By now you’ve heard how Talents will be changing how players enjoy BRAWL games, but today we want to show how you’ll earn, level up and use Talents.
IN-DEPTH WALKTHROUGH VIDEO
GWEN TALENT INTRO COMIC
Understanding Talents: The Basics
Category: News
Coming Soon: the Epic ‘Spider Queen’ Kestrel Skin!
‘Sylvan’ Kestrel’s story continues with a necessary trek to the world of subterranean elves. Read on to discover how Kestrel became the ‘Spider Queen’ and sealed off the Island Well from humankind.
CHECK HER OUT IN GAME:
MODEL & EFFECTS CHANGES
- Kestrel has transformed into a dark elf!
- White hair and red eyes
- Queen’s Web headdress with magenta jewel
- Spider Mother Bow with webs
- Golden elf leafy armor
- Spider silk webbed costume
- Drops exploding spider sacs for Active Camo
- Elvish leap during Glimmershot
- Spins into new pose for One Shot One Kill
- Shoots spider silk into the air that pulls her up and recalls her back to base
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
The Spider Mother
The Island Well was as the King Stag had said, overrun with humankind, contaminated and burbling black tar instead of the clear, healing water that had been revered by the forest creatures and protected by sanctimonious rites since the first memory. Kestrel, the wood elf princess, led the fight against the humans. Kestrel, with her bow named Sparrow, ended many human lives. Bear, wolf and deer fought together, trampling and mauling those who had harmed the well in their selfishness and ignorance. Hares and badgers and snakes, too, joined the fray, and birds dove to peck out human eyes. The battle was well-won by the forest creatures, but they suffered losses, and their victory did not last even a full moon cycle before more humans came, drawn by the stories of the healing well.
From the tallest tree, Kestrel watched them come. The owls joined her.
“We will rouse the animals for the next fight,” said the owls.
“The humans outnumber us,” said Kestrel. She slid her fingertips along the edges of her wings, her mouth twisting. “Seek out my family, and call them to war.”
“The sylvan elves have retreated into the mist,” reported the owls.
Kestrel considered this without expression. “Then I must seek out the elves below.”
The owls widened their round eyes. “The elves below do not care about our world.”
“Our world is their world, and all are one.”
Kestrel dropped to the ground and called, with a low, throaty growl, for the badgers. The matriarch of the clan came with her family behind her, squinting in the bright light.
“Take me below,” commanded Kestrel.
The sow was dubious, but dared not disobey the elf, so she led the way to her den. Kestrel crawled on her belly to enter, but once inside, the den widened into a network of caves and tunnels through which the badgers led her. Together they burrowed deep underground, feeling their way along in the dark, until at last they came to an ancient door that glowed violet around the edges. The badgers snuffled with worry. Kestrel knelt to kiss the matriarch between her eyes before stepping alone through the door and into the capital city of the below.
The only light came from the phosphorescent mushrooms that grew on the roots and ground and in great numbers up the sides of tall spires. Kestrel stood in silence as the proud and beautiful dark elves of the below surrounded her, arrows fitted to their bows, standing sideways at the ready. White hair spilled down their backs in stark contrast to their skin, the color of midnight. They wore jeweled armor and gowns made of spider silk, and their eyes glowed red.
“I am the princess of the Tangled Wood,” said Kestrel. “I call on you to help us defeat the humans who have contaminated the Island Well, and to seal it until it has been forgotten by humankind.”
The dark elves looked at one another. One of them said, “Wars above come and go, as do wars below. Your dispute with the humans does not concern us.”
“Our world is your world, and all worlds are one,” said Kestrel.
All elves above and below knew the words of wisdom. The dark elves lowered their bows. “Even so, only the Spider Queen may command us.”
“Call the Spider Queen to me,” ordered Kestrel.
“The Spider Mother has not chosen a queen,” said one of the dark elves.
“Then I shall be chosen. Take me to her.”
The dark elves laughed at Kestrel’s audacity, but her gaze did not waver, and so they led her to a temple made of gold and shaped like a spider.
