Editing Myth II: Soulblighter (section)

==Plot==
{{See also|Myth: The Fallen Lords#Story}}
It is sixty years since the Great War, when Connacht, the hero who saved the world from the Myrkridia one thousand years previously, returned in the guise of Balor, and with his lieutenants, the Fallen Lords, attempted to destroy humanity. Alric, the only surviving [[Magician (fantasy)|Avatara]], is now king of The Province, ruling from Madrigal.<ref>{{cite book | title=Myth II: Soulblighter Instruction Manual | url=http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | chapter=Glossary | page=70 | accessdate=March 14, 2016 | quote=Alric: An Avatara of years past, Alric is the only surviving member of the Nine [[Magician (fantasy)|sorcerers]] who opposed the Fallen Lords during the Great War. Alric reclaimed his throne after defeating Balor. He has spent the last sixty years rebuilding The Province. | archive-date=March 13, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313073326/http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | url-status=live }}</ref> It is an age of peace and prosperity,<ref>{{cite book | title=Myth II: Soulblighter Instruction Manual | url=http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | chapter=The Story So Far | page=15 | accessdate=March 14, 2016 | quote=Sixty years have passed since the end of the Great War against the Fallen. Alric sits on the throne in the rebuilt city of Madrigal. Warriors have returned to their villages, and allies like the fir'Bolg to their homelands. Peace reigns and the land prospers. | archive-date=March 13, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313073326/http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | url-status=live }}</ref> with the Dark existing only in stories, although the fate of Soulblighter, Balor's chief lieutenant, remains unknown.<ref>{{cite book | title=Myth II: Soulblighter Instruction Manual | url=http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | chapter=Prologue | page=9 | accessdate=March 14, 2016 | quote=Some of the people in the village were veterans of the Great War, and the rest spoke of it so often one might be forgiven for thinking it had ended sixty days ago rather than sixty years. In light of Andir's developing skepticism, many of the tales told about the war seemed suspect. Hordes of reanimated dead defeated by small, ragged groups of mercenaries and volunteers? A severed head that spoke, lies slipping through its lips to an audience that would soon be dead? Alric, then simply a wizard of immense power and not a King, plotting and fighting against the walking dead without so much as a scratch on his chin from Balor's rotting armies? Balor himself, with a legion of creatures bound to him through [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] and intimidation, unable to stop Alric from lopping off his head? And Soulblighter - the towering, mad thing who cut off his own face and tore out his own heart as part of a ritual too dark to speak of? None of it seemed especially believable, although the adults still spoke of Soulblighter in hushed tones; according to the stories, no one had ever discovered what became of him. | archive-date=March 13, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313073326/http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | url-status=live }}</ref> The game opens with Alric experiencing a nightmare remembering the carnage of the War. He awakens to find a crow with red eyes at his window, watching him.

The game then cuts to a cluster of villages near Forest Heart. As with the first game, the story is told through the [[Diary|journal]] entries of a soldier in The Legion,<ref>{{cite book | title=Myth II: Soulblighter Instruction Manual | url=http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | chapter=Glossary | page=73 | accessdate=March 14, 2016 | quote=The Legion: An army of the Light, The Legion took part in many of the pivotal battles in the closing years of the Great War. Travelling across the continent, they broke through the Fallen lines, and fought their way to Rhi'anon, where they sacrificed themselves in an assault on Balor's fortress in order to give Alric time to defeat Balor. | archive-date=March 13, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313073326/http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-soulblighter-manual | url-status=live }}</ref> which is now led by Crüniac, who the soldiers think is more interested in politics than military matters, and spends its time on what the men perceive as trivial errands. Their latest assignment has them investigate reports of grave robbing,<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Willow Creek | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, August 25, Near Willow Creek. It was only yesterday that we entered the town of Tallow seeking rest after a month spent patrolling the southern regions of the Wild River. But our respite was cut short when the mayor beseeched us to investigate reports of grave robbing around the villages just north of Forest Heart. Crüniac, who seems to be more interested in political maneuvers than military ones, agreed to look into the matter. I am sure it will prove to be yet another unfounded rumor, no doubt caused by wild dogs searching for their evening meal in the newly turned earth of a graveyard. Alas, that is the life of a soldier these days, chasing hoodlums and thieves, and making sure the [[nobility]] get their due.