Starcore
01-07-2006, 11:34 PM
This is the WIP (Work in Progress) story I've laid out for the Lost Dreamers set (See the Custom Magic Cards forum for that info).
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Starcore, the Angel (Yesh, that's me =P) was a being created by the gods to ensure peace in the world of (I had a name but it eludes me now and I don't want to make up a BS one on the spot). He does his job well, but there are dark times approaching. The 5 Spirits, guardians of the 5 aspects of Mana, are being kidnapped one by one, and the world is slowly sinking into chaos. Starcore sends a team of angels, his personal guardians, to investigate. When they return, all but 4 of them are dead, and they are seriously wounded. Starcore travels to the lands of Verdur, where the angels found their assailants.
The Verdur are a race of noble warriors and soldiers, and their leader Mikhal is considered one of the finest heroes in all the land. Starcore requests their aid, and receives it. They travel to the nearby land of Preya, a constantly shifting forest. Inside, they are assaulted by demon worshippers who slaughter hundreds of the Verdur and claim many captives. Only Starcore, Mikhal, and a small handful of elite Verdur manage to escape alive. However, the worshippers had what they wanted; human sacrifices. In return for their sacrifices, and the power of the Spirits that were captured, they were allowed to glimpse upon the bodies of the two greatest demons in known existence: The Beast of Infinity, an ageless demon lord who could manipulate life itself, and The Omega Beast, who's mere presence wasted away mens' desire to live. The great demon lords were resurrected, but needed souls to attain their true power, and immediately feasted upon those who worshipped them.
Starcore could feel the darkness as soon as they arrived in the world. He and Mikhal made haste to the nearby school of magic, Trosha, where he requested the aid of Vanegan and Jenzin, brothers with skill in both magic and swordsmanship. The combined Troshan and Verdurian armies assaulted the demon lords, and battled for days. In the end, however, it was a futile battle. Jenzin and Mikhal both fell at the hands of the demons, and Starcore was barely able to keep himself alive. Starcore, who was connected with the world itself, could feel it dying, and people were beginning to grow dissentful, believing he wasn't worthy to be the guardian of the plane. Soon, the only people that believed in him were Vanegan and the few remaining survivors of the fight.
One night, after the heroes had retreated, Starcore was visited by a strange spirit who called himself Imegan. He claimed he could help Starcore defeat the demons, but it would require Starcore to sacrifice himself to deliver the deathblows. He contemplated, then finally accepted. The next day, he met the demons in battle, assisted by the spirit Imegan and his loyal followers, the Lost Dreamers. Imegan explained that they were once humans who were killed in their sleep by worshippers of the demons, but their spirits were unable to go to the next world peacefully and desired vengance. Imegan was the first to fall, and the first to realize his power, the ability to attack a creature's mind directly. However, the demons were aware of their power and had an army of undead, the Dreamless creatures that Imegan and his followers held no sway over.
In the ensuing battle, Starcore fought valiantly with the Dreamers. Even though great sages around the world could see the fight, though, they still did not have faith in Starcore, and he knew it. And in this, he began to decay. The people he served had no belief in him, and his anger boiled with every moment, with every demon and undead he slayed. Finally, he gathered enough energy to perform a mighty blow to the demon lord of Infinity, stunning it for a long period of time. The link from it's brother weakened, Omega was stunned as well, giving Starcore enough time to perform one final act of heroism, sacrificing himself to seal the two demons in the darkness of eternity forever.
However, when he sacrificed himself, there was a great burden of darkness in his heart, and he could not stay dead. His spirit roiled with hate and anger, and could not stay dead. Soon, he resurrected, but no longer as an angel, but now as Starcore, the Hateful. People had cheered him after his sacrifice, claiming him a hero once more, but this could not sate his anger. He became even further enraged, claiming betrayal by the beings he once protected. He declared war on the world. He annhilated cities and slaughtered hundreds of thousands. Those who resisted him usually fell with ease. But there were still heroes in the world.
