Skyguard and Chaosguard

Captain Stratos needs your help to reclaim the Phereless, the Skyguard airship seized by Gladius and his pirates. King Alteon formed the flying army to answer the threat of Sepulchure's fortress, but its captain has another reason to search Lore from the skies: he is looking for someone he has not yet found. For now, his own ship threatens to give Gladius the reach he needs to attack the villages below.

You fight aboard the Phereless while Stratos devises a way to deny the pirates its steam power. Clogging the boiler with Gel-Oh-No treats stops the motor, but also rehydrates the shipment into a monster. Stratos cannot explain the science, and the pirates give you little time to investigate it. A dragon fitted with a cannon arrives to reinforce them. After you bring it down and thin their ranks, you defeat Gladius and return the ship to its captain. Possible stowaways remain, but the Phereless can dock at the Hover-Base for repairs.

Elsewhere, a man calling himself the Master promises his followers a place in the upheaval he intends to unleash. Drakath has heard him out without naming him a Chaos Lord, so he plans to make himself impossible to overlook: infiltrate the Skyguard, settle an old score, then spread havoc through Lore. He addresses his recruits as friends, colleagues and pawns, convinced that the world falling apart will finally make him safe. When one asks what reward they can expect, the Dreamweaver traps the doubter in unrelenting nightmares. The Master leaves him suffering as an example and sends the followers dressed as Skyguard recruits to their induction.

At the Academy, Stratos welcomes the new class to a life divided between study and service aboard the Phereless, which once belonged to his father. An attack interrupts the ceremony. Although you are only a guest, you help defend the halls while questioning the invaders. The Chaobolds claim they have passed from an old master to a new one whose grievance is personal, but neither their answers nor the Academy's history books reveal who he is. Activating the defenses gives the inexperienced recruits a chance to hold the remaining attackers back. An Imbunche, normally a warder for a powerful magic user, offers another clue: its presence away from its post suggests that its master is on the move. You defeat it to keep it from reporting, leaving Stratos to restore the Academy and investigate.

Invidia has impressed the captain by appearing in the thick of every battle. He appoints her his Recruit-Aide and takes responsibility for her training, while you encourage her to learn from him and perhaps earn a command of her own. He asks you to remain nearby in case the invasion brings further trouble.

The Dreamweaver prepares that trouble herself. With most of the Skyguard's ships on patrol, she sends a diversion to draw people away from the Hover-Base so the Master can reach the materials he needs. Her followers may die buying him time. She considers them expendable and has precautions for her own safety. At Anders' Loss, she hides that calculation beneath the clothes and concern of Granny V, an old woman pleading for help against Sky Pirates and Badland Bandits.

You break through the invasion, then follow Granny's advice to build junk barricades at both ends of Main Street and recover the pirates' stolen loot. She has you ignite them with the bandits' own fire-starting equipment, claiming the lizard-men cannot bear the heat. Her delight begins to expose her interests: bandits are useful to better villains, and a villain ought to make proper use of minions. Once you defeat the Bandit Boss, she praises your strength and quick wit, suggesting that both might serve her someday.

With the attackers fleeing, Granny draws you aside. She calls herself worthless, but you reject the description and offer to find her family. She claims she has none and has been waiting for someone instead. Stratos arrives, and she identifies him as the sort of person she means. He refuses payment for the rescue, explaining that High Command would punish him for accepting it. Granny laughs at the idea that you saved her, then offers a different gift: she will clarify the future by interpreting the past through dreams. The promise turns into a threat as she warns that you will have to live inside those dreams. Stratos recognizes the day she is forcing him to revisit and cries out in horror.

The dream returns Stratos to the loss he has never overcome. He knows Terra died and that he was not there to stop her killer, yet seeing his sister again makes him hope he can save her this time. Terra pleads with the man confronting her, reminding him that he is her brother. Stratos can only apologize to her again and swear that her killer will pay before pain overwhelms him.

When he wakes, you explain that the old woman vanished after he collapsed. You brought him back aboard the ship, where he has lain unconscious for two days under the doctors' care. While he was lost in the nightmare, the Sky Pirates gathered for attacks across Lore, and High Command assembled at Command Outpost 3G to plan its response. An anonymous warning speaks of an elite assault, but Invidia reveals where it will strike: inside the commanders' dreams. If they die there, they will never wake. Stratos tries to rise and cannot, so you volunteer to go with Invidia in his place.

A Dream Draught carries you to Twilight's Threshold. Invidia finds the realm beautiful but feels unseen eyes watching her, and the warning from Swordhaven's mages gives you little comfort. A note from Honoria Greyhame, apprentice to the Royal DreamWeaver, explains that thought directs travel here: an uncertain destination can trap you between Dream and Sleep. Wounds follow you into the waking world, and death is final without a Weaver's protection. Your own traits grow stronger in the realm, while the Nightmare can twist and imprison anyone it infects. Above all, she urges you to remember yourself and hope you are not forgotten.