The domed ceiling of the bulbous body of the temple was draped with webs upon webs, and hanging from the webs were thousands of silken white sacs. At the center of the webs, a giant black spider perched. Kestrel unstrapped the bow from her back and snapped a magical arrow into existence in her right hand.
“Why does a wood elf come to me?” asked the Spider Mother.
“To be the chosen Spider Queen,” said Kestrel.
“Only a creature of the below may be Spider Queen,” said the spider.
“So be it,” said Kestrel.
“Drop your bow,” said the Spider Mother. “If you pass the test, we will be your weapons.”
“When I pass.” But Kestrel obeyed, resting the bow named Sparrow on the golden floor and extinguishing the magic arrow. “What is your test?”
“Feed my children and survive.”
And with that, the sacs broke open, and spiderlings emerged from them, hundreds of thousands, each the size of Kestrel’s hand. They fled down the webs to the floor and crawled up her legs; they dropped into her hair, hissing. They bared their fangs and sank them into Kestrel’s flesh, injecting their venom. Their stings shot through her, but she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out in pain. She refused, also, to close her eyes when the spiderlings tore the wings from her back, staring up instead at the Spider Mother. The black venom spread under her skin, turning it the same midnight color as the dark elves of the below. Her hair whitened and her vision swam with blood, but not for a moment did she consider dying, and so she did not.
After what felt like an eternity, the spiderlings had eaten their fill, and Kestrel still stood. The Spider Mother crawled down the webs to the ground before the Spider Queen and bowed. “I am your weapon,” she said.
And so the Spider Queen emerged from the badgers’ den, transformed, with an army of dark elves and spiders behind her, blinking their red eyes in the glare. The army set upon the Island Well with their blades and arrows and poisons, and when they had made a ruin of the greedy humans, the spiders wove a thick silken web over the well that sealed its magic away from the world.
Read Kestrel’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Coming Soon: the Rare ‘Lapdog’ Grumpjaw Skin!
‘Lapdog’ Grumpjaw is NOT a bad boy, he’s just very large and very hangry. You’d be hangry too if your tummy was so big and empty. He’s a GOOD boy … if he’s on your team. Coming soon, you can own your very own cuddly Grumpjaw!
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL CHANGES
- Totally redesigned French Bulldog breed
- Nametag and Spiky Harness for giving a big fright!
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
The Proper Care and Feeding of Grumpjaw Lapdogs
The Grumpjaw Lapdog is a special breed with unique needs. Well cared-for Grumpjaws are so affectionate and loyal that their owners don’t even mind the loud snoring and farting. Grumpjaws get cold easily, so it is a good idea to get yours a nice hat and jacket for going outside in blustery weather.
Feeding
Grumpjaws have strong muscles and big bellies that are impossible to keep full, so it is necessary to follow your veterinarian’s diet instructions and keep a lot of dog food around. Many Grumpjaw owners must build a shed or barn to hold all of the food, or they may find that they become the hangry doggy’s meal!
Grooming
Grumpjaws are drooly and need lots of loving care. Their face wrinkles must be lifted and cleaned every day, and their bat ears and eyes checked for infection. Their teeth and tusks should be brushed at least once a week, or their bad breath will fog up your home. They love massages with their manicures. Their coats must only be bathed with gentle shampoos that retain the skin’s natural oils. If you are a small sort of person, you may need a system of ladders, ropes and pulleys to complete these tasks on your giant doggy.
Training
Caring for Grumpjaws is much easier when they are trained as puppers. Grumpjaws aim to please, but they are also playful and stubborn. Teach them to be still during grooming, since chasing this breed around can result in broken lamps or frightened neighbor children. Potty training is of utmost importance! A little Grumpjaw accident means a BIG mess for its owner. For crate training, experts suggest a garage filled with your doggy’s favorite blankies. Chew toys and pulling ropes are not recommended, as a Grumpjaw will swallow them whole and suffer from bellyache.
Socializing
Grumpjaws love to go everywhere you go! Socialites are leading the way with fashion-forward motorized strollers and gem-encrusted leashes for transporting your Grumpjaw in style. Be aware that many shop owners will not welcome your doggy into their establishment, but adult Grumpjaws don’t fit through doorways anyway.