Vanegan was still alive, and had learned about Starcore's fall from grace. He eventually found him resting in the ruins of Verdur, and talked to him. Starcore seemed torn in two, for while he had regret for what he did, he still believed that more blood should be spilled. He couldn't be reasoned with. Whether it was vengance or insanity, Starcore was lost to darkness, seemingly forever. Vanegan travelled the world, searching for the Spirits. He finally came into contact with Raiz, the spirit of the Plains and of White mana. Raiz had already seen what had happened and told Vanegan there was nothing that could be done, as Starcore was created by the gods themselves and was beyond the control of the spirits. Furious, Vanegan left, but Raiz did give him one shred of hope: Vanegan learned of the Halls of Fallen Heroes, an ancient pass deep under the world that held the spirits of the dead heroes who had fallen in battle. Vanegan finally found it, and inside he found two old comrades: Mikhal and Jenzin. They were already informed of the situation and were allowed to leave the Halls in order to help stop Starcore's wrath. There was now a glimmer of hope.
The reunited heroes met with Starcore, who seemed less and less interested in conversation. He repelled their comments with angry glares and scathing retorts, until finally striking at Jenzin, delivering what would have been a fatal blow had he not already died. The Halls had granted the two warriors immortality with which to defeat Starcore, a gift from the spirits of Mana. The two simply stood there as Starcore assailed them again and again, until he had finally managed to quell the rage deep inside him long enough to reclaim his soul. Ashamed and afraid, the angel inside Starcore leapt forth, renewing his angelic wings in his demon form, and performing one last sacrifice: He hurled himself into the sun, where the eternal Phoenix waited for him. The ageless firebird welcomed him, taking him to the heart of the sun, where he could rest peacefully for eternity.
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I used as much from the set as I could in the story. While it's not complete, and there are parts I'd still like to add, this is a pretty decent telling of the story. There are some intentional cliffhangers, such as: What happened to the Dreamers? Why wouldn't the Spirits directly aid Vanegan? etc.
Remember, this is a 3-set expansion block (There are 3 143 card sets: This is not a "true" block), so I may answer some stuff later, and I may just leave cliffhangers to piss people off. We'll see. =)
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Starcore, the Angel (Yesh, that's me =P) was a being created by the gods to ensure peace in the world of (I had a name but it eludes me now and I don't want to make up a BS one on the spot). He does his job well, but there are dark times approaching. The 5 Spirits, guardians of the 5 aspects of Mana, are being kidnapped one by one, and the world is slowly sinking into chaos. Starcore sends a team of angels, his personal guardians, to investigate. When they return, all but 4 of them are dead, and they are seriously wounded. Starcore travels to the lands of Verdur, where the angels found their assailants.
The Verdur are a race of noble warriors and soldiers, and their leader Mikhal is considered one of the finest heroes in all the land. Starcore requests their aid, and receives it. They travel to the nearby land of Preya, a constantly shifting forest. Inside, they are assaulted by demon worshippers who slaughter hundreds of the Verdur and claim many captives. Only Starcore, Mikhal, and a small handful of elite Verdur manage to escape alive. However, the worshippers had what they wanted; human sacrifices. In return for their sacrifices, and the power of the Spirits that were captured, they were allowed to glimpse upon the bodies of the two greatest demons in known existence: The Beast of Infinity, an ageless demon lord who could manipulate life itself, and The Omega Beast, who's mere presence wasted away mens' desire to live. The great demon lords were resurrected, but needed souls to attain their true power, and immediately feasted upon those who worshipped them.
Starcore could feel the darkness as soon as they arrived in the world. He and Mikhal made haste to the nearby school of magic, Trosha, where he requested the aid of Vanegan and Jenzin, brothers with skill in both magic and swordsmanship. The combined Troshan and Verdurian armies assaulted the demon lords, and battled for days. In the end, however, it was a futile battle. Jenzin and Mikhal both fell at the hands of the demons, and Starcore was barely able to keep himself alive. Starcore, who was connected with the world itself, could feel it dying, and people were beginning to grow dissentful, believing he wasn't worthy to be the guardian of the plane. Soon, the only people that believed in him were Vanegan and the few remaining survivors of the fight.
