Valhalla Abbey

Valhalla Abbey
first	North Realm
Region 1	Sanctuary
Region 2	Cloisters

Lore

Spoiler warning! This section contains plot details about the game.

The region's people had long worshipped a god of the land.

Women of faith, in particular, gathered together to lead lives of cooperation and worship. One such gathering was Valhalla Abbey.

The sisters of the abbey were possessed of a deep mercy seldom seen in mankind. The endless cycle of war throughout history stands as testament to that.

One particularly fierce conflict broke out on the abbey's doorstep.

The sisters wandered the battlefields in search of wounded soldiers to care for. Friend or foe, it mattered not. All were equal in their need.

Though they tended the injured with great urgency, too many suffered to the last.

The sisters mourned each passing as they would a son.

"Please, end this war! Let peace make haste!"

Such were the fervent prayers they offered as they worked.

But the war raged on, heedless, and casualties grew with each passing day.

In time, the sisters came to doubt their God's existence. Why else would a divine being stand idle as so many lives were lost? Why else would a God withhold salvation despite their pleas?

Finally the day came that their faith reached its nadir.

A mysterious chalice. It spoke unto the sisters of the abbey. "Pay the price and your wish shall be made true."

The women gladly offered their own bodies.

If God would not save these men, they would see it done themselves.

They spun their flesh into fiber, their bones into bandages. And with these strange shrouds they enveloped the wounded.

The sight was less a sickbed than a coccoon.

Within them, the warriors' broken bodies were made whole again.

The sisters held faith that in time these men would awaken and emerge.

So selfless were these women that the coccoons soon outnumbered the living sisters.

Before long, only two remained. One was the youngest of the order. The other, a scant two years older.

The elder of the two spoke. "Someone must remain," said she, "to aid these men when they awaken. I leave them in your care."

And so it was that the youngest became the last. She lived on, standing vigil by the soldiers' coccoons.

But the coccoons lay still. Years passed, and the youngest sister was young no more.

In truth, the soldiers had long since awakened. It was not slumber that kept them still, but the overwhelming comfort of their silken nests.

For it was not only their bones that had been broken by war. The slaughter they had witnessed carved deep scars within the pit of their souls.

They had seen enough - too much. And though the miraculous coccoons might mend their bodies, they could not undo the damage inside.

Upon coming to this revelation, the younger sister despaired.

Too many long years had passed for her to start anew. She had her health, yes, but lacked the will to seek out a new path in life.

Though blood yet coursed through her veins, a life without feeling is but a living death. She had become as the men who lingered still within their silken wombs.

As the weight of hopelessness bore down upon her, she slumped against a nearby coccoon. Its fibers parted to accept her into its warm embrace.

Never to wake again, it was a suicide of sorts. And yet she felt no pain. Experienced no loss.

Word of the now-abandoned abbey spread, and it became the site of a grim new pilgrimage...

Even now, people flock to these deserted halls in search of this lukewarm limbo.

Quests Taking Place

Sortiara Quests

• The Sorcerer's Ordeal Ch. 5
• The Sorcerer's Ordeal Ch. 6

Forgotten Pacts

• Hour of Auburn - Dance of the Swift Maiden

Environment

Sanctuary

• Renew Offering power x4
• Create weapon - Heat
• Create weapon - Stone
• Create armor - Heat
• Create armor - Stone
• Draw upon healing power

Cloisters

• Renew Offering power x5
• Create weapon - Venom x2
• Create weapon - Frost
• Create armor - Stone
• Draw upon healing power

Quotes

Heard during memory quests:

• I prayed with all my heart and soul.
• I prayed that the war would end.
• I prayed there would be no more conflict.
• I prayed for peace.
• I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed...
• I prayed without cease.
• But to no avail.
• The war claimed victims still.
• Finally I stopped praying.
• The futility was all too clear.

Gallery

Cloisters