Ardatha

Ardatha is first on formost a gentleman. They have impeccable manners, an affable demeanor, can be very friendly, easily approached, and is quite charming. While they use these qualities to manipulate others to their own ends, this affability is not entirely an act as they will
always act polite regardless of the circumstances. They have no problems moving about in normal society and interacting with the population at large partially to find their "marks" or "accomplices." Aside from their charming personality, Ardatha also has standards and personal ethics. They believe that when one makes a deal, they must keep it. They cannot abide blatant dishonesty and people who go back on their word. They also cannot stand people who are rude and will act viciously towards any who scorn them or rebuke their polite overtures.

Despite their positive qualities and overall affability, Ardatha is a being of extreme sadism, cruelty, manipulation and spite. They will always honor a pact but plays with the wording of the agreement to their own advantage and the pain of the deal maker. They're fond of riddles, word games, and misleading statements. Ardatha will often follow the letter of anagreement as they interpret it but most certainly not the spirit in which it was meant. Ardatha also greatly enjoys the pain and misery of the fates they inflict on the unsuspecting fools they dupe.

Ardatha
Location: Fortress of the Ends
??? Years ago
The chains rattle in the winter.
Clink, clink
Do you hear that sound?
Its the Reaper coming for your souls.
Insanity is the moment the sobbing turns into laughter
Clink, clink
The rattling of her chains give her location away. The long since imprisoned Imperial “grins”, sneering.
A Gaoler stands trembling before her, prepared to radio the Icewarden at any signs of a breach.
“Prisonner 001, please back away from the bars or I will have to-”
“Cut the chatter, Glacier. You can feel it can’t you?”
Glacier’s fear and terror could be felt from across the room.
Ardatha laughs, a horrifying sound as she closed her eyes.
“The chains are breaking. The walls are shattering.”
Glacier backs away from the Imperial, prepared to sound the alarm.
“It won’t be long until She is free…Free to roam the earth, to slaughter the gods...”
Despite the danger, Glacier felt intrigued.
“Who?”
Ardatha’s eyes flashed open, dark eyes glimmering with a sadistic fate.
“The Lorebreaker.”
Glacier’s horrified expression caught the notice of the “Imperial”.
“You do know Her don’t you?”
Glacier didn’t respond.
Of course she knew Her - hell every Guard knew her.
The chaos that She fed on, the Chaos that threatened to destroy all of Sornieth. Her unearthly powers, ripping the very fabrics of existence. Year of year, the Goalers took their job of containing Prisoner Zero very seriously.
The legend that had no form, the legend that could challenge the very gods themselves.
Glacier backed away from Ardatha, eyes wide with terror.
Eyes that will never see again.
It wasn’t a strike of thunder, nor a sword through the chest.
It was a simple hissing sound, a tiny crack in the foundations.
A crack that freed the Lorebreaker
The ancient entity laughed and struck out at the crack in the Wall.
The Wall flickered, fires that once contained her dimming….
The Wall screamed…
… and failed.
The world around them rumbled as breach alarms sounded, as the Lorebreaker shattered her chains.
Ardatha’s cruel and piercing laugh rang out as bodies flew left and right.
Ardatha laughed as Prisoner Zero escaped.
The Lorebreaker watched the “Imperial” with eyes that were not Hers.
“Welcome back, Lorebreaker.”
A strange smile twisted on the other dragon’s scales.
“Long time no see, Ardatha. Thank you for your loyalty. Many did not believe my first Follower would survive the Ice. ”
Ardatha waited as one impossible claw shattered her chains with a twist, the bars of her cage sizzling into nothing at the hands of the Lorebreaker.
“As an reward for your loyalty through all those years, you may have your revenge.”
And so begins the tale of the Day Zero, the day the Fortress was stained with blood and dragons could hear the screams from more than two hundred miles away……

