Before the first Chapter is shown, a book unfolds, revealing a poem, read by a female narrator (Bonitus), who tells a story: At the beginning of life was only spec of ash, evolving into the Dragon of Life...Rudimentus. Rudimentus created two more specs of ashes, Bonitus and Morsurus, to create Orbis - a land of humans, and a land of balance. Morsurus was the creator of Terrain, while Bonitus was the creator of Life. Bonitus made the 7 knights - Ichabod, Demetrius, Marcellus, Iolanthe, Sapphira, Zipporah, and Genevieve - to guard life and death, and Morsurus shaped the world. Soon they created man - a lesser form of themselves, Bonitus pleaded to Rudimentus that they should give man free will, while Morsurus wanted them to become slaves of prayer...a war struck, and a millenium of fighting went on between Morsurus and Bonitus, troubled, Rudimentus tasked the 7 knights to split Orbis into Malham and Solham. Morsurus would own Malham and do what he wished while Bonitus would do what she wished on Solham...Morsurus, not satisfied, attacked Rudimentus - the 7 knights tried to protect, only to fail, and Rudimentus was killed...however, with his heart, it banished Morsurus to live in the soil of Malham, cursed to look like the demon he was, and only have the wicked filth of evil souls in his land. The 7 Knights tried to warn Bonitus in their spirit forms, as the landlocks would only stay this way for 1000 years, before converging, freeing Morsurus of his curse...instead, they only managed to speak a poem,The Earth Poem, that Bonitus kept as tradition…
“The Light, it scatters, as it is told
The day its praised was the day no one knows
As the Vital Warrior, whispered for now, but yet to be shown
Bonitus' light calls back the wicked
Fearful of light they scatter - forbidden
There will be a day that it must return
Yet The Vital Warrior's spirit is yet to burn"
...And the spirits of the 7 Knights became the last of Rudimentus, the last of the Vital Power...or so they say, but one hero would be born on the anniversary of Morsurus’s cursing, the festival of light, and would be born with a power only held once by the living 7 Knights - he would become the Vital Warrior.
Chapter 1 - The Light, it scatters[]
After choosing a name, It faded to a bed, in first person view, only for shouting to be heard downstairs. The voice told Atlas[1]he'd slept in again, and that Mister Prosimum was...angry to say the least. An exclaimed statement seems to be shown from Atlas, where it soon switches to 3rd person, where Atlas lazily steps out of bed, only for a slightly chubby and moustached man comes up to see him. His name is Bauma, his uncle, who tries to remind him that Atlas had promised to take care of Prosimum's farm while he was visiting Beneman for a trading seminar. After Bauma leaves, Atlas quickly dresses into a shabby brown leather cloth, walks downstairs, until his door opens straight onto him…
A girl named Adoni greets him, saying she was waiting for Atlas to come by Prosimum's farm (she lived straight across from it). Bauma says that Atlas should've been there at least 2 hours ago, and was lucky Prosimum was late coming back. Adoni tries to help Atlas up, and says she'll walk him to it. Atlas steps after Adoni, revealing they where in a place called "Elysian Ville". Adoni points to Prosimum's farm, and they both walk towards it, where Adoni exclaims that there where far more weeds in the pens than usual...before she can explain anything, a small head pops form the ground, before retreating back in. Adoni says that the farm was infested with Weedrats...she gives Atlas a stick to try and drive them out, and after hitting their hole, attack him. After a brief tutorial on how to fight, a carraige is heard, as it shows Prosimum now just arriving...he hops off, exclaiming that his animals went hungry for a day! He is about to scold Atlas, before Adoni says he took care of those Weedrats damaging his livestock. Prosimum thinks it over...before sheepishly apologizing and paying 20 Gold Coins for his trouble, still, he says that he'll need to take care of his livestock, when a large rumble is heard. Adoni questions it, before the rumble is heard again. Some of Prosimum's livestock freaks out, and he says he thinks it was coming from Mt. Murimuri.
Atlas thinks to himself, exclaiming that he could've sworn he heard it last night as well, except, louder...before he can finish his thought, however, Adoni says she wants to check it out - as she'd stopped going to the mountain since she was 5. Adoni pleads for Atlas to go with her, while Prosimum says that he should check with his uncle, Bauma, first. Atlas agrees, going into his home. Bauma is sceptical...but says that if there was really a rumble up there, it'd be more safe to at least see what it was, as the rumble is triggered once again. He gives Atlas a small, makeshift, wooden weapon. He says he would once use it for hunting with his father...he shakes it off, and lets him go with Adoni.
