Fate Shift - Chapter 1

Throughout the Mortal World of Qi, from the Wailing Desert of the North to the Icy Sea of the South, people gathered. From the territory of Kahzareem to the Elwur Empire’s capital city Novgrundia, and every other location with a Temple of Fate, people gathered. Even in the Heavens and Hells, the Temples of Fate attracted massive audiences.

At the heart of the Wailing Desert, the city of Last Hope rose up from the illusory snow blanketed earth. Black, foreboding walls screamed death to all foes, even as the many Slayers left their posts. Men, women, and children walked through the concentric rings of ever taller walls, through the city’s many districts, to reach the Temple of Fate near the city’s center.

The people came in clothes of satin, wool, silk, fur, leather, and other rarer materials. Families moved in tight packs, hands grasping each other tightly. Slayers drifted alone or in teams, some walking, some floating, and some flying. A great, heavy silence pervaded. Even the intimidating presence the city of Last Hope usually exerted was currently subdued.

Far to the south, a similar scene was playing out in Novgrundia, the capital of the Elwur Empire. Novgrundia was expansive, a writhing metropolis of soaring towers, floating islands, drifting clouds, and an overwhelming abundance of people.

The Temple of Fate in Novgrundia was a grand structure with its marble columns, artistic reliefs, towering statues, and golden domes. The sheer empty space of the many pavilions surrounding it only added to the temple’s grandeur, especially as it was packed near to bursting with endless waves of people.

It was the same everywhere a Temple of Fate existed. As they had before and would again, the peoples of Qi had come to hear one thing: the declaration of Fate. A new Fate Shift was upon the world and there were so very few who didn’t wish to learn of its nature. Even in the Heavens and Hells, beings strong and weak had come to listen to the Harbingers of Fate.

Amongst the snowcapped peaks of the Funglo mountain range, to the East of the Abyssal Forest, an ancient Monastery of Chains was hidden. Within the halls of the monastery’s small Temple of Fate, a Harbinger spoke, reading from a divine scroll that shined brilliantly. The Chain Monks that had gathered before the Harbinger wisely kept their eyes closed, safe for the eldest, and even they averted their gazes. Only the Harbingers and the blind dared stare at a Scroll of Fate’s Intent. As the Harbinger standing in the monastery’s Temple of Fate began speaking, so too did the other Harbingers, their myriad voices in perfect unison, though few noticed and fewer cared.

“Fate Shifts again! It slumbers still but soon, soon it shall stir once more. Tides of change approach us but through Fate’s providence, we have been gifted knowledge of its coming. In a year and a day, the first member of the Fate’s Own will appear! They shall appear in different places and at different times