"Fallen Embers"
Hiya! ^_^ Thank you for joining me on this little project. I don't really expect many people to read this story since this section is so dead, but I'm hoping someone will find enjoyment in it. If not, well it's entertaining for me! Mwhahahahaha.
I've been forming this story in my head for awhile now. I was leveling a new character when I realized there's all these huge quests and storylines, but nothing really tying them together, so I wanted to just piece them together on my own. Thank you to everyone who reads it!
A brief character introduction, for those not familiar with all these in game stories:
Kaguya – Meaning "goddess of eternal night"; the Princess of Moonlight of the Chrono quest chain; fallen Princess of the Twilight Empire, daughter of Pan Gu. From the Chrono quest chain.
Chungyun – Kaguya's lover and bodyguard; supposedly killed when the Twilight Empire fell; status currently unknown; from the Chrono quest chain.
Tsang – Kaguya's adoptive father, Emperor of the Twilight Empire.
Jian'rin – A wraith god who tried to take over Perfect World; seeks to gain enough power to try and take over Perfect World; main figure of the Descent expansion (the black hooded poster child guy)
Aurogon – Jian'rin's most powerful General; leader of the wraith army; final boss of Advanced Endless Universe.
Pan Gu – God of the universe; created Perfect World.
Usher Lantos – One of the guardians of Perfect World; has an unknown, mysterious connection to the Twilight Princess; resides in Old Valley of the Scarred. From the Chrono quest chain.
Prologue – "Ashes"
This… is my story.
When someone dies in extreme horror, fear, or hatred, their soul will be full of anger. If this grudge grows, and the soul has the chance to live on, it becomes a Wraith. Few will ever be able to become Wraiths naturally.
There was once a great kingdom called the Twilight Empire. The royal blood of that empire was gifted with the ability to control and transform the Wraiths. Luckily, the rulers saw the danger. The ability was forbidden by the royalty. Then came the woman… and the chaos.
The clash of swords and the cries of defeated soldiers rang out through the vast palace marble chambers, the footsteps of the wraiths advancing menacingly and becoming louder as they approached.
She knew it was only a matter of time before they found her, before they destroyed her, and then the darkness would descend. The Twilight Empire, the celestial descendants of Pan Gu himself, would become extinct, another legend forgotten in time.
This outbreak of Wraiths is because of the young woman.
She is known as the Princess of Moonlight.
Gripping her flower bouquet, Kaguya let out a silent cry of anguish as she brought her arms around herself, blood beginning to drip down onto the white rose blossoms, staining the silver ribbons, the stems cutting into her hand. Her white silk ceremonial robe wrapped around her protectively, unable to conceal her shivering form. Her long midnight blue hair cascaded around her, her silver, diamond jeweled crown beginning to unwind itself from the intricate Chinese hairstyle, which had formed to look like a pair of delicate rabbit ears that pointed to the sides. A mirror, clouded with a fine mist was attached to a long gold chain which draped around her neck, coming to rest just above her stomach.
Feeling another explosive spell rock the palace walls, Kaguya pressed her back further up against the wall, the sound of footsteps nearly on top of her. Inhaling sharply, she tried to quiet her breathing, bringing a hand to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her sobs. Hearing voices outside the room, she ventured to look through the small glass window at the top of the door.
A shiver ran down her spine at the horror unfolding in front of her as the Wraith army poured into the chamber en masse, leaving the blood of all the soldiers lives they took behind them as they walked, painting the halls with death. Before them stood the Twilight Emperor, Tsang, holding his sword in front of him, pointed toward the ground in solidarity. His armor, a deep red, glowed with the aura of fire, his long, raven hair tied behind him.
She was the adoptive daughter of Tsang, the Bloodthirsty Lord, and the daughter of Pan Gu himself. After Tsang's death, there were more bloody battles fought inside the palace.
"You dare to show your face here Jian'rin?"
Folding his hands into his long, black leather sleeves, Jian'rin smiled darkly, his eyes concealed beneath the shadow of his hood. "Such hostility. I have only returned to claim what is rightfully ours."
Tsang smirked in disgust. "Rightfully yours? Pan Gu banished you because you're imperfect, disgusting creatures, unworthy of roaming this world. The people of this world will NEVER bow to you!"
"You mean locked away after he failed to destroy us and throw us away, and all of you let it happen. We are the rightful heirs of this world, and I believe you are all trespassing in my kingdom."