}}</ref> however, they are shocked to find the village of Willow Creek besieged by [[undead]] Ghasts.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Salvation | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, August 26, between Tallow and Willow Creek. I can hardly believe what I have just witnessed. As we approached the village of Willow Creek, we saw what appeared to be a band of ruffians terrorizing the [[peasant]]ry. If only it had been so. We rushed to the fray and were able to save a handful of people from the wretched claws of the walking dead.}}</ref> They clear the village, and learn the grave robbing leads to the [[keep]] of [[Baron]] Kildaer.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Into the Breach | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, September 2, Near Brayle. When we reached Tallow, Rurik told the mayor he had overheard the brigands speaking of taking corpses to a castle near the town of Brayle. Indeed, the locals we encountered on the way said they had seen many wagons filled with bodies being hauled into the [[Keep]]. The master of this castle is [[Baron]] Kildaer.}}</ref> They head to the keep and see hundreds of Thrall moving towards Tallow. Crüniac sends a [[Runner (soldier)|runner]] to warn the villagers, while The Legion attack the keep.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Into the Breach | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, September 2, Near Brayle. This evening at our camp just outside the Keep, I was awakened by a low rumbling. We watched in helpless silence as a massive army of Thrall, ten abreast and a hundred deep, marched out of the main gate heading south. Crüniac fears their destination is Tallow and has sent a [[Runner (soldier)|runner]] to warn the town.}}</ref> Crüniac proves a more skilled [[Military tactics|military tactician]] than his men believed, masterminding an attack which results in Kildaer's death.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Into the Breach | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, September 2, The Keep. Crüniac is more competent in military matters than I had given him credit for. Enlisting the help of Jari, a [[Dwarf (mythology)|dwarven]] [[Pathfinder (military)|pathfinder]], to infiltrate the Keep and lower the drawbridge was inspired.}}</ref> Soon thereafter, the runner returns with news that every village in the vicinity has been destroyed, and an undead army is amassing nearby. Crüniac sets fire to the Keep, and The Legion flee into the Clouspine Mountains.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Gonen's Bridge | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, September 15, Gonen's Bridge. The runner sent to warn Tallow had returned, only to tell us that Tallow, along with every other village and town along the northern border of Forest Heart, had been ravaged by the undead. Even worse, the enemy is amassing a huge army less than a day's march from here. Crüniac believes they are coming to recapture the Keep ... Crüniac and some other men stayed behind to put the Keep to the torch, thus preventing it from falling back into the hands of the enemy. As we began our ascent into the foothills of the Cloudspine, I turned back and saw the blaze well under way.}}</ref>

Their [[rearguard]] is attacked, and Crüniac mortally wounded. With his dying words, he reveals the undead are led by Soulblighter. The rest of The Legion make it to a World Knot and teleport to Madrigal,<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Beyond The Cloudspine | quote='''Narrator''': Wednesday, September 17, Plain of Scales. Crüniac is dead. Our sergeant, Garrick, says he saw the commander and half of the [[color guard]] running like hell back through the lines ordering a general retreat. When Garrick caught up with him, Crüniac collapsed; he had been holding his guts in with his shield. Crüniac's last words were of the bravery of the color guard, who had given their lives trying to save him even as Soulblighter had delivered the killing blow. Soulblighter ... I have not heard that name since the days of my youth, when my grandfather would tell me stories of the Great War. According to [[legend]], Soulblighter was killed in the last battle of that war, when Balor's severed head was thrown into the Great Devoid and the armies of the dead collapsed. But after the horrors I have witnessed so far, no tale is too terrible to be believed. And if Soulblighter is alive and the minions of the Dark have risen to do his bidding, the events of the last few weeks begin to make sense.}}</ref> where they inform Alric of Soulblighter's return. Alric fears he is trying to find "The Summoner", who, it is foretold, will resurrect the Myrkridia.