These lovable doggies are also big on cuddling and will climb onto your lap at every opportunity. Be careful, as this has resulted in broken femurs and pelvises among Grumpjaw owners!
Read Grumpjaw’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Check Out the Epic ‘Red Lantern’ Flicker Skin!
It’s never too early to prepare for the Red Lantern Festival. Follow ‘Red Lantern’ Flicker’s delicious dumpling recipes for good luck all year long!
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL & EFFECT CHANGES
- Flicker is now an adorable pot-bellied red panda!
- Bamboo conical hat
- Paper lantern with festive red glow
- Brand new red smoke cloud effects
- Flame effect on Binding Light
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
Flicker’s Best Red Lantern Festival Dumpling Recipes
Be sure to raid the Meekos gardens for the freshest ingredients!
Boiled Hornworm Dumplings
Steam your cabbage and mix with fresh ginger, garlic, sesame oil, salt and ground hornworms plucked straight from the tomato plants. Cut your dough into rounds – do not make your dough too thick! One must take care to create the perfect ratio of bug meat to carbohydrate.
Place a tablespoon of chilled filling into the center of your dough rounds and fold over one side to form a half-circle, pressing to adhere. Pleat a nice decoration along the edge, then boil your dumplings until the hornworms are cooked through, about three minutes or to taste.
Dip in a sauce of fermented rice juice, soy sauce, vinegar and fresh scallions ripped from the head of a Meekos.
Jumil Dumpling with Chile-Sesame Sauce
Heat oil in a skillet until shimmering. Add mushrooms, scallions, bok choy and carrot and stir-fry until tender. Add chile-garlic sauce and cook until the liquid evaporates, then chill. Fold wonton wrappers into triangles and keep them open and ready. Spoon the prepared filling and a few whole, live jumiles into the wrappers and quickly, before they can crawl out, seal the edges and press out any air trapped inside. Bake dumplings seam-sides up. The stink bugs have a pleasing bitter-cinnamon flavor that complements the chile sauce. If they survive the baking, they will wiggle in your mouth in the most pleasing fashion!
Serve with a sauce of black bean sauce, chiles, toasted sesame oil, and fresh ginger.
Scorpion Dumpling Pancakes
In a large bowl, mix together scorpions, scallions, finely chopped spicy fermented cabbage, two garlic cloves and three well beaten quail eggs. Brush gyoza wrappers with water and drop filling in the centers. Fold the wrappers to form half-moons and press the edges together. Fry in a skillet until golden on the bottom, then drizzle with a slurry of cornstarch and water. Cook until the slurry forms a thin crust.
Serve with a dipping mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, crushed red pepper, sesame seeds and sugar.
Read Flicker’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Introducing the Legendary ‘Champion’s Fate’ Blackfeather Skin!
Blackfeather’s past has been shrouded in mystery … until now. Read on to discover more about ‘Champion’s Fate’ Blackfeather — his flashiest look yet.
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL CHANGES
- Blademaster’s Daughter ringed sword
- Black feather cape
- Bursting black feather attacks
- Winged dragon-head pauldrons
- Bladed armor and black leather pants
- Flashy violet and gold ability and attack effects
- Tumbling, spinning, feather bursting Rose Offensive
- Brand new ornate hearts for Heartthrob stacks
- New animations to accommodate new effects
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
The Blademaster’s Daughter
They say that on the quest for the Blademaster’s Daughter, Diego the goatherd became Blackfeather the Champion. But this is the whole story:
Diego was a weakling who dreamed of adventure. He pretended at swordplay in the fields with sticks, threatening napping goats who paid him no mind. Unlucky in love, he practiced kissing on pumpkins. When word of the imprisoned daughter flew through the village, Diego saw a chance for notoriety. On the back of his favorite goat, he set off toward the home of the Blademaster, the greatest swordsman in the hills.
The Blademaster was but the first of many overprotective fathers that Diego would face, but he was the most formidable. In twenty years, no one had beaten the Blademaster in combat. Diego was weak, but he was no fool. Standing on the back of his goat, he snuck into the Blademaster’s home through the armory window.
