"The Eternal One's birth predated Zurkonia's. He gained many slivers in his lifetime and was known for his elemental blade that saved many people from death. Then came the day he was approaching being one of the few to gain a full sliver. Once he reached that point he would become a true warrior of The Temple. His slivers allowed him to fight for days. During these battles, he could be seen cleaving the heads of monsters and disarming those who had turned to evil. His blade had sliced through entire steel golems in one sweep. Huge meteors would strike him and he would still rise to slay the mage who had called it down. His mind had resisted total control from the most powerful psychics. Truly he was one of the few mortals who got to know the full extent of silver's capability.
During the height of his power, he was tired of traveling the world. So he decided to create a place under his direct protection. This place would be a paradise free of evil. A city he decided would be the best way to do this. The walls of this city would keep his enemies at bay. So he gathered his allies and they began to create the city of Zurkonia. Mages pushed up huge walls, and this very castle, in a matter of days. His host of soldiers and divine adventurers cleared the region of varmints, undead, gook, giant lizards, and every imaginable lurker.
People around the world flocked to Zurkonia. Some versions of this tale even say that the city went from a coastal forest, into a metropolis of ten thousand souls in one week. Though I am sure it was longer. Either way, it flourished absurdly fast.
As more people flocked, The Eternal One placed himself as the leader of the newfound Zurkonia. He appointed his most powerful allies positions of authority within the new city. His allies, who like him, were powerful slivers, made quick work of their jobs. The Eternal One's vision was not shared by all of these allies though.
Many had used their slivers to gain personal power. The Eternal One's rulership over them was seen as a threat to their work. So despite his trust and gifts, grudges formed within his city's walls. The people that flocked in also brought with them the mortal coil of life.
People's needs built up as they packed into the city. The trash piled and crime exploded. Many had come with nothing in their hands. With nothing but poverty, they turned to a fierce fight for survival. The Eternal One and his allies turned into governors before they knew it. Like any city, the people were taxed for the graciousness of the slivers. The taxes were used to govern the people, but also created a ruling government class that wielded a huge amount of gold. But unlike many other cities, they also wielded divine power. This created resentment from the impoverished. So Zurkonia descended from heaven into the mortal realm, in a conceptual sense.
The Eternal One chaffed at the idea that the divine power of the slivers was not enough to create paradise. So he devised a plan. He sought to turn to the origin of the slivers power. Grasping more of it surely would allow him to rise above the mortal coil. He began to plan for the time when this would be possible.
The Temple was the structure that granted slivers. Their gods came once every three years and would aid them. The Eternal One would ascend to the Temple and join their ranks. From there he would bless the city. His allies did not like this plan.
Already, they feared The Eternal One's power. Voices rose in arugument. He denied them. So they plotted to have the Eternal One destroyed when the Temple came. They would erase the memories of the Eternal One from the entire population. They believed by doing this, the Temple would see only a man respected by none, feared by none, and utterly unknown, then strip him of his power.
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The Eternal One prepared a great festival for the day of the Tempel's arrival. The entire city would celebrate. Then when the gods rode in on their great temple, they would see the hero and his claim to godhood. A city larger than any other pointing, at one man. A city that hadn't existed a mere three years ago when the Temple last came. The Eternal One dug deep into his preparations.
His resources were flaunted openly to assist in the creation of statues, dance halls, stages, new taverns, the training of his armies, and parades. He came himself to the worksites of his largest plans. With ease, he would lift huge beams, carve wood with mastery, and command large-scale exercises. The people saw his grand person and their awe grew. Those that plotted against him also began their preparations.
The lower slivers were left unmonitored. They flew about the city planting parts of a great ritual. These parts were hidden in cracks between buildings, beneath walls, and along the rooftops. These elements blended in like glimmering jewels in a shining hoard. The festival decorations were colorful shining expanses, hiding the nefarious plot.
They had to be careful still. The Eternal One did have many loyal followers. Complex magic and ability allowed him to confuse and outperform many of the others. Without a full understanding of what he could do, they moved with great caution. A few of their ritual parts were even found by decorators and patrols. Their appearance was that of a small animal carved from metals and crystals.
