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Queen Lynaria will have fiery red hair and a similarly fiery spirit. I will delve into greater detail when Aurauris and I have worked further on our collaboration. ;)

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For thousands of years, the Elemental Lords upheld the foundations of the world through the terran embodiments of their power. Fires raged within the core of the world while icy oceans stirred upon the fledgling world's surface. Storms roared above the dissonant waves that tore the skies like tendrils from the depths of the sea. The sun and the moon continued their eternal pursuit in the sky, and the very earth trembled in memory long forgotten by mortals; memory of a time when its bitter quarrels with the whispered winds were far more terrifying.

The Elemental Avatars acted as conduits for the plans of peace and harmony envisioned by the Lords in their righteous might. Amidst what seemed titanic struggles between forces of nature, there had been balance. Each wrench and pull of one element upon the other was merely a shift, like the ebb and flow of tides. The balance is delicate and ever capricious in its movements, but everlasting. The Avatars safeguarded this balance under the admonishing eye of the Elemental Lords long after their faithful servants, the Rune Knights, were lead astray. But centuries and even millennia prior to the presence of the Elemental Avatars, there were others.

There are others, and even now they claw at their arcane prisons in the core of the world. They know only vengeance. They want only chaos and destruction. But above all else, they want mortal races to kneel to the higher truth: that all they know will end.

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Have you given the mana core channeling mana into Lore from the magical dimension any thought with it being a prison?

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Unless the mana being channeled into Lore were of such strength that it would kill rather than empower them (Not the most likely result, since creatures inhabited by the Elemental Lords typically receive a fraction of their power), I fear that may only make things worse. Not to mention it would meld my ideas of them being imprisoned in the center of the world or in another dimension!

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An issue I have thought long and hard on. But I think that it would be a combination of things. The Hand of the Avatars, the Order of Rune Knights, once had an incredible presence among the people of Lore. They were the foot soldiers for the triumvirate guardians of balance. The Guardians held the rear and unyieldingly defended the Elemental Orbs (Defending towns in the process) and the DragonLords tackled the more powerful monsters, but the Rune Knights were on the front lines.

But over the last few centuries, their power has been on wane. They have become introverted. Where they once eagerly leaped into battle, they now hesitate and prefer to pore over their ancient tomes. Where they once obeyed the Elemental Avatars without question, they now shirk from their duties. Less and less Rune Knights have been marked over the last arduous years, to the point where the Rune Knights now make a militia more than a vast army. They once took great steps in defending and connecting with the people of Lore, but now they hide in their castle.

They have forgotten who they are and, in turn, they are being forgotten by those who believed in them. To the point where a Rune Knight visiting the palace of Swordhaven to mingle among its nobles is an oddity. To the point where Rune Knights don cloaks and gloves to conceal who they are.

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The part which appears to be missing are their connections to the other Orders or even the elemental temples. The Rune Knights are starting to resemble priests more and more. In the beginning they seemed to represent the elemental faction, but the way you are describing their purpose now has got me confused. The way you described Faerdin in particular makes it sound like he could vanquish Dragonlords, not exactly something you'd expect from a mere footsoldier.

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Faerdin is the only member of the Hand of the Avatars to possess that kind of power. Even then, he begins in the story no stronger than any other. To compare post-He Who Stands Between Faerdin to a standard Rune Knight would not be entirely different from comparing Sepulchure to a standard Doom Knight. I will be expanding upon why this happens to be toward the end of the story.

As for your second note, well... It would be good for me to expand upon the connection between the three further and develop it beyond the off-hand mention by a different character, but I actually intend for the Rune Knights to seem disconnected from the other orders. They are slipping into the realm of inactivity and complacency that may or may not be currently afflicting the DragonLords in Book One DragonFable. Nor are they supposed to be doing a particularly good job of representing elementals by this point.

quote:

ORIGINAL: http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tm.asp?m=9037216

Temple Priest: Priestess Celestia of the light temple left the White Dragon Box in our care. Inside is the egg of a dragon.
Temple Priest: Oh,but it is no ordinary dragon! When the stars align themselves right, two very special dragon eggs appear into our world.
Temple Priest: Most dragons have certain elements, but these two dragons have NO element , until they are hatched.
Temple Priest: Many factors determine what elements these special dragons will become, but none more than the human that they are closest to.
Temple Priest: One of these dragons will become the Mighty Order Dragon, and the other…the Terrible Chaos Dragon!
Temple Priest: But there is no way to see which is which UNTIL they fight their destined battle with each other, alongside their human counterparts.
Temple Priest: The Chaos Dragon, the World Destroyer might be with the kindest human alive. The Order Dragon might be enslaved by the worst villain!
Temple Priest: There are many, MANY prophecies about these two dragons and the roles that they will play in history…
Temple Priest: …but none say which will win their final battle.

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ORIGINAL: http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tm.asp?m=12457889

Doom Blade: WE HAVE ALREADY BROKEN THE PROPHECY! YOU ARE NO THREAT TO US ANYMORE!
<Character>: The prophecy is broken?
Doom Blade: HAHAHAHAHA! CELESTIA HAS TOLD THE HERO NOTHING! HAHAHAHA!

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So Dragonsgrasp's footsoldiers (dragonwarriors/rogues/mages) came in action when the RuneKnights' activity declined?

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That is a likely possibility. Dragonsgrasp did not really need a standing army of that sort when the Rune Knights exised.

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Jealousy. By the Avatars, I'm a petty fool. I just don't understand myself.

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Stars have been mentioned in a previous chapter of the story, and they will continue to be a powerful symbol throughout. They are representative of enlightenment, resolution, and viewing the world with a sense of childlike bluntness and wonder, which is an important part of a certain essay that (Along with some others) vastly changed my view of the world.

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How could an act such as creating this Ultimate Orb- representative of similarity and conformity in our world- be any less than evil?