The fall

Ashes of Creation community empowered Wiki
Revision as of 03:46, 9 November 2020 by Lex (talk | contribs) (Convert to article)

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:A great calamity

Concept art showing the citizens of Verra escaping a besieged city through a divine gateway.[1]

In Ashes of Creation there is a primary antagonist that exists within the overarching storyline and these antagonists are The Ancients. When the Apocalypse occurred and the Harbingers arrived in on Verra and those conduits opened from the center of those Harbingers, the Ancients flowed out of these Harbingers and started really conquering the Verran planet. But more importantly their desire was to essentially manipulate and pervert the creation of the gods as an affront to their endeavors; and in doing so they created monstrosities essentially any portion of nature just was completely manipulated by their corruption, which is the negative aspect of Essence.[2] – Steven Sharif

Long ago, the world of Verra was besieged by a great calamity (also called the Fall, the Apocalypse, and the Exodus), brought about by the primary antagonists of the world: The Ancients and The Others.[2][3]

  • The apocalypse began with comet-like celestial bodies called Harbingers arriving on Verra. The Ancients flowed out of the conduits that opened at the center of the Harbingers and started conquering the planet.[2]
  • Their desire was to pervert the creation of the gods (the Seven) as an affront to their endeavors; and in doing so they created monstrosities by manipulating nature with corruption, which is the negative aspect of The Essence.[2][4]

Granted by divine intervention from the Goddess of Creation[5], much of the population fled Verra through towering gateways, seeking refuge in a world void of magic.[1] The world of Sanctus.[6]

Soon after the exodus, the gateways dimmed and became dormant. Centuries turned to millennia, burying them beneath myriad calamities. Over eons, history became legend, then even the great legends were at last forgotten.[1]

The Tulnar is a combination of four major races and many minor races that were left behind on Verra after the apocalypse.[9][10][11]

Sanctus

Kaelar divine gateway concept art.

When this creation of Verra occurred, the Goddess of Fate and the Goddess of Creation were very close; and the Goddess of Fate essentially warned the Goddess of Creation- only the Goddess of Creation- that the Ancients and the Others- that they had not seen the last of them; and that there would be a time essentially when those forces would seek out and try to pervert the new creation as essentially a way to thumb their noses at the other gods in retribution for their defeat. So the Goddess of Creation created a separate planet Sanctus that she knew she could bridge with these Divine Gateways at a time when it was necessary for the descendants of Verra to escape their destruction.[12] – Steven Sharif

Sanctus is the world where the people of Verra found their sanctuary.[13]

A long long long time ago, everybody lived on a planet called Verra. Something cataclysmic happened that forced people from that world to another world called Sanctus. Verra is a place of really high magic. Sanctus is a place with no magic whatsoever. People escaped through these portals into the world of Sanctus. They had to rediscover technology, because so much of their current technology was based on magic, so they had to figure out how to interact with the world. Thousands and thousands of years go by. A long dark age passes. This history that I just told you falls into myth and legend. After this time passes, these portals reopen and the players are going to take the part of people who are coming through those portals once again back to the world of Verra to rediscover that magic, rediscover their history, and try to figure out what happened to this world to force them out of it.[6] – Jeffrey Bard

Sanctus is a key story arc, that will likely have very little revealed about it prior to the Betas.[14] – Steven Sharif

The Verdant Keeper

Shadeless Tree Tavern pre-order pack cosmetic freehold building skin.[15]

While many families have humble gatherings amongst themselves during this time of the year, the Shadeless Tree is an ancient, venerated establishment that wishes to spread this joy to weary travelers. Here, merchants, adventurers, and citizens bereft of a place to be for the Verdant Keeper's feast may stay, exchanging stories, singing songs, and making friends. Though an already lively place to be, during the Keeper's celebrations the tavern is especially alight with joy and many are urged to join in the festivities - provided they do not rock the tavern, so to speak.[15]

The Verdant Keeper... are a sect of people that keep track of all the things that are necessary to have successful crops and to grow things and to make sure that the cultivation of these things allows a society or civilization to keep growing. So in the transition from Verra to Sanctus these people had to relearn how to grow things without magic. There were druid like people before and now we have to go to this place where there's no magic to support those things. So they spend their time learning about the world and learning about it in sort of a scientific way and keeping track of all of these seasons of the different years, of the decades, of the centuries that go by to sort of create a map for themselves and for the civilizations that they support: Kind of a means to be successful in growing crops and keeping people healthy and happy.[16] – Jeffrey Bard

As the months come and go, and the hand of winter looms over the land, various farmers of Verra take time to celebrate the fortune granted to them by the Verdant Keeper. Hearths are stoked, candles are lit, and fragrant delicacies are prepared. A massive celebration of food and drink takes place, marking the culmination of their hard work and preparation for the harsh, cold months to come. Should the celebrations go well, they say the Keeper will bless the next spring with a brand new harvest, ready to be plucked.[17]