On every inch of the armory walls were hung blades of all kinds, but Diego was drawn to a glass case in the center of the room, where stood the Blademaster’s Daughter.
The Blademaster had, by magic means, imprisoned his daughter inside a ringed sword, so that she would always be safe from harm. The hilt rose above her lovely closed eyes. Her waist curved inward and her hips splayed out and down to form the blade itself. All fear melted from Diego as he looked upon this most gorgeous of weapons. His heart broke. He pressed his nose against the glass and fogged it up, in love for the first time.
The sword’s eyes opened.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“I am …” Diego paused. He could not very well call himself Diego. He made something up. “Blackfeather, my lady,” he said, and bowed with a flourish.
The Blademaster’s daughter smiled. “At last. A worthy champion! Kiss me, and I shall turn into a woman again, and be yours forever.”
“Right away!” Blackfeather’s mouth watered with the idea of kissing something other than a pumpkin. He leaned in close, his eyes fluttering closed.
Steps sounded on the stair. “My father,” cried the sword. “You must defeat him before you take me away on your horse.”
A key slid into the armory’s door lock.
Blackfeather grabbed ahold of the Blademaster’s Daughter and almost dropped her, as she was quite heavy. “We should do that horse part first,” he said.
“I hope your horse is very fast,” said the sword, “or my father will catch up to us on his mustang.”
“My horse is a goat,” admitted Blackfeather.
“Then I hope you are a champion fighter.”
The door creaked open.
“I have never fought a person before,” said Blackfeather, “but I have practiced many sweet moves on my own.”
“You will fail,” gasped the sword. “I will help you, and you can free me after.”
“I die every moment that my lips are not upon yours,” crooned Blackfeather.
When the Blademaster lunged into the armory, longsword at the ready, his daughter’s magic power flowed through Blackfeather. Muscle formed where before there had only been weakness. His shirt ripped apart and fell in tatters to the floor. Fancy armor protruded from his shoulders, shins, forearms and head. Black feathers sprouted from his shoulders and swept down like a cape.
“Have at you!” cried the Blademaster, and in Blackfeather’s hands the sword leaped to action and clashed with her father’s blade with a burst of dark feathers.
It is said that no one knows the weaknesses of a man more than his daughter. The Blademaster was lithe and strong for an old man, and would have slashed Blackfeather to bits, but the woman trapped in the sword had spent her life watching her father train and fight. She used his own knowledge against him, matching him blow for blow.
Blackfeather was carried along into the battle, doing nothing more than trying not to trip and fall as the swords clashed and sparked with gold and violet flames. At last, the Blademaster’s Daughter trapped her father’s sword in her jingling rings. He dropped to one knee. “Please,” he whispered, “do not leave me, my daughter.”
“You can no longer imprison me,” said the sword. “Blackfeather and I are in love. He is going to break the spell and take me away on his horse … goat. We will marry and live happily ever after!”
“Actually,” said Blackfeather, holding up one finger.
The Blademaster and his daughter looked at Blackfeather, who turned the sword over to admire it. “It would be a shame to destroy such a beautiful sword.”
“True,” said the Blademaster.
“Beautiful sword?” screamed the Blademaster’s daughter. “I’ll have you know I am a beautiful woman.”
“I do not doubt that,” said Blackfeather, “but there are many beautiful women, and only one such weapon.”
“If you keep her safe – and well oiled – I shall allow you to take her,” said the Blademaster.
“I promise you that, my friend,” said Blackfeather, and the two men shook hands while the sword screamed with contempt.
And that is how Blackfeather the Champion – or perhaps villain? – learned bladecraft. It is said he no longer wields the Blademaster’s Daughter, but no one knows why. Perhaps he freed her. Perhaps she turned on him, or perhaps Blackfeather grew bored with his first great conquest. The world may never know.
Read Blackfeather’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Introducing the Rare ‘Elite Force’ SAW Skin!