Those who found them pocketed them or did not divine their greater evil purpose. They quickly were sold to the blossoming black market. Despite the many plotters' abilities, their ritual had holes and weak spots. So they began to guide the Eternal One into building center stage for himself.
With great care, a great platform was created. There the evil ritual would be strong. The Temple would not miss the grand stage. The Eternal one thanked his friends for the idea. The stage was grand and would fit all of the city's leaders in its stands. Many would watch his ascension. But within the supports, curtains, seats, and foundation, the parts of the ritual were hidden completely.
The Temple drew near, and the time had come for the festival. As the god's structure descended through the atmosphere at the far end of the planet, the city celebrated its founder. The plotters awaited their coming promotion to the new leaders of the great city of Zurkonia. All were on edge. Any event involving the gods could be unpredictable.
The god's were transhuman. Their power alone separated them greatly from the mortal host. For unseen reasons a city could be raised, a blessing given to the wrong person, or a law of nature broken. The Temple's resolve supersedes all. Soon, that will would fall upon them all, for better or worse.
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Over the mountain peaks the Temple rose. The city's festivities grew to a boisterous level. The god's vehicle had a huge cylindrical body that was more than fifty stories tall. Yellow beams of arcane energy arced from its base and point. Huge fragments of land quickly orbited the structure. The power that kept it aloft seemed to catch other things in its wake. The debris that revolved about it moved chaotically. Different gravities pulled at them and tossed each zipping in every direction.
The Temple's light gray stone exterior caught the setting sun's light as it completed its ascent over the mountain. The reflected light beamed down on Zurkonia. The city gleamed back. A huge fireball erupted from the center stage and boiled the air over the city. The Eternal One stood below the inferno, sword raised.
He wore resplendent sandy robes that gave off arcane energies. His blade's arcane energy dwarfed the robes. The crowd followers and soon-to-be traitors watched in unified awed silence. He swung the blade and this time a glacier of ice launched from it and spread across the mountainside, shoving an entire forest up the rocky slopes. Another swing let loose branches of lighting that mimicked the largest of trees. The people's awe of him grew.
The Temple descended the mountainside, looming a few hundred feet above the ground. The distant structure now threatened to crush the city. Many cowered before its immensity and bright arcane beams. The Eternal One continued his show. Aweing the fearful people as his sword blurred. Elements continued to explode forth from the blade. It was as if he commanded the primordial energies of creation right there on stage.
The traitors grew worried at this show, what if it was too much, too large of a power to stop? So they waited, hoping their plan was enough. The traitor leaders gave the signal for the ritual to start.
Slowly, across the city, their agents activated the ritual. The Temple crested the wall of the city. A harsh deep grey light that blossomed from a hundred points enfolded the city. The festival sounds quickly died and the Eternal one, in his dance, did not notice.
The Temples' arcane arcs deepened into gold and seemed to spread like roots throughout the city. The roots touched the minds of the people. Simultaneously the grey light of the ritual touched their minds. The Temple's power searched for the heroes, villains, leaders, and powerful, in the memories of the people. It did not find The Eternal One.
So as the Temple looked for power to give, it also looked for power to take. The Eternal One, who three years ago was bestowed great power by the Temple, now was a nobody. Not even his parents could recognize him. So, the Temple took all he had, down to the last drop of his soul. The blade stopped singing, the sandy robes stopped glittering, and the body that was the Eternal One slumped to the ground.
At the same time, the traitors were blessed with great new powers. For they had led the city and created such a wonder. They lurched from their seats and went to the tedious work of striking all physical evidence of the Eternal One from the world. Books burned, taverns songs silenced, his possessions stolen, and lastly, his body was secreted away as the traitors rushed the stage.
The Eternal One became a distant myth with only motes of dust left in history to signify he had ever existed. New memories of the Eternal One were placed in the minds of the people as the Temple left, its work done. The divine and mortal rituals were simultaneously completed. We are left here today with one question. How did this story come to us now?"
General Haze finished speaking and stood from his chair. His cup of red fluid now empty. The kids sat silently.