The route to High Command runs through a mind maze whose portal has lost its Guide Stones. You recover the scattered whispers of an Aural Gem and fragments of a Dream Gem, restoring the stones that let you focus a destination and channel enough power to reach it.

A trapped apprentice Dreamweaver offers a more personal warning. She briefly mistakes you for a parent before recognizing another stranger who will leave her alone. Taken and abandoned by the Nightmare, she remembers a distant mistress who was mother, friend and teacher to her, but cannot reach her now. Her mind is shattering under visions she cannot forget. Even her delighted talk of making butterflies from blood turns play into something dreadful. If you promise to dream her a companion after waking, she tells you how strongly held visions shape this realm and begs you never to sleep inside it. If you refuse, she asks to keep your image in Dreamglass instead, so that at least your shade might stay with her.

Her other requests draw you further into that loneliness. She wants the Nightmare Pirates' mental defenses broken so she can share her dreams, then asks you to play with them until she hears laughter among the whispers. She imagines games and shadowcastles filled with louder laughter and screams. If you bring the Dreamglass she needs to attempt an escape, she thinks she may remember a dangerous spell from her training and urges you to leave before she tries it. She still hopes to wake and save herself.

While you search, a Nightmare-touched intruder uses borrowed dream-magic to force its way through the portal's safeguards. You defeat the Nightmare Lieutenant and complete the passage. You emerge hurting, but the main pirate assault has been intercepted in time and the Command Post appears undisturbed. Before you rush to check the commanders, Invidia urges you to consider who is directing the attack. Dreamweaver sent both the pirates and Stratos into dreams, but someone may be wielding her power, and the pirates seem unlikely to have arranged the alliance themselves.

Elsewhere, the Master tells Drakath that Stratos is hunting him and must die. With the captain weakened by nightmares, he plans to kill him and take his place, relying on Dreamweaver to conceal the differences while he spreads Chaos through the Skyguard. Drakath demands that he bring Alteon's society to its knees. When the Master asks whether success will let him lose himself in Chaos, Drakath promises only that he will know it. Back at the Command Post, Invidia suddenly calls your attention to something ahead.

The Fall of High Command

Inside the Command Post, Invidia finds the bodies of the officers you came to protect. You send her outside rather than make her remain with the carnage, then gather the surviving captains. Elyria struggles to believe that such capable defenders have been killed, but the pirates are already massing to invade Lore. Jaena urges the fleet to launch at once. Elyria takes the Gilded Lily into the lead, with the Angel Wing and White Lion guarding the rear, while you stay behind to protect the Department of Strategization's documents, munitions and artillery.

Pirate ships begin bombing settlements as their forces enter the department. Invidia warns that the invaders could seize state secrets and weapons meant to destroy Chaos. You fight for room to regroup, recover the stolen alarm codes and sound the warning that will bring the fleet's attention back to the base. Defeating the Dravir Sergeant disrupts the attack, while pieces of the pirates' divided map reveal their hideout. When they escape with secret papers, you pursue them aboard the Phereless with its skeleton crew, avoiding the bombs dropped into your path.

A summons brings you to King Alteon, who wants to know why Stratos is unavailable while pirates attack his kingdom. The captain arrives late and breathless, proposing that a promising recruit named Jens remain at the castle so royal messages can reach him directly. Alteon, coughing through the audience, recalls knowing the captain's parents and entrusts him with the Skyguard. Something in Stratos's manner troubles you. He speaks of plans he has already set in motion, corrects himself to make them shared plans, then declares that Chaos will overcome. Questioned, he insists that he meant Chaos would be overcome and hurries away.

At the pirate base, Invidia addresses the same captain as Master. Jens will follow their instructions at the castle, and both the Skyguard and its enemies can now operate as he wishes. She warns that you have discovered the hideout, but he refuses to warn the pirates there.

Exos and the Dreamweaver

Back at the Hoverbase, a Chaorrupted prisoner turns the accusation against Stratos. He claims to have witnessed the captain's bargain with Drakath and calls him Master: the pirates were to be transformed into servants of Chaos while their leader infiltrated Alteon's guard. Stratos's furious denials do not persuade you. Invidia accuses him of deceiving his friends, and his brother Tropos confronts him in disbelief. You order the captain detained despite his pleas, then lead the assault on the pirate hideout.

Invidia directs the infiltration toward a Gold Draconian who deserted rather than submit to Chaorruption. He holds the gate key, and she presents killing him as a mercy for the solitude and guilt she says have consumed him. Your efforts to slip past the pirates' defenses fail, forcing you to fight through them to their general.

