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!

Defiant

My Defiant character is a Kelari elf called Anmar. 

I chose a Rogue class this time because I wanted something different. During the first 6 levels I use a bow and arrow, but once I travel back in time to Freemarch, (starting only a few hundred meters away from my Guardian character Valnyr), I am given the choice of wielding a magitech weapon called a Resurrection Rifle. So far it has all the same modifiers, spells and bonuses as the bow and arrow, but there is something more tactile about using a gun. It gives me more satisfaction to blow enemies away.

Freemarch

The Defiant start out in an area called Freemarch, a huge zone south of Silverwood. A Death Rift hangs in the sky some distance away. Smoke rises up from the distant ruins of Port Scion. The skeleton of a broken bridge cuts across the sky. My character is thrown right into the thick of things. The Defiant have just destroyed the bridge, to stop the Guardians using it to come and wipe us out. My first task is to kill the Guardian general who is leading the charge. 

The area of Freemarch used to be called the Emerald March, and it was the jewel in the crown of the Eth Empire. But when the empire fell, a warlord called Jakub, ruling from the hilltop fortress Iron Keep, crushed all the March folk beneath his boot, killing those who would not bow to his will. It took a peasant named Eliam to eventually lead the people against Jakub and, when they had killed him, Eliam was elected as the first of the March Wardens. Even though they were part of the Mathosian Empire, the Wardens were allowed free reign over what was now known as Freemarch, and the land prospered. 

That was then. Nowadays, nothing prospers. Death and water rifts appear randomly across the rolling hills. Monsters spill from these rifts, attacking and razing farms and villages. Cultists are growing in number, sensing weakness and moving in to take advantage. And even worse, it seems that Jakub has returned, drawn back from beyond the grave by the Endless Court of Regulos. His undead warriors harry and attack anyone who attempts to cross through Freemarch. They stain the once-fertile ground black with their taint. The March Wardens try to hold them back, but they also have to deal with the Guardians trying to attack them. 

It is only a matter of time before something gives and one of your first quests after killing the Guardian general is to take down some of these undead creatures.

The opening quests around Freemarch are mainly concerned with introducing you to the new timeline, making sure you realize that the Guardians are your enemy just as much as the Dragon Cults and the Blood Storm are. Everyone is out to protect his/her-self. The Guardians think the Defiant are evil. The Defiant think the Guardians are weak. And all must fight against the Blood Storm while battling against each other's ideologies. 

Everything in Rift is painted in shades of grey. I look forward to seeing where my characters fit in.

Written by Paul Crilley