From a corner of the tent of the Dreadlord, cast in shadow, a hooded figure appeared.

The mysterious figure was about 6 feet tall. The Dreadlord turned cautiously, unsure if it's friend or foe.

"My friend...," he greeted. It sounded weary, strained.

The light from a nearby source revealed the face to the Dreadlord. It was a man. The hair was long and white yet the ageless face indicated nothing of his age. It was the ever-burning fiery eyes, however, that allowed the Dreadlord to identify him.

The Dreadlord felt uncomfortable at being called "friend" by that human. It has only been two years since the Dreadlord and his kind joined the Order. The Order had been in war with several formidable enemies with no signs of ending it. This human was one from high standing in the Council of the Order, as is the Dreadlord himself.

Yet, the notion of acknowledging another as "friend" brings certain implications. The Order is not as united as one would perceive. It was the common enemies that each tribe has that brought them together, initiated by the Human Alliance. The Dreadlord has no doubt that once the threat of the Abyss and the Phantoms were to be eliminated, the warmongering humans, as many rumours go about, would turn upon their once-allies. It was either foolishness, courtesy, part of a plot or perhaps an act of plead that this one would so carelessly throw.

Who could blame him, after all?

"I've given a man a key and a guiding bone. He should be arriving at the portal at this side anytime now." He said, lifting the hood.

The Dreadlord waited, unsure what the other is trying to say.


"...It would lead him to the Fort of Torres." He continued.

"You risk much..." The Dreadlord began.

"Perhaps, but there is merit in success."

The Dreadlord is astonished. "This is madness! The Fort of Torres cannot be taken down with a lone man! Were it possible, my men would had done so already! It is without doubt, the stronghold of the Phantoms!"

"Such is the strength of my kind. A man can achieve much when he puts his mind into it," he mused.

"So you would gladly grant one's passage to death by sending him to the doorsteps of Phantoms? The sacking of Torres is not one achieved by a thousand-strong pack, let alone a lone warrior." the Dreadlord snorted.

"Hence the reason why I had come."

The Dreadlord raised an eyebrow.

"It would benefit us greatly in the world should he succeed."

"Why did you not just send into the heart of the Fort to achieve your aims?"

"He is unprepared for what may come, the long road should prepare him sufficiently but he needs guidance."

"I have my own war with the Phantoms to handle, I do not have time to babysit soldiers who should be battling the Abyss instead. Besides, why are you throwing your man to aid in my war when the war with Abyssia is hardly near its conclusion?"

"Ah..." his expression somewhat hurt though the Dreadlord is unsure if it was genuine, "the Abyssia is no easy foe. The death of a demi-god in Hell was most unfortunate. Rest assured, I have vested interest in winning this war."

The Dreadlord winced at remembering that a demi-god had fallen in Hell. The overseer of the Dead was one of the first casualty in the war (despite it being 2 years since it occurred), Hell being the nearest to the Depths of the Abyss. For a demi-god to fall so quickly in the hands of their enemies, the Dreadlord is reminded of the fact that their foes are not to be underestimated.

Still, he had no doubt that the white-haired man would commit to the battle. Too much at stake and the Dreadlord would bet that the other's control in several realms would be shaken if this war were to be lost. This would not bode the other well.

The human sighed. "Had I the time, I would have also preferred to give him the experience of war under my guidance, but I don't."

With a wave, he conjured an image of an hourglass. "Time is running out for that man. When the sands of time falls fully, his kin shall die in the Fort of Torres."

The Dreadlord was pretty sure his uninvited guest was granting that man the opportunity to save his kin for another purpose. One that would serve Order's or his personal goal, no doubt.

With concealed resignation, the Dreadlord offered, "alright, I can't spare much though, my men are just as war-weary as yours..."

"That would be sufficient, I do not ask much, only to provide aid to save his life if the need arises." He interrupts and turns.

"A small party of 5?" the red-skinned general suggested.

"It is up to your jurisdiction," the man had put up his hood.

The hooded figure disappeared from the shadows, as quickly and quietly as his entrance was.

The Dreadlord frowned. The human did not seem to care much about the safety of the man he seemingly condemned to death. Was it confidence or a piece of information not revealed to him?

Grunting, he shouted out some commands to ensure that lone ranger lives to the doorstep of Death. He was interested how this would play out. 

After much persuasion and pressure from several divisions and communities, the Republic Council has finally given us the nod to release the details of the secret message that was sent over to them allegedly from the Grandmaster of OZ).

Our guess were right, the previous text that we published earlier were just an fragment of the message. The Republic had apparently divided messages into parts so as to prevent thieves, such as those who got hold of the first part, from understanding the full message intended for the recipients.

