The Knowledge

The World Of Artilia

In the beginning there was nothing. Nothing but an empty black mass of space. Through unknown forces however a need was born, a need for life. This event was known as the Necessity of Life. Life was born a twin souled Goddess and God were born from the necessity. Their names were Artilia and Derev. Artilia continued the work of the necessity and created a world that could sustain life, at first that was enough. The world was a shell however and it needed intelligent architects. Derev created the elements. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water the four base elements of everything and then he governed the next elements more complicated in nature Ice, Lightning, Light and Darkness. With this came mountains, rivers, land, forests, volcanoes, frozen tundras and burning deserts. Artilia was impressed by her brothers creation and she decreed that all that lay above, the sky and heavens, would be hers to watch and all that lay below, the land and the underground and the core, Derev would command. Their agreement was mutual. 

With their world now built Artilia and Derev moved on to the finer points of detail in the world. Life. Artilia, who was a benevolent creator, made Souls. Derev then created a Shell for these Souls, these were the first humans. Over time they realised that the humans needed guardians. Some one or something that could watch over them, as proof that their gods had power, that they would build a better world. Derev created creatures, creatures of scales with wings and long necks and horns, capable of breathing fire or of breathing incredible gusts of wind. These creatures were called Dragons. Massive hulking creatures. Artilia for her part gave them a realm in which to dwell which was the sky. 

Humans respected Dragons as both the ultimate form of power and as a symbol of divinity because they dwelled in the realm of Artilia. It was at this point that Derev began to hate his sisters foresight. She had made herself into the only true god. All peoples respected her and yet Derev was forced underground to watch over the flames of the world. It was then that Derev gave the Dragons control over Mana. Mana is an essential life blood that flowed through the world, it was the fuel that allowed Dragons to use Magic. The Queen of Dragons at the time, Lumenthea, was the first to make use of this mighty power. Originally using it to make unruly Dragons behave, Lumenthea eventually was corrupted by its power and by the influence of Derev's hatred. Lumenthea started to attack her kin slaughtering thousands of Dragons and Humans alike, breaking a peace that had existed for centuries. 

It was only thanks to her son, Araknovia, that she was quelled. The Dragons were granted leave of the world's atmosphere and they buried their once queen deep within the moon. When the battle was done, Artilia questioned her brother about the power of magic and wether it was wise to give Dragons, an already near ultimate destructive force, more strength. Derev lied saying that the power was meant to harness the good of people, when in truth he had used it as a link, to spread his hatred of his sister and her fame, to corrupt those with the potential to use its power to do his bidding. Derev then decided that humans would also wield the power of magic. He prefaced this by telling his sister it would put humans on a level playing field with dragons, when in fact Derev was adding more strings to his growing collection of puppets. 

The Reclamation 

Around the 1013th year of the worlds life, Humans had advanced to a point were they could mine metal and warp it into objects. Industry began to increase and cities were born. The knowledge of humans was expanding and with each new stride humanity came one step closer to maturity. The Dragons and Humans still enjoyed a peaceful alliance, having helped the Dragons stop their rebellious queen centuries ago. However in the darkness of the underworld, now known as Derev Cragnos: The demon plain, a new plan was formulated by the lord of hatred. Derev instructed the Dragon Queen Lumenthea to send prophetic visions to a human to spur him into war. This human was a blacksmith named: Vivardan. Vivardan was a good man, helpful, wise, loving and strong he was everything that people wanted in a leader, though he was reluctant to take any such role. Vivardan was sent visions by the Luna Dragon Queen which showed him how to wield mana and change it into power. At first Vivardan believed these dreams to be mere fantasies. It wasn't until he used them by accident to light a fire that he awakened to his new found powers. The Luna Dragon Queen decided to send him prophetic visions of him slaying dragons in a made up prophecy called The Reclamation. The Reclamation was a prophecy that humans would one day reclaim the realm of heaven, the sky, for themselves and that they had magic to begin with but dragons found a way to take it from them. The Luna Dragon Queen's vengeance would be exacted and then when dragons were slain Derev would take the world for himself. Vivardan, now brainwashed into believing the lies of Lumenthea, started his campaign against the dragons.


The first to fall to Vivardan was a simple dragon. One who had been helping the humans in his region build settlements. Tisma-Frayoos was a scholarly dragon and one that took great interest in humans and their history, he was respected by many other dragons as being wise and venerable. A paragon of virtue to dragon kind….so it would come as no surprise that when they learnt that Tisma had been slain by not just a single human but a human who wielded magic, the dragons were outraged. Vivardan slew Tisma for spreading lies amongst the humans of the region. While many scorned him for this act of brutality there were those that agreed with him. Vivardan took this group of people who agreed with him on a campaign against the dragons. 

Hearing of Tisma's fate the Elder Dragon King, Araknovia, sought out the human rebel. By the time he arrived in the region, later to be known as Flames End, all Araknovia found were the corpses of his kinsman. Unable to control his rage at Vivardan, Araknovia immediately declared war against any human who would raise a blade against them. By this point Lumenthea had contacted other humans through dreams and had granted them control of mana, these humans joined Vivardan in his campaign against dragon kind. Around this time Vivardan's eldest sons and one of his daughters also gained control of mana, with more and more people learning how to use magic the tide of battle quickly changed in favour of humans.

The war lasted ten years. Both sides suffered their share of loss. Dragons were torn from the sky with powerful lightning magic. Humans were burned alive by some of the most powerful of dragon kind. But despite the power of dragons they found that they could not match the humans in shear weight of numbers. It just wasn't possible. Vivardan finally stood against Araknovia. It was said that the battle was so intense that nobody remembers with any real clarity what happened. The one thing that is remembered however is the image of Vivardan ramming his sword through Araknovia's heart destroying him forever and ending the dragon race. Vivardan was proclaimed as the Great Mage King, Vivardan I. In his first act as king he cleaved one of Araknovia's teeth free and harvested the rare metal that grew there, Mythril. With this metal he crafted an unbreakable sword named, Dragon Bane. 

And yet. Even with all of the bloodshed, even with such immense power in his hands, even with all the dragons of the world slain……Vivardan had not had enough. He turned his blade on the only other opponents he could find. His own kin. Vivardan, having gone mad with power, started to attack his own forces. It was only thanks to the efforts of his eldest son, Eldrassen, that Vivardan was finally brought to heel and killed. Artilia the goddess of their world having witnessed everything decided to lift part of the world into the air so that mankind might better understand the powers they had been given. Eldrassen stricken with grief led those that could wield magic to this land, a land that would later be known as Ceres. 











The system of Magic 

To understand magic, one must first understand how it is used. Mages make use of a mysterious fuel called mana. Mana is a constantly replenishing natural force. It dwells within everything, the air that we breath, the water we drink, the earth we stand upon and the fire's that burn. Some believe Mana to be the godly fingerprints left on the world as the power of Mana follows none of the imposed laws of physics that humans have. 


Mages are people who make use of Mana and as there are many mages there are many different ways to use mana. But lets start with the basics. Magic. How is it used? 

