous, I had been Squire Orion Mars, and I always had something to prove. But now I was Sir Orion, Avatar of Chimeron, and I had nothing to prove. That feeling was powerful and freeing.
- Ryan "Orion" Welch
I was on the front lines of the Battle of The Cut. Our advance was stalling out, and I was down on my knees, with pikes and swords crashing down on my shield and clashing right over my head. My world had shrunk to my shield in front of me, My borrowed mace held over my head, the bridge wall to my right, and Grarr to my left. We were getting pounded, and I was sure it was only a matter of time before the line broke, when I heard a voice pierce all that chaos:
- Zack "Anthony Warder" E.
I remember howling with the fury of a thousand fae, the hunt surging through my veins with generations and cycles pushing me to rip and tear and kill, and the song of my pack hunting with me and their blades tearing through armor and snake scale
- Hillary "Tara" Fotino
I remember being called upon by Ser Kovaks just after we broke through the door at the end of the tunnels. We were together when the adventurers circled the Disciple, and Ser Kovaks drew the knife in full view of the enemy. The Disciple was entirely focused on Ser Kovaks, paying no attention to the other adventurers that encircled him.
Including the Militiaman that stabbed him in the back
After revealing the knife to the Disciple, Ser Kovaks passed it to me, then kept the enemy's attention. I circled around, at the back edge of the group, looking for an opening. When I found one, I stepped in and swung Redemption, rendering the Disciple mortal. Having spent the element of surprise, and armed with only a knife, I withdrew behind my comrades and let them attack. However, I later found myself near the still-living Disciple, so I stabbed him four more times in the back, after which he finally went down, and I returned the blade to Ser Kovaks to render him soulless.
- Zack "Anthony Warder" E.
Someone legit ran with the orb out in the open to the porch. I followed them to stop them from being stupid. Everyone died. Then I ran back to get reinforcements talking about how we’d been overrun and the orb was stolen and we needed to make a last stand. And as I grabbed the king and many members of the militia to stage a rescue, the party came back unharmed. Apparently someone regenerated, killed the snakes behind their backs, yeeted the orb into the pedestal, and then revived the others and returned.
- Bri "Margaret August" Marie
Five of us standing out in the back path defending a pedestal from wave after wave of Aspis as we waited for Vesper to return with an orb. We were surrounded many times but we were able to defend for a solid half hour without fail. We had back up show up after that and they were able to help drive back the Aspis for a time until Vesper arrived. Once he got there we dropped off the orb and made our way back to the main fight.
At Clontarf Shuffle, I converted from a fighter into a 3-path, mostly divination, in order to learn as much as I could about the war. Every week I sent the EHs a long list of spells, carefully crafted and each with a guidance to unskew whatever the actual question was. From this I learned about the history of Redemption and how to reforge it. I saw how to help the civilians, and I had a look of insight into the undead stuff we dealt with before the Champion.
I'm not going to lie. I was stressed out. I had so many questions, and so many things I felt like I hadn't accounted for, and yet I didn't know what was left to uncover. So I cast the following:
Guidance #1: Divinations about me and my plans are not skewed. Is the statement written here true?
Yes
Prophecy: Kovaks is exhausted. They have managed to get a few hours of fitful sleep in here and there between forging weapons, making plans, gathering information, coordinating people, answering questions, scouting the borders, reinforcing the city of Brighton, and, of course, other divinations. They say into the cosmos and to The Powers That Be, "We have two weeks left. There is so much we know and so much we still don't know. I feel like I have done everything and I feel like I have done nothing at all. The king has told me that this is the most prepared he can remember an army ever being for a war, and yet I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something obvious. Or at least something important. Clear my mind and help me to see what questions I should be asking, what preparations I should be making, and what is important to this fight that may have slipped my mind."
You see a duck, a mallard with its regal green head proudly held high. It walks a straight line, it fears no stones to trip over, it wastes no time considering the directions it chooses not to walk. Behind it walks a canvasback, strong and sure, loyal and brave. Behind it walks a muscovy, its red plumage a sight to behold. Behind it walks a plumed duck, looking fierce and free. Behind it walks a white duck, glowing with purity. Behind it walks a marbled duck, wise and prepared. Behind it walks a bufflehead duck, its thoughts are scattered but its mind is at ease. Behind it is a scaup duck, walking with confident steps, ready to strike at prey. Following in this straight line is duck after duck after duck, all of them making strides without faltering, all of them prepared for their trek. These ducks are in a row.
This had me laughing so hard when I read it, in the middle of fight practice. Some of you saw me there, passing my phone around.
I guess I was more prepared than I thought I was
- Becky "Kovaks" Baron