After Adoni joins Atlas's party, the two truck through the outskirts of Elysian Ville, before making their way up Mt. Murimuri, finding lots of dangerous animals along the way, where Adoni says this place was usually barren...They make their way to the top. As the rumble grows stronger, they can barely hold on, as they are avalanched. They make their way through a small cave, coming up to the top, where a large creature seems to be trying to suck something out of it. It has one eye, and large spidery legs, where Adoni is scared, as the beast sees them, and roars, causing another rumble. It tries to suck something out of the mountain more, before Atlas tries to impale it with his sword.
The creature now gets angry, and starts trying to swat it off with it's legs. They manage to impale it again, where it finally gets off of the mountain, slowly marching for them, and lunges at them...after winning (the creature now known as Goliath), Adoni says she'd never seen a creature like that before. Atlas thinks to himself, that the monster almost looked like one of his recent "nightmares", before Adoni quickly yells at Atlas to come over there. A large hole is seen in the mountain, where Adoni says that all this time, it was a volcano! Adoni said that it looked mostly empty, which explained where that cave came from, while Atlas remains skeptical.
It cuts to them now returned to Elysian Ville, where they find the entire town to be crowded around something. Adoni pesters them to move aside, where they see an injured young adult on the ground...Prosimum says he just wandered into town with a limp, and then just fainted. Adoni scolds them for not helping, and Atlas and Adoni help him up, where Atlas reckognizes him, simply saying to himself "Scalzo". Prosimum is confused on what Atlas just whispered, but says he recognized the boy in his trip to Beneman, saying he tried to scam him numerous times! The crowd starts getting angrier, but Adoni lets Scalzo speak...he says that he had a vision, a vision of a light field followed by darkness. Something that had been haunting his dreams for himt o come here...Atlas says that these where the same nightmares he was having, and Bauma offers Scalzo to come with them for some resting at his house. It cuts to them all in the house, with Scalzo trying to explain that Atlas needs to come to Beneman - and only then can he try to speak with the Goddess Bonitus. Bauma claims it's proposterous, as no one has been able to speak to Bonitus since 100 years ago.
Scalzo pleads, saying that he knew Atlas at a young age, where the memory finally hits Atlas, remembering that Scalzo once lived in Meracs, and when Bauma would go there to the once only doctor in the region, he would play games with Scalzo...soon he was snapped out of it, with Adoni saying that she wanted to come with, while Bauma said that her mother was already sick with worry enough. Scalzo says if they could find another carraige and travel to Beneman, the nightmares might finally stopped - like Scalzo's did when he came to Elysian Ville. Bauma says its up to Atlas, where Atlas quietly says "okay".
Soon enough they're outside, wehre the day had grown darker, and Scalzo was loading up onto Prosimum's carraige. Scalzo thanks Prosimum "again" for letting them use it, where he says it was no problem. Finally Scalzo finishes, getting onto the front seat, letting Atlas to sit in the back, to keep an eye on their luggage (and thieves). Adoni waves goodbye, and soon enough they start to ride down the dirt path. Atlas thinks to himself that he hadn't been away from Elysian Ville in years, but shakes it off and begins to write in his journal...
"Today i've uncovered a lot. Mt. Murimuri just happened to be a volcano, and I'm well on my way to Beneman, and the day isn't even finished...I can't explain it, but I have this strange feeling each time we near Beneman closer and closer. Maybe these nightmares are a sign of something? Maybe I'm actually destined to speak with the great Bonitus? All those Church of Light members have been trying to do it for years though...but I still must know what is happening here. Where these creatures came from...where that one did..."
As he writes the last line it pans to another Goliath-looking creature in a bush, and the chapter fades out.
