The Last in Line

Two eyes from the east

It's the angel or the beast

And the answer lies between the good and bad.

We search for the truth

We could die upon the tooth

But the thrill of just the chase

Is worth the pain.

And we'll know for the first time

If we're evil, or divine

We're the last in line.

The Last in Line is the title of Chapter VIII of the Warriors of Destiny event cycle. At the time of writing, late July 2009, it appears as though this will be the last Chapter of the saga.

Events in this Chapter unfolded rapidly, on multiple fronts. Most but not all of this Chapter was contained in Publish 59.

The first 3 of these fronts were in effect as of the time of writing (late July 2009). The others had yet to be seen.

Distracting Decisions

Through King Pro Tempere Casca, the Shadowlords distract Britannians with promises of treasures to be found in the Tokuno Islands. (See Treasures of Tokuno.) Casca has the apparent cooperation, or at least the consent, of the Empress of Tokuno. Their hope seems to be that we will be distracted by the Treasures and not notice the Shadowlords seeking for an artifact. This proves to be a mistake, on their part as it turns out that the Tokuno Islands is the likely hiding place of the artifact. In other words, they "distracted" us right into their path.

Strangers Bearing Gifts

Grey-robed strangers, referred to as "Seers," appear at Empath Abbey, the Lycaeum, and Serpent's Hold. In between spouting prophecies of doom and the "end of days," the Seers offer Quests that convert Cloaks of Corruption (see Cloak of Corruption) into new items: Cloak Of Death, Cloak Of Life, Cloak Of Fate. Cloaks of Command (see Cloak of Command) also become available in Faction strongholds.

Manifestations

Manifestations of the Shadowlords, similar but not identical to the Shadowlords' Ethereal forms that appeared in the "Time-Altered Moonglow" in the Ethereal Void earlier in the event cycle (see Mad Mage, appear in Tokuno. They are searching for the "Artifact." They spawn every 2 real life hours, in 3 locations. They gave out a Cloak of Corruption to each of the top 3 damagers, and a Treasure of Tokuno to any character with looting rights.

Dawn of Hope

This part of the "The Last in Line" began in August 2009, and appears to be ongoing as of the time of writing (also in August 2009). Dawn returned, her house having been burned down by Casca's men, presumably because she was a potential threat to his power. The City of Luna was attacked by the Shadowlords, who were looking for some unspecified object (presumably the same thing they were looking for in Tokuno). Dawn, and a Platinum Dragon, were instrumental in rallying the PCs to defend the city. (On some Shards, other cities were also attacked.) A new item called a Cloak of Silence (highly similar to the Cloak of Death, Cloak of Life, and Cloak of Power) was available from Event Moderators.

Armageddon

This part of the Chapter has likewise not yet been seen in-game. It is said that The location of the artifact will be revealed. Crimson Dragons and Platinum Dragons will both appear and do battle, with us caught in the middle; the outcome of that battle will have an impact on Factions. After this, the final battle against the Shadowlords will take place. Assuming the players win, the rewards will be Doom Artifacts, and a new item: A Shard of the Gem of Immortality (presumably, the artifact being sought by the Shadowlords). There will be but one of these items per Shadowlord (whether this means a total of 3, or if each Shadowlord will appear but once), and the items will have unspecified effects in-game.

The title of this Chapter comes from a heavy metal song, "The Last in Line" by the band Dio. This title was selected by the author of this article because the lyrics of the song fit the events fairly well, and because the manufacturers could not possibly have intended each of the 5 aspects of the climactic chapter to itself constitute a separate chapter, especially seeing as how several of them are going on at once.