Magic is the end result of a Mage taking Mana within himself consuming the fuel transforming it into power and then using the effect. For a simpler way to view how magic is used it goes a little like this:

Mana=Fuel ---> Mage=Conduit----> Mage consumes Mana=Conversion---->Mage expels Mana=Effect, power, spell etc etc

Mana is gathered by Mages on a regular basis. Mages collect enough Mana to use spells without having to go through any particular procedure. The body calculates how much mana a man/ woman needs to use magic. We know that mana is the fuel of magic, if a mage doesn't have any mana left then he/she can't use magic. Also for this form of magic mana can't be used straight away. It needs to be converted into power before it can be put to use. Mana on its own has no form, its only when it is converted to power that it has form. We call this type of magic Channelling Mana. 


Channelling Mana 

Mages make use of Mana in a lot of different ways. The Mages of Ceres, prefer this method of magic. Mana is stored in the body naturally before it is converted into power by the mage through the use of incantation, a key phrase that the mage must say to determine what elemental form the mana will take for example the spell, Inferno Plume, sends out a geyser of molten flame to destroy enemies the incantation goes 
"Come ye embers of flame give rise once more and become a force of devastation" 
Some incantations are shorter than that and sometimes a mage doesn't have to speak the phrase aloud. Obviously this form of magic is both devastatingly powerful and incredibly dangerous for a mage must spend sometime chanting the phrase by which point they may already find themselves dead. However the risk is worth it as the spells that require the use of mana are extremely powerful. Usually though these spells require longer time for incantation they are on a much higher plain of destruction than others. Most mages when in combat make use of lower level spells that require only one, two or three words of incantation to use. The base elements that a mage uses are: Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Light, Dark, Lightning and Ice. A simple way of fighting for most mages is to use lower level spells that have good power and can fell most enemies with minimal effort. This method keeps some mana in reserve in case a mage wishes to use a higher level spell later. 


Flow example of magic used by a Ceres mage with Mana as fuel

Stage 1) Mana is stored within the body
Stage 2) Mage takes stored mana and begins converting it into their chosen element through the use of a spell i.e. incantation
Stage 3) Depending on the spell and its level of power the mage then releases the spell
Stage 4) The spell takes effect. If it is an offensive spell then it will damage an opponent. A defensive spell will shield user from harm. A support spell will help those around the caster and a healing spell will heal wounds.



Channeling the World

As it was stated above, Mana is within all things. All people, plants, life and objects have mana written into their code. A different form of Magic was created by the Mages who decided to stay on the lower world of Artilia. Perhaps created is the wrong word to use more discovered an alternate form. When a mage of Ceres uses magic they usually consume mana to create an elemental spell. But if mana is in all things then why should you consume mana to summon a fire ball when you can use existing fire to the same effect. This is channeling the Worlds mana. Taking what is already around us and using it. This form of magic completely bypasses the first stage as mana flows constantly through everything and unlike humans the elements of nature absorb mana constantly without needing to do anything (A mage can consume all of their mana during a battle and then have to wait for it to return. The process can be sped up by intense mediation, but obviously this is not ideal in a battle scenario) this means that their is a near constant flow of mana running through everything. 



Flow example of magic used by a Artilian mage who channels the worlds mana

Stage 1) Mana already exists in object. For example a tree root has mana within it already. 
Stage 2) Using their inherent mana a mage channels the mana within the tree root to act to their will be mixing their mana together. Unlike channeling mana this method takes only a small portion of mana to use. 
Stage 3) The tree root will come alive and works to the orders of its waker. If the root is destroyed or the mana that connects the two severed it becomes inanimate again.

This style of magic is the most versatile as literally everything has mana flowing through it, Mages of Artilia Wake the object or thing they want to use. A mage of Artilia can wake the ground around them to become a perch for them to stand on or shape a flame to become a sword. Channeling the worlds mana is a very versatile way to fight and its only limited by the imagination of its user.




Things that harness Mana

Humans= Moderate to High Mana control and intake 
Animals= Moderate to High Mana control and intake
Dragons= Ultimate control and intake
Monsters= Low to Moderate control and difficult intake
Nature= Ultimate control and intake
Demons= No Mana control or intake









Channeling Objects

This form of magic is rather different. All things contain mana so it stands to reason that objects have them to. However man made objects have about 1/4 of the amount of mana that humans do, which is basically nothing. However a group of mages on Artilia have invented a method of containing mana within a glass chamber for use later. The glass is made specifically by artisans the exact process isn't known or shared as it is supposed to be used by only a small handful of mages. The glass chambers are cylindrical and have been made with mana. A mage takes an element and traps it within the cylinder, it works better if the mage is channeling the world. In simpler terms, a mage who channels the world takes a nearby source of fire and traps it in the cylinder. Since the cylinder was made with mana the channeled piece of the world has a way to live by feeding of the residual mana from within the cylinder. The cylinders themselves aren't incredibly big and their only real use has been to attach them to the shaft of an arrow to be used in combat, that and the fact that the mana inside the cylinder isn't extremely strong means that the spell cast would have to be a weak one. 


Flow example of a Mage who Channels Mana into a object

Stage 1) The Trap Cylinder is made by using mana.
Stage 2) A mage Channels the worlds mana into the cylinder. They can also channel mana straight without channeling the worlds mana but this method is more suited to those that use a pre-existing form of mana.
Stage 3) The trap cylinder traps the specific element within letting it feed of its power even when severed from its original host.
Stage 4) The cylinder is attached to an arrow or is kept as a cylinder. 
Stage 5) The cylinder when thrown acts as a secondary mana source i.e if a mage is already controlling the earth they can fire an arrow and use the second source of mana for another attack.

This way of using mana is obviously rather complicated and isn't without its flaws. Eventually the mana, that binds the element inside the glass, will fade away causing the stored element to dissipate entirely. While versatile, this method is still not as widely used as others and only a few have managed to use it to any significant effect. Seeing as objects, even objects that are built with mana, contain only one fourth of the mana that any regular human has using it as source of power is not advised as any spell or channeling that you used would be incredibly weak and mostly ineffective. But who knows advancements in magic are being made everyday, maybe one day this method of magic won't be so ludicrous. 




The Code of Mages 
Forbidden spells, Laws and Duties of all Mage kind


The Mages code is a simple codex of laws and duties that a mage must adhere to the list is as follows;

I Gallad of House Tallis Mage of Ceres do honourably swear to
I. Protect all people's who require thy help
II. To use thy powers for the good of my kinsman
III. To explore new realms to further thy knowledge
IV. To respect thine masters who have imparted knowledge
V. To slay all evildoers be they monster, demon or human
VI. To never stray from the way of good
VII. To never covert greater strength
VIII. To praise Artilia for her benevolence
IX. To damn all creatures that are spawn of Derev Cragnos
X. Above all things to remember my calling I am man made Mage a force of change for whatever thine fate shall be. 


Forbidden Magic

There are certain magics that are beyond the scope of human understanding and control. These magics are often referred to as forbidden for their ability to complete disregard certain aspects of nature that logically a human shouldn't control. 


Necromancy 

The most heinous of magical crimes is the art of necromancy. Any who are found guilty of using its power are condemned for death immediately which is ironic when you consider what the crime is for. Necromancy is the use of mana to call back a body from death. That is the only thing that is called back. The body. Nothing else. You see, the soul of a human is what links mana to them when the soul expires the body no longer collects mana and without mana the body can't use magic. Necromancy is the art of bringing a body back from the dead, no one necromantic mage, even the creator of the magic, was able to call back a soul. The intrinsic link between a human and the world. 

