Astralon Champion Lore
When the Second Great War between the forces of the Arbiter and Siroth raged through Teleria, it steadily became apparent that while the Lightbringers were warriors almost without equal, they rarely made for great strategists. An inability to properly appreciate the vulnerabilities of the mortal warriors under their command, coupled with a certain lack of imagination, ensured that a number of the campaigns waged by Lightbringer-led forces became mired in setbacks. Astralon was believed by some to be the answer to this problem. The being who became known as the Crimson Angel elected, by his own volition, not to serve in a senior position, but as a humble soldier in the armies of Teleria. In doing so, he experienced the wars between the forces of Light and Shadow first-hand, down amid the dirt, fighting in the heart of the melee, and seeing the hardship and privation of each campaign play out, from low supplies or inclement weather to the sufferings of the wounded after battle. In this way, Astralon built an empathy with the regular soldiers around him that he would not forget when he finally accepted command of a host of his own.
Appreciating the importance of supplies, aid for the wounded, and the morale of the lower troops, he built the host he was given command of and honed it into an efficient fighting force before leading it to a string of victories, in which he all-but secured eastern Anhelt against Siroth’s ravaging hordes. It seemed as though the armies of Teleria had found their general, and the Crimson Angel soon became wildly popular among the rank-and-file he had once served alongside.
Astralon may indeed have won the war for the Arbiter by himself, had he not so swiftly met his match on the battlefield. It was at the Battle of the Seven Passes where he first encountered the Demonspawn known as Countess Lix, mistress of plagues and a wickedly effective commander in her own right. A spree of brutal battles between them followed — Holdmire; Red Mount; lqane. At Melchien Fields, Astralon permitted his center to cave before the Demonspawn assault, allowing his wings to outflank the enemy and almost envelop Lix’s forces, but the countess escaped. His victory was undone at Castle Strevax, where his Sacred Order forces, coming to drive away Lix’s host besieging the castle’s garrison were unable to break through the layered Demonspawn defense in time to save the castle’s defenders, despite Astralon leading from the front.
On and on the pair fought, the advantage swinging one way and then the other, neither able to strike a killing blow. It could not continue forever. Finally, the decisive clash both had sought played out, between two great rocks known as the Twin Spires, on the southern edges of Durham Forest.
Hoping that this would be the final confrontation, both Astralon and Lix threw themselves into combat. They met in a titanic clash of blades, claws, and energies so potent it cast the surrounding combatants into the dirt. After what felt like an age, Lix fled, beating her tainted, metallic pinions and leaping skyward. Quick as a flash of crimson lightning, Astralon pursued, refusing to let his nemesis escape.
The battle between the two Firstborn played out in the sky, actinic ruby and emerald lightning ripping apart the skies and cowing even the fury of the combatants below. For a day and a night the two leaders were absent from the field. Finally, Astralon returned to the bloodied survivors of his host. He would not speak of his duel, nor who had won, saying only that Lix, too, had survived.
There was consternation among the forces of the Order as it seemed Astralon had truly met his match. Certainly, he never seemed to command the armies of Light with quite as much surety as before, his decisiveness lacking the edge it once had. It was as though he had left a vital part of himself up there in the skies, or perhaps with the now-departed, dreaded countess. Some even claimed that Lix had ensnared Astralon with a curse.
Eventually, and to the shock of many, Astralon relinquished his command. He declared himself unfit to oversee them, and swore to the Arbiter that he would engage upon a personal quest to find Countess Lix. He did not specify quite what he would do if he found her, though many naturally assumed he intended to destroy his arch-rival once and for all. Those with a more subtle disposition suspected something else, sensing how the final clash with his former enemy had changed him.
Astralon Storyline
It is known far and wide that Lumaya had created her faithful herald – the Arbiter – to serve as the protector of Teleria when she herself could not interfere in mortal affairs. Lesser known are the Champions of the young races, uplifted to immortality for their deeds, or angelic spirits brought into being to help the Arbiter fulfill her mission. Astralon is one such creature. He was the winged bearer of Lumaya’s word and the bringer of righteous wrath, whose name inspired terror in the hearts of the unholy. As the Arbiter’s emissary, Astralon sought out heroes worthy of joining her cause in eons past.
As her Strategos, he led mighty warhosts to do battle with the vile Demonspawn of Siroth in defense of younger races. Triumphant at every turn, he knew neither fear nor doubt, and duty was all that gave him joy; yet even an angel is powerless when his heart rebels against the mind. At the height of the Great Wars – a time of realm-shattering conflict between the forces of Darkness and Light millennia ago – Astralon’s army clashed with the legions of Countess Lix, the Mistress of Plagues.
For months the hosts were engaged in an intricate dance of maneuver and ruse, and neither general gained an advantage over the other. Brutal skirmishes erupted across the bloodied plains, and the Demon Countess taunted Astralon in missive her imps delivered almost daily. Frustrated and impressed in equal measure, Astralon committed his warriors to the pursuit and cut deep into enemy territory. Many a trap he had evaded through cunning of his own, many battles he fought against overwhelming odds only to triumph once more.
Lix too grew to respect her foe begrudgingly and brought her strongest minions against him. It was all in vain. Driven as they were by their Strategos’ will, the warriors of Light proved stronger than whatever evil schemes she conjured. In the end, Astralon cornered the legions under Lix’s command near the southern coast of Krokhan, and a decisive battle began. Both sides fought with vicious abandon, turning the tide of war several times before Astralon himself spearheaded the final attack that was meant to put an end to the Mistress of Plagues once and for all.
Their vanguards clashed, and mighty warriors perished on both sides while Astralon and Lix crossed blades amid the swirling melee. What passed between them is lost to legend, but it is known the angel proved to be stronger and triumphed after a long duel, albeit he too suffered terrible wounds and could barely stand. At that critical moment, Astralon could not bring himself to take his adversary’s life. Horrified, he realized that he had come to love the Countess over these months. Her wicked intelligence, her determination and strength, her eerie beauty struck a chord within him, and Astralon could not resist her. And yet he could not give in either, for he was a creature of Lumaya and it was his duty to protect the realms of mortals.
Thus Astralon forced his defeated foe to accept a new fate – that of service to the Goddess as one of her Champions – unwilling though Lix was at first. But he too could no longer serve as he did before. Recognizing his own weakness, Astralon abandoned his place at the Arbiter’s side and implored her to bind his soul to a Champion’s Shard. It was the only way he believed he could atone and stay close to the creature he had come to love. To this day, Astralon nurtures a vain hope of truly redeeming Lix, while she likewise seeks to bring him into the embrace of Darkness. Neither succeeded for many thousands of years, but their twisted relationship endures – a strange alliance of sin and piety that only the mightiest of summoners can hope to bring to their cause.