Age 12
The Gaolers watched the Imperial warily, spears pointed at their throat.
What is this monster? How cold must it be?
Blood dripped from their surroundings, as the screams still rattled in the distance.
Ardatha simply closed her eyes, features stained by blood and gore.
“They brought it upon themselves…..”
Something that resembled pity flickered in the Gaolers’ eyes.
A dragon this young shouldn’t have to be imprisoned in the Fortress of the Ends.
But such a crime… twenty dragons dead...deserved a punishment.
Ardatha didn’t flinch as she watched the Gaolers.
“Please do not resist Ardatha. It will only make your suffering worse.”
The captain advanced with icy chains for the Imperial.
Ardatha watched them the same way a snake watches its prey.
“So be it.”
And the Imperial lashed out.
As young as they may be, Ardatha fought with hatred and frenzy, chaotic movements sowing discord and destruction among the Gaolers.
Ardatha snared definitely, taking down as many as possible before they was dragged away in chains and fetters.
However, as she was locked and padlocked by cold jailers, they could have sworn that they say a glimpse of a glitch out of the corner of her eye.
A little gift from the Lorebreaker.

During the Trail
Ardatha shivered through the chilly air of the courtroom, gazing up at the Gaolers who were the judges. Outside, the threat of a storm rumbled, with strange streaks resembling lightning dancing around.
“Why did you kill them?”
The Judge tilted his head as he looked at the Imperial.
“Why did you kill those dragons?”
Ardatha simply bared her teeth.
The Judge sighed and continued on. “They were exalts. Exalts to the deities. Why?”
Ardatha snared, hissing.
“They served the gods. The same false gods that you worship.”
The courtroom flinched, an audible gasp travelling around.
Ardatha snared again, continuing on.
“The gods took my parents, took me from my family. They plucked me from my home, and tore my previous clan into shreds. They were dreamers, kind dragons who did not deserve to serve their sentence. And you want to know what the “gods” did to them? They cursed them.”
Was it only an illusion? Or was the cold Imperial actually….crying?
Proud teardrops glimmered at the edges of Ardatha’s dark eyes.
“The gods cursed their own creations, for they were afraid of their children’s power. They summoned abominations that would put an Emperor to shame and set them against my clan. After so much bloodshed, after so many dragons dead, still the gods were not satisfied. They continued on.”
The Judge leaned forwards. The gruesome tale of Ardatha was a dark one indeed, but a cruel curiosity pushed him forwards to listen onwards. The maelstrom was definitely growing outside.
“They slaughtered my clan’s children, killed them off one by one in front of our eyes. It was never enough. They cursed our clan, intending to finish them off in one fell swoop. A Clan that did no wrong, who’s only crime was daring to exist. They were an accident on the god’s part, and the Clan paid with their blood for it.”
Hatred and pain glimmered in the eyes of the former dragon.
“They killed my clan, my family. I may not know what became of them, what the gods may have done to them. All that I remember was that when I was a hatchling, I was torn away from my Clan.”
The Court had no words to reply. The strange storm outside was growling, swirling around the courtroom.
“My leaving was the only reason that I am alive now. The gods killed my clan, crushed their dreams and wishes. The very same “gods” that you worship.”
Ardatha’s mouth curled upwards into the cruelest and coldest of grins that chilled even the darkest of hearts.
“I regret nothing.”
The gravel slammed down.
Guilty.
At the proclamation, the weather outside seemed to sense Ardatha’s hatred, dancing in an ever louder cadence.
No one seemed to notice, no one other than Ardatha.
Crack. Crack.
The edges of the walls were breaking, ever so slowly as their form was carried off by the storming worlds outside. Ardatha could see glimpses of legends and the bodies of gods through the cracks in the ice, corpses of hewn tyrants in the storm.
A single voice spoke to her that was so corrupted by static, Ardatha could barely make the word.
Ḏ̷̮̰͋̽̌u̴̘͔̱̬͈̫͋̈́͌̀͂̿c̸͚͍͆̏͐̇̆k̴̛̯̜̺̗̈́͗̾
Ardatha ducked.
Ardatha lived.
Warping shards of reality impaled the dragons inside, broken bits of minds and gods swirling them all into the Maelstrom.
Ardatha covered their ears as the unfortunate dragons screamed. The errors in the code that rose and twisted their minds into unrecognizable beings for the Ringmaster’s collection.
It took hours for the screams to die down.
The young Imperial was curled in a tight ball as the Maelstrom slowly died down.
The voice spoke again.
G̷̥̝͐̕r̴̰͚̹͗̾e̶̫͛̃è̵̫̮̰̈̓t̵̩̓í̵̢̻̋ͅn̷̫̋g̷͍̿̓͠s̵͕̫͍̃ ̴̧͚̔̌Ā̴̟̜̅̌r̴͂̒̒͜d̵̞̱̰̍ä̶̛̻̺̩́ṱ̸̱̂̏͘h̶̬̪̀a̵̦͓͋͝
The warping and breaking of reality around the entity made Her voice nearly incomprehensible.