Necromancy was first explored by a mage who dabbled in the use of the element of darkness, arguably the most dangerous and insidious element of magic there is. The Mages name was Thead Noctrum, Thead spent a lot of time investigating different uses of dark magic as was his right as a mage. Thead eventually came to find that if he could invade someone else's shadow and make them act to his commands then surely he would be able to use the shadow of anything. After several failed attempts at this Thead accidentally invaded the shadow of a dead man willing it to life. Seeing as all of the vital organs and muscles remained in the body, as he wasn't dead for long, Thead was able to control the body. This gave him the idea that he could remotely control a body some how without invading its shadow. 

It was months before Thead eventually returned a body from death. The process was to send portions of his own mana into the body. By sending in small fractions of his own residual mana, mana that is always in the body but is hardly ever called upon, he could will the body to move to his commands. This discovery however was not viewed well, by anyone even the Nox Obscura a group of mages dedicated to using dark magic. It was later discovered that the mana Thead was giving up was actually portions of his soul and that with each summoning his own link with mana was being severed. Thead eventually could no longer summon a body back from death. He was condemned for his research as other mages considered it inhumane to make the dead fight again, He was found guilty of murdering unwilling participants to his tests and was executed. Necromancy became a forbidden form of magic never to be used again.

But with the greed of men one thing is certain….that which is forbidden will rise again.



Chronos Lapse 

Chronos Lapse or time magic is another forbidden form of magic. Chronos lapse is the ability to bend time, slow time, fast forward time or generally influence its flow to your own ends. This particular form of magic is the use of mana to shift the passage of time. Like necromancy this form of magic is a mutation of an elemental form of magic, the element that is so closely resembling of time is earth magic. 

Chronos Vaohsen was a man of many different talents. He was well liked, a master of the arcana of magic, a good teacher and overall nice man. His one petulant flaw was his tardiness. It got in the way of everything he did. Chronos was often late to meetings not just that however was what drew him to experiment with time magic. Chronos lost his sister when she was still young, he loved her dearly as any brother would. When he heard of necromancy and its uses Chronos decided to try a different angle one Thead hadn't thought of, turning back time to allow the soul and body to come back as one. 

Easier said than done however Chronos spent many months labouring trying to find a way to reverse the flow of time. It was only after Chronos had seen a certain earth type spell being used that he experimented into time magic. The magic spell in question that sparked his interest was Reforge Growth a spell were a mage would take part of the earth within themselves and should that part of themselves be cut off or destroyed the spell would reforge their body to the last point the spell was first used. Obviously a spell such as that could only bring back a portion of a person, but what if it was used in multiple places all at once. Chronos, luckily, didn't start by using this magic on his sisters corpse but rather on an animal that had passed some time ago, he used the spell all over its body and the effect wasn't what he was expecting. Not only did the spell work but it reforged the entirety of creatures life sending it back to a point when it was at its prime. Awe inspired by this Chronos went on to try the reverse of the magic, reversing the flow of reforging was easy because it stands to reason if something can be regrown then surely the opposite is true as well. 

Chronos continued his work for many months but as necromancy had recently been quelled, about a year before Chronos's research the mage council were still looking for those with an interest in anything vaguely necromantic. Unfortunately for Chronos his research was discovered. He defended his case by explaining that the two magics were entirely different but the mages council decreed that the altering of ones fate by the use of an unknown power was to much power for one person. Chronos was originally condemned to exile but using his new form of magic he managed to rend space time around himself letting him escape…..for 6 seconds. When he returned Chronos was so shocked by what he saw his mind was completely numbed, he was condemned to death mostly out of pity. And so his form of magic which was later renamed Chronos Lapse magic was made forbidden.

But with the greed of men one thing is certain….that which is forbidden will rise again.





Summoning

While not inherently forbidden as there are certain magic spells that allow a mage to summon a creature without a soul summoning one that does have one is forbidden. Summoning is a difficult subject to brooch as many mages infringe upon this law without realising what they did wrong. Basically there are certain spells that when used can summon a golem made of stone the golem in question has no will of its own an acts on the whims of its creator. It is soulless and can be banished at any given moment, there are no real threats to summoning a golem as they cannot develop a will of their own.

The most classic case of forbidden summoning is what allowed demons to emerge from Derev Cragnos in the first place and every subsequent attempt has only strengthened the rift between Artilia and Derev Cragnos. The first real case of summoning was during the reclamation when a group of mages attempted to summon a creature capable of slaying the Dragon General Uldavan. Their attempt summoned forth a demon named Eclipse King Setanza who, as it turns out, did slay Uldavan….and then demanded the death of every human woman from ages 19 to 30. This was obviously met with some resistance. The mages that originally summoned Setanza had been drained of their souls and had no way to send him back to Derev Cragnos. It took a whole battalion of mages and humans to drive Setanza from their lands. He eventually fled to the isles of Nix where he live's even to this day. 

The second most famous attempt was by a mage named Jhani. Desperately in love with a noble mage Jhani attempted to summon a demon capable of returning her loved one's soul to him from death to give him life once again. She summoned a demon succubus named Kikalia maven of the Drac. Kikalia did revive Jhani's lost love……as her own sexual play thing and while she originally would do no harm to Jhani, she was so distraught over her loss she attacked Kikalia. Kikalia for her part crushed Jhani's mind and made her a puppet as well. The two lovers were reunited…in the most gruesome and literal way. There bodies combined and contorted to a grotesque stature Kikalia started looking for more susceptible mages around Ceres. It wasn't long before Cruxagrists were called to the scene and they eliminated Kikalia with all of the power they could muster. The abomination and its state doesn't even dare being spoke of, so hideously repulsive the particulars of its appearance have been glossed over for the readers own benefit. 

Needless to say Summoning was made a forbidden form of magic as summoning a creature with a soul and drive of its own has proven to complex for mages of any skill.


But with the greed of men one thing is certain….that which is forbidden will rise again.



Future sight

A semi mutation of Chronos Lapse magic. Future sight is the ability to see into the future, most mages that try it originally all find it incredibly easy to use. On the surface this form of magic would be an incredible boon however prolonged use of future sight can make a mage so in tune to the fates of others that they can see everything they will do. 

Following the investigation of Chronos several mages continued his theories in secret trying to find a new form of magic from his. The result was the ability of Future sight stumbled upon by several mages at once of no particular fame or glory. Originally the mages used future sight to great effect managing to defeat opponents twice their skill by viewing their movements several minutes ahead of when they would make them. For a time the mages reported no significant trouble using these abilities. But as is the way with all magics the more powerful and convenient it is the more it demands of its user later. The group of mages started to lose their sight. Going blind. The one thing they could always see was the fate of others and that is a cruel thing to see. They knew what people were going to say before they said it, knew where they would look, knew what direction they would walk they knew everything. The effects of future sight sent a lot of them mad. 

One of the mages came forward to the council and explained what they had done. The mages council immediately arrested all those involved and branded future sight a forbidden magic form. As the tempering of ones fate no matter how small can have drastic consequences. 


But with the greed of men one thing is certain….that which is forbidden will rise again.




Classes of Mage 

Some mages in the world prefer to focus on one particular element or ability over another. Listed below is all known mage classes.



