Darkwind struck up some small talk before getting to the point. “Do you know where I can find the Temple of Chaos?”
“Hehe,” the weathered old baron chuckled. “Few people come this far north, and even less find what they’re looking for,” he warned.
“I know what I’m looking for, and I will find it,” Darkwind said confidently.
“If you say so, sonny. You’re looking for the God of Chaos, right? Well, let me tell you something—you don’t get anything good from him,” he snorted.
“Are you gonna tell me or not?” Darkwind said, holding a pair of gold coins to the baron’s face. The old man’s eyes widened and he snatched the coinage from Darkwind’s hand.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. The tundra is dangerous. It’s like a desert of ice, and you can easily become lost. When you leave town, follow the mountain north. Then, you will follow the sun for two days. That is when you will come upon the Temple of Chaos.”
Darkwind then noticed a group of children playing. He took Max out from under the fur lining of his coat, held his deermat friend up to his face, and touched noses with him. “We’ve been through a lot, little guy, but I can’t take you with me now. I’ll come back for you soon.”
He stroked Max’s fur, then called the children over. He presented them Max, who squeaked at the gaggle of children now surrounding him. Darkwind explained that they needed to take care of Max until he returned, and he paid them each one gold coin to do so. Darkwind grabbed Helga and his bag, and exited town. Max ran after his master, but the children held him back. He yelped as Darkwind disappeared behind the gate and into the snowy wilderness.
Once in the mountains, the snow left him with minimal visibility, but Darkwind could hear something moving on the ridge up ahead. He peered throw the snowfall as best as he could, and saw a family of yeti crossing the mountain. The male clung to the cliffs with ease, holding his female partner by the hand, their infant clung to its mother’s back. The male pulled them up to the ridge, where she gained a foothold and pressed her thick white mane close against the rock wall. The male hoisted himself up to rejoin the mother and child, and they continued over the ridge. Darkwind waited until he was sure it was clear. The last thing he wanted to do was encounter a pair of yeti with a child. Not because it would be dangerous, but because he would likely have to kill one or both of the yeti parents. When he was sure they had moved on, he continued. As he descended the last mountain, the wind battered Darkwind, but it wouldn’t deter him from his quest. He finally reached the Gothar tundra.
The vast, white expanse of the tundra spread out before him for miles in every direction. Darkwind noticed the direction of the sun, and headed that way while there was still light. He would camp once darkness fell, as he would instantly become lost to wander the frozen fields of Gothar. It was a risky prospect, but Darkwind was taking a calculated risk. He knew how to travel Half-World, even though he had never been to the Gothar tundra before. Until he learned of the Temple of Chaos, he thought Gothar was only a frozen wasteland fit for mewt herders and yeti hunters.
The elements seemed to grow stronger against him the closer he got to the Temple of Chaos. The trek was arduous, yet Darkwind pressed on. He could feel his destiny looming just over the horizon, knowing that if he could invoke the God of Chaos, he would become invincible.
For several days, Darkwind followed the sun across the tundra. On the last day, he plodded over the ice sheet, and was nearly ready to give up when he spotted something on the horizon. Is that the Temple of Chaos? Darkwind couldn’t believe his luck, and in a burst of excited energy, he ran toward the blurred dot.
Upon getting closer, Darkwind could make out a ziggurat that was frosted over. He approached it, scanning the structure. He drew Helga and moved forward. Steps led up on all four sides to its peak, which was affixed with a lone chamber. Despite stepping carefully up the steps, Darkwind could feel his feet slipping on this unnatural ice. He stabbed Helga into the ice to catch himself, then used his sword as a hiking stick to climb the remaining steps.
Once at the top, he was met by a door emblazoned with a crude image representing Chaos. Darkwind put his hand up to the door and it creaked open. The inside was already lit by several lanterns. Darkwind entered and the door shut behind him. He looked around and crept forward. At one end of the room, an altar with a jade statue of Chaos glowed under soft candlelight.
“What the shit is this?” Darkwind exclaimed. “Where are you, Chaos?!”
All he could hear was the wind whipping past the temple. Angry, Darkwind began swinging Helga wildly, cursing the God of Chaos as he hacked at the altar, destroying pieces of the shrine and even slashing the Chaos statue. “Damn you!”
Suddenly, the temple walls began to shake. The wind blew the doors open, extinguishing the torches. Purple flames appeared in the darkness, and an evil voice boomed. “I am Chaos. You wish to become a god yourself. This is why you seek me.”
The voice rattled Darkwind to his core, but he stood his ground. “I am Darkwind. I’ve come to free you and learn your powers to become a god among the rest of them.”
“That’s good,” Chaos mused. “You are ready then.”
A mist seeped into the room and swirled between the purple flames before materializing into the physical form of Chaos—lithe and contorted, almost as if it was in constant pain; its flesh black and speckled with blood; its deep-set, black eyes sat nearly on the sides of its head; and a maw filled with sharp teeth, the twisted corners of its mouth upturned into a freakish grin that stared Darkwind directly in the soul.
Chaos stretched out both his arms, as if to embrace Darkwind. His skeletal fingers grabbed Darkwind. The demon’s grip was strong and Darkwind couldn’t break free. He squirmed as Chaos moved closer to him. “You have mastered many forms of chaos, but there is one you do not yet know. We will see if you are worthy of the powers of Chaos!”
“What must I do, Lord Chaos?” Darkwind begged.
“You must die!”
Suddenly, Darkwind felt an excruciating pain that shot through his entire body. Chaos was feeding him the pain of all the players he had ever killed in-game! Darkwind writhed on the ground as he experienced death a thousand times over. Finally, his spirit gave out, and for the first time in Half-World, Darkwind of Mevalon was dead.
Chaos waited for a few moments before Darkwind’s body moved. His body had a purple aura now, and his eyes were black as the demon form of Chaos.
Darkwind knelt before Chaos, praising him. “Lord Chaos, thank you for letting me serve you. What is your bidding, master?”
“You will make an excellent servant of Chaos. You shall be my Harbinger, Darkwind. Now, I have a quest for you. I need my body to leave this place. Long ago, they dismembered my body and placed the pieces in secret places around Half-World. My spirit resides in this temple, but I need you to retrieve my body, so that I can be whole once again. You will be greatly rewarded,” Chaos explained.
The purple flames went out. After a moment of darkness, the torches magically reignited, and as quickly as he had appeared, Chaos was gone.
Darkwind sheathed Helga on his back and exited the temple. He was able to easily walk down the icy steps, and the extreme cold didn’t seem to bother him anymore. Darkwind felt as though he had somehow evolved, that he was on his way to godlike status. With his mission firmly in mind, Darkwind made his way back across the tundra, through the mountains, and finally to Gothar, where he retrieved Max.
The deermat was ecstatic to see Darkwind, but he sensed that his master was a bit different. From Gothar, Darkwind left for the southern continents, where he could gather information on the final resting places of Chaos’ dismembered body parts. Max leaped up onto Darkwind’s shoulder and the pair headed in the direction of home.
Exalted Realms Online- Harbinger of Chaos Page 20