Inside, Nhia and Jarren beg for help. They fell asleep at home weeks ago and woke among the pirates. Sir Ated later says their grandmother, the Dreamweaver, gave them up as collateral. Nightmares have left them too weak to resist, and Nhia fears Jarren cannot last much longer. Their captor claims their grandmother does not care about them, an accusation their misery makes increasingly difficult to dismiss.

If you answer Nhia's appeal to Good, her recovered locket carries the plea to her uncle, Sir Ated, in Swordhaven. Outraged that his mother gave her grandchildren to the pirates, he promises to retrieve them if you cannot. Family matters more than she believes, and her cruelty helped drive him into the knights. Nhia welcomes the news that someone still loves them and agrees to wait while you finish the battle. Her appeal to Evil turns instead toward their cousin, the Nightmare Child, whose screams enter their dreams. Though Nhia calls her innocent, she asks you to make the child stop by any means necessary. Shown the locket, the apprentice asks her cousins to remember her, then offers to fall silent and be forgotten until her final death. Nhia insists that no one can save their cousin where she is, while the continued screams may put the siblings beyond help too.

The man waiting deeper in the base looks like the captain you left imprisoned. Before you can make sense of his presence, Invidia abandons her timid manner and turns against him. She says she has been wronged and intends to put it right, then shows you the brothers' past. Exos pinned Stratos beneath him with a dagger. When Lithos tried to intervene, the blade struck his chest. Tropos cradled the wounded brother as Stratos glared at their attacker. Exos fled into the company of murderous ruffians, while Stratos found both a calling and a means to continue his search in the Skyguard. Fear of his brother's revenge drove Exos to seek whatever power might protect him.

Exos is the Master, and Invidia is the old woman who forced Stratos into his nightmare. The Dreamweaver describes herself as an illusionist bound by Exos's commands, claiming that even the minions who attacked the Hoverbase were under his control. She asks you to help her break those ties. Exos answers that she belongs to him and can leave only through death, so you help her escape.

Nhia sees her grandmother take you away and begs you to return. When you remember the children, the Dreamweaver insists that they are strong, will survive, and will not be harmed while she lives. She urges you to think instead about the future, pleased that your fates are becoming more closely entwined. The children remain behind with the pirates.

The Stolen Skyguard Mechsuit

You return to Stratos and admit your mistake. Meeting his brother has finally exposed the deception that put an innocent captain in a cell. Stratos answers with bitter humor about Exos's good looks and rotten character: scars and honor are the differences that matter. You renew your promise to help him, then explain what became of his favorite recruit. He recognizes the Dreamweaver as the woman who tormented him, but accepts your defense of her as another victim of Exos. She resumes Invidia's appearance, offering to help destroy the pirates and their Master.

High Command still doubts Stratos's loyalty and orders him to remain behind while you lead a counterattack. Pirate ships have docked at its base, and communications are down. Stratos refuses to wait under suspicion. He will take the Phereless after Exos whether the commanders approve or not. Invidia sends you to General Zephis while she attends to the captain. Elsewhere, J'Gar tells the captive children that their grandmother is busy and will come for them later, provided they behave.

Pirate bombs have broken the approach to the Control Room. Tropos helps you reach it, torn between loyalty to the Skyguard and the need to protect his brother. Beyond the damaged crossings and missing door codes, the general reveals what the thieves have taken: Communication Module 4dX and a powerpack for a secret weapon. Recovering the module and restoring the satellites brings the base back into contact with its ships, but the missing powercell keeps a new battle mechsuit out of service. You search the pirate base for it while the general grows steadily less patient with civilian assistance.

When M3ch4-d34th still fails to activate, the general takes you to inspect the project himself, threatening to demote you despite your lack of a military rank. Major Arshbuten objects to admitting an outsider, warning that people may not be what they appear, then reveals the missing powerpack. Before the general can finish another criticism of civilians, Arshbuten turns the mech against you. You defeat him and secure the weapon, leaving it functional but dented. With reinforcements arriving and communications restored, you recommend better security checks and leave to find Stratos, ignoring the general's order to stay. The captain has a ship and a raging temper, and you know where your help is needed.

Exos and the Chaos Beast

The Dreamweaver reaches Exos first. She commands him to forget her visit, fail to recognize his next visitor and trust that person completely. His protest that everyone wants him dead gives way to obedience. Wearing Granny V's appearance, she then questions one of his recruits about the supplies he has been sent to gather. As Invidia, she brings the discovery to you but withholds Exos's location from Stratos, arguing that the captain's anger would make a confrontation too dangerous. You accept her reasoning and the disguise she provides, agreeing to help Exos long enough to discover and stop his plan.