Mage

A regular mage. All mages learn how to control all forms of elemental magic occasionally having a preference for one form over others. Most mages are skilled enough in all forms of magic and elemental magic that the need to focus on a single power doesn't arise. Most mages carry staffs as is tradition but as the need has arisen over the ages modern mages preference swords over staffs as the latter is easier to carry also metal is a good conductor if a mage wants to imbued their weapon with an element. Such as coating a sword in flames. Most mages when they become masters have three runes inscribed on their bodies. These runes are elemental runes that bypass the need for incantation, the runes are usually their most used element of magic. For instance if a mage contributes more time to wind, earth and ice magic. These runes will be cut into his/ her body as a way to access them easier. The runes allow the use of up to Level 4 magic of the selected elements.


Infernus Calamitartus

A guild of mages that specialise in the use of Fire magic, honed to such an extent that powerful fire magic is like raising a finger to them. The name might seem to imply a guild of mages that are off the rails but the group is actually well respected an often called upon for matters of justice as the say "Any mage can cast a truth flame but an Infernus mage's truth flame cannot be denied" Infernus mages are often called on in times of war or during bouts of sickness to use their flames to "cleanse" impurities. They work closely with Cruxagrists as well. 

They wear crimson robes with visors. The robes are accompanied by mailed gauntlets and greaves. Mages of Infernus may seem rather threatening in appearance but they are mostly good people. Many mages mistake their appearance for a group of radicals which is why Infernus Calamitartus has such a small turn over in new mages as many don't know what their joining before they get there.


Naiads Whisper 

A guild of mages that specialise in the use of Water magic. A guild that attracts those who want to perfect the healing arts, Naiads Whisper is a tranquil guild they are well liked and any member among their ranks is immediately associated with peace and calmness. If Naiads Whisper has one fault, and its a rather small one at that, their female to male ratio is about 80 percent women to 20 percent men. Obviously like Infernus this can attract the wrong crowd, which has often led many of Naiads Whisper to protest about how they are viewed. Naiads whisper is full of extremely powerful healers but as with any element they are also strong and capable. Many a man will look for a maven of Naiads whisper to defend only to find that the women of the guild are FAR more capable than them.

The guild wears long flowing robes of tinted azure, often with a hood to frame their faces. Some prefer to wear scarves instated of the hood to give them a more personal touch. Jewellery is a common theme as is water so many of the whisper wear water themed necklaces and adornments. Despite some mages seeking the guild for the wrong reasons, Naiads Whisper is well respected and they often take in perspective candidates who have finished their magical training.



Heavens Glaive

A guild that specialises in the use of Wind magic. Heavens Glaive is a guild that takes responsibility for crime in Ceres often they are viewed as a police force. They have the most members and the highest turn over as there are always those that want to protect the peace. Heavens Glaive are often called on about matters of justice and they use there wind magic to fly around the city of Ceres pursuing criminals and wrongdoers. During times of war Heavens Glaive are some of the most skilled fighters as there skills in battle are without peer. As is there name the staple weapon they wield are Glaives or spears or lances. Very commonly they are called the Dragons reborn.

The guild wears close fitting uniforms usually with shirt and trousers some like to accessorise and chose to have sash or skirt for female members. More elite members wear a cloak to signify their rank. There colour scheme is emerald and embossed on the left of their uniform is the sigil of the Heavens Glaive.


Barricade March 

A guild that specialises in the use of Earth Magic. Barricade March is a guild responsible for many differing things, mostly to do with the nature and up keep of Ceres. Not many chose to join the guild as they are considered glorified farmers. Barricade March are actually Judges an off cut of Heavens Glaive, they rule on matters of political intrigue and are sometimes called upon for torture. Barricade March's members are strong of build and wield powerful earth magic, many a mage has faced them believing that they will win only to find themselves flat on their backs having underestimated their opponent. 

Barricade March members wear bronze armour to signify earth each and every one of their members are masters of law an upkeep. The only group that prefer not to carry any weapons only using the power of earth magic to put rebellious mages in their place.


Nox Obscura

A guild that specialises in the use of Dark Magic. Nox Obscura are a disliked guild mostly because of their work as assassins and spy's. Because of this the guild has gotten a bad reputation, people only turn to them if no other options are available. The Nox Obscura keep their activities secret and integrate themselves into all echelons of government. Despite the fact that the Nox Obscura is viewed as clandestine and evil their watchful eye's have prevented thousands of different uprisings and coup's that would have destroyed Ceres long ago. As well as being assassins the Nox Obscura spend a lot of time on magical research, far more research than people might think on first glance. Their dark magic is some of the most powerful and refined. As they say "You may hide your lies in Darkness but we rule all that is wrong, we are your shadow, we are the creaking of floor boards in the night, for that is what we are. The Night made whole and no man can hide from the night"

The Nox Obscura wear hooded robes of purple and black. They wear steel gauntlets that take the shape of claws, as well as wearing masks resembling monsters. Their appearance is meant to insight fear.




Cruxagrists

A guild that specialises in the use of Light Magic. Cruxagrists are by far the most mysterious and the most powerful, physically, guild there is on Ceres. Cruxagrists cater to no other task than monster/ demon slaying. With a very high turnover a lot of mages dedicate themselves to this guild because of one small factor. During a Cruxagrists trail they must take a part of a monster within them, the power of the monster is syphoned to give the mage incredible strength and speed allowing them to use weapons all most twice as big as them. Cruxagrists dedicate themselves to light magic and its purifying power, often a team of Cruxagrists will consist of a mage who exorcises a monsters spirit and a executioner who kills the creature. Whenever a demon appears from Derev Cragnos, Cruxagrists are instantly summoned to deal with it. Out of all mage guilds Cruxagrists are somehow lauded as divine heroes and are viewed with the least scrutiny.

Cruxagrist paraphernalia differs deepening on the task but most wear trousers, tunics and helmets all in white. Senior members of the guild wear capes emblazoned with a red cross with two swords crossed through it and an image of a human driving a sword through a fallen beast. The weaponry also varies between, Great swords, Longswords, Halberds, Scythes, Spears, Maces and regular swords.

A little of something to come

Hey there. 

First off I would like to thank everyone who frequents this blog and puts up with my atrocious grammar every single day. Its been great seeing that viewing bar rise over these last few months. So for that I just wanna say thanks.

Second. I am in the process of writing something BIG. This is my own personal work, its an insight into what I hope will eventually become a story. The post that follows this one will be knowledge about the world and story that I am making.

Third. The blog post that will follow will be updated every so often. As much as I can get around to it basically. Whenever I come up with a new idea for this story it will go into the blog post. Stuff like character names or changing a part of the worlds history thats what I'll be doing. 

Fourth. As Always I hope that you'll perceiver through my grammar and that it won't diminish your enjoyment of the post. I am going to put a lot of work into this and make it as good as I possibly can so expect to see it updated often. And now I am repeating myself. 

Fifth. If it seems a little complicated when you read it then I will make improvements to it.  I'll be honest some points I'll have to go back over with a fine comb. Because even I was like 

"What the hell does this even mean o_O. Damn you brain I trust you to make sense and then you do this?"

Anyway. Look forward to it guys and thanks again to any who read this. I wanna get myself out there got a lot of ideas swirling in my head. The best place to start is just to start. 

Ciao 

G

Backlogging

Why I haven't posted for a while

So it's been a while since I made a post. I am working on some other posts at the moment about games I've finished. Between work and gaming and other time eating objectives, I haven't had time to get back onto the blog. One of the biggest factors however is my recent find. I've always wanted to write, to be an author is a goal I've had for a long time. But given how I write and my grammar I don't think its a goal that I am going to reach any time soon. Still…I am working on it. Anyway, recently an author caught my eye. One who I had wanted to read the books of for a while as I've seen them around. Brandon Sanderson is the author. I read a single book of his sometime in January. I now have ten of his books. 