Unshaken, Jian'rin simply stood in place, motioning behind him. "Take a look at where you're standing. You're outnumbered and your army is falling. Their blood coats your walls because they died for you, and you dishonor them by asking them to continue throwing away their lives. I don't think you're in a position to tell me my place."
In a fit of rage, Tsang leapt forward, sword held high above his head as he charged at Jian'rin, intent of death flashing in his eyes.
It was extinguished just as fast as it had been ignited.
In the span of a breath, Tsang fell to his knees, neck covered in blood that cascaded from the tear in his throat. Feeling death pull at his existence, Tsang turned to look up into the eyes of Aurogon, Jian'rin's second in command and most powerful general, who looked down at the emperor in disgust, wiping the blood from his axes onto his white robes.
"You're late."
Letting out a small, amused laugh, Aurogon turned to face his master, his dual axes resting at his sides. "Yes, I'm sure the paper cut he graced you with would have been devastating my Lord."
"This is no time for your insolence," Jian'rin spat, "I want that girl found, now. Don't stop until you have searched every meter of this palace! I will not tolerate failure!"
"Relax," Aurogon said calmly, the cocky smile still present and growing wider as the Wraiths around him looked on nervously. "How hard can it be to find one little girl?"
…
The Princess lost her love. This may be the reason she used her forbidden gift.
I was roaming through time and space when I went into the Twilight Catacomb.
I prayed as I ran into the hall, hoping that I was not too late, that I could somehow rescue the Princess and reverse her fate.
My heart sank as I went deeper into the halls, the torches on the walls darkened with fear, the stone door blown away. When I entered the room, I found the Princess of Moonlight and her love, Chungyun. They were besieged, and Chungyun was almost dead. He was bleeding uncontrollably, a deep wound carved into chest, mere steps from oblivion.
Next to him I found the Princess, draped over another body, though it took me a moment to recognize the form as Aurogon's. He looked pale and still, as if his soul had been sucked straight from his body. The Princess, torn and every bit as fragile, lay on top of him, her hand a death grip above his heart. My heart stopped as I realized that she must have used her gift in a desperate attempt to stop him.
As I approached her, I feared she might be dead, until I turned her over, and she looked up at me with the most sorrow I'd ever seen in the world. She had tears streaming down her face, mixed with blood and agony, her hand glowing with the black aura of a twisted Wraith soul. Weakly, she opened her mouth, her whispers came, barely audible- help me… please…
My heart, suddenly filled with pity, could not bear to let her suffer any longer. After all, it was me who was supposed to have protected her. I failed her. Unsheathing my dagger, I held it above her heart, the blade ready to sink in, my other hand resting on her forehead in a comforting gesture.
"Don't worry child… soon you won't remember any of this. I pray that Thrahn will guide you to the other side."
And with a flick of my wrist I vanquished all light from her existence.
I could only pray that she was strong enough to make it through.
- Usher Lantos
A few notes…
o The PWI lore as of late confuses me. It was said that Pan Gu tried to original destroy all Wraiths in the floods, but on the information for the Descent expansion, it says he had mercy and created Morai. Changed his mind? Failed and decided to lock them away instead? I don't even know. But that is what Tsang meant by "banished".
o I named the Princess Kaguya after the fairytale about the Moon Princess. If you don't know the story about Kaguya, google it, it's kinda neat. Pretty big legend in Asian cultures.
o If any of you have been to Twilight Temple, Tsang in this story is the Twilight Emperor- you know, that giant red boss in 3-2/3-3 and is a huge pain in the ass? Yep.
o The dialog in italics is real dialogue from the game. Some of it is modified by me for story purposes, and the last little bit when they're in the catacombs is made up.
o Thran was created by Pan Gu. According to one of the starter Earthguard quests, an evil entity known as Magann was created from the grudge held by the Wraiths after the flood. He created Thrahn, who in turn created the Earthguard to fight Magann and the Wraiths.
o By the way, this is just a prologue, I will go into more detail and more into the past stuff in later chapters. A teaser if you will.
Quest Chain Sources
o Chrono Quest, after you unlock Old Valley of the Scarred, speak with the Usher Lantos npc
Anyway… like it? Love it? Hate it? Think I could've done something better? Please don't be shy about telling me! Thanks for reading!