| Master of the Wind | Cleanslate | |||
| Arc I | Arc II | Arc III | Arc IV | Arc V | Arc VI | Arc VII |
|
ArcI
|
| Download |
|
none
|
| Story |
|
The adventure begins! This first arc introduces players to the double lives led by Cade and Bones. As their nemesis Andau menaces Port Arianna and threatens the people they value most, our heroes are forced to chase him through all manner of ghostly locales. Meanwhile, a mischievous thief and his pet tiger stroll into town with trouble on their minds. Check out the engaging story and distinctive gameplay that started it all. Maybe Shroud and Stoic were better off against vampires and thieves! The crooked shop called Equipment King moves into Port Arianna, and poses a threat to the very livelihood of our heroes. As frightening events unfold in town, it all seems suspiciously linked to Equipment King and its owner, Don Kovak. Kovak has strong subordinates, a natural flair for public relations, and his mysterious affiliation with "The Hand." All our heroes have is their own skill and resolve. Can they stand up to these new foes? What personal costs will this conflict exact on them? The story steps outside Port Arianna and the major conflicts and questions driving the world of Solest are brought into the spotlight. Still reeling from his battle with Sparrow, Cade infiltrates the Sacred River Monastery in an attempt to unearth evidence of a connection between Equipment King and The Hand. This leaves Bones reluctantly taking Finley under his wing, and everyone's favorite gunner is about to get a fast education in the hero game. Later, the characters travel to the frozen continent of Boreal, where new friends and foes await. Now accompanied by the psychic healer Laurel Hargrove, our heroes travel to the city of Rellenia in their continued efforts to find evidence of Equipment King's crimes. There they must confront the necromancer Solik Darmanus, who disturbs Stoic with the depth of knowledge about historical events that may be better off forgotten. Later, the new Equipment King branch hits the vibrant desert community of Artagel, and the heroes must confront an old enemy they were sure was long gone. What revelations does their search have in store for them? Can they get along long enough to finish the job? And just what is going on over at the headquarters of the fairies? How did Stoic become the seasoned undead warrior he is today? What is the full scope of Solik's plan? Who is the Sparrow? All this and more in arc V! Distraught over the revelation of Sparrow's identity, Shroud sets off on a dangerous solo mission. It's up to the other heroes to catch up to him before it's too late. Meanwhile, as The Hand's power grows, Laurel experiences a deep spiritual crisis. Clean Slate tells the story of the final days of the Gallian Empire, and the small group of dedicated adventurers who helped bring the rest of the world together and change history. A serious spoiler warning is in effect here, so if you don't want a full plot description of the game, don't read any farther. A mysterious figure washes up on the beach. As soon as he regains consciousness, he realizes his memory has left him. He is discovered by Galdar De-Naren, a minotaur with great dignity and wisdom. Galdar sees right away that this stranger is some sort of soldier within Gallia, the empire dedicated to purging all the non-human races from the Earth, claiming this is the will of Arcadius. With the stranger's memory wiped, Galdar sees no threat in taking him under his wing, and names him Arius, after his own grandfather. Arius is taken to Guardia, a community where people of all races live in cooperation with one another. He makes a small army of new friends: The boorish, foul-mouthed, but highly principled Turnus Worrell. Nova Sherron, a water mage who becomes fiercely protective of Arius. The tough-as-nails warrior woman Shurikra Kajarian. An elven psychic named Ivory Aleska. The brave, but uptight, kobold Britsus Konne. On the recommendation of Galdar's three advisors, Lock, Stock, and TSB, Arius joins Gallia's reconnaissance unit alongside Galdar and Turnus. They soon confront Seth, a dragoon who has declared war on Guardia after they sentenced his fiance Villea to death for unknown reasons. The more Arius finds out about how Guardia runs, the more suspicious he becomes. The town council shrouds itself in mystery from the public, and Seth's message seems to be getting through to other citizens, such as the elven spy Morias ("Spider") and the frustrated lodite Connors. Everyone is shocked when Arius is given an opportunity to meet with the council. The conversation is tense, and after he leaves, a major revelation is revealed. "Lord Lysander didn't recognize us at all!" Next, we learn the reason behind Seth's battle. The council is full of Gallian officers, and they had Villea killed because they feared the dragoons, who are known to have tremendous capacity for strength. Arius wants to investigate the council further, but only Nova is willing to help him. They trail one of the councilors through the tunnels under the city, but find themselves overwhelmed by the fearsome creatures down there. The two are saved by