Discovering Mistborn Series

For those who don't know Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy fiction writer. He, in my opinion, is a fantastic author and a real visionary right up there with some of the best. The way he writes invokes my imagination and I am able to see the worlds and characters he has created in clear detail in my minds eye. I started with his series of books Mistborn.

Mistborn is a three book series based on a world named: Scardiel. The main Character, Vin, is a Mistborn, someone who wields the power of Allomancy. Allmonacy is magic that incorporates the use of metals as catalysts to produce effects for example Steel, when ingested, can be burned to give the user the ability to "push" off nearby sources of metal. Each metal has a twin to it. The opposite of steel is iron which also has a mirrored effect as steel, instead of pushing off you pull nearby sources of metal to you. 

The first book focuses on Vin and her Allomancy teacher Kelsier. Originally Vin is not aware of her Allomatic ability she later meets Kelsier who is trying to overthrow the Lord Ruler, a man who rules over the Final Empire, like Vin Kelsier is also a Mistborn and he begins to teach her how to use her abilities. Vin is initially distrustful of Kelsier and his plan, as she is also distrustful of all of the other crew members as well, She is eventually convinced to help Kelsier in his plan and she goes on to overthrow the final empire. Along the way she falls in love with a noble named Elend Venture.

The first book of the Mistborn series, The final empire, introduces the main characters and the class system that exists there. There are two different races there are the down trodden slave people better known as Skaa and then their are the nobles who rule the Skaa. The Skaa are treated brutally and its not uncommon to find them dead in the street. A Mistborn is a product of a Skaa and noble union though this is a crime. A noble Mistborn can be created too but the Skaa are only allowed to mate amongst themselves. Whenever a Mistborn emerges who is a Skaa they are Killed.

The overall plot of the first book is finding a way to overthrow the lord ruler and take back freedom for the Skaa while also finding a way for the two races to Co-exist. Its a gripping first volume filled with intrigue and mystery and the way it builds itself up to the end is amazing. I found myself frantically reading each page as I got closer to the end. Some moments had my gaping at what happened. Sanderson does a good job of delivering the right feelings to the reader. 

I won't go on about all the books, I wouldn't want to spoil them for anyone who might be interested in the series. Suffice to say though once I was done with that series I wanted more. Luckily I started reading his books at a time when most of them were available and all subsequent volumes had been released so I didn't have to wait for anymore to come out.

The Stormlight Archive

Perhaps my favourite of his series of books, The stormlight Archive books take place on the world of Roshar. Instead of explaining every detail, since the first book is two volumes, I'll try to summarise. 

The story follows multiple viewpoints, similar in nature to George R.R. Martins Game of Thrones. The main characters that are focused on are: Kaladin, a disgraced warrior turned slave who is aided by a single Windspren named Syl he eventually overcomes his slavery and is made a captain of another characters guard, Shallan Davar, a Brightlady who's house is destitute she goes off to be the ward of a scholar and known heretic Jasnah Kholin, Dalinar Kholin, An ageing Brightlord who is helping his nephew turned King to fulfil the vengeance pact when his brother was assassinated by the Parshendi people Dalinar is tough and grim and is plagued by visions during high storms he eventually learns that his visions carry more weight than anyone realises, Adolin Kholin, the eldest son of Dalinar, Adolin is a skilled Shardbearer and known skirt chaser he respects his father but is troubled by the rumours that his farther is going mad by seeing visions, Szeth-Son-Son-Vallano Thruthless of Shinovar, is the assassin in white who started the war against the Alethi and Parshendi and the one who murdered Dalinar's brother Gavilar. Interspersed in each of the books parts, of which there are many, are interludes which detail minor but important characters. 

The series is long and a little complicated at times the magical system of this world revolves around the use of storm light and surge binding. Stormlight is used as a power source for Surgebinding, which has multiple uses. In the very beginning of the book it details a battle between the Heralds and the Voidbringers. There is also an order of Knights called The Knights Radiant which is made up of Surgebinders. One of the main sources of war and a primary tool of the characters of Roshar is Shard Blade's and Shard Plate. Shard Blades are swords that can be summoned to a users hand after ten heartbeats pass and Shard blades don't cut anything living they instead cut the "soul" of things, when something is cut by a Shard Blade it becomes unusable. For instance an arm cut by a Shard Blade can no longer be used.

I won't go into any more detail than that. Suffice to say this series of books was enthralling, Sanderson captured the idea of magic in such a creative way and it was an incredible read. With each storyline eventually crossing over into each other characters will meet and ideas will form while each character acts to stop the crisis as it happens. This is a master work epic and I have to say that it is far more interesting than Game of Thrones, I loved the characters and their ambitions, I loved the setting and the complexity of Roshar and I especially loved a character who appears quite a bit over the Cosmere.

This series is going to be four books long, eight overall as each book is split in two, I cannot wait for those books but its going to be a while before Stones Unhallowed reaches us. If your looking for a different fantasy series then this is definitely one that shouldn't be ignored.

The Reckoners, Steelheart and Firefight 

The Reckoners is a bit of a departure from Sanderson's original fantasy setting. Told from a first person perspective, the story follows David a young man in his late teens, 19 to be exact, who fights against Epics. Epics are humans who were transformed by a tear in the sky which became known as Calamity. Calamity gave superhuman powers to people all over the world and transformed them into Epics. David joins a group of assassins who kill Epics called, the reckoners. Unlike the other books which are set on fantasy planets this series takes place on Earth, albeit an Earth affected by a supernatural power.

Its a griping couple of books as it flips the whole basis of superheroes on its head. These Epic's are mostly all evil or at least are motivated to do evil. None of them have a good bone in their body and will kill anyone regardless of who they are. 

The Reckoners book series really pushes the preconceived notions on the morality of humans and the will to fight back when oppression is forced onto people. 

This series of books was the first I read from Sanderson. 

Final Thoughts

The most recent book that I read of Sanderson's was Warbreaker. I won't go into it on this one as I've blathered on for long enough. Suffice to say Brandon Sanderson is now one of my all time favourite writers and he definitely deserves all the publicity he can get. Who knows maybe I've convinced you to invest time in his work.

Sanderson has created an expanded universe named The Cosmere. All of his main books such as the mistborn series take place within the Cosmere and he has very subtly tied in characters from previous books into others, making cameo appearances that actually carry more weight than your initially led to believe. This is what drew me into his work as there is just so much of it, so much to discover and wait for, so many worlds and their purposes. It's just so…..so……incredible. 

Well I think its safe to say I am a fan.

And thats why I haven't been blogging as much. Because I stayed up until 1:45 in the morning finishing Words of Radiance. I'll be more active now people.

Thanks for reading!!!