Chapter 2 - The Day no one Knows[]
It's shown to be another day, where Atlas is seemed to be a sleep with his journal by his side, however spritely wakes up when the cart bumps into a rock, before smoothing over. Scalzo apologizes for waking him up, saying that he didn't get much sleep last night either...he offers some food thats in the back, and after looting it, Atlas begins to look out at the desterty area that the cart was now tracking through. He claims it to be the Imoherba Desert, saying that Bauma would always tell stories of his father's travels here, claiming him to be a famous adventurer. Though he is cut short when Scalzo yells "Look out!" as he's hit in the head with a bottle. Atlas turns around, finding a band of people dressed in black clothing, with the one leading them in red. Atlas dodges another bottle, as Scalzo explains that they're trying to force them off the road, saying it was his own fault for making a deal with "Mitrap's Gang". He quickly throws Atlas a slingshot out of the vehicle, with Atlas catching it. He tells Atlas to try and knock them off of their Mannuses, where Atlas attempts to knock them off, succeeding, all except for Mitrap (the one in the red) to be able to pull himself up, pulling out a blue thing wrapped in weeds, where Scalzo yells "jump off!" as they manage to spring themselves into the bushes as the cart explodes behind them. Mitrap, beleiving to have killed them, runs off in a different direction, leaving his gang for dead.
Scalzo manages to wake up Atlas after he was passed out, saying that he thinks the coast is clear. They both get out of it, finding their carraige and Mannuses destroyed. Scalzo says Mitrap had a Grass Bomb on him, and apologizes to atlas...he says that he had made a deal with Mitrap's gang back when he was in Beneman, giving them some weapons as they where going to start doing some hustling in Meracs. He reveals that they where all shams, saying that he thought he'd never be travelling away form Beneman again...but they caught up to him. Scalzo offers to start walking down the road to see if there was any help out, while he told Atlas to just wait there. Atlas admires a spear he had picked up from one of the gang members, equipping it. After which he starts to close his eyes, thinking of being in Beneman, when he heard a voice. Opening his eyes he saw a spirit, before it vanished. Walking to it again, another spirit appeared, seemingly leading him somewhere. Soon he yelled out at the spirit, where it frightened, appeared longer than normal. After doing a short minigame of trying to find it, he finally caught it, asking what it was doing.
Giggling, the spirit revealed herself in full form, saying she was Espra, a Peri from Peregnum. Atlas wonders what this is, where Espra giggles again, saying she can feel his emotions. Espra says that Imoherba Desert was home to the last of the Peri species, spirits that drifted in the wind...she said they didn't see visitors to often so she was trying to scare him. Atlas tries to ask where the Peregnum is, where Espra stops him, saying she felt what happened, and wanted him to come to her house so they could get him back on the road. She says she really shouldn't be out here since it was so dangerous these past few days, so she offers to use her magic to aid him, and joins Atlas's party.
After a long journey through Imoherba Desert, they made way to a large deserty gate. Two guards stand there, haulting them to go any further, but espra manages to sweet talk them into going in. She says that she was kinda a menace to the guards, so she usually just hid away with her mom. Atlas and Espra go inside her home, meeting her mother and father, Matercula and Progigna. They scold Espra for wandering out clear into the desert, while they say Atlas should grab some supplies if they're carraige was indeed destroyed. After walking to the market, as well as exploring the kingdom, loud thumps are heard a group on Mannuses shoot through the gate. Led by Mitrap, he says that while informing other members of his gang of the incident, Scalzo (reffered to as 'some scummy thief') walked in their tavern, only squealing that he had forced him to the road...they threw out a body, Scalzo's dead body. He hopped off his Mannus and went over to Espra, who had come out to see what was happening, and threatened to kill her as well if they didn't hand over his "associate" (apparently having tracked Atlas's footprints from the edge of the desert).
Atlas quickly jumped out, preparing a readying stance...Mitrap simply drew his sword, Atlas thinking to himself that he felt a strange power before learning "Ichabod's Meteor Shower". Beating Mitrap, with help from Espra, Espra's parents thanked him greatly. They begged he meet with the Count of Peregnum, where Espra led the way to the Peri Castle. After having a small argument with the guards, the Count, known as Erusa, held a great festival in his honor in Peri Castle, with a carraige outback. In the midst of it, however, Atlas went outside, mourning over Scalzo's dead body...he got up on the carraige, ready to leave, before Espra stopped him, wishing to come with. Atlas drove the carraige, writing again in his journal:
"I feel as if I do not know more, not as much as I did the first day, yet so much has happened. I killed a famous outlaw, and that famous outlaw killed my friend...I swear on Scalzo's grave, I will make it to Beneman. And that newfound power I had...I could hear the name whispered, "Ichabod". It's as if the nightmares have dissapeared, and the dreams are beginning, with a newfound friend to come out of it - and a lot more to come..."