Azor, who is promptly killed by Seth. The dragoon doesn't stop there. He lays siege to the council's headquarters, and Arius and Nova meet up with Galdar and Turnus in order to confront Seth once and for all. After Seth is defeated in battle, he drops the bomb. Arius is really General Lysander Barca, the feared Lord and General who masterminded the creation of Guardia. The town was always meant to attract enemies of the empire, and Lysander was on his way to destroy everyone who had gathered there when the fateful storm wiped his memory clean. When Arius hears this information, an internal struggle begins between the repressed Lysander persona and the new persona developed since the shipwreck. In an unprecedented incident still debated by scholars within the world of Solest, Arius and Lysander actually split into two separate beings. The theories behind this range from some freak magical incident to a case of divine intervention. Lysander fends off Seth quickly, but is forced to leave and regroup. He meets up with Ariel D'Eleficent, the lone council member to survive Seth's massacre, and the two of them begin their journey home. When the heroes recover, they all agree they must do what they can to protect Guardia. They felt if Lysander and Ariel made it back to Gallia, the full force of the city's army would crush their treasured community. Arius, Galdar, Turnus and Nova set out, leaving the city in the care of Shurikra and her allies. During the journey, each of the heroes is forced to confront the hardships of their pasts. Arius begins to have regular nightmares in which he remembers the atrocities committed by Lysander. As the trek goes on and on, the guilt begins to weigh down on him. Nova, however, refuses to give up on him, and continually tries to reassure him. Because of their closeness, Nova also shows flashes of a fierce jealousy streak when Arius interacts with other women. The group stops in Karzai, the desolate mountain town where Galdar had previously lived. After his parents fell ill and died, Galdar and his brother Zarr inherited their worth, angering a family of intolerant humans in the town. When Galdar defended himself against one of them in a bar, the attacker was accidentally killed and Galdar was exiled for five years. It has been seven years since Galdar returned, and he must face his old foes again. In addition to that, Karzai is being terrorized by the Wyvern Fang cult. Our heroes confront Thon and Asp, two officers of the Fang. Asp is killed and Thon escapes. Arius and company seek to prevent Lysander and Ariel from acquiring a ship near the coast. After centuries of naval warfare, Gallia had ensured they were the dominant power of the seas, and the harbors of most other major kingdoms were in ruins. Lysander tracks down a ship, and is confronted by the group. Lysander defeats them easily, but Seth appears and destroys the ship. After this encounter, the heroes come to Harrol, a town terrorized by necromancers. Their leader, Monicon (who was killed in the "Mina's Reckoning" short story), has been resurrected as a lich by his ally, Torhav. The heroes defeat Torhav, and rally the people of Harrol into a final battle against Monicon's army. Arius destroys Monicon and after seeing firsthand the hope the courage of his group has brought to Harrol, pledges not only to save Guardia, but to defeat Gallia once and for all. Their journey takes them to the far north, where they meet Dasani, the legendary leader of Boreal who has earned worldwide admiration with her mysterious angelic wings. Her young assistant, Lily, also takes a liking to Turnus. Lysander fears Dasani's telepathic powers, and sends Ariel to dispatch her. At the same time, Seth shows up with his three new allies: The shadow mage Alko, the wind mage Mina Lolian of Harrol, and the volatile fire-elemental Zala. A four-on-four battle royale rages in Boreal, while Ariel and Dasani battle it out inside the Mayor's Manor. Ariel gains the advantage in her battle with Dasani, but both Arius and Seth's groups arrive in town to chase her off. Meanwhile, the Wyvern Fang cult sets their sights on Guardia. Ivory, who has a vision of Arius's death, leaves the town in a panic only to run into the cultists. Rescued by Shurikra, they join with Britsus to fend off the Fang, going as far to chase them back to their island headquarters. There they confront Anna Sanora, the mastermind of the Fang who has been using the Forbidden Spell of Rebirth to return her officers to life. The Fang are defeated and Ivory places a powerful seal on the Altar of the Abyss, which is essential for the spell. Out in the swamps west of Boreal, the relationship between Ariel and Lysander becomes tense. She attempts to sway him from Lynnia, but his loyalty is unshakable. Hurt, she wanders on her own and bumps into Arius and Nova. The two attempt to fight back, but Ariel quickly incapacitates Nova, leaving Arius on his own. Seeing Arius unwilling to leave Nova's side reminds Ariel of the love she has not yet found, and she abruptly leaves. Nova, devastated by her failure to protect Arius and shaken up by a nightmare about her murdered parents, wanders off into the woods. There