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Age of Ruin — Termina Temple Opening

Termina Temple — Four Worlds and a Fractured Alliance

The opening account returns to Malgor’s corruption of the Mana Core. Shadowflame drove Lore into crisis: leylines burst across the land and Mana Affliction brought people to the brink. His attempt to give the world complete peace was stopped, but its wounds remain.

The account introduces the Old Worlds Order as gods and greater beings living within the Core. Before the Eternal Dragon of Time merged four timelines, they had names, histories and power that the merger stripped away, unintentionally usurped by the Dragon. It also combined those worlds’ mana into one unstable Core. Their diminished place and present labor are presented together: the Order maintains that Core to keep it from destroying life.

The Hero accepts responsibility for Malgor and the Mana Core, acknowledging how close the crisis came to annihilation. The Order was satisfied that Malgor had been neutralized, but another disaster cannot be allowed to reach that point. Its warning concerns three dormant threats that must be addressed before they awaken.

Queen Victoria offers tacit support while placing limits on Swordhaven’s help. Those fighting for Good must recover and defend themselves in case the Empire renews the war. She cannot spare many resources for the Hero or Tara. The aid she can offer is access to the Lorekeepers and a request for Lady Celestia’s assistance.

Celestia recalls guiding Heroes toward their fates under the Light’s protection. Now the Light seems to have no further use for her, and she rejects its heavier-handed direction. Having declared neutrality, she offers connections among ancient beings, dragons and other people across Lore, promising to use them in defense of the world.

Victoria introduces Muusa, a senior Lorekeeper of Greenguard and Maya’s teacher. The Queen describes the Lorekeepers’ aim as recording truth without bias. Muusa adds a harsher history: long-lived elves can be forced to disclose dangerous secrets or rewrite the past, and both avowed evildoers and those calling themselves Good have concealed truth. She and her students will join if the new refuge genuinely exists to protect Lore.

A Lightguard sect built the new Temple of Light without informing either Victoria or Celestia. Swordhaven has since taken custody and will pass it to Celestia. Tara is already there in case an early guest arrives, and the Hero assures Victoria that she is not alone. The Temple is being repurposed as a base beyond the returning factional divide.

Termina Temple — The Warfury’s Opportunity

At the Temple, Tara confronts Varga about her absence after the leylines settled. She mentions the Hero’s search for Aria, the basement at Yulgar’s Inn and the journey to Astravia, asking whether the enormous one-eyed star finally drew Varga back. Varga apologizes that her own affairs kept her distant and moves toward the Temple, expecting answers.

Warlic stops her at the boundary. The Hero has invited him to live at the Temple and put up a barrier, and proposes talking outside. Warlic formally asks the visitor’s name and title. An encounter Varga expected to direct is instead made subject to the household’s conditions.

The Hero thanks Varga for guidance after Malgor appeared, then challenges the premise on which that trust was built. She seemed to be Malgor’s sworn enemy, yet ultimately had little history with him. The Hero asks for the truth. Varga answers that they were inherently opposed: Malgor wanted final peace for Lore, and she is the Goddess of War.

Warlic questions that title because War has many representations. Varga narrows her claim: she is the Warfury, a younger goddess and lesser embodiment among many. Chaos deprived War of meaning, she says, and no meaningful war between Good and Evil has occurred in years. Malgor became a new center of conflict and an opportunity to restore that meaning.

The Hero recalls Varga saying that she would welcome a peace which made her unnecessary, provided freedom was preserved. Those words inspired trust. Varga now says War becomes unnecessary only when mortals surrender free will. She argues that the Hero needed her knowledge and may simply have assumed she possessed more power than she did.

Varga points to Malgor’s defeat as vindication of that trust. Tara answers that Varga helped mainly at the beginning and end. The Hero recalls recommending her to the Avatars when Galanoth needed training, and Varga acknowledges that this opened the audience she wanted. She has since met with them frequently. Warlic observes how much she gained through the Hero.

Termina Temple — A Warning Beyond the Barrier

Varga claims that aligning with the Hero was the only way she could make a difference. She contrasts herself with Warlic’s “four known instances,” saying she has none. Warlic asks what she means, while the Hero demands to know who told her. The exchange exposes knowledge they did not expect her to have without explaining the four instances.

Varga says her influence, name and power have increased tenfold. The Avatars acknowledged her in the Firmament, where they heard voices from the Mana Core warning them not to stray or end up like Kyanos. She hints at the Avatars’ reaction, then predicts cataclysms and conflicts that the Hero is poised to face. She is pictured within a yellow, flame-like outline while she speaks. Her report and prediction remain her claims.

She asks to help. The Hero answers that someone can lie without speaking an outright falsehood, and doubts whether a liar can be trusted with this responsibility. Varga calls war and lying human nature, insisting that War depends on mortals and Lore and that her intentions are pure. The Hero remains unconvinced and asks for time to think.

Varga recognizes that she is unwelcome for now. Tara sharply asks her to say something true, drawing a caution from the Hero. Varga promises her next words will be the full truth: war between Good and Evil will resume in earnest, with Evil at a disadvantage. Tara doubts this because Victoria already loses sleep keeping pace with the Empire’s strength. Warlic wonders whether spells he developed might be involved.

