Prologue: The World of Telos

  Date Written: Unknown

  Author: Elder Nall

  Telos was a world shaped with intention. According to the oldest surviving writings, the Architect, the foundational creator and designer, formed this world to be vast, wondrous, exciting, and beautiful. The greatest marvels a mind could grasp, and many marvels a mind could not comprehend at all, made Telos a masterpiece. Humanity was created to enjoy it and to rule over it. At the center of everything the Architect placed the Seed of Creation, a living core of their own power, meant to let the world grow, expand, and continue developing new wonders without end. The Seed of Creation’s power became known as Mana. It was hidden deep within the world and was not supposed to be touched or tampered with. It powered the amazing structures and wonders of Telos through runic symbols that were tied to the Seed’s power. Only the Architect could use the Seed properly to guide the Mana from it since it was from them. Telos was still a very young world, and every possibility lay open before humanity.

  Humanity was meant to live here, to cultivate the land, and prosper. It was a peaceful time and Telos had everything one could ever want. The Architect was observing, watching it grow and develop. But for some, simply working the land and having some prosperity was not enough. As explorers uncovered marvels left by the Architect, curiosity turned to desire. Certain groups of people became convinced that the Architect’s power should not remain hidden. They believed humanity had reached the point where it could and should guide Telos in a way better than their unseen creator. Ambition slowly twisted into entitlement.

  Groups united in the belief that they should seek out the Seed of Creation and use it. They convinced themselves that the Architect had stepped back and that they were meant to take the next step for Telos. Their search lasted decades. They deciphered runic symbols that filled Telos and were able to find the path towards what was powering the runes all around them, finding hidden paths until they discovered where the Seed rested. It lay deep beneath the world, surrounded by radiant crystal formations with beautiful iridescence that pulsed with warmth and life.

  When word spread of the discovery, the people of Telos were divided. Many feared the consequences of touching such power. Others argued that it was humanity’s destiny to seize it. Some begged for caution, but many refused to choose a side at all, hoping the conflict would fade before bloodshed began.

  It did not.

  A small band gathered to defend the Seed, believing its misuse would endanger all of Telos. Those who sought to claim it armed themselves and would not accept denial. What followed was not a war, but a bitter and violent struggle between people who each believed they acted in the world’s best interest. The battle took place in the crystal chamber of the Seed, a place that had never known conflict until that day. Shouts echoed off those crystal walls. The Mana from the Seed of Creation flared in uncontrolled bursts. Blood spilled across ground that had always remained pure.

  The defenders fought with courage, but were overwhelmed. Those who wanted the Seed of Creation for themselves were prepared to do anything to have it and they did. When the chamber fell silent, only a handful of them remained, shaken by the cost of their victory. Even so, they approached the Seed, believing its power would justify everything they had done.

  As they touched it, everything began to shake and the crystals around them creaked, groaned and fractured.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The Seed sensed every thought within them. It felt their fear, their hunger for control, the residue of bloodshed, and the desire for power weighed on their hearts. It responded to their intentions, but those intentions were unstable and fluctuating.

  Instead of shaping beauty, the Seed created something twisted.

  Reality buckled and the chamber shook. Rifts tore open in the air like open wounds. The Seed pushed outward, forming entrances to realms shaped by violence and fear. These new realms did not belong to Telos. They were distorted reflections, malformed and uncontrolled. They came to be known as the Twisted Realms, and their gates opened directly into the world.

  The first horrors emerged before the seekers could flee. Monstrous insects swollen with venom crawled through the rifts. Twisted machines of impossible design lumbered out. Firey beasts and humanoid-like creatures stepped into Telos, drawn by the scent of blood and panic. The survivors ran, leaving behind their dead and the nightmare they had awakened.

  Telos was no longer the peaceful world the Architect intended.

  The Architect would not destroy what had been made, but humanity had broken the balance and shattered the order of things. A price had to be paid. The Architect offered a pact. Twelve warriors, willing to sacrifice their lives, would be granted the strength needed to face the horrors pouring into the world. They would travel across Telos and seal the direct passages between Telos and the Twisted Realms.

  At first, no one stepped forward. Fear froze entire cities. But within a year, nearly humanity had been devastated. At last, twelve brave individuals volunteered. They entered into the pact and received overwhelming power from the Architect. They were greatly empowered to use the Mana, wielding the power directly from the Seed of Creation. The Seed was no longer accessible in Telos, but was now somewhere in the Twisted Realms, corrupted and hidden.

  For months they fought across every region of the world. When the time came, they invoked their final ability given to them called the Grand Seal. All twelve of these heroes activated the Grand Seal at equidistant points over the world and formed a colossal twelve pointed star across Telos. This dodecagram shimmered in every color of the rainbow and overlaid itself across the entire sky. It remains visible to this day, translucent in the sky. At each seal point stands a statue honoring the hero who forged it, along with reminders carved from the Architect’s instruction. These heroes disappeared after activating the seals. Some say that they died, others believe they are still fighting within the twisted realms, holding back the monsters.

  Near each of these twelve points throughout Telos, twelve kingdoms were formed with the purpose of rebuilding and restructuring humanity. The kingdoms were led by the descendents of those heroes who gave their lives to form the seals.

  The Twisted Realms were now contained, but not removed. The seals making up the Grand Seal were powerful, but imperfect. Cracks could form and the boundaries were never fully closed. The seals leak various types of monsters acting like a vast net, holding back the worst of the Twisted Realms, yet they leak at unpredictable times.

  When they do, monsters slip through without warning. If one seal were ever to collapse, the strain on the others would threaten to tear them apart, and if left unchecked, the consequences would be catastrophic.

  To help humanity endure, the Architect gave a part of themselves as one final gift: access to a part of their power, Mana. Mana was given to every human after the Grand Seal was established and it was woven into every person, granting the strength needed to fight, grow, and maintain the seals.

  The access to Mana would now naturally awaken at age twelve, which activates an internal power structure known as the Interface. Through the Interface, each person receives a class and an ability to aid them.

  As things are right now, the world stands on borrowed time. Each twelve-year-old who takes on this mantle of the Interface becomes another thread woven into the effort to hold the seals together. Some threads will break. Others will rise to unknown heights. And somewhere beyond the seals, the Twisted Realms wait for humanity to falter.

  Whether Telos endures or falls will depend on what humanity chooses to become.