she meets with the mysterious Griff, a griffin using transformative powers to masquerade as a human. Griff leads her to a secluded elven home under a siege led by Gallian Squad Commander Felicia Stormblade. Nova defeats Felicia and Griff illuminates the connection between them. Nova's parents, Grace and Drake Sherron, rescued him as an infant and the two families have remained close since. Throughout the game, Griff helps Nova enhance her magical skills, and she is even able to call upon him in battle. Next our heroes stop in Rutul, hometown of Turnus. He is shocked to discover that the pristine camp where he honed his marital arts skills has been purchased by Gallia and set to be developed into a training facility for them. Even more upsetting is that his father, Laturnus, chairman of Rutul's town council, voted in favor of this development. Turnus resolves to turn the community against Gallia, and uses the very skills he learned at the camp to sneak around the construction. There he confronts Evander Till, who was been working with Drances, Turnus's childhood rival. Turnus overhears Evander and Drances discussing their murder of a council member who was opposed to the construction, and brings that accusation before the rest of the board. A vote on the area's future results in a tie, and Turnus faces Drances in the traditional "Ritual of First Strike." Turnus lands the first hit and Gallia is forced to leave. Evander and Drances later meet up with Felicia, all of whom join with Lysander and Ariel on their trip. In Coromant, Arius is overcome with a dark presence emanating from a nearby mysterious mansion. He collapses and dreams of his old friend Randel Norphen, a Gallian general who got in trouble for sparing potential victims of the empire. At one point, Lysander and Randel worked together to corner Queen Arianna and King Terr of the elven kingdom, but Randel used concealment magic to protect them. He is killed by Lysander. While he sleeps, Galdar meets with Mina, and the two find they have a great deal in common. Seth, Alko and Zala join the gathering and Seth proposes his plan to raid the massive base Gallia constructed during the wars with the dwarven kingdoms. Seth feels that both groups working together will be able to get past the soldiers, and Galdar returns to get the input from the rest of his group. Arius, however, is obsessing about a connection between his recent dreams and the strange feelings he picked up from the mansion, and goads the others into investigating it. The abandoned place turns out to be a haven for ghosts of those slain by Gallia who have not made peace with their fate, and Arius finds that Randel is watching over these lost souls. Arius apologizes profusely for Lysander's conduct and is forgiven by Randel. With that resolved, Arius and the others meet up with Seth's group. After dispatching the first wave of soldiers, they split into four groups of two. Arius and Seth, Galdar and Mina, Turnus and Alko, and Nova and Zala. Arius and Seth face Squad Commander Tor Lamorak in combat, while the other groups fight Lock, Stock and TSB, who were always mercenaries hired by Gallia. Once the large-scale battle concludes, Seth uses his ever-increasing powers to destroy the Gallian base altogether, despite the protests of the others. After the devastation, Seth makes peace with Arius's group. He gives Arius a sheath that belonged to his lost love Villea, forgives Galdar and Turnus for the misunderstandings that occurred in the Guardia days, and reveals to Nova that it was Ariel who killed her parents. Making their way into the elven kingdoms, our heroes meet Queen Arianna praying at a statue of Randel Norphen. Arianna reveals that Arius has gained fame as "The General of Light," given the help he has brought to the various towns during the group's travels. She pledges to round up the remaining elves to help Arius in a future strike against Gallia, where a powerful rebellion is brewing. She also gives Galdar a stone imbued with transformative magic, which he can use to transform into a human when needed. Shortly after that, the group comes upon the ruins of Rellenia. Overwhelmed by the devastation, and his/Lysander's role in bringing it about, Arius faints. He's plunged into an elaborate dream that sheds light on General Lysander's early days. His father, Hamil Barca, saw a compassion in Lysander that worried him. Hamil worked hard to stamp out that compassion and mold Lysander into a perfect warrior, despite the objections of his wife Vera and Lysander's sister, Molly. Lysander excels in all of his studies and training, and sails through the ranks of the empire. Eventually, he marries Lynnia and they have a son, Leonard. Finally, an apparition of Nova leads Arius out of the dream and he emerges full of new purpose. He pledges to save Leonard Barca from going down the same path as the rest of his family. The next stop on their journey is Port Vincent, where Arius masquerades as Lysander to get himself and the others a ship to Gallia. Turnus picks up a space-cadet girl named Shirley, who finds herself tagging along. As they are apart to set off, they are confronted by Felicia Stormblade, widow of