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse lore

Divine gateway in the Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale (BR mode) staging area.[7]

This lobby area where you see players load into- this is unfinished- but this will be one of the capital cities that you are about to enter through the great divine gateways... You're trying to flee; and in this particular game mode you are a part of some unlucky few who didn't quite make it out. And unfortunately after entering the great divine gateway fell back to the planet.[7] – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse lore takes place during the exodus from Verra.[7][8][18]

  • Some unlucky citizens didn't quite make it through the gateways in time and fell back to the planet to fight for survival.[7] This underpins the battle royale mode.[8]
  • Certain citizens are fighting for control over Castles that they believe to be last bastions of defense against the forces of corruption. This underpins the castle siege mode.[8]
  • The last stand against the forces of corruption takes place in the horde mode.[8]

Initially you're playing the Battle Royale you're a part of the last group of survivors to try to leave Verra. And as you're leaving you get cut off. The slipstream ends and you start falling back to the planet. Now the activities that occur and the fighting amongst yourselves is a result of the influence of corruption: Corrupting your soul basically; and as we move into the Castle Siege mode that's where you see the survivors now trying to seek refuge in some of the last defendable bastions of of society. So you're fighting over those for your families and your friends to get into that keep to try to ride out the storm so to say; and that's what the Castle Siege is predicated on. Then moving into the Hordes is this is now the final showdown. How long can you last? And that's the narrative behind Apocalypse as a whole.[19] – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse lore is split into chapters.[19]

  • Chapter 1 is called The Exodus. It takes part in the initial stages of the fall and sets the scene for upcoming chapters.[19]

What happened before you came back? What did your ancestors have to go through? What did these civilizations have to endure? ... You get to experience the world of Ashes of Creation. You get to take a peek under the hood of the art assets and the style that that art will be when you play the game; and at the same time while you're doing all of that and we're hitting the servers with as many people as possible, we are continuing production and implementing new art; and we are updating those those chapters of this story; and that's what each season so speak is called for us is a chapter. In fact the first chapter of Apocalypse will be titled the Exodus. So chapter one is the Exodus and players will have an opportunity to earn unique rewards in each chapter. So that chapter's period of time is roughly ten weeks- between eight and twelve. We'll see how those go, but right now it's set for ten weeks; and every ten weeks you're going to see an introduction of new content.[19] – Steven Sharif

Read more...

Tulnar

Tulnar character model concept art of the three base influences.[20]

The Tulnar society has more of a caste like system, where based on what physical features you show, based on where your ancestry and lineage lie between the races that came together to make the Tulnar, determines your order in that caste system to a degree. So when players get to create their characters and determine whether they are going to have heavy influences of reptilian, mammalian, humanoid; that's going to determine their reception from NPCs as well when they interact with those Tulnar PCs.[21] – Steven Sharif

Underrealm concept art.[22]

How will the Tulnar perceive their ancestors, the children's, children's, children, of their ancestors returning back to Verra? I think majority of the disposition is going to be, these are the descendants of those responsible for the tragedy that befell our world... And I think that you'll see a disparity between the younger Tulnar and the older Tulnar and their reception to those who are coming new. I think that's normal. I think that's expected. I think that creates an interesting tension; and I think that is a nice contextualization to some of the stories that might be told and interfacing between the Tulnar cultures and those of the returning descendants.[23] – Steven Sharif

TulnarAlpha.png Tulnar (pronounced Tull-nar[24][25]) is a playable race in Ashes of Creation.[26][11] The (ancestors of) the Tulnar fled to the Underrealm to escape the Corruption that befell Verra.[27] The Tulnar is a combination of four major races and many minor races that were left behind on Verra after the apocalypse.[28][9][10][11]

They're a combination of the leftover races, not just the leftover major race populations, but the leftover minor races as well; and that's what gives them their attributes that are bestial, or reptilian, humanoid; and that players can use sliders to influence the visual representation of. But in a similar fashion, their cultural markers are also going to be a combination of different influences, so they're very differently constructed culture than what is found in the other eight races.[28] – Steven Sharif
Were the Tulnar a result of corruption in their creation, or was it purely a crossbreeding between the multiple minor and major races that existed in the Underrealm during the after the apocalypse? They are not a result of corruption. So there is no corruption that was that was taken into account during their creation.[34] – Steven Sharif

The Underrealm

Underrealm node concept art.[35]

One of the aspects of the Lore behind the Tulnar was that in the pantheon of gods that exist- having foretold the future through the Goddess of Fate to the Goddess of Creation- these areas in the Underrealm were created in to allow for refuge for which the gods knew would be left behind that couldn't make it to Sanctus. So that was a pre-thought there in the creation of the Underrealm to facilitate that realm where refugees could seek.[36] – Steven Sharif

