Official Lore - Fall of the Horsemen - Rise of the Clockworks - Sin from the Shadows

[[S2]LoreMeister]

There lay the Forsaken Archer... and there the Kraken. The beast Gemini has not far off and then the Arachnid Queen. At last, his Electrician, and the demon Balphagore.

They had given up their essence to support his righteous cause. His vanquished foes – Legionnaires, Pyromancers, Scouts and a Valkyrie-- had fallen by the score. Had it not been for the sacrifice of the warrior Flux, surely the leader of the Legion, Maliken's son Jeraziah, would be dead by his demonic blade as well. Content in his victory, Maliken became his human form once again, shedding the essences of his followers. The Horsemen stood before him, weakened, but alive.

“My warriors, go forth and tell the hordes of our victory,” said the great lord of the Hellbourne. “Bring them to me and let us march on my accursed son and daughter. They may have escaped the battlefield today, but they shall not escape the power of the Apocalypse! Let us bring forth the end of all things! Death, War, Pestilence and Famine will spread over all of Newerth! The Conquest shall begin!”

The horsemen bowed before their master and then set off on his bidding. Maliken turned and headed to Hell’s Keep to gather the rest of his generals. As he departed, one of the fallen Legion warriors struggled to his feet. Wiping away the gore from his mines and turrets, the Engineer looked about the bloody plain and was struck with an idea...


Meanwhile, in the fabled City of Iron, Jeraziah addressed his commanders.

“Thanks to the sacrifice of Flux, we were able to escape with our lives, but not without cost. Our friend has fallen to the sword of Maliken and the great Valkyrie did not return with us from the field of battle. Even the Engineer has vanished. My father has grown even more powerful, and it is inevitable that he shall attack once he gathers his forces. Ready yourselves my warriors. Gather the men and beasts. Call upon the Prophets and prepare to Rally to our cause! The wretched horsemen wield power over life and death itself and we need to be prepared.”

At that moment, the door to the hall swung open and a squat figure stood, bathed in the light coming from the fires outside. Jeraziah smiled when he saw who it was. The man who had designed the Legion's weapons of war dropped a bloodied sack to the ground and the distinct sound of steel ringing off the stone hung in the air.

With a weary voice, the Engineer said, “Bring me the Blacksmith and the Bombardier… and I need a forge…”

The hours turned into days and the Blacksmith hammered without ceasing. His calloused hands were scorched by the metal and yet he toiled on. Plates were formed in all manners of form and function, according to the direction of the Engineer. The Bombardier worked the saws, turning plates into cogs and gears, while the Engineer spun gold and copper into a network of wires and conduits. Soon his vision began to take form.


Jeraziah looked on with amazement at what stood before him. Just a few days ago, he had doubted that Engineer's plan could've worked at all. When the weapons for Artillery were salvaged, Jeraziah knew that the Engineer was capable of great things but this went far beyond anything he had ever seen.

Before him stood new visions of those who had fallen before his own blade and shells of the warriors who had died defending him: an Arachna made of Brass, a Balphagore forged of Iron, a mechanized Gemini, an archer made from clockwork cogs, a Kraken recreated from the steel diving suits of the Era of Man, and an electrician made of the corroded copper plates from the ancient statue from the harbor. There was also a scout, who was wounded in the battle and was willing to have machines grafted to his body and be reborn as a new Valkyrie, ready to continue the fight and strike fear into the Daemons. Finally, there stood a new body for Flux. Formed from magnetized Iron and ringed with fragments from his original chassis that the Engineer believed could attract his soul back to the shell.

“While those Horsemen have power of life and death… they do not have power over man and machine,” said the Engineer as he whipped the sweat from his brow.

“When they bring their forces to bear, we will attack them with their own generals and create chaos in their ranks,” said Jeraziah. “I just pray to Sol that your new machines are as effective as Flux was in battling the Horsemen themselves.”

And so the forces of the Legion rode forth with Jeraziah at the head of the army to meet the fallen King Maliken and his Horsemen in yet another brutal battle. The armies finally clashed in the Great Plains near the southern Forest of Caldevar. The men and beast attacked the hordes with a ferocity not seen in years, driven by desperation and fear for what the Horsemen were capable of. Their courage pushed the daemons and traitors back to the edge of the Forest…and then the Horsemen appeared.

War strode into the Legion army and transformed a horrific beast. With his hellhounds at his side, men fell by the dozen. Nearby, Pestilence sent his plagues of flesh devouring insects to decimate the armies of men. Famine walked among the beasts, his very touch emaciating their bodies and draining them of life and vitality. And finally Death took the field, his double scythed sword reaping the souls of those who dared to stand against him. Atop his white stallion, Conquest watched and began to smile for the first time in a very long time as his forces took control of the battlefield.