No one has seen more combat than ‘Elite Force’ SAW. Will his skills be enough to save his buddies deep within the Halcyon Well? Read the exciting conclusion to the ‘Elite Force’ trilogy!
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL CHANGES
- Environmentally sealed ballistic armor and mask
- Rotary coilgun accelerator
- Brand new tomahawk
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
Part I: The Voices
Part II: Disarm!
Pucker Factor 10
While the rest of the tech alliance peered at their flashing monitors and beeping accessories, SAW sidestepped, stomped and stretched trying to scratch an itch on his bum. The rope he’d attached to the scout skittered and swayed around the mouth of the Halcyon Well.
“Do you have a malfunction?” The commander’s visor opened to reveal his stern scowl.
“New armor’s working as intended, sir.” He punched his fist into the overlapping metal of his back armor to no avail; the itch only burned worse.
“Watch the rope.” The commander’s visor locked back down.
“Yeah, alright.” SAW cranked the winch according to the rope signals. By the time the rope pulled twice, the itch had traveled up his spine. “All’s well,” he said. “Guess that’s your cue.” While the others watched the commander descend into the well, SAW wedged the handle of his tomahawk between his backplate and hip, trying to scratch, the rope forgotten as it yanked and yanked.
“Hey, merc,” called one of the techies, “isn’t that one of the signals?”
“I’ll tell you when there’s a …” began SAW, but then the ground shook. The techies stumbled and fell. Fog blasted high out of the well. With the tomahawk sticking out at an awkward angle from his hip, SAW lunged at the winch and cranked hard and fast.
The scorched hook emerged from the well without the scout attached.
“Well,” said SAW, hooking the rope to his own waist and grabbing his coilgun, “I’m going to go shoot at whatever they’re shooting at.”
It took three techies working the winch to lower him and his artillery into the blind foggy well. He descended fast, breaking through the fog and getting only a glimpse of the crystal cave before falling straight into the gummy, toothless jaw of the Churn worms’ giant roaring mother.
The worm gulped, and everything went dark.
His coilgun was stuck, wedged tight between the undulating muscles of the beast’s throat. The itch on his bum came back with a vengeance.
“Commander!” he screamed into his radio. “What’s your position!” He punched the beast’s inner flesh as it lunged and spat. “Commander, I need to lay down some fire and if you don’t clear out, you could catch it. Do you copy?”
Only static answered.
“Alright,” he grumbled, yanking the tomahawk free of his hip. He hacked at the squishy fleshy folds, worm blood spattering, holding his position with all his strength as the beast twisted and struggled, until crystal blue light leaked through. He put his head through the hole just in time to almost get it cut off by the chakram flying past.
“Clear out!” he yelled, and pulled back inside, sliding the muzzle of the coilgun through the hole and aiming upward.
The explosive shells burst from the rotary coilgun accelerator. He braced himself against the beast’s contracting muscle, shooting blind, one after another rocking the screaming worm, until he was out of shells.
The beast whined, yawned, and fell with a sickening thump.
He hacked his way out of the dead animal and caught his breath, dripping with goo. He kicked at the worm’s blown-open head, then surveyed the baby worms laying in coiled, bloody death on the sand. He cracked his neck.
The scout and the commander stared at him as he tucked the tomahawk back in place. “Bloody hell! Pucker factor of ten, this,” he said.
“Well done, mercenary,” said the commander.
“Indeed,” said the scout. “That was astounding.”
“Yeah, sure.” SAW picked up a Shatterglass from the sand and tossed it to Idris. “Grab up what you came for and let’s move out. I have an itch on my bum.”
Read SAW’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Vainglory Lore: Baptiste
‘The Passing of the Gendarme’
Baptiste is summoned to the outer world…
ALTERNATE FATES
‘Scarecrow’ Baptiste
‘Anubis’ Baptiste
‘Corsair’ Krul Arrives in a Special Mystery Chest
‘Corsair’ Krul and his undead pirate army has boarded the queen’s galleon in search of a very particular treasure. Read on to discover more about him and how to make him yours!