As it pans to Esura's festival, the chapter fades into darkness...
Chapter 3 - Yet to be shown[]
It fades in, showing a light appearing in front of a cloud of a shaded out demonic figure, as it says "You came...". The light figure talks of a formiddable foe to bring a rest to this 1,000 year awaited event, but the grayed out figure stops her, saying that he knows exactly what she's talking about, before giving short cackle. The light figure thinks for a while, before declaring that "he" would come today. A bit shocked, the figure is taken back, before saying "No further questions..." as the aparition faded into dust. The light figure simply said "I hope..." before dissapearing as well, as it cut back to the carraige, Atlas starting to unload stuff, while Espra was asleep in the back. He managed to wake her up, as Espra got up and looked around, asking where they where.
The camera revealed a large marble city with a statue of a Goddess in the middle, as Atlas simply said "Beneman". Espra gawked at all the surroundings, saying she was going to do some sight-seeing, before running off. After Atlas looked around the city, he found Espra at the foot of the Goddess Statue. "Bonitus..." Espra said, reading the plate at the bottom. She suddenly turned around to see Atlas, saying she was glad he was here as people where giving her weird glares. Atlas read the inscription of Bonitus "The Goddess of Life, the bringer of all, on the Festival of Light, may she bring her call." Espra admired the beauty of the goddess, turning to Atlas, before they where interrupted by a band of people in church clothings, carrying a carraige full of items. They screamed out to all of the public to meet them at the Church of Light, suddenly stopping in front of Espra and Atlas. The middle one claimed himself to be the High Priest, Eselsum, and the two lowers - Colomac and Revultus...they bow, as they greet them as newcomers to Beneman, before standing straight up with flair. Espra whispered to Atlas, saying that these guys where weird, as Eselsum quickly handed Atlas a scroll. He said it contained an invitation to the Festival of Light, as well as a pushing nod to join the Church of Light, and become one with Bonitus. They then bumbled off as they pushed the carraige to another part of town. Espra said they should find a place to stay, and said she'll meet Atlas back at the statue in a couple of minutes...Atlas turned to say something to Espra, but she had already left, before hearing a voice and turning around.
Thinking to himself, Atlas said he heard a voice coming form the statue, as Bonitus began to glow. Covering his eyes, he soon awoke in a field of light, as voice called out to him, simply saying to go to "Foramen". The illusion faded out, when he only heard his name being called, waking up to see Espra. She said she'd been gone for 20 minutes. Atlas mumbles to himself of what the voice said..."Foramen", where Espra asks what he's talking about. Atlas asks if Espra knows anything about what Foramen means, and Espra says she has no clue. A hooded man, seemingly listening on their conversation, walks up with promises of a "ride" to Foramen. Espra asks what Foramen exactly is, and the man tells them to come into his friend's shop.
Inside of the shop, the man takes off his hood to reveal himself, Atlas quickly draws his sword, saying he was apart of the gang that killed Scalzo. The man stops him, saying his name is Pallio Vindicabio, promising that it was not him who wanted to kill Scalzo...Atlas cautiosly lowers his sword, where Espra asks why they would need his help, where Pallio explains. He says that he grew up in Mitrap's gang, and only when Mitrap killed Scalzo in front of him, did he see what he was involved with...he said he tracked Atlas down to this location - saying that he wished to die honorably, and help Atlas in how Scalzo wished to do so...he handed over his sword, asking him to take it, after thinking...Atlas took it. Pallio says he had been to Beneman many times, where his brother owned this shop, and that few dared speak of Foramen - as it is the outer region of Beneman. He described it as a barren wasteland with only deadly creatures, or so they say, and that Mitrap only travelled there once...he warns Atlas, but says he can take them there for protection - as no one could survive on foot. Espra says she doesn't know why Atlas would even want to go, where Atlas simply says he "heard the statue". Pallio simply tells them to talk it over, while he and his brother got it set up, as Pallio and Fratio (apparently the name Pallio called him by). Atlas says he was in a field of light when he heard Bonitus simply say "Foramen", and that it must be the reason he came here. Espra agrees, and they both go onto Pallio's carraige.