Then the belching of smoke filled the air and that smile quickly vanished. An iron behemoth roared onto the field of battle, devouring the corpses of the fallen and spitting new warriors out to face the hordes of Conquest. Like a living crematorium, the mechanized Balphagore burned a swath towards the Horsemen. The daemons were struck with fear at the sight of their former ally devouring their fellow soldiers and discord set in. War rode to the front to challenge the interloper only to be stopped by another attacker – Mecha Gemini had entered the fray. The newcomer fought against the Hounds of Hell while Balphagore and War faced off amidst the widespread destruction.

On the far side of the field, Pestilence's waves of insects fell upon a great spider. Their mandibles were unable to pierce her brass hide. The metallic spider seemed to almost smile as she bore down upon the Horseman. Her webbing slowed his frantic retreat as her steel spiderling leapt on the insect-like steed. Soon the Horseman was barely moving as the great spider spun her inescapable web.

Near the Forest of Caldevar, Famine withered both plant and beast. Suddenly a pool opened underfoot and great metallic tentacles swept forth. The horseman leapt aside, only to find himself held aloft in a great electrical grip as the steam powered warrior that was once an Electrician pummeled at his thin form. Soon the tentacles of the Kraken reached him as well.

The mighty Death stood among the fallen and watched as the archers bore down on him. He waded into their midst, taking their souls and gaining power with every touch. Then the bright orange form of Valkyrie was upon him, followed by the brass skeletons of the Clockwork Archer. His deathly touch was ineffective against these metal foes. Arrows and javelins rained upon the skeletal rider and he fell apart under their assault.

Conquest’s smile turned to rage as he surveyed the field of battle. How could these machines be stopping his avatars of the apocalypse? He reached out to his warriors and recalled their power once again – transforming into the mighty demon, Conquest, and strode to face these mere machines in battle. Where the machines were able to fend the powers of the lone horseman off, they were no match for the mighty Conquest. Pieces of both man and machine stuck to the ridges of his blade as his fury was unleashed on the battlefield.

Suddenly he was stopped mid-swing by a beam of pink energy. Conquest spun to see his son standing side by side with a Flux made of iron and blue steel. He swung his mighty blade to strike the warrior down a third time, but it fell short, stopped by the protective charm that Jeraziah had placed on the man of metal. Conquest pulled back to strike again, only to be blasted by a beam of blue force from Flux’s palm and a beam of light that burst down from the clouds at the behest of his son. The Blessing of Sol and the power of Flux stripped away the power that Conquest had stolen from his Horseman, and Maliken stood where the mighty Horseman was mere moments ago.

“Damn you child!” said Maliken as he stood before his son.

Quickly, Maliken was joined by his former horsemen and began to fall back. As they moved away from Jeraziah and his metal protector the forces of the Legion pushed back against the horde and the daemons began to flee into the Forest of Caldevar.

The day was not won by either side. Hundreds lay dead on the battlefield. The war machines that engineer had crafted had been destroyed. The fields ran red with blood and had been blackened by fire, but on this day Man and Beast stood together again to ensure that their sons and daughters would see another sunrise. The soldiers will be mourned, but new warriors will rise to take their places, the machines of war can be rebuilt, and today the mead will flow in the halls of Valhalla.

In Hell’s Keep, Maliken seethed in anger. His chambers had been destroyed earlier in the day by his own hand and he left their reconstruction to his servants. He found himself back in the Ancient Cathedral, delving back through decaying tomes to seek new power. He saw the look of pride on the Legion's warriors and it served to make his wrath grow even stronger. He lusted for revenge against those that envied his power. He knew that greed and sloth could be the downfall of man, but needed a way to tap into their gluttonous ways. If man would not fall before his blades, then perhaps they would fall to their own flawed selves…

Then the dark lord made a discovery that gave him hope...

“There were seven great Virtues that man once upheld. For each of these Virtues, a demon rose to hold them in balance. When mankind fails to uphold the virtue, the demons will rise and Sin will consume the word and corrupt the pure.”

Temptation, power and a plan now were in Maliken’s grasp once again. He closed the tome and somewhere far away, the World Tree shuddered…

[[S2]LoreMeister]

As Maliken turned the decrepit pages, he began to understand the power contained within. Each of these basal desires could hold a powerful sway over the masses, if only used by the right wielder. He knew that perhaps the most powerful force was the one most capable of corrupting others and that was Envy-- a force that even the great king himself knew too well. It was the coveting of power that made young Maliken take his first treacherous steps toward corruption.


He bound down the stairs of the Cathedral and entered the filthy streets of Hell’s Keep. The scent of death and decay permeated the city and the cries of anguish from the dungeons below the surface echoed from the sewers.