Varga directs them toward the Voice in the Sea. She says the Greenguard Crown invited other Champions to the coast and urges the Hero to follow quickly. Afterward, Tara regrets provoking her, believing the renewed vagueness deliberate. Warlic says the blame lies with Varga’s pride after her half-truths were exposed.

The Hero expects the Captain soon and resolves to seek the truth at the coast. Tara insists on coming and wonders what Victoria is doing there. The Temple has become a home and a protected meeting place, but the first expedition will also investigate a troubling warning about the old factions.

Termina Temple — A Home That Runs

Tara calls the encounter with Varga a rough second grand opening and is grateful that Warlic was present. She credits the Hero’s discovery of the Lightguard’s secret activities for making the site available, then proposes its new name: Termina Temple. Victoria took custody before granting it to Celestia.

Familiar Faces introduces the people who will keep the place running while the Hero and Tara travel. Celestia has brought students as Termina Defenders. The objectives are seven defenders trained and conversations with Celestia, Hans and Warlic. Tara does not know them well, but trusts the Hero and Victoria’s judgment; Warlic offers continued magic lessons, and Hans and Celestia welcome her with sweets.

Tara admits that she misses home but cannot return as she is now. The Temple comes close enough and is far better than the Mana Core. Her enthusiasm for the new name and the familiar comforts does not remove that separation from her former life.

Hans has become the groundskeeper, responsible for the practical work the scholars and guards cannot supply. Victoria personally came cloaked to Yulgar’s Inn and asked him or Serenity to accept the position. Hans now exchanges letters with the Queen through a knight at night, keeping her informed about the refuge.

Leaving Battleon was not easy for him. Aria was hurt during the Mana Crisis, and she and Yulgar were invited to seek better healers on the coast. Serenity encouraged Hans to take the opportunity rather than stay solely to keep the Inn open. News that the Alliance was dissolving also emptied the town of recalled knights, dragonslayers, mages and other regulars. Hans remembers how quiet it became.

Celestia offers her knowledge without allegiance to Swordhaven’s throne or the servants of Light. She remembers leading the old Temple, then sheltering orphans in Sunbreeze Grove after its fall. The Light supported them for a time before cutting contact. In her account, Elementals then adopted underhanded methods to preserve their brilliance, forgetting that mortals made Light a symbol of Good.

Warlic welcomes a home where he can protect Lore without attracting unwanted attention from either enemies or friends. He promises to keep the Hero’s secret. His barrier, he says, conceals the location, repels unwanted visitors and prevents even the Avatars from listening. Tara is practicing smaller protections against their scrutiny and potentially that of the Order.

Loaded Resume brings a second set of helpers into the household. Gravelyn has sent loyal guards; Victoria has sent Muusa and Maya. Tara refuses to endorse Evil as a cause but likes the Empress enough to trust her supporters. The objectives are seven guards fought and conversations with Shakaz and the two scholars. With the introductions complete, Maya must bundle the research before the travelers head to the beach.

Shakaz obeys Gravelyn’s order to guard the Temple, despite preferring to protect the Empress herself. Shakaz believes the Nation has sent warriors too. The Blue Mage, Dragon Priestess and scholars may have declared neutrality, but the Empire’s loyalists have not. Their assistance remains an expression of Gravelyn’s regard, including secret escorts for people bringing useful information from the Fortress.

There is also an unresolved danger closer to Gravelyn. Shakaz says she returned from the Mana Core significantly injured, with even the extent unclear. Followers of Light might be able to heal her, but she and her advisers are wary, as are the Nation and Legion’s leaders. Shakaz also asks whether Dage has passed on the book about Shadows he once negotiated to acquire.

Muusa and the scholars will accompany the party or travel ahead when they find leads. She has lived as a nomad since long before Victoria’s mother was born, moving to keep those claiming either Good or Evil from capturing her knowledge. She offers to archive books contributed by the Hero and their allies. Knowledge matters to her because it can be used, discussed, hoarded or erased.

Maya has left the Librarium to work beside her teacher and build a network among Lorekeepers and Loremasters. Muusa remembers her as a gifted, kind pupil who grew into a Loremaster and outranked her. Rank and fame matter less to Muusa than the persistence of Maya’s curiosity. Maya, in turn, sees her teacher’s eyewitness knowledge as both a treasure and a reason others might target her.

The scholars have not explored all of the huge Temple even after weeks. Maya warns of traps and a dangerous pedestal which, according to their information, copies the lost Water Temple’s Drowning Machine with major alterations. It connects to the nearby portal but currently lacks the power to open a route into another Plane. She warns against letting Evil seize it or Good be tempted by it.

The work is divided among three warnings: the Voice in the Sea, the Rumbling of Cold Thunder and the Flame of the Beyond. Tara wants to discover what they are and why the Order demands their elimination before choosing what to do. Celestia is following the difficult Cold Thunder lead toward Skye and its ties to Haeos. Warlic asks to investigate the Flame, admitting that its identity is still a suspicion tangled with his nightmares.

Tara insists on limiting who learns what she and the Hero are. Her list includes Warlic, Celestia, Victoria, Brentan and Gravelyn, with Drakath an unwelcome additional knower. She treats others as unaware for safety. Warlic distinguishes what the Avatars already know—the Hero’s identity as the Eternal Dragon of Time—from further knowledge that might threaten them. He finds the Order’s warning to those elusive Avatars troubling.