MYRIAD WORLDS: THE DEMON LORD GILGAMESH

SCROLL FRAGMENT ONE

“Many have forgotten what it was like, but I haven’t. I still remember the crack and rumble of thunder as the very heavens split open, heralding the end of that dreadful war.

“The Earth itself trembled violently as the god fell – struck from his heavenly abode by his own family. Steam roiled off his body as the flames consumed him. The very air was turned toxic and charged with Rhaido’s fury. The memory still persists even in my dreams.

“The Prince, he was called. He fell right through our world to the lesser aether below.

“I remember the Purger, Rodevak de Grook, speaking to my dying father just after the Prince fell. He was just returned from the front lines of what later became the last war between us and the demons, still covered in blood and grime but with a steel sword that glinted in the firelight. He knelt beside the late King Var de Grook the third, my father.

“’What has happened?’ the late King had asked him.

“And he’d answered loudly, gripping the silver medallion around his neck and palming my father’s shoulder to reassure him. ‘The Prince has fallen, brother.’

“I was only seven summers old but that answer had also reassured and given me hope back then, albeit a false hope. The Prince has indeed fallen, but the brutality still exists. Even now, on my death bed, it still infects the world. The world that seems to have forgotten what it was like before and during the war; when those hellish fiends performed all manner of devilry on our kin. The world have forgotten when they slaughtered us like cattle in pens, and this is why people like King Jaron of Poles can enact a law recognizing demons as citizens.

“A new war is upon us, mark my words. The first was won by the grace of our beloved goddess Eudora and the fiery god Fondor, through the Purgers. It was won through the unity of all humans to a common goal. A common goal, along with the help of the gods, that had built a fortress to shelter us.

“But our fortress is crumbling. The Purgers are declining with each passing day, and the unity is no longer. The gods look to their own now. Demons and humans live together in Poles, Merhol and Lytham, working their corruption. Slodoroon trades with them.

“A new war is upon us and this time it won’t be as simple as man against demon. It’ll be neighbors against each other while the demons profit. Let each of us search his soul, and pray that the gods have mercy, for we will have none.”

THE LAST WORDS OF KING LEGOLAM THE JUST OF NIALLI

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SCROLL FRAGMENT TWO

Purgers are supposed to be to goddess Eudora what Knights are to Kings, but on the contrary, they serve humanity and not the goddess.

Bred and raised in magic to be great mages and swordsmen, Purgers are formidable humans. Most of them were castaways, collected and trained at Castle Org, then imbued with magic and sent out to purge the world of demons.

Their order traces back to the days of the war when heroes like Sir Rodevak de Grook and Sir Windsor Riderna led the first Knights under the blessing of goddess Eudora against the demons.

Purgers are divided into classes according to their affinity levels and job description. Purger Knights are field Purgers who journey the continent hunting demons and rogue daemons.

Messengers are resident Purgers who are responsible for alerting the Knights to demonic activity. Most Messengers are retired Knights that rarely see any more action, but their presence in a settlement serves as a deterrent against demons, and as canaries to summon the Knights within the vicinity.

Teachers are only found in Castle Org, where they train and raise the younger Purgers known as Squits. Most teachers are Knights either wintering in the Castle or assigned to guard duties.

Masters are the most experienced class of Purgers. They are said to possess god-like powers and are the supreme authority in the Order. They are the last line of defense against the demons, and are only realized after years of mental and physical enhancement.

But for all that Purgers keep our world from falling into oblivion at the hands of the demons, the order is in steady decline. The last census put the number of Knights between 140-150 – a pitiful number when compared to the thousands that roamed in the early days. Presently, the total number of members of the order is no more than 700, with the Squits included.

HALF-BURNT SCROLL FOUND IN THE ROYAL LIBRARY OF RIDERNA.