Where the world ends... (Defiant Starting zone lore)

Trion Worlds really hit a home run with the starting area for both races. Today I'm talking about the Defiant starting zone, Terminus. I start life in the appropriately named Life Factory. A really good description of how I came to be was featured on ZAM here:

Account of Acyala Nicolo, Ascended Defiant:

I have no memory of my time in the Soulstream, nor sense of how long I drifted through it. But I do recall with clarity the moment my time there ended. The moment of my Ascension; no miracle of the gods, but a flash of ingenuity in the world’s dying moments. My soul was wrapped in a strange sort of energy, and then tugged at, invited to steal away from complacent dead. This energy drew me back down toward Telara and into the belly of a great machine.

For just a moment, my essence hovered, free floating, and then tendrils of pure Source seeped from the walls of the machine, mapping themselves into the grid of a figure bearing a likeness that was all too familiar. This woman had once borne great power, with the bearing of a High Priestess among the Kelari. I recognized her as the woman I had once been.

Then the pain began. The gridlines began to harden to a physical form; first bones, and then coarse ropes of sinew, and then organs took root and exploded into shape until finally a sheaf of flesh spread to cover the whole of it. Every step hurt beyond description, but I did not cut myself loose from it. I embraced the agony of what I would later know to be my rebirth.

Finally, life returned with a final electric current. Cold breath struck my lungs, my eyes flew open, and a voice said, “Welcome back, friend."

That welcoming voice belonged to Sylver Valis, thought the welcome is a cold one - you've come back to mortal life at the literal outpost at the end of the world.

The concept of scientifically creating Ascended was lost at me at first, until the concept of Ascended struck home - The Defiant have scratched out a meager existence in this reality lorded over by the Guardian ascended. Never able to fully resist, they didn't have the strength to resist Regulos when the Guardian's Gods abandoned them, and the world fell.

They're plan to save the world is to strengthen their side with their own Ascended, sent back in time with the Failsafe. The lore here is great - the current time leader Orphiel created the device as a one way time machine, returning anyone who enters it to the moment of its creation. Imagine Orphiel, triumphant with his new creation, and the look on his face when a half million lab grown ascendant march through it immediately, bringing tales of the end of the world.

That's the world you find yourself in as you leave the starter instance, and its thematically brilliant.

Expanded from my post here:

I started playing Rift last night (Though I did participate in the beta) and I have some thoughts on the quality of Rift's backstory.

The Lore has some really interesting hooks. The religion vs. science struggle isn't new to video games, but as an overarching theme for an MMO its new ground. The bitterness the two sides have towards each other is also really well orchestrated - the Defiant KNOW that the guardians are going to cause the end of the world - they've seen it. But the Guardian's near blind devotion to their gods isn't at all unbelievable or even hard to relate to - their gods DO exist, the ascended DO ascend by grace, basically. It makes the whole thing remarkably human.

Then the rifts themselves are an effective boogie man. Ever present, looming at the edges of the real world, from time to time prodding their (literal) tendrils through into our reality. Its fairly lovecraftian, if you think about it.

My only complaint is regulos as the big bad of the game. He's not exactly interesting - he has the same problem many big bad's do in a Teen rated setting. What does he do that's bad, other than plot to end the world? In real life big bad's murder, commit genocide - they invent new ways to torture and oppress. Let me say that I understand that in the MMO setting there are very real restrictions in enemy behavior.

I thought it would be fun to look at some of big bads that did more than plot to 'one day have their revenge!!!!/Take over the world!!!!'

Take Sephiroth of Final Fantasy 7. His big bad quest was much like Regulos' - destroy all life. The way he goes about it leads from one horror to the next - murdered friends, burned orphanages, gutted skyscrapers.

In real life look at Thug Behram. Behram led the Indian Thugee cult in decades of murderous theft. A big bad with murderous intent and a business interest. For contrast - what does Regulos stand to gain from his plot?



Rift could benefit from an effected populace. Have you noticed that ALL the people in the game are defiant or guardian, fully entrenched in the war. What's missing are the regular people! There are plenty of Warriors Rogues Clerics and Wizards - plenty of armorsmith's and medics and soldiers