Randel Norphen. Arius finds out she has been lied to about Randel's death and reveals that it was Lysander who murdered him, not the elves. Felicia sees her conviction shatter in front of her eyes, and surprises everyone by joining their team. Felicia and Arius become very close, and Nova finds herself jealous of their connection. Meanwhile, Lysander and his companions return to Gallia, where the general reunites with his wife and child. Later, he is forced to explain the failure of the Guardia mission to Gallia's council. They urge him to sugarcoat the ramifications of the disaster, but he has no such intentions. A rift begins to develop between him and the council, especially chairman Warrick De Cafer. This is eerily reminiscent of what Seth experienced with Guardia's council. When the sailing is done, Felicia and Shirley go to Gallia ahead of the group. Shirley finds out that her brother, Sarnath Alleni, is the leader of the new rebellion within the city. Arius's group arrives shortly after and use the sewer system to find their way to the rebel base. The "General of Light" is welcomed with open arms by Sarnath and the other leaders of the rebellion. They also meet Wyre, Queen Arianna's ambassador to the rebellion. The group is surprised to learn that the rebels have a spy on the council itself, Leanne Kira. Arius feels compelled to venture over to the suburban East Gallia to visit his sister, Molly. After a tearful reunion and explanation, Lysander ambushes Arius and stabs him with the lethal Black Wound technique, a sword attack that sends corrosive dark magic coursing through the victim. Nova pledges to heal Arius, despite the Black Wound's resistance to curing spells, and the others are left to plan their next move. Seth's group arrives at the base shortly after, and Sarnath sends most of them on a diplomatic mission to meet with King Thurk of the dwarven kingdom. He also learns that the annual Great Gallian Warriors Tournament is underway, and the winner of this competition walks away with a large cash prize. Turnus volunteers to try and secure this prize money for the rebellion. Disguising himself as a Gallian soldier, Turnus competes with several colorful characters, including an ice mage named Aubrey from Boreal. His final opponent turns out to be Drances himself, and Turnus is personally congratulated by Lysander for his victory. After that awkward moment, he returns to the rebel base triumphant. While Turnus recuperates, the rebel leaders devise the next step of their plan. Galdar takes Seth, Mina and Zala to the shipyards in West Gallia to disable the empire's fleet. Alko decides to remain at the base and assist Nova in treating Arius. Mina expresses doubt about this sort of violent mission: Are the rebels becoming like Gallia in their methods? Galdar assures her that the group will not harm any Gallian civilans. During the mission, the group faces off against Anston, one of the Council's high guards (Ariel is the other). Anston prefers to let a necromancer do the fighting, and an undead dragon is summoned. After defeating the beast, Galdar, Seth and Zala, all of whom know fire magic, destroy the shipyard in spectacular fashion. Lysander gives Tor and Evander the task of tracking down the rebel base, and suggests several possible locations. The Council, reeling from the destruction of the shipyard, summons Lysander to their quarters to discuss the incident. When they ask him to downplay the damage, he refuses to mislead the people of the city. The council threatens to take away his rank of Lord and General, and he snaps. He and Ariel kill each council member except Leanne, who makes a hasty retreat. Lysander is now in command of the entire empire, and the city rejoices in being led by their champion. Shortly after this, Galdar, Turnus and Seth leave on another diplomatic mission. The next day, Tor and Evander find the rebel base and Evander decides to try and defeat the rebellion rather than notify Lysander. Tor is uneasy, but goes along with the change. Nova joins with Mina, Alko and Zala to fight off the invaders. Eventually they battle the two officers. After the fight, Evander knocks Mina unconscious with an earth spell and takes her to the city's intelligence headquarters for interrogation. When Galdar returns, he resolves to rescue Mina immediately. Assisted by Felicia, Galdar, Turnus and Seth sneak into the intelligence building...the old Guardia reconnaisance unit together again. They face off against their former advisors - Lock, Stock and TSB. The three mercenaries escape, and Mina is rescued. Elsewhere in Gallia, a mysterious stranger knocks on the door of the Barca home and Lysander's wife Lynnia is suddenly slain. Lysander comes upon the scene and assumes the rebels are resopnsible. He vows to gather the city's army together, and now that he knows the location of the rebel base, crush them once and for all. Sarnath fears the worst, but there is a glimmer of hope. Arius has recovered from the Black Wound. Acting on a telepathic suggestion from Dasani, Arius suggests venturing into the mountains north of Gallia to try and find the dragons who have hidden themselves away. On their journey, they