Alpha-0 Underrealm Sharptooth cat mob concept art.[37]

We plan to have the Underrealm really pervasive throughout the game itself, a part of the open world. It will introduce some unique elements such as the type of monsters you see, the type of crops you can grow and houses you can have.[38] – Steven Sharif

The Underrealm is a rich environment where bio-luminescence abounds in the fauna and flora that exist here. These deep caverns and underground valleys provide new destinations for civilization to develop. Bringing the node system into the depths of the world may awaken darker creatures than the surface.[22]

  • The Underrealm is estimated to be not too much bigger than 100 km2 in area.[39][40] It is not contiguous space across the entire map. There will be areas that are obstructed by chasms or other features.[41][42]
The expansiveness of the Underrealm itself is quite large. It does persist across across a lot of the playable game area that's above ground. So there are alternatives in the Underrealm for passages and traversal throughout the world.[43] – Steven Sharif
  • The location of Underrealm entrances throughout the world is focused around natural geographic choke-points that exist above ground. This provides alternate subterranean routes that can be used by caravans, raids, and other player activities.[39][41][42]
The Underrealm is intending to be bespoke segments of Underrealm territory that are available around areas of choke-point in the world map that are above ground, which are provided for caravan transit across the world. So those caravans as they're approaching these choke-points on land, they will have alternate route options to go down into the Underrealm and to try to traverse that space, as opposed to the choke-points.[41] – Steven Sharif
  • Not all entrances to the Underrealm will be open at the same time. This can shift dynamically (based on node states) that cause different routes to open up, which may be more or less advantageous than other routes.[42]
  • There will be bodies of water such as rivers and lakes in the Underrealm that house unique species of fish.[44][45]
    • There won't be boats and other water vehicles in the Underrealm.[44]
There will absolutely be Underrealm lakes and rivers. Those will be locations and very important ones for unique material goods like certain types of fish that players will be able to go down and fish with. But there will not be the use of boats and vehicles within the water- water vehicles of the Underrealm, at least not for launch.[44] – Steven Sharif

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Unreal Engine Interview, 23 May 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Livestream, November 8, 2020 (9:51).
  3. ↑ Interview, July 19, 2020 (50:10).
  4. ↑ Ashes of Creation - A world with consequences.
  5. ↑ Interview, July 20, 2020 (13:33).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Interview, April 20, 2018 (5:46).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Livestream, September 27, 2018 (6:22).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Livestream, October 31, 2018 (36:59).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Interview, July 20, 2020 (15:18).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Livestream, April 8, 2018 (23:04).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Kickstarter $2,500,000 New Player Race Achieved.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Livestream, November 8, 2020 (0:00:00).
  13. ↑ Official Livestream - May 4th @ 3 PM PST - Q&A
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 steven-sanctus.png
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ashes of Creation Store: Shadeless Tree Tavern.
  16. ↑ Livestream, October 31, 2019 (14:13).
  17. ↑ Blog: Bounties of the Verdant Keeper.
  18. ↑ Livestream, December 6, 2018 (14:32).
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Livestream, December 6, 2018 (28:45).
  20. ↑ Livestream, July 29, 2022 (59:00).
  21. ↑ Interview, October 31, 2018 (5:03).
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Kickstarter $1,750,000 Stretch Goal Unlocked, 13 May 2017.
  23. ↑ Livestream, April 7, 2023 (1:17:59).
  24. ↑ RacePronunciation.png
  25. ↑ Livestream, March 31, 2022 (1:06:54).
  26. ↑ Livestream, May 30, 2017 (16:51).
  27. ↑ Livestream, May 17, 2017 (5:49).
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Podcast, September 29, 2021 (16:51).
  29. ↑ Livestream, May 26, 2017 (39:34).
  30. ↑ tulnar-eats.png
  31. ↑ Podcast, November 15, 2020 (31:13).
  32. ↑ Livestream, April 28, 2023 (1:23:33).
  33. ↑ Podcast, November 15, 2020 (40:24).
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Livestream, November 22, 2019 (24:33).
  35. ↑ Forums: Dev Discussion - Dream Nodes.
  36. ↑ Interview, October 31, 2018 (6:00).
  37. ↑ Ashes of Creation - The visuals.
  38. ↑ A chat with Ashes of Creation's Steven Sharif, 2017-06-7.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (22:48).
  40. ↑ Interview, August 17, 2018 (10:43).
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Livestream, August 26, 2022 (53:26).
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Livestream, October 30, 2020 (1:19:13).
  43. ↑ Interview, October 31, 2018 (5:43).
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (27:30).
  45. ↑ Transcript, November 5, 2022 (10:46:47).
Retrieved from "https://ashesofcreation.wiki/index.php?title=The_fall&oldid=48060"