Bloodborne

Welcome To Yharnam 

Bloodborne, the spiritual successor to Dark Souls, is by no small margin similar. The two games have very similar introductions and settings, oh and they like to kick the S*** out of you as well. Nice. The premise of Bloodborne is that the main character, you, has come to Yharnam in search of a way to cure a disease he's/ she's been afflicted with. When you begin the game a man in a wheelchair approaches and gives you a blood transfusion with Yharnam blood. Thats when things get weird. Once your out cold a lycan appears from a puddle of blood and tries to end you only to be set on fire by someone off screen. Did I hear someone say convenient plot point overlooked? No. Alright. Anyway, once the bloody creature is dead a group of pale creatures surrounds you and a female voice says "Oh I see you've found a hunter"

Bloodborne, like Dark Souls, doesn't give you much to go on. It can be frustratingly cryptic when it needs to be. It's like a person who goes out of their way to remain inherently mysterious. But thats part of the appeal of it, when you actually find out whats going on and dig deeper there is a lot to Bloodborne. The basic message of the game is, to hunt those that have fallen to beast hood and to seek pale blood in an attempt to escape the nightmare. 

Yharnam itself is very bleak, the setting of the sun in game adds more to the story as in the darker it gets the more serious stuff gets. It's a beautiful place though, with its victorian gothic look it really exemplifies what a city turned to madness would look like. Also Yharnam feels threatening, not only with all of its inhabitants but also with how grim and dark everything is, it just feels like its out to get you.

Seek Pale Blood To Transcend The Nightmare

So Bloodborne. How is it different from Dark Souls? Well on a passing observation they are almost exactly the same. Same bleak everyone has given up attitude, same enemies that will wreck your shit, same cryptic story, same bosses that look like Satan's leavings. But its only when you play Bloodborne that you get a sense of how different the games truly are. Bloodborne is different from its predecessor for a couple of things the first is the regain system which allows you to recover a portion of your health in the 5 second window after losing it. Its a handy system especially when your getting mobbed by a bunch of enemies of course it doesn't always help when in a pinch or if your against a boss, could be intimidating to just charge in and whale on a boss knowing full well it will murder you. The second thing is Bloodborne's evasion move's when locked on to an enemy you can quickly side step to avoid a butt load of damage, it makes combat much easier knowing you can get some distance between you and certain doom. But that doesn't mean its faultless you have to be aware of your surroundings when avoiding attacks. Finally we come to parrying by far the most useful element of the game, a well timed parry can open up enemies to a visceral strike which not only restores a lot of health if you've lost some but also awards you with more blood echoes as well and since you'll be dying a lot in Bloodborne then you can learn all of the common enemy attacks to know exactly when to parry them. Its the most rewarding feeling to parry a boss and get a visceral strike on them. But it takes a great amount of skill to parry every attack someone throws at you. 

The other thing about Bloodborne is that it gives you the necessary healing items about sixty percent of the time which means you won't be running out of blood vials and quicksilver bullets to quickly. The rewarding way in which Bloodborne plays out is what makes it better than Dark Souls, in my opinion anyway. Dark souls punishes its players when you die taking off a portion of your health and robbing you of the souls you have collected. While Bloodborne is similar it doesn't cut your health which makes the rage quit aspect of it a lot better. So while the game isn't as punishing as Dark Souls it can still get frustrating in some areas, especially later into the game.

One of the best parts of Bloodborne is its weaponry. At the beginning of the game you have the option to pick between three different "Trick weapons" which are weapons that transform into different variants with the press of a button. The saw cleaver starts out as a saw but when transformed becomes a longer scythe like weapon giving you longer reach, The hunters axe starts out as an axe but can be elongated to become a halberd and finally the threaded cane is a duelling cane to begin with and then becomes a chain whip when transforms à la Ivy from Soul Calibur. These are you're starting weapons and while rudimentary they become an incredible asset later on as you continue to use them. When attacking enemies you can switch to their alternate forms mid combo changing the flow of battle like the weapon. Not all trick weapons elongate, some have added effects when "transformed" such as the Tonitrus which is coated in lightning when transformed. 

The creativity behind the weapons is one of the best parts of Bloodborne to deal with a strange plague you need strange weapons. 


Facing The Fear

What sets Bloodborne apart from Dark Souls is that it seems very…well real. The creatures that you encounter in the game are all believable…..to a certain extent. The forbidden forest for example has snake type enemies and one of the last areas you visit has spiders crawling along the walls. The point is that its very terrifying to face off against some of the enemies of the game as they are literally the stuff of nightmares made real, the worst things a person can make in their mind made reality. This is where Bloodborne thrives though with its enemies that are both frightening and incredible at the same time. 

Whats interesting is that the NPC's of the game are all survivors of the plague and are just trying to get by. You even encounter fellow hunters such as Alfred of the Executioners, Eileen of the hunter of hunters and Farther Gascoigne. But whats even more interesting is that most of the hunters you meet are fairly doomed, Gascoigne can be summoned to help you against the first boss but later on becomes a boss himself, you help Eileen to hunt a hunter that threatened her but later she falls against a stronger one and Alfred talks of his master Martyr Logarius and he ends up becoming a Martyr himself. These NPC's are important figures during the game and its fascinating learning their backstory and reasons for doing what they do.

The NPC hunters you find are also all hostile and if their are a bunch of them they will all crowd in and attack you at once, they really showcase how different weapon and skill builds can be done in Bloodborne and if your not too enthralled by how they play you can stop them.

So lets talk difficulty. Originally I had qualms about playing Bloodborne because I remember how badly screwed I got while playing Dark Souls 2, and I have to say Bloodborne is far more accessible a title than Dark Souls, its telling that From Software decided to release Dark Souls 2 on next gen consoles as well means they are gearing up for something, more on that later. The difficulty of the game though comes through experience and actually thats how both series work. They require experience you have to get knocked down before getting back up, Bloodborne teaches you that lesson at the very beginning of the game when your forced to die by the hands of an enemy before you can reach the hub of the game. Perseverance is the key, learning the patterns of enemies, expecting blows you can't evade and then healing when necessary, parrying attacks to open up chances for visceral strikes it all takes practice. 


Farewell Good Hunter. May You Find Your Worth In The Waking World.

Overall I loved Bloodborne. Even when I found myself beaten down by it, I refused to let it get the better of me. It was a good experience and the way its presented and done is really effective. I found myself getting tense at boss encounters because I didn't know what to expect and that made me excited when I was victorious. One of the most satisfying things in Bloodborne is seeing the message after you beat a boss "Prey Slaughtered" such a good statement to bring your hard earned accomplishment into perspective. 

The enticing nature of Bloodborne and the feeling I got from it made every second of it unique. There isn't a single thing about it that I felt needed to be changed, it was a unique challenge keeping you on your toes while also being rewarding. The theme of blood is prominent, I mean it would have to be what with the title having the word blood in it, it plays a big role in the story and also on the character as you can become covered in the blood of your former enemies. 

Perhaps the one thing Bloodborne needs to develop on is its backstory and lore. Like Dark Souls it is awfully cryptic and a lot of the necessary info you need is left in item descriptions and by NPC's. Trying to glean anything from it is difficult but at the same time its enticing and makes you want to know more about the game. 

Bloodborne is a fantastic game and truly an essential title for any fan of Sony or of From Software. If your looking for a challenge then I would look no further than this. 




Afterthought 

Like I said earlier, its telling that From Software have decided to port DS2 to PS4 and Xbox one. I interrupt that as a clear sign that From Software are testing their previous titles to get an idea of how they will run on next gen. Their intention seems obvious, Dark Souls 3 is a very real possibility at this point. And hopefully later on down the line we will see Bloodborne 2 or DLC. Either way I can't wait to see what comes next. 

Thanks for reading!

