Generations later, in the fertile village of Verdantis Nexus, a young farm boy named Tlandar Varn — a descendant of Chieftain Val’katl — tended his family’s cattle on sunlit pastures. Life was harsh but peaceful, wrapped in the soft hum of distant skimmers and the old stories told by his father around the hearth.
But peace does not last forever. Marauders from the Ixtiel Dominion — opportunistic raiders who preyed on weaker border dominions — struck without warning. They plundered villages, slaughtered families, and took captives to sell to the highest bidder.
One morning, as Tlandar guided the cattle back toward the pens, he saw dark shapes breaking across the horizon. Skimmers — dozens of them, too many to stop. The raid came in fire and blood. Kaelis Varn, his father, had always warned him this day would come — but nothing could prepare him for the sight of neighbors slaughtered, cattle scattered, and their ranch house under siege.
Amid the smoke and chaos, a shimmering figure appeared before him: a woman of impossible beauty, white hair drifting in a wind that did not blow, a radiant orb resting in her palms. Her eyes were ageless.
“Tlandar Varn…”
Startled, he staggered back. “Who are you?”
“I am the spirit of Astashica,” she said. “I need your help. You have been chosen to lead the fight against the Asemeri overlords who are tearing this world apart. If nothing is done, they will unleash the Azurevat cataclysmic power again — and all will be lost.”
Tlandar’s heart hammered in his chest. “The marauders are attacking my family! I have to help them!”
“These marauders are but shadows of the true threat. The Asemeri chieftains will bring this continent to its knees. Act now, valiant one. Take my shield and protect your world — or fall with it.”
“I’m just a farm boy,” Tlandar pleaded. “I have no training. I don’t want to fight in any war!”
“You will not stand alone. Meet Akashma Xil’ha — my Valkyrie. She will guide you to your destiny. Now go — save your family. But remember this: when the time comes, you must follow her. Because I have chosen you.”
The vision faded like mist in the rising smoke. From the shadows emerged Akashma Xil’ha herself, her cloaking device disengaging with a shimmer of refracted light. Crimson Order sigils glowed faintly on her combat armor.
Tlandar ran — through flame and gunfire, the spirit’s words echoing in his mind. He found his family defending their homestead alongside Kaelis. They held the marauders at bay for precious moments, but more raiders poured in, torches and blades raised high. Kaelis led his family through a hidden tunnel to the skimmer hangar. There, they fled aboard a battered Verdant-class transport ship — vanishing into the dawn sky while Verdantis Nexus burned behind them.
In the ashes of his village, Tlandar’s path was set. The spirit of Astashica had chosen its protector — and his war for the soul of this world was only beginning.