Y̴̛̗̟̼̓́͛̈́̈̿͑̓͘͝ͅỏ̵̧̭͇̯͌ǘ̸̪̲͚͍̤͚͍͕̩̠̰̘̟̦́͑̐̄̿̾̐̆͆̓̉ ̸̛͔̦̱̋̔̊̇̈́͘̚͠s̶͇͍̯͇̜̦̫̪͓͈̺͔̝̃̋̀̀͝ę̸̧̢̜̩̥̭̜̙̹͆̓̚ȩ̷̯͈̣͎̀̍͂̂̉̓̿̀͠m̶̡͓͇̺̠̭͇̯̚ ̸̮̯̯̜̭͐̋͜s̶̨̼̩͕̰̺͓̙̞̞̭̯̠̲͐̉̈́̐̈̎͊̀̒ͅữ̵̢̗͉̯͔̫̤̰͉̘̓̔̆̃̌́͝ŗ̶̡̯͚͙̖̝̘̝̰͚̼̪̒̿͊͆̐̎̚͜p̴̡̔̒̈́͆͆̀̈͗̐̎̅͝͝r̶͓̜̥͊̌̐̉̍̍̂̈̉̐̏͑̚͜͠͠į̷̨̩̮͖̞̈́͋̆͒̔́͗͊͂̎͊̉̅̅ṡ̵̢̡̥̯̪͙̣̖̱̮̏͆̔̈́͝ê̵͍͖̼̪͕̚̚͝d̴̬͈͛̿͒̈͐
…

“Wha-what are you?”