One night, after the heroes had retreated, Starcore was visited by a strange spirit who called himself Imegan. He claimed he could help Starcore defeat the demons, but it would require Starcore to sacrifice himself to deliver the deathblows. He contemplated, then finally accepted. The next day, he met the demons in battle, assisted by the spirit Imegan and his loyal followers, the Lost Dreamers. Imegan explained that they were once humans who were killed in their sleep by worshippers of the demons, but their spirits were unable to go to the next world peacefully and desired vengance. Imegan was the first to fall, and the first to realize his power, the ability to attack a creature's mind directly. However, the demons were aware of their power and had an army of undead, the Dreamless creatures that Imegan and his followers held no sway over.
In the ensuing battle, Starcore fought valiantly with the Dreamers. Even though great sages around the world could see the fight, though, they still did not have faith in Starcore, and he knew it. And in this, he began to decay. The people he served had no belief in him, and his anger boiled with every moment, with every demon and undead he slayed. Finally, he gathered enough energy to perform a mighty blow to the demon lord of Infinity, stunning it for a long period of time. The link from it's brother weakened, Omega was stunned as well, giving Starcore enough time to perform one final act of heroism, sacrificing himself to seal the two demons in the darkness of eternity forever.
However, when he sacrificed himself, there was a great burden of darkness in his heart, and he could not stay dead. His spirit roiled with hate and anger, and could not stay dead. Soon, he resurrected, but no longer as an angel, but now as Starcore, the Hateful. People had cheered him after his sacrifice, claiming him a hero once more, but this could not sate his anger. He became even further enraged, claiming betrayal by the beings he once protected. He declared war on the world. He annhilated cities and slaughtered hundreds of thousands. Those who resisted him usually fell with ease. But there were still heroes in the world.
Vanegan was still alive, and had learned about Starcore's fall from grace. He eventually found him resting in the ruins of Verdur, and talked to him. Starcore seemed torn in two, for while he had regret for what he did, he still believed that more blood should be spilled. He couldn't be reasoned with. Whether it was vengance or insanity, Starcore was lost to darkness, seemingly forever. Vanegan travelled the world, searching for the Spirits. He finally came into contact with Raiz, the spirit of the Plains and of White mana. Raiz had already seen what had happened and told Vanegan there was nothing that could be done, as Starcore was created by the gods themselves and was beyond the control of the spirits. Furious, Vanegan left, but Raiz did give him one shred of hope: Vanegan learned of the Halls of Fallen Heroes, an ancient pass deep under the world that held the spirits of the dead heroes who had fallen in battle. Vanegan finally found it, and inside he found two old comrades: Mikhal and Jenzin. They were already informed of the situation and were allowed to leave the Halls in order to help stop Starcore's wrath. There was now a glimmer of hope.
The reunited heroes met with Starcore, who seemed less and less interested in conversation. He repelled their comments with angry glares and scathing retorts, until finally striking at Jenzin, delivering what would have been a fatal blow had he not already died. The Halls had granted the two warriors immortality with which to defeat Starcore, a gift from the spirits of Mana. The two simply stood there as Starcore assailed them again and again, until he had finally managed to quell the rage deep inside him long enough to reclaim his soul. Ashamed and afraid, the angel inside Starcore leapt forth, renewing his angelic wings in his demon form, and performing one last sacrifice: He hurled himself into the sun, where the eternal Phoenix waited for him. The ageless firebird welcomed him, taking him to the heart of the sun, where he could rest peacefully for eternity.
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I used as much from the set as I could in the story. While it's not complete, and there are parts I'd still like to add, this is a pretty decent telling of the story. There are some intentional cliffhangers, such as: What happened to the Dreamers? Why wouldn't the Spirits directly aid Vanegan? etc.
Remember, this is a 3-set expansion block (There are 3 143 card sets: This is not a "true" block), so I may answer some stuff later, and I may just leave cliffhangers to piss people off. We'll see. =)