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Great Library | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, September 23, Madrigal. Alric is convinced that Soulblighter is searching for a man known as The Summoner. He says that the birth of a man "who would resurrect the Myrkridia and visit horrors on the world without equal in history or myth" had been foretold in an ancient tome called the ''Total Codex''. All that we know of the Myrkridia comes from old songs and half-forgotten legends. They are full of horrifying tales of whole armies being devoured and entire cities being erased from the world. They were eventually defeated by the hero Connacht, who imprisoned them in a powerful artifact called the Tain.}}</ref> News soon arrives that Soulblighter has sacked several cities as he moves towards Madrigal, and that Shiver, a Fallen Lord killed during the Great War, has been resurrected.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Gate of Storms | quote='''Narrator''': Friday, October 10, Madrigal. Soulblighter cannot be stopped. His armies foul the land south of us for half a thousand miles, and his search for The Summoner has left none alive within his reach. The cities of Scales, Covenant and Tyr have all fallen to him in the last three weeks. It seems that too many years of peace have softened the once legendary armies of the west. Rabican, Murgen and Maeldun have been dead sixty years, and today only Alric remains of the great leaders who defeated the Fallen Lords. Survivors reached us from the garrison at Tyr today, confirming the city's destruction. One among them told us of being captured and dragged before a woman so disfigured by injury and age that he turned from her, repulsed. In a rage, she gouged out his eyes and shrieked "Tell Alric his nightmare has just begun!" and released him to stumble out of the conquered city.}}</ref> Alric is soon forced to abandon Madrigal, fighting his way through a Myrkridian assault led by Shiver.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Landing At White Falls | quote='''Narrator''': Sunday, November 16, Near White Falls. Our deepest fears have been realized. Soulblighter has found The Summoner and through him has unleashed the Myrkridia on the world. They are nightmare made flesh. Even men hardened by combat cowered in miserable terror at first sight of them. We suffered appalling losses getting his majesty safely onboard the ''Vigilance''. Not a single man from the outer guard made it to the ship. By the time we were safely away, the dock was so thick with Soulless you could hardly discern where one ended and the next began. We fell silent as their ranks parted to make room for a grotesque crone who hurled obscenities more vicious than any poisoned barb.}}</ref>

The Legion head to Tandem, where Alric plans to hold the fortress at White Falls, on the river Meander, thus preventing Shiver from moving north.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Landing At White Falls | quote='''Narrator''': Sunday, November 16, Near White Falls. We made haste toward Tandem, our rallying point. Tandem is the cornerstone of the free cities of the north, and the key to Tandem is White Falls. So we will sail up the Meander and secure the fortress there. We cannot allow Shiver to cross the Meander. Doing so would mean the destruction of Tandem, and no one will remain to stand against the Dark.}}</ref> Meanwhile, he decides to find The Deceiver, a Fallen Lord who was openly antagonistic towards the others during the Great War. He was thought killed, but his actual fate remains unknown.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Through The Ermine | quote='''Narrator''': Sunday, November 30, The Ermine. The King has decided to fight fire with fire. He seeks Myrdred, an Avatara of the Wolf Age whom Balor renamed "The Deceiver" after bending him to his will. Although The Deceiver fought alongside Balor during the last war, he held no great love for the rest of the Fallen, nearly being killed by The Watcher in a legendary battle at Seven Gates. King Alric believes The Deceiver still lives and is counting on this old rivalry to lure him into joining our efforts to destroy Soulblighter and the Myrkridia.}}</ref> Alric sends a small detachment to The Deceiver's last known location, and they learn he was trapped in the Dramas River when it froze solid around him, forcing him to use what little [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] he had left to keep himself alive, unable to break free.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Stair Of Grief | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, December 22, Thyrmir's Gorge, The Stair of Grief. Today the Dramus River is frozen solid, but back then it was a muddy torrent of melted snow and ice brought on by the eruption of Tharsis. The Deceiver was plunged into the river and swept far downstream, his [[sceptre]] sinking to the bottom. I asked Twelve Motion why King Alric believes The Deceiver will throw in with our lot. He explained how The Deceiver has been frozen in a half-death beneath the river, clinging to life through sorcery alone, with no power left to free himself. The King believes that if we were to revive him and return the sceptre, the focus of his power, he would no doubt join our cause.}}</ref> The detachment locate and release him, and he advises them to head north to enlist the aid of the Trow, allies of his in ancient times. The Legion do so, and the Trow agree to join the fight against Soulblighter.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=With Friends Like These | quote='''Narrator''': Sunday, February 1, The Twelve Duns, south of Rhi'ornin. The Deceiver is deranged, of this I am absolutely convinced. He has brought us here, to The Twelve Duns, closer to the Trow [[demesne]] than any sane man has dared in two generations. We are a mere four hours march from the lost city of Rhi'ornin. The Deceiver claims to be held in high regard by the Trow as a being of "[[Artistic inspiration|furor poeticus]]". He has told us of their battles against the Myrkridia and believes he can win the Trow to our cause. Apparently the Trow are not convinced that our race is worth fighting for, but they have agreed to do battle with Soulblighter for one year.}}</ref>

