So, for those who don't intend, or can't, play Dark Messiah, and want to know what happens in the game, here is a brief summary of the story. Please note I chose the path of good, so the ending I got isn't necessarily the one that will be considered "canon" in future M&M games.theLuckyDragon wrote:Could you please fill us in on the story? (By "us" I mean all those people whose gaming experience doesn't include DM anywhere in the forseeable future.) Maybe a thread with SPOILER written all over it would do the trick. Or a PM?Marzhin wrote:I chose the path of "good" in the last part of the game, so I don't know. Maybe you have an answer if you choose the path of evil...ThunderTitan wrote:So, is or isn't Xana Biara?!
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THERE ARE MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW !
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !
LAST WARNING, REALLY.
Ok, let's go...
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As you know from Ashan's timeline, the Seventh Dragon, Sar-Elam, gave his life to create a prison-plane to lock the demons in. There was a single flaw : when there is a moon eclipse, the prison weakens allowing the demons to enter the world. But a prophecy says a Dark Messiah, of both human and demon blood, will raise and break the seal in a thousand years...
Dark Messiah takes place 20 years after the end of Heroes 5. Our hero, Sareth, has been raised by a powerful wizard named Phenrig. He is send (with a female spirit called Xana "linked" to him) to the free city of Stonehelm with an artifact called the Shantiri Crystal to give it to the ruler of the city, an old wizard named Menelag. It turns out Stonehelm is under siege by a necromancer army led by Arantir (who apparently took the control of the Necromancers after the death of Markal in Heroes V. At one place you can spy on two necromancers chatting. One says "They thought we've all been destroyed twenty years ago ! Fortunately Arantir was there..." or something like that).
Sareth befriends Menelag's niece, Leanna, and learns more about Menelag's (and Phenrig's) goals. With the help of the Shantiri Crystal, Menelag hopes to be able to retrieve a powerful object : the Skull of Shadows. It is, in fact, the skull of the Seventh Dragon who sealed the demons in their fiery dimension ten centuries ago.
During the night, the Necromancers sneak inside the city, murder Menelag while he tries to protect his niece, and flee with the Crystal. Sareth gives pursuit and discovers Arantir has an hideout in the city sewers (makes you wonder what was the whole point of siege...) He manages to steal back the Crystal and flee with leanna on a boat, to the island where lies the Spider Temple where the skull supposedly is.
Problem is, the Spider Temple is guarded by tribes of Orcs who sweared to prevent any demons (or any human, actually) to enter it. After some adventures, Sareth (wondering why all the Orcs are saying he is "tainted by the demons") brings the Crystal to the chamber while Leanna performs the ritual which will open the crypt where the skull is hidden.
But when Sareth touches the Skull of Sar-Elam, he has a vision of his father and Xana under her true, succubus form. His father is none other than the Semon Sovereign, Kha-Beleth himself, and Queen Isabel, making Sareth... the Dark Messiah ! But Sareth has little time to think about his destiny as Arantir arrives, takes the Skull and kills our hero... almost.
Sareth returns to consciousness to discover Xana actually used her powers to save his life, making his demon heritage apparent. While Leanna was apparently killed by Arantir, Sareth returns to Stonehelm and sneaks into the Necromancers' hideout in the sewers. Arantir has opened a portal to Heresh. Sareth goes through the portal to the necromancers' headquarters...
There he discovers that Leanna is actually alive (but about to be sacrificied to an avatar of the Spider Goddess). You are free to leave her, or save her, as you wish. Sareth also discovers what Arantir's plans actually are. The Necromancer is about to use the power of the Skull to cast a massive spell in Stonehelm to kill all of its inhabitants, using their souls to craft a new, flawless prison for the demons. He is actually fighting for Good... but in an evil manner.
Sareth travels back to Stonehelm and discovers there is an ancient necropolis under the foundations of the city. This is where Arantir plans to cast his spell. Sareth gives pursuit in a city in flames, where undead troops are everywhere. On the road, he finds the Sanctuary of Ylath (wasn't it "Sylath", the dragon of air... ?) where he can purge his soul from the demonic influence by bathing in the sacred waters, banishing (or destroying ?) Xana in the process (if it was so easy, why Zehir and friends didn't just take Isabel there at the end of Heroes V ?). After being purged, an ethereal voice calling itself "an old enemy of your father" tells Sareth "You have renounced to the Dark Side... You are worthy blah blah blah".
In the Necropolis, Sareth finally finds Arantir and the two of them (well, and a Bone Dragon) fight. When Arantir is defeated, he says something like "Me dead, nobody can prevent you from destroying the world !". Then Sareth picks the Skull of Shadows and...
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In my ending, Sareth (and Leanna) used the Skull to recreate the prison of the demons, locking Kha-beleth and his ilk away from Ashan. Before disappearing from this world, the Sovereign says "You're as weak as your damned mother. Curse you, and Isabel ! But don't forget... I am old, and patient... One day, I will have my revenge muhuhahahaHAHAHAHA"
That's all folks.
