Traversing Telara #3: New Beginnings
Traversing Telara is a series of articles from Trion Worlds that focus on the gameplay and lore of Rift! Today marks a new beginning for the series!
Traversing Telarais an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Issue #3: New Beginnings!
Catch up on all the past issues of Traversing Telara here!
Hello and welcome to the third installment of ZAM's leveling and lore guide for RIFT: Traversing Telara! You may notice a couple of differences to the previous two articles. The first is that they were penned by a different writer. But don't worry. The idea behind the articles remains the same. I'll talk about my experiences playing the game, discussing some of the lore I encounter along the way and how it relates to my two characters.
This paves the way into the second difference. I'll be playing different characters to those talked about in the first two articles.
I always pick a fighter when I play my RPGs. Be it a knight, a warrior, a paladin, whatever. I always go for the big guy wielding a two-handed sword. This time round I wanted to go for something different. So, for the Guardian storyline, I've chosen a mage, a Pyromancer Elementalist called Valnyr. I've never played a mage before, and so far he's been a pleasant surprise. His method of fighting has a lot in common with the Rogue class in that a companion, an elemental creature that I can summon, charges in to attack my enemy, keeping them at bay while I send spells (or arrows, in the case of the Rogue) into the fray. In my case, I like to rain lightning down on my targets and then finish them off with stone missiles or fireballs. It's great fun. Utterly different than playing a warrior.
So, where are we in the game? Well, fresh from the starting zone where Valnyr destroyed the body of Aedraxis, the avatar of Regulos, I step out of a portal into a beautiful forest glade. And here Rift throws a little twist at us. Twenty years have passed since the events in the starting zone, and Regulos, weakened after Aedraxis was killed, has spent the past two decades building up his power once again, ready to take another stab at destroying Telara.
In that time, the Ascended who survived the Shade War formed a new order called the Guardians and, over the years that followed, they dedicated their lives to strengthening the Ward against Regulos' inevitable return. But, despite their best efforts, the Ward is growing weaker, and now Rifts are popping up all over the land. That means the Dragon Gods of the Blood Storm are stirring once again, and it is my duty, as a newly Ascended Guardian, to stop them.
The first game zone of the Guardians is a huge forested area called Silverwood. First impressions speak of a peaceful woodland, all rolling hills and sun-dappled grass. But upon closer inspection, I can see that all is not well. As I explore a bit I notice a lot of smoke drifting into the sky, so I wander through the forest until I see a huge city nestled on the shores of a lake. The smoke is coming from inside the city. The stain of Regulos clings to the walls of the city, black tentacles weaving into the air like blind worms seeking something to bury themselves in.
Port Scion
After the events of the Shade War twenty years ago, the Defiant and Guardians finally realized they had a common goal. Working together to try to destroy the Dragon Gods made more sense than arguing over whose philosophies were correct. So Prince Zareph led the survivors from the battlefield, and the two factions joined forces to find the city of Port Scion as a symbol of their new alliance. But the best of intentions could not turn back the forces of evil and, over the years the, Ward protecting Telara weakened more and more until a decision was made to seal the gates and place a magical barrier around the city. Nothing was to get in, and nothing was to get out.
But there was treachery within the Guardian camp. Alsbeth Rothman was seduced by the whispers of Regulos and she destroyed the barrier, opening up a Death Rift that allowed the armies of Regulos to march into the city, destroying anyone who stood in their way. Some escaped, but many thousands were killed, among those Prince Zareph. In fact, it is thought that the prince sacrificed himself to seal the followers of Regulos within the city, keeping them from spilling out into Telara.
The Guardians and the Defiant both blame each other for these events and hence, the fragile peace they once held is now in tatters. They are at war with each other as well as the forces of the Blood Storm.