Maliken’s mind drifted off in delight at the screams and cries of pain. As he thought of the many ways to break an enemy, his mind fell to one of his favorites and suddenly it dawned on him. Make them watch as those they love are lost to them. Not killed per say, but corrupted and twisted into a mockery of what they once were.


There was only one creature that found purpose in taking everything from someone in such a fashion. It could not only make friends betray another but also force the helpless being to watch everything that they did, unable to stop it. One creature who coveted so much he would even steal enchantments before wearing the very flesh that once hung from your bones as his own. That creature was Parasite and he was the living embodiment of Envy. Maliken strode quickly to the dungeons and found the demon there in the darkness.


“Your power is nothing compared to what I can offer you. You can corrupt the souls of men, turn their hearts away from the things held dear and make them covet those things that are just beyond their grasp,”said Maliken. “I will give you power to warp their vision and cloud their minds so all they see is that which they cannot possess. I will grant you the power to plant the seed of Sin in the hearts of Men. Will you take it, demon?”


There was only one whispered word in response.


“Yesssss….”


Parasite suddenly seized with power as Maliken channeled the dark energies from the tome into the creature's demonic body. A cloud of dark green mist poured into the chamber and where once a mere demon stood, there was instead the primal essence of Sin – not seen since the first fall of Man. A wicked grin formed over its face as it contemplated the scope of its new abilities. Nearby, a captured legionnaire laid on a torture rack and Envy, still grinning widely, leapt into the wailing soldier's body.


Maliken broke the bonds holding the prisoner to the rack and he tumbled to the floor. The legionnaire struggled to his feet, but fed by the power of Envy found his wounds knitting shut. The once great Legion warrior realized that he was now a prisoner within his own body and his eyes seemed to scream with terror as a green haze fell over his vision. His mouth twisted into a wicked grin as Maliken leaned over and whispered the names the others who were ripe to fall. Envy walked over and picked up the effects of the prisoner – his massive axe and the hood he wore to cover the features of the keeper of law. Maliken handed him the tome and sent him out of the dungeons, on the road to the City of Iron. As Envy hurried off, Maliken’s mouth twisted into a wicked grin of its own.

Envy left Hell’s Keep and began traveling toward the City of Iron wearing the skin of the legionnaire to ward off the attention of the Legion scouts. The book that his master, Maliken, had given him guided him toward the next unwitting avatar. He marched for four days and nights without ceasing or breaking for food or water. The demon did not feel the pain of the body he inhabited and did not notice the bloodied and blistered feet of his host until his gait began to falter. Noticing the strength of his body beginning to fail as dehydration and fatigue took its toll, Envy decided that he no longer needed this form and destroyed it from the inside out, tearing free of its flesh. Envy always relished the sensation of terror as his host felt the demon emerging from his flesh. The demon longed for the exquisite pain of death and release that he could never have. That was his curse-- to always want to be released from the pain behind his wicked grin.

The Grimoire had indicated this was the place to stop and thus he did. He sensed the life in the forest around him and was sickened by its energy. The demon was about to move on when he heard a noise from deeper inside the foliage. The tome pulled him in the direction of the noise and Envy followed its lead.

“Ah-Choo!”

The great beast sneezed and its snot covered the trees nearby. Several birds and small animals ran out covered in goo.

“Sorry creatures. I did not mean to get you all grimy. I am still allergic to all this fighting it seems.”

The spine covered behemoth sat on a stump in a small clearing, leaning his massive flail against a nearby tree. He stretched and yawned. When he brought his hand down he saw that a small furry creature was sitting at his feet.

The chiprel placed its goggles on its head and spoke, “What troubles you Armadon? What are you longing for today?”

“It is funny that you ask, friend chiprel. I was just thinking back to the days before the war. Long afternoons of sunning myself without a care in the world, watching the birds build nests in the trees and butterflies sip nectar from the flowers,” said Armadon. “The time of peace, when I did not have to be of two minds, one at war and one wishing it away. When men could venture forth with beasts and there was harmony. A time of rest. That is what I am longing for little chiprel, a time of rest.”

“Then why not take a moment and let yourself enjoy the peace of this clearing,” said the chiprel. “Surely there is no threat to one as powerful as you in these serene woods. You deserve a break from all of this fighting and war.”

“I do not know,” said Armadon. “I have responsibilities to the Legion. I should be on my way soon.”

The chiprel looked slightly confused. “But certainly you can rest for just a short while. Your responsibilities can wait while you get what you truly deserve. You never asked for this war and you tried to stay out of it.”