The detachment, The Deceiver and the Trow head south and meet with the rest of The Legion, learning Tandem has fallen. However, Alric has ordered The Legion to recapture Muirthemne, formerly Llancarfan, capital of the Cath Bruig Empire.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Walls of Muirthemne | quote='''Narrator''': Thursday, February 26, Outer Walls of Muirthemne. Today, after more than two months of separation, we have finally rejoined the rest of The Legion. I will not even hazard to guess the thoughts of those who first sighted the mighty Trow accompanying our force. After we settled in, Garrick told us of events in the west ... we were pushed across the Meander and now Tandem's fall is inevitable. So the King has decided on a new course of action. The Legion must capture Muirthemne.}}</ref> His plan is to find the Ibis Crown in the city's haunted [[catacombs]], and reclaim the title of Emperor, rallying humanity behind him.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Ibis Crown | quote='''Narrator''': Friday, February 27, Muirthemne. "Once we have recovered the Ibis Crown", [Alric] declared: "Llancarfan will once more be the seat of the Cath Bruig Empire with myself as Emperor. The people will draw strength from me and we will go forth and strike down our enemies. Once they have been defeated we will rebuild the Empire to its former glory". Legend states that whoever wears the Ibis Crown has at his disposal truly staggering power. Such was the artifact's power that Ceiscoran, at fantastic expense, commissioned eleven ordinary copies of the thing to be made in order to make theft of the true crown more difficult. When Muirthemne fell to the Fallen Lords, the crown was nowhere to be found. King Alric believes it was secreted away in the [[catacombs]] below the Mausoleum of the Cath Bruig. Knowing that entering the haunted crypt is tantamount to a death sentence, the King has called for volunteers.}}</ref> A small group of volunteers enter the crypts of the city and find the Crown, with Alric declared the new Emperor, and the journeymen resuming their position as the Emperor's [[Royal Guard]]; the Heron Guard.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Redemption | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, March 2, Muirthemne. After the Ibis Crown was recovered from the ancient tomb below Muirthemne, a ceremony was held to crown Alric as the new Emperor of the Cath Bruig Empire. The journeymen, after a hundred years of self-imposed [[penance]] for being absent during the fall of the city, threw down the gold tiles that hung around their necks and swore fealty to the new Emperor. The journeymen were no more; the Heron Guard were reborn.}}</ref>

Meanwhile, The Deceiver and a detachment travel to Forest Heart to locate a fragment of the Tain, in which Alric believes The Summoner to be hiding.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Relic | quote='''Narrator''': Sunday, April 19, Forest Heart. During the Great War, Soulblighter trapped The Legion inside an artifact called the Tain. After two days of searching, the avatara Murgen discovered a secret exit. At the cost of his own life, he was able to free The Legion by shattering the Tain from within. When Soulblighter fled after the Tain was destroyed, he must have taken some part of it with him, knowing that even a tiny fraction of the artifact would be useful in the future ... King Alric has sent us with The Deceiver to find a piece of the shattered Tain. Once found, The Deceiver will lead us through its broken passages to find The Summoner and cut off Soulblighter's access to the Myrkridia.}}</ref> They successfully find the fragment, enter the Tain, and kill The Summoner, cutting off Soulblighter from the Myrkridia.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Summoner | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, April 20, Inside the Tain. The Tain was supposed to be the final resting place of the Myrkridia, but The Summoner has been inside the shattered artifact for five months now, slowly resurrecting their entire race ... The Deceiver has brought us here to kill The Summoner. The ruin he will bring about if allowed to remain alive is unconscionable. This alone dictates that he must die.}}</ref> Acting on his own authority, The Deceiver then attacks Soulblighter's camp, but he and his men are captured.