After getting on the carraige, it's shown that they'd made it a bit into Foramen - which looked like a gray dust field with holes. Pallio asks when he wanted to turn back, while Espra simply says that they need to find 'something' that Bonitus was talking about, while Pallio is still suspicious. Atlas starts to doze off, Espra exclaiming that he was passing out! It faded to black, as a cackle was heard, as it simply said "Turn back now...". A light appeared from the right, as Atlas appeared in the middle, wondering where he was. The light side said to stay, while the dark side said he'd die. The light said begged Atlas to be courageous, where the dark side started to fade. Atlas said he knew the voice of the dark side, as everything went all fuzzy, before Espra managed to wake Atlas up. He woke to find that they where being attacked by flying things. Atlas engaged combat with the "Foraters", but after beating them, only more swarmed. Pallio said to "hold on" because he was going to try and drive them off, however the Mannuses plowing the carraige started to freak out, running the entire thing into a rock. Everything faded to black, as Atlas heard the word "Gemen..." before he passed out. Waking up, Atlas, Espra, and Pallio, where all in the ruin of the carraige, where Pallio says the Mannuses must've run off, and that they where stranded. Atlas manages to muster up the courage and start walking, as Espra asks where he's going, to no response. She follows as well, followed by Pallio, and they all start stepping around Foramen. After walking through the area for so long, fending off the wildlife, Espra eventually exclaims she "smells smoke". Pallio says he smells it too, pointing to a large smoke cloud over a hill, where they all go over it. Arriving at the foot, the ground starts rumbling, where Pallio says that he was hearing something, before a rumble crushes Pallio into a rock. Espra goes to see if he's okay, when large spidery arms appear out of the ground, they all manage to run away from them, as a large, one eyed creature comes out of the ground. Atlas recognizes it as the beast from Mt. Murimuri, a Goliath, as a flashback is seen. After which a glowing aura appears around him, as Atlas learns "Demetrius's War Cry", while Atlas looks confused, saying that he felt the same power before fighting Mitrap as well, looking at the creature, much larger than before...the creature then roars, engaging them.
Atlas manages to fight it off, as the creature backs down after the battle...however, it simply puts its strange mouth onto the ground, as it sucks it, with the Goliath's eye glowing. Pallio says it was sucking something up, as the creature, fully recharged, attempts to suck up Atlas, before a figure appears, and the beast is slashed. The man says to stay back, and makes a few more slashes at it. Finally, he impales it, as the beast explodes, and the man falls to his knees. Atlas, weaker, passes out, and it fades to black...it opens up with Atlas being carried by someone, as the full picture appears, with Pallio and Espra all walking with a strange man holding him, before the man put down Atlas next to the fire. Espra says he was starting to wake up, as the man introduces himself as Gemen. Atlas thinks to himself that he heard that name being spoken when he passed out in that carraige crash, where the man says that those things had been appearing around here a lot lately. Espra says that Atlas looked like he knew the beast, where Atlas simply says he fought one on Mt. Murimuri. Gemen looks impressed, saying he expected no less froma person who dared enter Foramen. Pallio asks why Gemen is here, and Gemen simply goes silent, saying it was a "long story". Atlas also goes quite, revealing his name, as the man looks a bit taken back. He says he heard that name...somewhere, out here, with a flash of light. Atlas stands up, saying that he knows why he was out here...that Bonitus sent him for something, that Gemen was apart of, and why he gained that power...Gemen looks confused, but Atlas explains that he was on a quest, for something, and asked if Gemen would be apart of it. Gemen pauses, but eventually says yes, as Espra calls them oevr. They go towards her, as she points into the sky, as they could see the lights and fireworks of the Festival of light...Gemen and the others smile, as Atlas looks down, before pulling out his journal, and wrote in his journal once more: "I feel as if I've come closer than ever before. These powers I feel...they are tied, with, emotion? It seems I hear a name when I feel these powers - I'm determined to follow the path set for me by Bonitus. With newfound friends and enemies, I only hope when this has all come to a close, they can remain...my friends."
It cuts to the people of the church celebrating the festival of light with the other people of Beneman, until the chapter fades out.