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL CHANGES
- Ornate skull-hilted cutlass
- New beard style
- Tricorne pirate hat with feather and parrot skeleton
- Hook hand & peg leg
- Treasure: rings on his fingers & gold coin
- Captain’s waistcoat & striped breeches
- New weaponry: ship’s cannon & flintlock pistol!
EFFECTS & ANIMATION CHANGES
- Flintlock pistol crit shots
- Hook-hand attacks
- Spectral Smite indicator shows skull & crossbones
- Cannon effect for Spectral Smite
- Limping peg leg walk
- New recall: triumphant sword removal results in sword returning & knocking him off his feet
- Ghostly sprint when Krul is Empowered by the Shadows!
HOW TO GET IT
- Only available from Mystery Chests until April 19
- 1-in-20 chance to get this new Legendary skin
- All Legendary skins replaced with Corsair Krul
- Otherwise Rare Mystery Chest drops apply
- Afterward, the skins will be available for direct purchase for 3599 ICE
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
Tommy
On that night, us on the queen’s galleon all woke screaming from nightmares. The navymen shrugged it off but the islanders said it was death come hunting. Me and my lowlife rigging brothers climbed the ratlines and told tall tales to make each other brave: I’d punched the nose of a shark, I said, and another had slept through a hurricane in a crow’s nest, and another claimed he’d out-argued the prosecution at his thieving trail.
That’s when the wind died. The sea went smooth as glass, like nothing we’d ever seen. We swung the bracers around trying to catch any breeze at all, dread pooling up behind our tongues.
Then the water rippled and a corsair ship rose from the sea, a ghost itself, outlined in transparent green, fish flapping away from the churning water.
We watched in terror as the dead spilled off the deck of the ship and walked on the water toward us. They moaned with inhuman suffering, hundreds of bent and twisted horrors on the wrong side of the Netherworld.
“Run out the guns!” cried the captain. He was a seasoned seaman who’d faced pirates before, even wasted one and took his parrot as a prize, but there was terror in his eyes while the navymen manned and loaded the cannons. The blasts split apart the quiet, but the balls sailed straight through the corsair ship, splashing in the water behind.
The dead clawed their way up the side of the galleon and spilled over onto the deck. The navymen drew their swords and the islanders wielded sharp sailing knives, but they were no match for the ghost pirates; against them, gunpowder and blades were useless.
My lowlife brothers and me all went hiding. We’d none of us seen a real fight before, no matter our bragging, and didn’t know the right from wrong end of a pistol. Me, I got to the captain’s cabin and hid, trembling, in a wardrobe, unaware of the damned captain’s parrot beside me until it ruffled its feathers and squawked.
“Never rest! Always restless!”
“Shh!” I hissed at it.
My legs cramped up while I listened to the battle above. Didn’t take long before the gunpowder runners’ steps stopped, and then the pistol and cannon fire died, and then there were only the moans and sighs of the dead, and for sure I was done for the living world.
The parrot climbed the bars of its little cage and poked its head through. “No peace for you! No peace for you!” it squawked.
Then he came. His footsteps were different, one being booted and the other wood striking wood, and me being the shark puncher started to cry as the cursed pirate, him they call Corsair Krul, burst into the captain’s cabin.
Through the cracks in the wardrobe could be seen the terrifying monster limping his way through the cabin, just like the legends said, handsome through the decay, decked in weathered finery, rings littering his bony claws, and that cursed cutlass stabbed straight through his ribcage. He peeked into the captain’s chests but bypassed the gold and the jewels. He turned to go, but then:
“Enter the horror! Enter the horror!” cried the parrot.
Corsair Krul yanked open the wardrobe doors and stared down at me, the sniveling coward rigging boy. “There you are,” he growled. He reached into the wardrobe and filled it with his death-cold so that my teeth chattered when I begged for my life.
But instead of clawing the life out of me, he unlocked the parrot’s cage.
“Tommy,” said the pirate. “How I’ve missed you.”
The bird hopped right out and onto his hat, at which time all its feathers fell out, and its skin too, so that it was just a parrot skelly pacing along the pirate’s tricorne, squawking with glee, “Your mistake! Your mistake!”
