Lost Pages of Taborea: Chapter 3 character background tie-ins
The lore in Runes of Magic can sometimes be frustrating. There's an incomplete -- and vague -- history that sparks questions of who did what and when. Sometimes, there are references to reoccurring incidents without anyone knowing anything of who was involved or when it happened. As new chapters are released, some of those questions are answered and story-holes are filled, but new questions get added as well. We are veering off the beaten track in this week's Lost Pages of Taborea to dive into some lore.
There's a growing amount of story for lore-hungry players to discuss and I wanted to revisit some Chapter 3 lore that helps us to understand a little more about the history and present-day in the world of Taborea. The following article is written for those players who may already know about the game's lore, but want to know even more. Given the overall amount of story and the way it's spread out through levels, zones and time-frames, I almost didn't feel the need to put any spoiler warnings on this post. Instead, I left out details learned from going inside the various dungeons.
Even before Chapter 2, we knew about the great banishment through constant references, but we knew little of the details. When Hall of Survivors was released, some new information came to light about the Guardians (magic-imbued golems) safeguarding a key to the Void -- the place the Demons were banished. Even as some of these lore holes get filled, there are tiny discrepancies that add confusion to major plot points. How many Envoys were there? Were the dragons once Envoys? If the dragons were Envoys, why is there that one Envoy that appears in Human form in Weeping Coast?
There are numerous name-changes, vague references and pieces that don't quite fit, and I'm going to chalk these discrepancies up as being lost in translation. RoM did come from a Taiwanese company and went through a German publisher before landing in the States.
King Kalume
Once we were able to venture into Thunderhoof Hills, we discovered that the local king, Kalume, in partnership with the king of the elves, Antaikolon, was behind the great banishment. He created alliances with different races to band together and free Taborea from the tyranny of the Demons.
After the banishment, Kalume appointed seven heroes to establish principalities and ensure peace in the lands. Tirsov Fireboot turned down the king, though, and headed into the mountains. And now in Chapter 4, we get our first look at the Redhill Mountains and the Fireboot Dwarves.
Antaikolon's part ties in loosely with the group of elves that became seduced by rotten earth magic and became the Jyr'na (Dark Elves) that reside in Northern Janost Forest.
Kawak Angerfang
Anyone playing through the higher-level dungeons has heard about Kawak Angerfang, leader of the Iron Teeth tribe of the Limu (canine race). He's featured prominently in the dungeon Kawak's Tomb.
The Limu weren't always on the side of good in Taborea. They pretty much looked out for themselves until King Kalume's general, Androth, managed to capture Kawak, thus giving Angerfang a chance to see how well the King treated everyone.
Kawak's descendant's had to accept the honor of being one of the principalities, because Kawak gave his life to ensure the demons were banished -- and so the Kingdom of Limon was established, where Kawak's statue can be seen. He's hailed by his descendants as being the key to victory by luring the demons into the heart of the great spell.
Lekani
The principality of Angren was ruled over by a Leonine named Lekani, and by her mother, Menimen, before her. It's interesting how the Leonine relate to Sismond – Chapter 4's main antagonist. The Leonines originally sided with the demons in the war against the allied races, but Sismond became despised for his horrible experiments with rune energy on injured Leonines.
There's also a tie-in with Annelia -- King Grafu's daughter -- and Raksha Temple which lies behind Leonines settlement.
Shint Kanches
While there are other principalities I don't mention in this article, Lechif is the only one of the six we haven't seen in-game yet. Master Thief Kanches looked up to Kalume and Kalume's main man, Androth, but I've yet to see any references to the principality of Lechif -- named after Shint's hometown.
We are just now seeing the principality of Kalon and the home of the Fireboot Dwarves revealed in Chapter 4. It's likely Lechif is scheduled for a later zone. He's said to have lived on the island of Tergot'en before Kalume enlisted him into his army. He became Kalume's best spy and even led an attack on Sismond. He met a sad end when he was killed during the attack against the Demon. Sismond turned him into a zombie and sent him after Kalume. Tragically, it was his friend and father figure Androth who finally ended his misery.
Other juicy morsels
The principality of Shador was established by Jenny Giant, a human archer of renown. What's interesting is the mention of the elven priestess Artis from the Temple of the Moon Spirit. There's a bit of a mystery surrounding Jenny's past and how her gifted prowess with the bow is similar to Elven archers. I desperately want to learn more about Artis.
King Antaikolon was said to have given his life to establish the great barrier in Savage Lands, which was later severely weakened, thanks to the ostricized prince Kentalion getting all hot and bothered over a human female. But Princess Eliyar took a contingent of elves into Zandorya in fear that her father's efforts would not be enough. Fortunately, she found a wealth of abundant magic deep in Northern Janost Forest. Unfortunately, the real source of this magic was not natural, but came from a rune buried underground. Slowly she and her elves succumbed to the unnatural power and changed into the power-hungry Jyr'na that continuously fight with the Leonine to this day. But there's also word that Antaikolon really isn't dead -- that he's sleeping in a heroes tomb.
Conclusion
RoM's lore is shaping up to be rather interesting. Some of the official pieces of lore gathered from press releases have some nice depth and density to them. There's more revalations of drama and intrigue surrounding how the history of these races are tightly woven together. There's still plenty of head-scratching questions that remain. I don't mind piecing together the mystery, it's just when the pieces don't make sense that bugs me. My favorite aspect of the newer story is how it's much more 3-dimensional than it looked pre-Chapter 2. Runewaker, you're doing an okay job. Now, we just need more!
Each Monday, Jeremy Stratton delivers Lost Pages of Taborea, a column filled with guides, news, and opinions for Runes of Magic. Whether it's a community roundup for new players or how to how to improve versatility in RoM's content, you'll find it all here. Send your questions to jeremy@massively.com.