The voice was silent for a moment.
T̶̼͖͇͑h̴͕̜̳̱̠͈̰̞̖͌̈̓̊̓͋̾̓́́̂͂̒̀͆̿̽̒̕͝e̸͚͙̜̤̍̓̈́̆̇̔͛͆̎ ̷̞̜̫̤̓͆͋͛͒̕̚͠͝L̷̢̡͖̖̭̟̤̻͎̼͈̗͓̝̋̇̒̑͊̍̃̔̍͗͑͝ͅǫ̴̛͕̝̠̗̻̪̣̝̏̄̓̑̂͐͐̄͛͆̂̃̂̕͠͝͠ͅṙ̷̡̨̢̛͍͔̺̖̘̫͉͍̮̘̯̞͖͗̂͊͛̐͒̅̄̆̒̉́͌̅̀̈́͗̕͜ͅę̶̮͍̫͇̪͙̥̠̬̗͓͂͗͂̋̃͘͝b̷̧̛̝̘̠̲̙̲̱͓̗̩͔̠͈̖͓̝͇̍̈́̐̈́̈͗̂̓̊͋̽͑̓̋̀͜͜͠r̸̨̨̘̺͙͇̟̥̞̘͉̱̟̳͇̼̞̺͔̃̅͠ę̷̹͕͈̪͓̘̗̰̳͖͉͇̌̐̕ͅá̴̡̡̛̛̺͈̻͍̝̦̩̥̠͖̱̔̾͊̐͐͊̉̅̉͊̏̚͘̕͝k̷̳̥̱̘͋̽̈́͑͆̂̌̾͐͘͝ͅḛ̵̰̮̭͍̌̒̀̍͋́͊̄͒̂̔̎̉̄͘ͅŗ̸̢̟̘͕̭͍̰̲̹̱̏̃̒̅ͅͅ.T̵̳̻̠̺͍͚̘͎̒͠ͅh̵̨͚͕̲̠̮͇̻̰̎́̂͝e̵̡̛̛͍̞̣̪̠̙̰̽̌̒̍͑̆̈̊̀͒̈́͛͘ ̸̡̞̖̬̠̤͚̟͆̎͜Ç̴̟̹̮̦̩͙̤̲͔͕̜͔͚͔̱͙̂̀́̈́̑̈̂̾͐̏̐̈́̓͜h̶̢̫͓̻̮̙̹͇̲̼̭͍̥̹̹͇̯͉̘̅́̉͐̈̐ȧ̷̛̦̪̠̗̳͈͙̮͖̓͐̈́̏̆̄̂̎͐͑͠͝ǫ̷̰̗̭̜̗̌͆̿̾͊̋̋͌͛͑̄͝ͅs̶̡̻̲͎̳̱̰̺͍̬̱̜̘̒̋̓̈ ̷̢̨̡͙̮̥̜̥̻̭͖̺̐̓͛͌́̋͜Q̵̢͚͓̭̣̲̦̫̤̂̍͛̚ứ̴̧̗̈́̈́̆͐̂̿͂̉͒͋̃̈́͑̿̐͠͝͠ế̶̡̛̟̩̞̳̯̼̺̔͒͐͐̐͒̽̒̈́̓̅̓͠͠ͅẻ̸̢̡͇̩͓͔͔̜͙͊͜ͅñ̶̡̫̲̺͖̯̎̏̀̆͝ͅ.̸̧̡̛͉̳̦͇̘̝̦̫̀͂̏̀͂̐̊̿̂͌́̚͠ ̴̖͛̽͌̆̔̍͘ẗ̷̙̻͔͔̘̼̝̣̘́̎h̵̛̜́̕e̵̢̢͓͎̝̫̘̬͇͕̞̠̗̮͋̓͑̔̀̆̋͘͘ ̵̧̹̯̣͖̤̯͈͇͖̭̼̝̩̙͉͕̝̞̖̅̉̀̾͂̈́Ģ̴͔̟̫̩̻̯̈̓͑̃͑͋̊ő̶̝̱̝̜̣̤̠̙̯̭̺͛̈̅̚̕d̵̟͈̜̲̻̤͈̓̆̾̂̂̔̊̕s̷̨̩͔̬̲͔̟̟͍͔͔͕̔̔̔́́̃̈̓̕͘̕͝͠l̴̢͕̟͚̗̳̯̪̲͓̭̘̰͔͈̲͚̤̤̀͑̏͝a̸͍͒͐͛ỹ̸̢̢̙͉̳̻͍̼͓̲̲̺͍̝͇̝̊͋̔͒͑̕͘͝ȩ̴̛͔̰̘̲̻̔̈̔̂̃́̒͊͛̃̓͛͋̏̔͘͠ͅͅr̶͔̩̤͙̙͉̦̆́̓̃̍̀̎̽̄͋̔̓̊̉̍̚͠͠͝.̵̢̹̘͚̭̀̾́ ̸̧̢͉̞͈̟̬̰͉͓͙͕͔͍̝̳̖͑́̽͊͊͊̓́̎̑͑̈́͘̕̕̕͜͝ͅI̵̙̗͉̗̰̼͓̿̌̾t̴̢̡͕̤̹̤̗̱̭̠̲͇́̽̏̅̃̓̏̚ ̴̧̩͖̠̳̜͔̝͎͍̜̙̣̘͉̰͈̠̃͘m̶͕͇͆̍̈͝͝a̸̢̡̢͍̤̘̮̯͖̪̮͈͓̯͚͈̳̺̮̖͊̓̃̅͌̃͆̌̒̈́̔̔̓̓͐̇͛̕͝͝ţ̶̡̖̭͉̻̱͈͙͍͓̭̩̦̀̀̇́̒̅͠ṭ̶̨̧̡̥̙͎̫͇̱̮̥̺͙̥͇̩͚̫̳͑̇͐̾̆͌̍̚ē̸̥̫̘͖̼̮͎̗̫̰̤̯͙̘̦̪̱̮̦̝̍͌̓͒r̴͓͖̝̫̪̝͕͕̱̒̊͝s̸̻̟̜͖̘͎͙͓̰̹̜̣̭̐̍͂͗͛̔̉̈́̎̈̀̊̀̓͋͘ ̶̧̨̡̗̩̲̱̥͔̰͍̼̱͜͝ͅñ̶̨̢̛͙̤͇͍̞̠̮͔͇̩͆̀̋̾̑̈́̋̑̂ō̷̹͇̭̻̟͈̬̩͕̮̗̱̯̬̫̏͗͜ͅṭ̵̬͙͙̰͒͐