And Corsair Krul, swear on my mama, walked straight out, and took only Tommy the Parrot with him while his crew ransacked the rest, and only I and my hidden rigging brothers were left to man the sails back home.
Read Krul’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Introducing the Rare ‘Elite Force’ Baron Skin!
‘Elite Force’ Baron descends with wings of fire into the Halcyon Well to find his scout overwhelmed by Churn Worms!
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL & EFFECT CHANGES
- Black and gold exo-armor
- Flight helmet with holographic display
- Thrusters ignite to create flaming plasma ion wings when Jump Jets are in use
- Multi-ordinance launcher
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
Disarm!
Twenty meters down the Halcyon Well, Baron’s navigation and communication systems malfunctioned. He watched the HUD on his visor flash with readouts as he descended, his thrusters burning, into the glowing blue crystal cave. “Manual override,” he said, and the rocket launchers, porcupine mortars and ion cannon blinked online.
“Surface scan,” he said.
The HUD flashed warnings, revealing movement everywhere. “Locate scout,” said Baron.
“Go back!”
The HUD pinpointed Idris’ location in the center of a mass of what looked like glowing, spiked worms the size of his arm, their heads all mouth. His spear swung and his chakram flew in a whirl of hot glowing blood. “Idris!” Baron called. “Hang on, we’ll get you out!”
“No.” The chakram flew and returned again, but Idris sank into the sand, the Churn worms’ mouths locked onto his armor. “I should not have tempted the Churn. You must leave me and abort the mission.”
“I don’t leave men behind.” Baron’s jets lowered him onto the soft ground. Churn worms wriggled and writhed, bursting through the sand and slithering out of the hole at the center of the cave. They snapped their jaws and latched onto his exo-armor, spiraling their long spiked bodies up his legs as he trudged toward Idris.
“It is too late,” Idris said, his calm voice eerie and alien through his mask. He sheathed his spear and chakram and allowed himself to be pulled down.
A Churn worm snapped at Baron’s visor, its mouth stretched wide, so that his vision was blocked by the beast’s glistening maw. He peeled the worm off and threw it.
Idris mumbled to himself as the Churn worms encircled him.
Baron dug through the sand and found the rope secured to Idris’ waist. In the reflection of his visor his mouth was set in a grim line, marred by glistening worm mucus. “Listen to me, buddy. You with me?” He leaned back and pulled. “I can obliterate everything in here, but you need to get behind me. I can’t pull you out unless you fight your way up.”
Idris shook his head with violence, as if waking from a dream.
“Arm Ion Cannon,” said Baron. The HUD flashed:
CANNON ARMED.
“Lock target,” he said, and a countdown blinked on the HUD.
Baron pulled the rope fist over fist, but Idris was too deep. “Fifteen seconds!” Worms wrapped around his armored hands and the rope fell. “Don’t give up on me!”
“I cannot fight.” Idris unclipped the rope from his waist and tossed it aside. He unwound a worm from his neck, stared at it face to face, then pulled it apart with a spray of shimmering blue blood.
“Disarm Ion Cannon!” called Baron. The HUD flashed, scrambled, turned to static.
The countdown continued.
“Disarm all weapons!”
The HUD flashed:
CANNON ARMED.
MULTI-ORDINANCE LAUNCHER ARMED.
“Disarm! Disarm!” But the countdown continued to blink down.
3… 2… 1…
The cannon’s recoil knocked Baron back. The sand where Idris had been lit up with the power of the orbital strike. Rockets launched and porcupine mortars arced high, falling with deafening power. Crystal stalagmites burst into shards; stalactites cracked and fell from the ceiling. Worms, blasted to death, rained down from the cave walls with sickening splats.
Baron found his feet and cursed, scanning the killzone for life. Smoke escaped down the hole in the cave’s center as if inhaled.
“That was close.”
Baron whirled around as Idris jumped off his back. The desert warrior surveyed the damage, kicking away a pile of dead worms, unearthing a Shatterglass.
“I thought… how did you…?” Baron stuttered.
“We should not linger here. I will take however many of these I can carry.”