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=A Murder Of Crows | quote='''Narrator''': Tuesday, April 21, Soulblighter's camp, West of the Cloudspine. Deranged, arrogant, self-serving; none of these words can fully describe The Deceiver. No wonder his army has always been made up of bewitched men and the walking dead - no thinking being would willingly follow him. The Deceiver dropped us in the middle of Soulblighter's camp, hoping to attack him by surprise. King Alric said nothing of a sneak attack before we left Muirthemne - it is obvious The Deceiver was acting on his own. We were captured instantly and thrown into rude cells with other prisoners from some unsung battle in the west.}}</ref> Phelot, a [[Shade (mythology)|shade]] in charge of the prison, is in the service of The Deceiver, and frees them. The Deceiver attacks Soulblighter, who turns into a murder of crows to escape. He succeeds, but The Deceiver kills one of the crows, preventing him from fleeing in this manner again. The detachment then meet a [[Reconnaissance|scouting party]] near Silvermines; Alric and The Legion are moving to attack Soulblighter, but have been pinned down by Shiver, whom The Deceiver immediately heads to confront.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Wall | quote='''Narrator''': Thursday, April 23, Lesotho Dam. This morning we met up with a [[Reconnaissance|scouting party]] from The Legion about half a day's march south of Silvermines. The Deceiver boasted of his victory over Soulblighter, clutching a mangled crow and claiming to have captured "a part of the murder", crippling his former ally. The scouts told us that Alric and nearly three thousand men from The Legion have come from Muirthemne to face Soulblighter. Unfortunately, they were met by Shiver and her army in the valley about two hours downstream from the [[dam]].}}</ref><ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Shiver | quote='''Narrator''': Saturday, April 25, South of Silvermines. The Deceiver has been screaming for Shiver's blood all day. Alric has chosen five men of unwavering courage to accompany The Deceiver into the labyrinth of ravines where she hides. There they will hunt her down and destroy her.}}</ref> He hunts her down, and Phelot destroys her army. The Deceiver then kills her, but her death triggers a magical energy backlash that also kills him.

With Shiver dead, Soulblighter is forced back against the Cloudspine.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Twice Born | quote='''Narrator''': Saturday, April 25, the Foot of Tharsis. The whole of The Legion has been steeling itself for this; the final confrontation with Soulblighter. He is cornered and desperate, making the fight that much more terrible. We engaged his main force two days ago and have been pushing it back toward the Cloudspine ever since. Our casualties number nearly half of our force, but it is certain that we have inflicted far greater damage than we received. We have Soulblighter's army caught between the Cloudspine, the Ire River, and Tharsis - the legendary forge of the Trow.}}</ref> His army is defeated, but he flees into the [[volcano]] Tharsis, where he plans to shatter the Cloudspine itself, causing widespread devastation. Alric and The Legion pursue him,<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=The Forge | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, April 27, Tharsis. Soulblighter has done the unthinkable. With his army scattered in disarray, he fled up through the Eye of Tharsis and into the very bowels of the earth ... If it were anyone other than Soulblighter, I am sure we would just wait outside the volcano until they had been roasted alive or had succumbed to the poisonous vapors. Unfortunately, he has survived worse, and we must follow him. None of us are foolish enough to believe that Soulblighter fled because he fears us. If he plans on dying it will not be quietly or alone. Alric believes he has deliberately chosen this place for his final stand. Whether or not he will be able to escape the cataclysm he plans to unleash by destroying Tharsis and shattering the Cloudspine must not matter to him anymore. Soulblighter, like Balor before him, seeks not to conquer but to destroy; to be master of the unthinking dead and their blasted lands. So Alric is gathering all who are fit to enter Tharsis.}}</ref> and Alric breaks the rock on which he stands, plunging him to his death in the molten [[lava]]. With Soulblighter's death, the narrator learns of "The Leveler", an [[Immortality|immortal]] evil spirit. The forces of Light and Dark rule the world successively in thousand-year cycles, with each Age of Light climaxing with the arrival of The Leveler, who ushers in an Age of Darkness. The Leveler inhabits the body of the hero who defeated him in the previous cycle — thus the hero who saves civilization is destined to destroy it - as a result Connacht returned as Balor. Soulblighter was not The Leveler; he tried to force the cycle, and as a result may have broken it. Whether this is the case will not be known for over nine hundred years, when it comes Alric's time to assume the mantle of The Leveler.