Hero of Patreayl

The Hero of Patreayl is the player character in OrbusVR.

Backstory
This lore book "The Guardian of Highsteppe" can be found in the library on the third floor of the player house, and tells the full story of the Hero of Patreayl, before the beginning of OrbusVR: Reborn.

Chapter 1: Of Lowly Origins
The Hero of Patreayl began their life as a nobody, dwelling in the small town of Highsteppe. At the time, the continent writhed under the reign of a totalitarian religious group known as "The Order of Ma'at," worshippers of one of the ancient gods of Chaos.

Training under the guidance of Bart Janlier, the Hero hoped to one day become an important protector of their village – a Guardian of Highsteppe.

But, on the day they were due to graduate their training, The Order came to town to celebrate the coronation of Lavera Roma, Guild City's new Bishop. The Order loyalists – Lord Lenneth, Mayor of Highsteppe, and Bart himself – were busy setting up a Festival to celebrate this very event. Employed by these men and others, the Hero of Highsteppe set about helping to get everything ready.

While out collecting ingredients for the feast, our Hero encountered a group of bandits, led by the outlawed Lord Oscar Hulthine. Spying on him, they found that Oscar and his bandits, known as The Knights of Patreayl, were planning to raid the village and assassinate the new Bishop.

Still loyal to the Order (the religious organization ran in this area by Bishop Roma), the Hero returned quickly to warn him of a potential attack.

That night, as the feast raged on, the new Bishop stood before the crowd and pointed out Lord Oscar and his assassins amongst the crowd, capturing and imprisoning them.

In return for their help, the Bishop offered the Hero a spot in his highly elite Order army of Enforcers – based in Guild City. And so, seeking honor for themselves, the Hero made their way to the capital to begin a new life working for the Order.

After several missions completed on behalf of the Order's commander, Petra Fassith, and her secret lover, General Clavacius, the Hero of Patreayl found themselves in attendance of Lord Oscar in the lead up to his execution. From his prison cell, the traitorous Lord told stories to the Hero. Stories of his love for the leader of the outlawed Knights of Patreayl – Lord Markos of Runval, and stories suggesting evil corruption at the heart of their precious Order. After Oscar's death, the Hero of Patreayl began their investigations into the truth of his words. They discovered accounts of horrible atrocities committed by the Order on the people of the Midlands. This discovery precipitated an encounter with Lord Markos himself, and an agreement to work for the Patreayl Knights as a double agent.

Chapter 2: A Tour of Patreayl
As an undercover agent for the Knights of Patreayl, our Hero worked for a time as a competent Enforcer, sending intel to Lord Markos and sabotaging the Order where they could.

Through their actions, the Hero managed to uncover a secret plot, orchestrated by Commander Fassith and General Clavacius to overthrow Bishop Roma in favour of the previous ruler, Bishop Archibald, the brother of the short-tempered General. Armed with this information, the Hero turned their commander and her lover into fugitives, rising to the position of High Commander themselves, working all the while as a double agent for the Knights. After some time in their new position, the Hero was called into the private chambers of Bishop Roma for a special meeting.

The Order had discovered an ancient relic. A puzzle box and map, leading to the final resting place of their ancient and powerful enemy, Khabor Jan, the scholar who once led the world in freedom and truth. Hoping that the discovery of their enemy's corpse and his ancient powers would raise him even higher in power, Bishop Roma bragged of a second set of ruins, recently discovered by the Order in the frozen plains of the Necropolar.

Stunned by this information, the Hero decided to steal Roma's relic for the Knights who hailed Khabor Jan as their originator. But Roma had suspected the Hero all along and caught them in the act! Before he could punish them however, Fassith arrived on the scene, intent on murdering the Bishop. After a lengthy battle, the Bishop ran, Fassith was gravely wounded, and the Hero was forced to flee the capital, now a fugitive like their ex-commander.

Returning to Lord Markos, the Hero learnt that Bishop Roma had now begun to mobilize his forces against the Knights. Knowing they needed more allies, Markos tasked the Hero to travel outside of the Midlands in search of military might that would help them combat the coming war. Journeying first into the Obnobi Desert, the Hero of Highsteppe aided and made friends with the warrior Kreyen, leader of the famed Obnobi Bedouin. Kreyen would eventually pledge their forces to the Knight's cause.

Travelling to the Lucian Plateau, the Hero next gained the trust of the furious and brutal Rune Warg leader, a shaman named Bezoula, who also pledged his help for when the time came. Making their way to the Lamavora Frontier (now known as the Lamavora Battlefield), the Hero met with the honourable leader of Patreayl's famed Explorer's League, Helga Sarrow, who was eventually rallied to the cause as well.

In the Patreayl Rainforest (now flooded after the Great Shift), the Hero then earned the trust of Brother Pavara, the feared head of an elite group of assassins known as the Brotherhood. Lastly, the Hero returned to Highsteppe in hopes of bringing Guardian Bart and his warriors to the table. Spurned by his former pupil's disregard for tradition, Bart initially refused, but after the Hero saved Highsteppe from the Order's Magick-infested Inquisitors, Bart agreed to help.

Chapter 3: Rise of the Necropolar Lords
Returning to Markos and his Knights with good news, the Hero of Patreayl's triumph was overshadowed by intelligence that the Order had discovered something dangerous and powerful within the snowy ruins of the Necropolar. As the best Knight he had, Markos sent the Hero, along with two allies into the frigid Wastelands to put a stop to Bishop Roma once and for all.

And within those ancient ruins, the Hero found their nemesis, Bishop Roma, digging up the bodies of ancient powerful monsters known as the Necropolar Lords. Enacting dark magick, Roma began to resurrect one such Lord – Dethslatu of the Coming Plague. But after thousands of years of sleep, Dethslatu was in no mood to be bossed around. Upon opening his eyes, he immediately set upon the Bishop, devouring him whole!

Forced to face off against a truly cosmic evil, our Hero did their best in battle, but was overcome by the being's power. At the last minute, when all seemed lost the hero was saved by a stranger with the ability to travel between dimensions...