“The Churn is creating an electromagnetic field that is disrupting my armor functions.” Baron stomped into a gruesome mess of dead Churn worms. “If my jets function, I can -”
From deep down, far below them, came a roar full of smoke and mist, a sound that froze them both in place.
Read Baron’s canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
Introducing the Rare ‘Elite Force’ Idris Skin!
The Churn whispers to ‘Elite Force’ Idris as he scouts inside the most mysterious place on the Fold: the Halcyon Well. Will he succumb to the evil that lives within him?
CHECK HIM OUT IN GAME:
MODEL CHANGES
- Three-pointed glowing spear
- Environmentally sealed ballistic armor and mask
- HMD combat helmet with multi-spectrum optical cameras
- Geometrical armor patterns
ALTERNATE FATE LORE
The Voices
Idris…
The tech alliance gathered at the Halcyon Well, their somber faces hidden behind masks. Idris climbed onto the lip of the well and stared through his own tactical mask into the well’s swirling mist, shaking his head to remove the voices from his mind.
Come down to us.
A mercenary clipped a rope to his waist and gave instructions. “I’ll hold onto you. Pull once for stop. Two pulls for all’s well. Three for more slack. Four or more for emergency.”
Idris climbed inside the well without a word and dangled as the rope lowered him into the mist, leaving the alliance behind. In the fog he could not see his gloved hands by his face. His helmet mount displayed only fog, and he was glad for his sealed armor.
He expected darkness, but instead a faint blue glow shone through the mist, and the whispers grew louder:
We have waited so long for you.
The mist dispersed as the well opened into a large cave, stalagmites and stalactites jutting down and up from the floor and ceiling, all pure blue crystal, glowing with the power that flowed upward from a hole blasted in the center.
He swung to land on a jagged stalagmite, then switched on his multi-spectrum optical helmet camera. The rope slackened; he pulled on it once and it stopped.
Nothing but tendrils of mist moved on the helmet display. He climbed down to the floor, yanked three times for more slack on the rope, and scouted around the crystal teeth of the cave. The voices echoed off of the walls, coming from every direction:
You left us too long. Never leave us again.
At the edge of the hole in the ground, blasted open millennia ago by the seraphim, Idris stared down into the foggy, roiling abyss of the Churn. There, half-buried in sand, he saw what he had come to find, what would power their tech for far longer than the shards mined from the surface: a crystal worn into smoothness from constant pressure of the Churn at its origin, infused with so much energy that it shone like a beacon.
The Shatterglass.
Idris plucked up the Shatterglass and then, a step closer to the hole, found another. Then another.
He yanked twice on the rope for All’s Well, and the commander’s jets stirred the glowing fog as he descended into the well.
The voices danced with his mind, beckoning.
You’re so close.
The closer he came to the edge of the hole, the more Shatterglass he found. His foot slid and one of the precious crystals slid into the hole and disappeared. Idris gathered his wits and stepped back.
Don’t go.
The sand quivered under his feet.
Movement played in his peripheral vision. He spun around and something broke free of the sand by his foot, then another, and then more burst from cracks in the cave walls and fell from the ceiling onto his shoulders: a mass of wide-mouthed worms, pulsing with blue energy, their spiny bodies as long as he was tall.
The voices.
They opened their greedy, toothless mouths and clamped onto his feet, pulling him down.
We’re bringing you home, home…
Clearing his mind, he willed himself there, traveling in a blink toward a stalactite with handholds, but there was not enough slack in the rope and he was yanked back. He landed just shy of the sharp point of a stalagmite below and fell onto his back, the worms threading up through the sandy surface and whipping their glowing spiked tails. His breath came fast and hard as he pulled his chakram from his back and swung. The worms on his feet split in halves and the blade returned to him covered in blue goo, but hundreds more replaced them as he yanked the dead monsters from his armor, bursting from every surface to hiss and sing:
You belong with us, with us…
Above, the commander appeared below the mist.
“Go back!” cried Idris, yanking on the rope, one-two-three-four-five-six; he yanked and yanked and it was too late. The commander dropped down into the cave.
Read Idris’ canon lore:
WALLPAPERS