The Imperial flinched from the static that laced the Lorebreaker’s every move.

“Why are you here? What are you? What do you want?”
The Lorebreaker laughed, the already broken reality around her shattering further.

Ṯ̸̢͕̅̉͛h̵̺̳̃͝e̵͚̘̠͂ ̸̩̈́s̶͇͈͂͒͘a̴̧͊m̷̪̹̳̌͝ë̵͚̲̚ ̴̦̚t̸͎̝̒h̸̻͋i̷͉̲̿̀ñ̶̢͔̝͌̐ğ̸̗̝̦ ̸̜͋t̸̍̂͜h̸͓͑̽͊a̵̹̯̲̋̚t̷͓̊̉ ̵̥͙̆y̴͇̪͑̑o̸̜̞̖͑ṳ̷͍̫̒̾ ̴̢̭̝̎͠d̵̡̟͐͌o̸͔̍̎.̶̞̟̚ ̸̧̌V̶̜̉͌́e̶̮̋͘͜͝n̸̙̔̄̒g̷̲͊è̸̇́ͅå̷̛̮n̸͙̗̟͝c̴̞͎̔͝ȩ̵͍̯͛̊͝ p̸̢̖̈é̵̠͙̕ř̸̫̚ḩ̴̣̪͋a̶̩̾p̴̪͒̿š̴̟̋͛.̷͙̟͂̃̆ O̸̳͝ȑ̵̌ͅ ̵̡̼̤̆̚j̶̧͉̯͝u̸̲̪̐ș̸̪͚̆͒t̵̖̤̃ì̸̯̃͜c̸̙͇̣͛̽͠ę̶̞̉.̸̡͔̿͆̍ ̵͙̍̐C̷͈̮̩̏̌̾á̸̝̘̃l̸͚͆͌͝l̷̢͔̖̂ ̵̺͈̒̎̚ͅi̵͇̻̎ẗ̴̩̳́́͠ ̸̼̜̺̓̑ȁ̴̢̋ṡ̵͚ ̴̖͉̅ẏ̸̨̥ǒ̷͎̥̦͒ú̸̪͔͘ ̶̘̝̈́̅̀ẁ̵̘͝í̴͉̣͋s̴͇̜͌̆͘h̵̫͔̝̕.̵̡̣͓̊̓̇
The Lorebreaker grinned, offering one claw to the Imperial.
Ardatha never hesitated.
Taking the Godslayer’s claw, the First Follower of the Lorebreaker was born.
Though it pains me to destroy a fellow free spirit, the reign of the gods are over.

I do, yes, but it is too late for you Flamecaller. Your reign is over, and the world will
fall to Lorebreaker and the Shade. You can fight against this no longer. It is funny how you only grow concern when your own life is threatened.
I apologize that things had to end this way. I have gone too far to turn away now, even
as it is too late for me.

My heart is too late to save. The others will be free of your influence soon.
Dear father winter, you've met a terrible fate, haven't you? Perhaps not. Perhaps I will. For now, it will be a dream. Has it? Tik tok Icewarden. For you, fallen warden of ice. Call me Master Mirror.
I'm no cheat. I give folk what they want, nothing more. That they oft desire unworthy things- that is entirely the fault of their rotten natures.
How was it your right to kill thousands for your own deigns?

Art:

-By MAY0N4lSE

-By Oitykru

-By me

-By XenonNyte

-By ThornsofaRose