The armored beast wrinkled his brow in thought and dismissing his concerns he spoke again, “True enough. A little rest will not hurt anything. I do deserve some time for myself. The war will still be there when I wake up.”

And the great Armadon lay his head on the stump he was resting on and drifted off to sleep.

The chiprel bound off into the bushes and pulled out a great book. With a wicked grin on his face he opened the pages and began to read aloud the ancient script. Quickly, a black mist filled the clearing, seeping into the crevices of the hide and around the spines of the ancient Armadon. Its ancient skin began to crack and crumble, letting the summoned sin take full hold of the beast.

When the mist cleared, Armadon was no more. In his place was a slumbering behemoth of two minds-- literally. Each head snored loudly in the forest. Over the next several days one would wake and try to rouse the other, who would refuse to move and thus the beast was unable to leave the clearing. Each time the heads could not agree, the small blue cyst on its back grew a bit larger and more imbedded in its hide, holding it even more firmly in place. The nearby birds began to gather on his back, picking at the insects that were now collecting on the beast. They began to nest in the safety of the shadow of the stone and calling back and forth to one another.

The chiprel sat and watched for the beast to finally awaken. The Grimoire did not bid him to move on, so he waited and watched its power grow. Finally after 6 days his patience was exhausted and it gathered the nuts fallen from the trees nearby and began to throw them at the great beast’s heads. First one eye, then another, then a third and finally a fourth eye opened. Both heads looked at one another, shrugged and struggled to its feet. Ignoring the flail sitting there it reached over and grabbed a great fallen log. The beast then turned back to the chiprel that contained the demon Envy and spoke, slowly and deliberately,

“You have woken the mighty Sloth” said the first head.

The second head yawned in response. “Who are you to wake us?”

Envy scampered up to the shoulder of the ogre and whispered in the ear of the first head who laughed aloud and whispered into the ear of the second. Envy burst free from the chiprel to refresh his strength.

“Go now Sloth. I will gather the rest of our brethren,” said Envy.

The Grimoire glowed with power for a moment as Envy gathered it up with his massive claw. Sloth lumbered off toward Hell’s Keep and Envy went back to the path towards the City of Iron, following the call of corruption…

[ChillyWater]

Cool!

[[GiGa]BuddhaKekz]

First S2 post in this sub-forum!

LoreMeister <3

Did you write that or was it someone else?

[[S2]LoreMeister]

That's mine

I will be working to write more official lore as we move forward, including official rewrites of some existing lore as well. Please keep an eye out for the ever expanding HoNiverse!

[[Yosh]CKMo]

With all due respect to whichever S2 employee wrote this, the grammar was not exactly up to par with what one would expect from an "official" lore. While reading this, it felt like the writer's main language was not English, and probably a second language learner...

[[S2]LoreMeister]

Well I did indeed write it and my primary language is indeed English. The final draft is an edited version of the initial submission, by our own XanderK, but it maintains the just of the lore throughout. Watch for future lore to hopefully be more expansive as this lore was designed to cover a great deal of territory in a limited amount of both time and space. Please continue writing your lore as well as I have enjoyed reading through your vision of the HoNiverse!

[ChillyWater]

Please rewrite Master of Arm's lore :'(

It makes me sad

[Drasha]

s2 in my lore section?

I really enjoyed the clockwork part though I can't say I love all the name dropping for heroes. Would have been fine if it was just the engineer and nameless assistants. Also I am going to start a contest for the underfoot a subterranean area of newerth which I just had to make after reading this.

[[FUR]kerespup]

I'm so happy~!~

[Drasha]

New contest is up go enjoy chiprel month.

[[GiGa]BuddhaKekz]

Does this story mean, that alt avatars are considered to be canon?

We had a discussion about it in two other threads and the general consensus was, that they are not canon.

[[S2]LoreMeister]

As various avatars are included in lore and/or made official via their own lore they will be considered canon. Not every avatar will be made canon, but many will.

[[GiGa]BuddhaKekz]

Ahaha great now things start to get really complicated. xD

Anyway, it's great to have you here, if you have the time just browse through some of the other threads, maybe can answer a question or two. ^_^

[[S2]LoreMeister]

added the lore through sloth to the thread

[Drasha]

If you would like I can chop them up so each bit is in its own post at the top of the thread so its easier to find the start and end of each segment.

[[S2]LoreMeister]

Sounds good Drasha.

[Jeroz]

can we have an update on the lore? I want to read about Pride and Lust

[_Scars_]

can we have an update on the lore? I want to read about Pride and Lust

http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...en-Deadly-Sins
click the show for the hero whos lore you want to read

[[S2]LoreMeister]

Sorry I have not had the chance to update this thread...busy busy lately. I will try to set this up again tomorrow and update it fully if the day allows for it.