Exos sets his supposed helper to work gathering animal remains and binding materials for a creation he will assemble himself. When he finally demands whole corpses, his ambition becomes unmistakable: he is building a Chaos Beast to prove himself worthy of becoming a Chaos Lord. You joke about a barbecue and suggest inviting his other minions, but the mention of the Dreamweaver sends him into panic. He cannot bear the thought of her looking into his dreams.

His promises of power break into memories of his brothers, sister and lost home. He orders you outside to guard the door against Stratos, the Hero and the treacherous Dreamweaver. Bangs and crashes become a roar, followed by Exos's triumphant claim to Chaos and desperate commands for his creation to obey. You intervene even though fighting the Beast may expose your disguise. You will not leave Exos to die before Stratos can see what has become of him. Exos protests that he cannot become a Chaos Lord without raising a Beast, but his ambition will not make this one obedient, and you defeat it.

Finding him sprawled on the laboratory floor, you announce in jest that Drakath has arrived to make him a Chaos Lord. Exos begs you to hide him. Chaos was meant to be his weapon, but it already belongs to Drakath, and failure may bring it down on him instead. You suggest finding Stratos and settling the feud. Exos can imagine only death at either man's hands. He flees to hide, plan and kill Chaos before it destroys him. The figure left receiving visitors in the bunker is an apparition made by the Dreamweaver, not the real Exos.

While you worry that Invidia may be in danger, she reports to Drakath with satisfaction. Exos has failed just as she expected. Drakath finds her choice of puppets strange, but she sees possibilities in planting Chaos somewhere new.

Chaosguard and the Phereless

Exos soon demands more than the place he once coveted. Facing Drakath, he accuses his brother of killing their sister and trying to kill him, then declares that a Chaos Lord's title will no longer suffice. He wants a Champion's crown: Drakath's own, with his sword and wings. Drakath subdues him and gives him a Chaos Eye, calling the violation a new clarity that will align their purposes.

Exos blames the Dreamweaver for manipulating him and stealing credit for his work. Drakath offers an explanation that makes her apparent betrayal useful: by reacting with hatred where you and Stratos could see, Exos persuaded you to trust her. Exos accepts that she has been deceiving their common enemy and agrees to maintain the charade. Drakath lets him believe the plan is under control, then reminds him that Chaos never proceeds as intended.

At the keep, Invidia guides you and Stratos toward Exos's ship through passages she has seen in his dreams. The place is as disordered as his mind. You disrupt the commanders directing his forces, destroy the Spy-Eyes that track your movements and overcome the SkyWatcher barring the way. The distraction also gives Invidia room to continue her psychic attacks. She calls her abandoned grandchildren her one regret and asks you to return them so she can raise them to be powerful and dedicated.

You find Nhia and Jarren in the hold. Nhia's anger is deserved: you left them among pirates on their grandmother's assurance and never checked that they were safe. She has been counting on Stratos's arrival to distract their guards and create a chance to escape. You apologize, praise her resourcefulness and offer to take them to safety while Stratos goes on to confront Exos.

Exos attacks his brother, leaving Stratos injured and you to finish the fight. After defeating him, you try to lighten the captain's pain with a joke about Exos never stealing his clothes again. Stratos is not ready to laugh. It feels as though his brother punched him with a dragon. You bring him to the fallen Exos, admitting that no amount of battle has taught you what to say at such a moment. Stratos kneels and leaves his goggles with his brother, wondering whether they might have helped him see more clearly. He apologizes, says goodbye and asks that someone take care of him.

Drakath and the Dreamweaver come to Exos's body afterward. She dismisses him as a weak-minded puppet and claims that her next attempt to prove herself will succeed. Drakath rejects the credit she takes for the Chaos around them: she failed to account for her pawn's past, and her mistake created the disorder, not her skill. He declares her unfit to serve him. Furious, she tells him to watch the skies and his dreams. Drakath has another use in mind for Exos. With the fallen aspirant on his own platform, he intends to hold the leash himself and make him the first Chaos Knight.

High Command's judgment falls on Stratos as well. Saving citizens does not excuse using his ship and recruits for a personal vendetta, and the commanders expel him from both the Skyguard and the Phereless. They allow time for farewells, only to discover that his crew has come to say goodbye to them. Tropos and the aeropilot speak for everyone: they will serve no other captain. Stratos claims the Phereless as his father's ship and leaves with those who choose to follow him, convinced that he can better protect Alteon and Swordhaven beyond the commanders' orders.

The general now regards the captain, his ship and its ammunition as a threat. You defend Stratos's intentions and direct attention toward the Dreamweaver and Drakath instead. Invidia's farewell gives you reason to do so. She celebrates her freedom and the captain's, but says your time together is not over. She has seen your hopes, dreams and fears, and insists that she should be beside you when you face them. Otherwise, who knows what might happen? Her wish for sweet dreams carries a warning with it.