The Queen's First Reign: the first four Orbs

A Summons from the Queen's First Reign

Long before Drakath and his Chaos Lords, the Queen of Monsters ruled Lore. The community transcript of The Queen's Reign describes her Children ravaging the world and her minions turning its inhabitants against one another. A band of heroes eventually joined forces and used eight Elemental Orbs to seal her away. The scene begins with that remembered victory, then asks who those heroes were and how their struggle concerns the Hero.

A portal interrupts the Hero beside a river, and Iadoa calls from within it. He says he is neither the friend who became a Chaos Lord nor the other versions the Hero remembers. He comes from the Queen's first reign, where his fellow Heroes of Balance are fighting to secure the Orbs. The familiar face does not make him the same participant as every other Iadoa encountered elsewhere.

The Hero knows the old account of the Queen's imprisonment and wonders whether that already guarantees success. Iadoa disagrees. He says that the Eternal Dragon of Time exists in one fixed moment and that the heroes of his era have pushed their preparations as far as possible before seeking this help. Without the Hero's intervention, he warns, the known future could change into one where the Queen has always ruled. This is his explanation of the danger, rather than an independently verified law covering every form of time travel.

The Hero agrees to go. Iadoa directs them first to Akiba, where Kitsune needs help recovering the Wind Orb. The Hero rushes through the portal before learning exactly when it leads, and Iadoa follows. Their task is to help make the victory they have heard about possible, beginning with the obstacles still holding back the ancient heroes.

This origin adventure was presented in the October 2021 anniversary releases. Its placement here introduces an account of the distant past, rather than establishing an immediate departure after the 2014 vampire contest. One source difference remains explicit: the opening transcript counts thirteen heroes, while the release accounts describe twelve Heroes of Balance. The material checked here does not settle precisely how those counts relate to the visiting Hero.

The Wind and the Cure

In the preserved Akiba quest and dialogue accounts, Kitsune welcomes Iadoa's promised ally. Jaaku, one of the Queen's generals, holds the Wind Orb while his forces threaten both Akiba and the Yokai Realm. The Hero fights the Nopperabo and Shadow Samurai, gathers the energies needed to construct a portal, and crosses to oppose the assault on the Yokai. Kitsune mourns those of his people who have fallen under the enemy's influence.

Jaaku divides himself into Shadows. Kitsune warns that they must all fall before their creator can be defeated, while O-Dokuro protects the Yokai Realm from them. The quest sequence clears the Shadows and Jaaku's remaining forces before the fight for the Orb. With the Wind Orb recovered, Kitsune stays to hold off the Queen's forces in Akiba and sends the Hero onward to Lionfang in Thunderforge.

Lionfang is defending the Darkbloods from Extriki the Destroyer, a Child of the Queen guarding the Energy Orb. His account describes the Darkbloods as humans transformed by Kolyaban, but insists that the peaceful settlers deserve protection. The Hero fights the Plague Spreaders and Plaguemoss spreading Extriki's poison and collects growths for Lionfang to study. Their immediate work is to save the people, as well as reach the Orb.

Lionfang combines samples of the toxin with his Manticore's antitoxin. The preserved quests describe testing the cure on affected creatures and applying it to the clouds so that it can rain upon the Darkbloods below. With the cure working, the Hero confronts Extriki and retrieves the Energy Orb. Lionfang reports signs of recovery, keeps the Orb safe, and directs the Hero to Dwarfhold, where King Vath and King Alteon await help.

The Earth Orb beneath Dwarfhold

The ancient King Alteon greets the Hero as an ally brought into his time. When the Hero recognizes his name, he suggests that the king they knew was one of his descendants. King Vath, meanwhile, declares the Dwarves to be under his protection. Their dialogue identifies the people encountered in this campaign through their own roles and relationships, rather than importing every deed of their familiar later counterparts into the past.

Grou'luu the Calcifier stands between them and the Earth Orb. The preserved accounts describe its victims being killed and their calcified bodies controlled as puppets. The Hero fights the afflicted Amethites and Wyrms, helps deploy reinforcements, and clears the blocked entrance to the creature's lair. Alteon prepares his Dragon for a possible retreat; Vath says he has sent the Rock Roc and Stalagbite to evacuate the remaining Dwarves before the coming battle.

The final quest against Grou'luu secures the Earth Orb. Vath hopes that the Drow and Dwarves can now find relief from the creature's long persecution, while Alteon marvels at the Orb's power and the prospect of gathering all eight. Three are now held. The next portal leads the Hero to Mobius, where Iadoa and Escherion are seeking the fourth.

Water, Salt and Kathool

Mobius depends on nearby faeries to bless its farmland. In Iadoa and Escherion's preserved dialogue, Sa-Laatan the Salt Sower is destroying that livelihood with brine while guarding the Water Orb. The Hero fights its Water Goblins and the Spawn broken from its body, then rescues threatened faeries. With their help, Iadoa and Escherion create wards to counter the salt-sowing and protect the town. The Hero places the wards and clears a path to the lake.

Escherion summons the Lake Hydra, and Iadoa seeks Kathool's aid. The community transcript of Sa-Laatan's Fall describes the struggle continuing under Sa-Laatan's repeated attacks while Iadoa tries to make contact. The Hydra cannot hold out indefinitely. Kathool finally rises from the sea and seizes the Queen's Child, taking control of the confrontation.

Kathool denies being the humans' friend or enemy. It says that it answered Iadoa for the sake of future connections and because a destroyed Lore would leave no mortals to entertain it. Its intervention is conditional and self-interested. The account ends its appearance with Kathool withdrawing into the sea and leaving the Water Orb behind; it does not separately establish every detail of Sa-Laatan's final fate.

Escherion takes the Orb, and Iadoa confirms that four have been secured, with four still to find. He sends the Hero to Arcangrove to help Ledgermayne recover the Fire Orb. The scene then turns to the Queen, who accepts the challenge as a game. The first half of the Orb hunt is complete, while her imprisonment and the meaning of Kathool's future connections remain beyond this part of the account.