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Hunting Season is open

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as the name implies is a game of hunting monsters. Luckily for me there is no need to befriend any of these monsters, you just go out and mess them up something fierce, seriously though aside from pokemon making friends with gigantic creatures and having them fight alongside you is ridiculous. Don't ask me why…..the reason is really stupid.

Anyway, first off I wanna thank a friend of mine for convincing me to buy Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate the last iteration in the seres, because that is what got me interested in MH4U. So thanks Tim. 

Second MH4U is a lot of fun, it is one of these games that takes A LOT of your time but the grind is worth it when the armour you get looks this badass. 

Monster Hunter is a great game. I'll admit it took some getting used to some of the mechanics of the game, but once you do you can start reaping the rewards of the game in a big way. If I had to say anything about Monster Hunter it would be repetition. Repetition brings reward and with reward comes the chance to go toe to toe with an even bigger challenge. Obviously most games are like that, you start off weak and helpless but build yourself up over time, the good thing about monster hunter is that you can tell how experienced a person is by their weaponry and armour. If you come across someone with amazing armour and find yourself marvelling then that probably means they spent hours trying to cultivate that set and they were obviously well rewarded.

Monsters Mash

The main focus of Monster Hunter, aside from the main story, is gathering materials needed to make new weapons and armour the way this is done is to hunt down, you guessed it, monsters. Each new monster you slay gives you access to new weapons, armour and other assorted trinkets. The harder the monster the better the armour/ weapon. Obviously each monster is different some are weak to specific elements that you can make use of others are strong to all types of elemental damage. Some are downright invincible. 

The newest feature of Monster Hunter is certain monsters can enter a frenzy state, where they get increased strength, speed, defence and generally become a whole lot deadlier. The purpose of this is to keep you on your toe's when you go against them, so far however I have only encountered one monster who enters this state. There is a benefit to frenzy however, when a monster attacks you in frenzy state it infects you with a virus. Don't be alarmed though if you manage to attack it enough while you have the virus it will instead be turned on its head and give you a boost of strength. 

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and each one is different from the last, sometimes a model is reused for certain monsters but thats to be expected. The biggest point of Monster Hunter is the monsters and I have to say, what I am constantly impressed by MH is its diverse selection of monsters and how each one can be so cohesive with the environment its in. Each Monster is deadly, even the ones you wouldn't look twice at, its one of the best features of Monster Hunter that when you square off against an opponent you have no idea how things will go. Its intimidating coming up against a large monster because your not sure how they'll move. 

Tools of the Trade

As a hunter you are going to need weapons almost as big and obnoxious as the monsters you fight. The weapons you can chose from are: Great Sword, Long Sword, Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Light Bowgun, Heavy Bowgun and Bow. New to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate though are two new weapons the Charge Blade (Think Switch axe but with a shield) and Insect Glaive. These two new weapons are extremely beginner friendly but like most weapons also cater to the master hunter as well.

Usually what I've found is that any weapon is useful against monsters and some more experienced players can use something as weak as a sword and shield and still manage to take down a Rathalos solo. A lot of weaponry is situational for instance if your sub quest is to break a certain part of a monsters body you make pick a weapon that is focused more on that. 

All the weapons in Monster Hunter are as creative and imaginative as the armour. They all look so impressive and beast like that it seems like cruel irony to hit a monster with a weapon made from its fallen kin. 

In MH3U the games newest mechanic was swimming, which was incredibly difficult to do. Battles that took place under water were exhilarating and it was an interesting concept however it fell short of being a corner stone in revolutionary mechanics as swimming wasn't featured in MH4U. Instead jumping from small ledges or tall cliffs was added in and when you perform a jump attack from one of these ledges onto a monster your character does a rodeo attack, lethally stabbing the monster in the back while hanging on for dear life. A skilled player can topple a monster with a mount and then immediately lay waste to some of its armour making the mount function one of the most important features of the game. Not to mention incredibly fun to do.

It's a BIG World Hunter, get out there!

Honestly if Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate doesn't keep you hooked for hours then you must not be playing it right. Because there is so much to do, and unlike other games which might have you making a chart over how to spend your time Monster Hunter doesn't do that. You can jump in and start whacking away at monsters quick as anything. 

But thats where the beauty of it lies. The pro's will know where a monster goes, where its healing point is, how many hits it will take before it starts limping, which weapons are most effective, all this and more is what contributes to it. There is so much content, so much challenge to the game that it can suck you back in before you even realise what you missed. With free DLC at the moment too there's plenty of reasons why you should pick up Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. 

The risk vs reward, the grind of hunting powerful monsters, finding new ways to beat those monsters is what its all about. From a personal point of view, I have to say that MH4U is one of the best 3DS games to grace the console in a while and while I am sure there are better ones on the horizon, I can't help but sit here and wonder what Monster I'll face next, Kirin? A Zinogre? Maybe Shaguru Magala again? Who Know's? With other hunters and your trusty palico's at your side you'll be as expectant and excited as I am. 

Happy Hunting!!!

Unsung Heroes

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

So in a change of pace, I am now going to do a section called Unsung Heroes. In this blog post I will talk about games that maybe slipped under the radar of most but are sincerely worth a gamers time, won't be for everyone but I thought I'd get some attention out there and talk a little bit about the game in general.

This week I am reviewing Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together. An SRPG from square enix and alongside FF Tactics Advanced 2: Grimoire of the rift, its my favourite strategy game. TO: LUCT was released on the psp back in 2011, I managed to get my hands on the limited edition of the game at the time and initially I found it gruellingly difficult and to my shame I put it away for several years. Skip forward to 2013 at uni on a lazy summer day nice breeze blowing through the room I decided to really invest my time into Tactics ogre and get past the difficulty. I am glad I did and here's why.

The premise

The setting of Tactics Ogre is set in the middle of several war torn countries all of them vying for the power left behind by the Dynast King Dorgalua Oberyth. The game features some very Shakespearian language with many characters sounding like they just jumped out of Game of Thrones and that is what makes it so enthralling.

Based in Valeria the game focuses on a bunch of teenagers who have recently had their homes raided by the Dark Knights, their leader Lanselot Tartaros takes Denam Pavel's father hostage. Denam along with his sister Catiua and best friend Vyce plot revenge against the dark knights. There plan comes to ahead when the supposed "dark knights" arrive in their home town, springing their carefully laid plan Denam and his friends attack only to learn that the people they attacked where in fact Xenobian White Knights led by Lanselot Hamilton so you can see the confusion there. Two guys with the same name. 

Anyway the story goes on to Denam learning about a resistance force that his people, the Walister, are fighting against invading forces from all around. Denam is led on a quest of realisation, unification and liberation. 


Tactics at its finest

True to its name Tactics ogre focuses heavily on tactics, there is a big emphasis on troop placement and terrain where standing on the right tile can give bonuses to ranged attack strength and psychical attack strength. Tactics ogre is also a good representation of what a tactics game should look like with so many different ways to take down the enemy it really forces you to think about your decisions and plan ahead for what could be a horrible move. But even when a move goes badly and you don't get the result you were after there is a feature called the chariot tarot which allows you to go back and try the move again perhaps taking a different route to a different outcome. All of these features plus the myriad status effects that can both help and hinder make for a great tactical experience. 

Diverse Classes, Diverse races. A chilling tale.