The Republic have, of course, generously supplied us the entire message so as to give a full and detailed report on it. The full message is rather written in a haste and therefore, it is not very logical of us to show them here. As we can see from the first part already, the author used a lot of acronyms. As such, after interpreting the message, we believe that:

1. The Abyssia Army had reached Elemental Realm
2. Apparently, not everyone there supported the presence of the Abyssia Army
3. Plan to stir some commotion to create a divided state with two camps:
   1. Those who supported the rule of the Abyss
   2. Those who oppose the rule of the Abyss
      
4. The ulterior motive is to sought for allies in there and ultimately buy time for us to build up defences.

There, we have summarised one-lengthy-page message into a few points!

Hopefully, which is the Republic's and our's objective, this has helped in understanding what lies ahead for us.

People, the threat of war is real, do not be complacent.

War efforts are under way for a few weeks now and many are starting to doubt the feasibility of war.

Then at this dark times, came a message from the Elemental Realm:

This is Grandmaster from OZ). Abyssia Army reached E.Gates, will try to buy time

The message is not very detailed and had caused some sort of commotion on its reliability. Nevertheless, this message was leaked out by the Voluntary Intelligence Branch which stole the message from its intended recipient.
Which means that we have actually no permission to publish this publicly but we were getting bored from the silent press, which were revealing nothing.
However, case in mind, there's another possibility, this could just be the first part of the message. Like I say, this is all guesswork but one thing's for sure, or so we hope, war is upon us.

The signs are clear, even without the latest retrieval of the secret message, tribes are gathering arms, sparking some sort of arms race. Whether it was out of fear of the Abyssia Army or the fear of being outgunned by other tribes, war will ignite sooner or later. The crisis now is about whether a war occur between the tribes or a united voice against the looming Abyssia Army.

Some say no news is good news.

However, news have finally arrived, after awaiting restlessly for several weeks. And the only one came back...

The authorities took their own sweet time before allowing us to publish this publicly. I personally believe that they were afraid that there would be a revolt or something. But anyway, without further ado, this is the report:

I have instructions from Lord Armageddon that Elemental Realm have fallen to the Abyss. The reasons were rather unclear but I believe that either the Elemental Realm had surrendered or the leaders of Elemental Realm had defected to the Abyss.

I am ordered to inform all of Mortal Realm that the party that have went to defend the Elemental Realm are now heading back home. No casualties were reported.

In a more personal tone, we had hardly fought anything apart from the ambushes that we encounter during the journey to the Elemental Realm through the portals.
The creatures we fought were unlike anything we ever encountered. Our spells and weapons were ineffective in even hurting it. It was only with the help of Lord Armageddon and Grandmaster of OZ) that we managed to slay two of them.

Upon reaching the Elemental Realm, the guards outright refused our help. The Grandmaster of OZ) went in to negotiate, being the rare few who had contacts with Elemental Realm.
As times passed and he did not return, Lord Armageddon entered and looked for him.
Several days later, Lord Armageddon came back and gave me the above mentioned instructions. The grandmaster of OZ) was not with him.

There were rumours that the Grandmaster is working for the Elemental Realm but until evidence strongly suggests so, I will not make such a laughable claim.

On the final note, Lord Armageddon have strongly recommended that the forces of Mortal Realm to prepare its defence against Abyss as he strongly believes that after the Abyss Army will head for Mortal Realm after combining forces with Elemental Realm.

This report had led many to have more questions than answers as to our current situation. Until more information arrives, we can only guess.

"Realm Saviours" band have faced a terrible defeat.

In fact, such a defeat that perhaps it is gone as quickly as it was formed.

And from the reports from the scarce survivors of the former band, many horrors we have never witnessed are yet to reach us.

The talking by the survivors were so incoherent that we are starting to doubt that if there's any truth in their words.

But one thing is certain: The Abyss Army is coming, and nothing is stopping them.

On a side note, the Chaos Faction has begun to disappear, maybe fleeing from the soon-to-be incoming army of The Abyss after conquering Elemental Realm.

However, the defeat of the Band had prompted the Order Faction to act.

A Extract from Armageddon

The threat is real, we must act to prevent us from ending up having the same fact of those who had fallen in battle, those brave souls who sacrificed their lives to protect the Mortal Realm and letting us know of the dangers of which we do not know.
My comrades have found a portal to the Gartur Barrens near Elemental Realm, from there shall we make a stand, to stop Abyss spreading influence and indirectly preventing them from invading our homeland.

Despite this, some believes that making a strong front at the Elemental Realm will prompt to the Abyss Army to invade Mortal Realm instead.


Meanwhile the Abyss Army marches on...unhindered.

The war rages on in the north where Elemental Realms lies...

But the Mortal Realm do not intend to do nothing.

The Chaos Faction had been calling for a strike on the Armies of The Abyss at its rear so as to halt its invasion on Elemental Ream.

Several parties have joined its cause. But the Republic had not make a move, to much disappointment.

It seems that the Chaos Faction is faster in responding in emergency situations, such as this.

The parties who joined the Chaos Faction's Cause are thus known as the "Realm Saviours" band.
And they marched on.

Destination: Gartur Barrens

May the light be with them....