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Soulblighter | developer=[[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1998 | scene=Rebirth | quote='''Narrator''': Monday, May 4, Seven Gates. The forces of Light and Dark hold dominion over the world successively, the land belonging in turn to men, or to monsters. Each cycle would be presaged by the appearance of a great [[comet]], foretelling the rise of saviour or destroyer. Each golden age would give way to one of darkness, when foul things would stir beneath the earth, and evil spirits would plague the land. In turn, each dark age would fall to one of light; the evil would pass from the land just as the comet from the sky ... Although the hero of every age of light is different, every dark age is ushered in by the same beast — a transient [[divinity]] that seeks only conflict. The Leveler. And so Tireces returned as Moagim to end the Age of Reason, and Connacht, the great hero of the Wind Age, returned as Balor to lay waste to the greatest empire the world had ever known. The Leveler was never killed. He was immobilized by sorcery, beheaded and burned at the stake in the Second Era. A thousand years later he was drawn and quartered on the plains before Ileum, the tireless horses dragging the pieces of his lifeless body to the four corners of the world. Again in the Fourth Era his body was destroyed by fire, his ashes mixed with salt and buried under the Mountains of Kor. Balor, Moagim and all those before them wore the Mantle of The Leveler. But Soulblighter was not The Leveler. He may have been if he had survived into the next millennium, but, in his attempt to force the cycle, he perished and almost certainly will suffer at the hands of those who set it in motion. It is even conceivable that because of his actions the cycle has been broken, but we cannot be sure. At least not for another nine hundred and forty years.}}</ref>

===''Myth II: Chimera''===
When Alric restored the Cath Bruig Empire and reformed the Heron Guard, Four Bear Silent Oak chose to remain a journeyman, electing to lead a life of scholarship. Now, ten years later, he is plagued by visions of a mysterious woman, and a foreboding sense of evil. Convinced he must act, he seeks out his old ally, the legendary warrior Fenris, who has isolated himself in the fir'Bolg forest of Ruewood.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Healer | quote='''Four Bear Silent Oak''': I see too clearly the gardens hung with bones, the silent march of skeletal armies and behind them all, a woman wielding a token of great power. You may believe that I have been scarred by too many battles and that I hear their echoes even in my dreams, but I know these visions are real and not the shadows of memory. I must act. The irony of the situation does not escape me. One lone scholar leaving a camp of warriors behind to fight alone. Perhaps it is for the best. A scholar may use weapons that a warrior may not. Fear not for my safety, old friend, for if I oppose an illusion I will be safe. I intend to seek out Fenris, a warrior of unequaled valor but heavy conscience, to ask him to aid me.}}</ref> Fenris agrees to join Four Bear, and they decide to elicit the aid of ne'Ric, a celebrated fir'Bolg. However, they soon learn the Banded Wasps of Ruewood, a normally peaceful race of giant wasps, have suddenly become aggressive.

Fending off an attack by the Banded Wasps, and accompanied by fir'Bolg, a band of human warriors, and several dwarves, they head to the tomb of their former ally, Kyrand the Mage, where Fenris plans to take possession of Kyrand's amulet.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Mage | quote=The Militia of Swan's Crossing Minutes: James read a letter he received from General Fenris yesterday. He requested a small contingent be sent to escort him to the tomb of Kyrand the Mage. Martin once again told the story of Kyrand's final tragic battle. Barrett proposed that the militia accept the mission but also send a letter to the dwarven irregulars of Brighton and ask them to meet us on the way, seconded by Lee. The motion passed.}}</ref> There, they encounter the woman from Four Bear's visions; a sorceress named Kyrilla, who also plans to retrieve the amulet. She orders an army of Thrall to prevent Four Bear, Fenris and their men entering, but they defeat the army. Kyrilla disappears, and they enter the tomb, retrieve the amulet, and resume their search for ne'Ric, who is fighting the Banded Wasps elsewhere in Ruewood.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Archer | quote=So ne'Ric strode forth and when he beheld the evils the Banded Wasps had done upon the land he became wonderously wroth. Then ne'Ric did throw his quiver to the ground and his fellows did likewise. With this arrow, he said, ends the treason of the Hive Mother. Then the swarm brake out from the trees before, and the Queen with the Hundred Banded Stings from behind, and set on ne'Ric fiercely. With that ne'Ric turned with his archers, and smote behind and before, and ever ne'Ric was in the foremost press till his final arrow was spent. Then ne'Ric did command his fellows to the front, and they slew many Wasps, and put the remnant to flight. And ye'Boah came unto ne'Ric, and counseled him to follow them no further. But ne'Ric pursued them and drove them from Ruewood.}}</ref> As they search, they again encounter Kyrilla, who reveals it is she who is behind the Banded Wasps' attack. They eventually find ne'Ric, and force the Wasps to retreat.