encounter Theese, the Gallian soldier who slew Galdar's grandfather. Galdar defeats him easily in their confrontation, but finds that Theese is not how he remembers him. Now older and retired from the army, Theese has two kids of his own. Galdar decides to spare Theese, not just for the sake of his children, but to prove that minotaurs and other non-humans are not the monsters Gallia has made them out to be. "By showing you mercy, I will prove Gallia is wrong," Galdar says, "You and your city and now both defeated. Should you choose to fight us in the final battles, you will have to do so knowing that if I had not spared you, you would not even be there." Our heroes come upon the dragons hidden in the mountains. They have also crafted a hideaway for humans who defected from the empire. After some talking, the dragon king Lok-De agrees to assist the rebellion. A horde of dragons cris-crosses Solest, gathering leaders and warriors from all over the world for a coming attack on the empire. Meanwhile, Lysander amasses troops at the Great Gallian Fort, a landmark in North Gallia. Armed with a new militia, Arius and the other leaders propose an attack on the military barracks in West Gallia. Left somewhat unguarded by Lysander's activites in North Gallia, the barracks becomes a perfect target. Using the dragons, the rebels launch a huge attack on the barracks. Arius's group fights a squad of necromancers while Seth's companions face First Sorcerer Azor. Dasani joins with Shurikra, Ivory and Britsus to raid the base from the inside. There they face off against First Sorceress Colter. In the commotion, Ariel also shows up. She and Felicia have a brief but brutal battle, leaving Felicia injured and Ariel too exhausted to continue the fight. Sarnath learns that Lysander has also recalled all the Gallian troops serving abroad. He fears that if they return, the combined army will be too much for the rebels to handle. Plans for a final battle begin, and the group takes care of some loose ends. Arius meets with Queen Arianna at King Terr's memorial, who entrusts him with the Sword of Elven Kings. Galdar returns home to retrieve his grandfather's mighty axe. Turnus is given a special trinket by his little cousin, Juturna. Nova is also given equipment by Griff's family, and some of it belonged to her father. On the eve of the last battle, Seth confronts Lysander alone at Lynnia's funeral. Lysander assumes Seth is responsible for her death, but he denies the accusations. "I have come to realize that no innocent civilian deserves to die in battles between warriors," Seth says, "Aside from that, Arius has become my friend and ally. I did not wish to cause him pain." On some level, Seth and Lysander begin to understand how similar they actually are, but a fierce battle breaks out regardless. Seth summons four warriors, but Lysander is able to defeat them all and mortally wound the last dragoon. After having a vision of Villea and the rest of his slain brethren, Seth dies. After mourning Seth, the heroes gather for the last battle. Arius and Dasani speak to the crowd, and are united with Queen Arianna, King Thurk, Sarnath, and Lok-De. Lysander visits Gallia's major church, and discovers that Lynnia's death has caused his faith to deterioriate. He is approached by his old friend, a psychic named Erva. Erva had experienced a vision that foretold that Arius and Lysander would fight each other to the death...but could not say which one would be victorious. Erva urges Lysander to leave Gallia. He considers it, but ultimately decides to stay and fight for the sake of the city's people. The final battle takes place outside the Great Gallian Fort. When Lysander, standing on the roof, kills Arianna with a powerful spell, Arius resolves to fight his way through the fort and get to the top. Along the way, they confront Ariel, who reveals that she is the one who murdered Lynnia. She summons two hideous monsters to assist her battle, but ultimately she loses and is killed by Nova. Outside the fort, Mina, Zala and Alko face off against Tor and Evander. After the fight, the two Gallian officers question their mission and leave the battlefield. At the same time, Dasani's group battles Zain and Colter. Both are killed in the battle. Lysander confronts the group on the roof, and is unable to hold his own against the four of them. Arius, Galdar, Turnus and Nova then engage Lysander in a debate about the future of Solest, and he questions whether they have thought their mission through. After he is informed that it was Ariel who killed Lynnia, he is despondent. He challenges Arius to a final battle and loses. General Lysander Barca quietly speaks the name of his wife, and then dies. The battle is over and the rebels have won. Sarnath becomes the new chairman of Gallia, and is aware that the rebels have a long road ahead of them. When the troops from abroad return and find their city taken over by rebels, it is Tor and Evander who talk them out of waging war. Arius takes his son Leonard and returns to Gallia with the rest of his allies. The world is at peace...for now. |
| Review |
|
none
none
none
|
| Screenshots |
|
|
| Guide |
|
none
none
none
none
|