There are many different classes in TO LUCT from the most generic of warrior and archer to the more technical and experienced terror knight and samurai. There are many classes to chose from and each one has its boons and benefits….although that might not be immediately apparent. See the thing is in Tactics ogre when you change your characters class they revert to Level 1 making all the effort you put in on one class useless so what would be the point right? The point is that if for instance you have a dragoon at level 21 and a warrior at level 7 and you want to change the warrior to a dragoon then when he does his level will be matched to the dragoons. So basically the class level is shared. There is a benefit to that but starting an entirely new class from the begging is difficult and Tactics ogre is unforgiving in its assault upon new players…..it doesn't play nice folks. 

Which classes are the best then? Which one should you always have with you? Archers. Archers are undoubtedly the best class in the game, having at least three archers during the begging of the game can change the tide of battle dramatically. Of course classes are all down to personal preference and how good of a tactical head you have on your shoulders. 

An interesting part of Tactics ogre is the chaos frame and loyalty system. Chaos frame indicates your current ethical stance and what path the story will go in there are three routes: Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic and each one varies in length and the number of characters you can attain. Loyalty is to do with your individual units and wether or not they support your decisions, make the wrong one's and they can decide to abandon your cause they are also affected by how many times they die in battle. I never had a problem with loyal or un loyal units so this wasn't much of a problem but I gather that on different routes some people will just abandon you willy nilly. However there are characters that will stick it out with you through thick and thin, never questioning the path you tread. Its interesting to see how tactics plays a part in nearly all of the game's elements.

"There is blood on my hands, how long till it rests on my heart?"

Tactics ogre right from its story to gameplay and soundtrack is a beautiful game. It takes all of the inspirations of past games both from its own series and from Final Fantasy Tactics as well. The way each word is crafted and how the characters interact, it really draws you in makes you think that your a part of their conflict. The game is difficult but once you overcome that and start making the decisions that count what you will find is an incredibly immersive RPG experience the like of which is not easily mimicked. I will give a little bit of a spoiler as the game ends on a certain group leaving Valaria behind opening the doors for the next in the ogre battle series. With so many different options to explore and so many different things that make the game good Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together is a classic that has been wrongfully overlooked, maybe not entirely but still I wanted to write this article so that others will know of an amazing RPG sitting right under their noses. 


Trivia

The director of the ogre battle series, Yasumi Matsuno, was a fan of the english rock group Queen. He subsequently went on to make the first game in the series naming it after two of Queens songs the title of the first game was Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. In a similar vain Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together is named after the song Let us cling together/ Teo Torriatte by Queen. The song Let us cling together has two choruses sung in Japanese. 

Persona 5

My impressions

So. Persona 5. Oh my god. 

Where to start other than saying how completely blown away I was. That and watching the trailer like fifteen times. Ah to hell with it one more time……because its relevant…….I lied I've watched it at least twenty times already. 

If your not familiar with Atlus's JRPG series Persona then you need to take a good long look at it. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5 is the newest instalment from Atlus who lead the way in terms of original story ideas for games. Canonically the persona series revolves around young high school students who have the ability to summon persona's which are the manifestations of a persons soul or psyche. Each game in the series focuses on different aspects for instance Persona 3 focused on an event called the dark hour a hidden hour of time that not many humans knew about or were conscious for the plot of the game is to put an end to this supernatural event as you, the protagonist, is aware of the dark hour as are others. Sounds complex I know, its a lot easier to watch it than to explain it. 

The Persona series is a long running series and like I said above each one is different and adds something that the previous iterations didn't have. This is the latest in the long running series. 

Persona always prides itself on how diverse it is, challenging many adolescent idiosyncrasies and stereotypical behaviour.



Here is some information I have summarised and gathered based on screenshots and the trailer. Bear in mind at the moment this is all speculation.

• First off, because this is definitely one people are getting worked up over and is definitely not speculation at all just common sense, there are more than four party members in the game. 
• The protagonist seems to be transferred to a new school for rehabilitation. Implying that he has some criminal past. That's already way more personality than the last two protagonists. 
• The protagonists friends are sort of social rebels as they don't wear the correct uniform in school. Not a big deal since most persona characters are easily distinguishable from the rest of the npc's but still worth noting. 
• When in school and out on the street the protagonist is rather timid looking maybe even bored. However when in dungeons his true personality comes out that of a phantom thief. Pay attention to the true personality bit especially. 
• This is the first persona game, since the very first, to include multiple weapons the party is seen wielding both melee weapons and firearms in battle.
• Their is an element of stealth to the game as the protagonist is seen jumping around dungeons as well as moving stealthily from one hiding spot to the next. How this is going to be incorporated is anyones guess.
• The all out attack animation has been changed somewhat. It now looks even more hectic than before.
• The velvet room returns with Igor and two twin Velvet room attendants. Although it seems that the velvet room is less of a nice and safe place as the protagonist is seen wearing stripped black and white prison clothes. This is probably symbolic in a way although how isn't made clear. Its probably how the protagonist gets his persona though  as the tag line of the original trailer said: "You are a slave. Want emancipation?" Signifying that the emancipation bit probably refers to being free i.e. being able to use a persona. 
• The clothes the protagonist wears during the velvet room scene look eerily similar to that of Pharos from P3. Its possible, and this is a long shot, Pharos might have also been a prisoner and his escape was related to the P3 protagonist. Like I said, long shot and probably not related seeing as his presence is explained in P3. Still bear it in mind. 
• When in dungeons the protagonist and his friends don masks. This could have a dual meaning. The first is that it means they are hiding their identities which is the fairest assumption. The second is that their masks are what they truly are and when wearing them it represents their link to their personas. Seeing as the word persona quite literally means mask thats what led me to this.
• No actual persona's have been seen yet or at least not in battle. The end of the trailer shows the protagonist being consumed by blue flames. But what is interesting is that his eye's are yellow similar to P4 shadows. This could be a hint at how persona's are summoned or maybe it signifies that these personas are dangerous. Perhaps the protagonists need to force them out and as we know forcing a persona to manifest itself is dangerous to the individual.
• The shadows, enemies in all previous games, have appeared as black blobs and take numerous different forms. The shadows in this game look like some of the personas you can attain from previous titles implying that maybe the negotiation system from previous games might be reintroduced or something similar.
• The protagonists persona is Arsene Lupin also known as the phantom thief further alluding to the protagonists status as a thief.
• Philemon could have more significance in this game than more recent titles. There are, as ever, hints to his presence.
• The protagonists may be a gang of anti-heroes and seen more as people to avoid.
• Like Teddie from P4 a cat character named Morgana appears in the game. I am assuming that like Teddie, she too comes from the other world. Wether or not there is another world is debatable but for now lets just assume its right. Morgana can assume a more humanoid form as well. Get ready for cat girls. 
• Morgana is the name of an enchantress from Arthurian legend which would explain how she is able to switch between being a cat and human. 
• The Velvet room attendants look less like attendants and more like prison guards further hinting at the concept of prison and crime. As well as the cage of the mind.
• Their are some strong hints towards the protagonists transforming into their respective personas. I cannot stress how bad an idea like that is. A persona is a manifestation of your psyche it PSYCHICALLY appears. Just don't do it atlus, don't be those guys. No transforming please. 

Here's what I think. The main characters of the game are probably along the same lines as Robin Hood, take from the rich to give to the poor. But beneath that is another possibility the possibility that the prison is normal life and that the main characters go out of their way to create chaos to be "free". It definitely fits with some aspects of teenage years as most teenagers are rather rebellious and don't bow to social order like most. Either way its an interesting concept and I can't wait to see what the result is.