A flash of lighting, the explosively tearing sound of the thunder crashing, the scream of the winds of Hell, the sticky , coppery taste of the sky’s tears, tears of blood. Upon the horizon, a vast army, stretching from rim to rim of the visible world, a horde of foul things whose names time has not forgotten, but blocked from memory. And at their head? Two knights, beautiful of contenance but with expressions carved of pure evil, the man with a mane and beard of golden hair, a patch upon his left eye, the woman with a long stream of sirver and dusky skin, though obviously inferior to him in command. As one, they raise their hands.. and the legions of darkness pour forth.

The Seer bolts upright within his bed, a sweat arisen upon his brow. This is no nightmare. It is a True Dreaming, sent upon him for action. And so he begins to gather the tools of destiny, as many parties of adventurers as he can lay hands upon. Their orders? To find and kill the commander of the dark forces before he can marshal them.

The only problem is thus: Of the seer’s clear vision, only one face even comes close to matching up with the description and sketch drawn. The Lord Archael Validor, the commander of the near by Fortress of Truth. A valiant, humble paladin, to imagine him at the head of the legions of evil is nigh impossible.. and he has both his eyes.

In the coming days, Archael shall have a meeting that may well change his life. A harsh skirmish between his fortress and his city shall be his introduction to the woman of the vision, the black knight Arathena Sa`Riik. Each is precisely the balance of the other, and though their men fight and die, the commanders remained locked for almost an hour in perfectly matched combat. In the end, their forces both depleted, they nod at each other, and they withdraw, each uninjured. In the weeks that follow, each finds that they can think of little else except their foe, entirely obsessive in nature. Each wishes not to kill the other, but to defeat them entirely… and convert them.

Unknowing of the Seer’s vision, the Paladin will do his best to ferret out information about the black knight, seeking to find her and defeat her - adventurers are a prime choice for this, and he will describe her almost exactly as the Seer has.

If interference does not occur here, some weeks later, he will receieve a report from a scout, revealing the location of a hidden fortress, the location of Arathena. Archael will mount a sortie, all of the men he can lay hands upon in order to raze it to the ground, an abomination before the eyes of the gods. Once again, Archael will meet Arathena in battle, but this time, there will be interference from outside. A stray arrow will graze his face, destroying his eye, and in a blink, he will be swept from her in the tides of battle, and without his full combat abilities, the Paladins will soon be forced into retreat. As one, however, they will call to each other, “And the next finishes this, forever!” Here, adventurers have several chances by which the seer’s vision can be averted. If Archael should survive the battle unscathed, the balance will be preserved, and the vision shall not come to pass. Should Arathena be crippled or slain in some fashion, the vision shall not come to pass. Should the Paladins be victorious, the vision shall not come to pass. Should the battle take place elsewhere, or not take place, the vision shall not come to pass.

A week hence, once their individual wounds have healed with the tending of their fellows, they shall arrange to meet, alone, in a duel. Should this duel come to pass between the half-blind Archael and the uninjured Arathena, Archael shall fall, and in falling, he shall not die, but rather, his will shattered, and he shall be seduced, swiftly turning towards the shadow and darkness in order to rise as a key figure in the forces of the Dark Knights. With their combined power and ability, the two knights will be able to overcome the guardians of the seal upon the Plane of their master, and the vision shall come to pass, unless one or another is slain before the seal is opened. Should the knights enter the duel as complete equals, the vision shall not come to pass. Should Archael’s will be bolstered against Arathena’s serpentine voice and burning touch, the vision will not come to pass. Should the duel be prevented, or should Arathena fall somehow, the vision shall not come to pass.

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