Fenris then receives a letter from Baron Geoffrey Volsung begging him for help, as he believes Kyrilla has put in motion a plot to assassinate him.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Messenger | quote='''Baron Geoffrey Volsung''': I believe that there is a plot to assassinate me, incited by that devil Kyrilla. I fear that some of my chief advisors are involved, and I do not know who to trust. Since you have not been at court for years, I can trust you to help me repel this latest attack.}}</ref> Fenris, Four Bear, ne'Ric and their men head to meet Volsung on the [[beachhead]] at Cavanaugh. Upon arriving, Volsung accuses them of betraying him. Fenris is able to convince him he is incorrect, narrowly avoiding a clash between Volsung's army and their own men. They then help his men repel an attack from an army of undead. Kyrilla appears, revealing she had hoped Volsung and Fenris would kill one another. Awaiting an attack in her castle, she summons the power of her "Lord", begging him to give her the strength to avenge her father's death.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Chimera | quote='''Kyrilla''': Lord of night, I summon you! Creature of the sixth abyss, I summon and invoke you! By the blood of my father, by the flames of the pit, I call you to me! I need your help, lord. My father's killers are attacking. They have joined forces with the Baron I sought to use against them. They will soon storm this very stronghold you helped me build. They are coming closer. Fenris and that foolish priest, all the jackals that gnawed my father's bones. I will have them dead! Great one, I need power! These illusions will ensnare the unwary, but Fenris will not be fooled for long. Give me power to take my vengeance!}}</ref>

The heroes and their army attack the castle, defeating Kyrilla's undead legions. She  confronts them, revealing herself to be Kyrand's daughter. Four Bear gives her Kyrand's amulet, in which are stored his memories, and she realizes her "Lord", the demon Cartuke, was actually the one who killed Kyrand, who sacrificed his own life to wound Cartuke and save the lives of Fenris, Four Bear and ne'Ric.<ref>{{cite game | title=Myth II: Chimera | developer=Badlands | publisher=[[Bungie]] | year=1999 | scene=The Fiend | quote='''Kyrand''': No! How could ne'Ric miss? We won't have a second shot at this! What do we do now? I can't even try to renew the spell because ... oh damn, Cartucke is breaking free already. Perhaps I can contain him, buy us some time ... He is too strong, he will break free and ravage the world, I cannot allow it! I cannot ... I must wound him, weaken him, find some way to hurt him so he will be unable to reach the outside world. Yes, there is a way, and I am willing to sacrifice myself for this cause. The pain, it is more than I expected ... Kyrilla, beloved daughter, I do this for you, so that you might grow in a world free of darkness ... One final step, I am beyond returning now. Cartucke, you demon, someone else will have to destroy you, but I give you this final gift! The pain is fading, as am I. I wonder if I was successful, I must have been, Cartucke has retreated and Four Bear Silent Oak is leaning over me ... asking me ... I am fading ... No, heal the warrior, heal Fenris. I am past saving ... even by your arts, old one. I will not rob my truest friend of your healing gifts. I am comfortable, it seems to matter little now that I could not kill the Fiend ... nothing seems to matter, save that I will never see Kyrilla come into her own power ... perhaps she will finish the task I could not?}}</ref> Cartuke had been manipulating Kyrilla in an effort to regain his power, but now she sees the truth, and joins the others. They head to his lair, finding him inside an energy sphere. Killing all of their men, he leaves only Fenris, Four Bear, ne'Ric and Kyrilla. In an effort to distract him, Fenris and Kyrilla attack, and as he turns them to stone, ne'Ric fires a magical arrow which kills him. Four Bear laments that once again, he has failed to save the lives of his friends, but he and ne'Ric take some consolation in the knowledge that Cartuke has finally been defeated.