The Resolve.
How does one introduce the story about the most destructive entity the world has ever seen? The tale of the Resolve is one of betrayal and of wickedness, something that could very well be mistaken for fantasy, if the effects of their reprehensible deeds had not still been felt to this day. What is known of the Resolve is somewhat scarce and limited, but what information that is available paints a truly horrific picture.
In order to truly understand the Resolve, one must understand the world of Eden before their arrival. Before the Torment and the arrival of the Resolve, the idea of “Magic” in its most traditional sense was largely regarded as folklore by the layman. Across the thousands of cities and villages that comprised the Republic, the concept of magic was something that very few people put any credence into. While referenced often in the canon lore and literature of the Decusian Church, the common man had no reason to believe such fantastical Old tales were true; there had been no evidence to suggest mystical and unseen powers lay waiting to be wielded by those willing to pursue them. As such, magic and the arcane had been looked upon simply as allegories to great strength and fortitude of the founding elements of the Church and society.
Across the thousands of cities and villages that comprised the Republic, the concept of magic was something that very few people put any credence into.
It was this lack of faith, so to say, that the Resolve had preyed upon, for their arrival in the Republic was met with wonder and awe. Each member of the collective, of whom only thirteen had been seen at any given time, had been a veritable master of the arcane, wielding powers only ever dreamed of. With this fame, the Resolve set out upon a show of power that solidified their reputation as miracle workers. They moved from city to city, territory to territory, performing nothing short of wonders. Where the Church had failed to devise any sort of protection from the Torment that had been raging across the Republic, the Resolve had been able to immunize those willing to follow them with but the utterance of a few words. Their acts of benevolence quickly spread through the Republic, and with each city they visited, more and more joined their ranks as willing followers. As the year 1313 drew to a close, thousands of citizens had abandoned their lives within the Republic to join with the mysterious collective, many out of simple fear of the Torment, and some out of the desire to learn a mere fraction of their knowledge of the arcane.
Of course, it did not take long for the Church to grow discontent of the actions of these mysterious magi. The act of miracles and, of course, the wielding of Magic had been the domain of the Church for millennia – to suggest otherwise was pure blasphemy. For the only known and acknowledged practitioners of magic, in the Church’s eyes, had been the founding Templar of the Decusian Church nearly thirteen hundred years past. With each sighting of the Resolve, envoys of the Church were sent to demand that the powerful magi to share their knowledge and power with the Church under pain of death. Yet each request was met with refusal, for the Resolve had no interest in acting benevolent to the Church. With their hand forced, the Church had made a bold but necessary decision. In the city of Allamarone, a bustling trade city seated in the heart of the Midlands, an entire chapter of Church Templar, coupled with a full Clergy of Inquisitors had been dispatched to stop and detain the blaspheming Magi and their heretical followers. A force of nearly four hundred men strong, the Templar and Inquisitors represented some of the most well-trained and well-outfitted soldiers the Republic could spare. Infused with zeal, the Church’s forces moved upon Allamarone like an army laying siege, surrounding the Resolve and their traveling caravan of followers with ease. Yet their lack of humility in the face of such raw and unimaginable power would be their undoing.
The act of miracles and, of course, the wielding of Magic had been the domain of the Church for millennia – to suggest otherwise was pure blasphemy.
In but one single hour, more than three hundred Templar and Inquisitors fell to the power of but a dozen and one Resolvists, all as the collected thousands within Allamarone watched in abject horror. The wonton unleashing of death and destruction upon the hundreds of assembled Templar and Inquisitor forces had been nigh unimaginable. Onlookers had gone on to describe the scene as something out of the Old texts – a truly overwhelming sight to behold and fathom. After a hasty retreat and medical triage, less than fifty men of the original four hundred would survive the ordeal.
It was with this unabashed display of raw power (of which would later become known as the Slaughter of Allamarone) that the attention of the entire Republic had been cast upon the Resolve. Capitalizing upon their infamy, they continued westward across the Republic, fleeing the more civilized and powerful territories of the kingdom all the while bringing thousands within their folds. And as 1313 faded into history, so did the Resolve. Their exodus across the Republic had brought them far west, into portions of the kingdom that were referred to as the “Blacklands”. It was here in the Blacklands that the Torment had struck most violently, mostly due to the lack of infrastructure and overwhelming Church presence. Civilization was actively collapsing in these Blacklands, as many cities and states had been overrun by the Torment months prior, and Legion and Church forces were scarce and scattered.
And as mysteriously as they arrived, they had vanished. The Resolve, with their following of faithful, disappeared into the Blacklands in those last days of 1313, never to be seen again; yet it would not be long before they were heard of again.