Hermit of Wisdom
The Desert Hermit is one of the NPCs a player must visit while undertaking the King's Path, an event which will transform a Rank 7 player city to a Rank 8 city provided all the conditions have been met.
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Lore Text
So you have found me. Do you seek a crown? Go away then, for I have none to give you. Crowns mean nothing: they do not make a king. Only the Gods can make a king. You seek to rule? Your road will be long, and again, I have little to offer you. Only a lesson, and a blessing if you're worthy. They will give you but a start. Heed my lesson and use the blessing well, and you may yet come to rule. The world needs rulers now, more than ever. Bloody anarchy has reigned too long...
Who are you?
I? My name is unimportant, easily forgotten. I have no need of it anymore. Once I served a king. A great king, the greatest the Sons of Men have ever known. He was chosen by the All-Father, blessed by the Archons. In his prime, he had everything a king could need: a realm at peace, vassals who loved him, and the power to bring justice and virtue to the realms of men. I was his right hand, his champion. I fought his wars, vanquished his enemies, saved his life. I gave him the means to fulfill his greatest dream.
Where is he now? Lost. Dead. A hundred years dead. Look at the statue outside and you shall see his likeness. I cannot speak his name. I am no longer worthy. He was undone.
I failed him. Gods forgive me, I saw him die. I failed my king in the hour of greatest need. And so that great king died, and all the world was ruined. Why was he undone? The king had power and fortune, virtue and wealth, he had a will that earned the respect even of his enemies and a bearing so blessed that entire nations would die for him. He had a legion of Champions, and an ageless Wizard to aid him. He even held Shadowbane, the blade of Destiny. He had all this, yet he was still undone. How? Why?
It was folly that brought him down. The folly of his ancestors that doomed his race to bitter enmity with the Elves, and in the face of Elvish slights his pride moved him to war. And as the War of Tears raged, my king fought hard, even to the brink of ruin. Fortune brought him Power, the power of Shadowbane itself, and his realm was saved. But there was one thing my king lacked. Wisdom. He embraced the folly of his ancestors, and made vengeance a virtue, driven on by Champions who could not see past hatred. It was not enough to defeat our enemy, they said. The Elves must be utterly destroyed. And so it nearly was.
In his arrogance, my king sought to undo the work of the Gods themselves, and remove their eldest children from the face of Aerynth. I watched all this, and did nothing. Even when my heart was move to rage by what I saw in the broken cities of the enemy, I did nothing. When the Archons spoke to me from on high, and warned me of the Doom my king would wreak upon the world, I did nothing. Gods save me, I would not always do nothing...
The king's pride was finally his undoing, and he was killed. I failed my king, I saw him die. I let it happen, even when I had the power to stop it. And so the earth trembled, and skies wept blood, and the globe of the world shattered.
I fled all the land I knew, and went into the wastes, wanting only to die. But like all of us in this shadowed age, I am cursed to live. I made my way here, to these forlorn wastes, to raise a statue of my fallen king among the ruins of Ardan, where reigned the first king among the Sons of Men. And I have heard the voices of the Gods and Archons again. Again they have touched my soul, and blessed me. I have been made Wisdom's keeper. I can give the Blessing of Wisdom to all who are worthy. They, in turn, will build new palaces, and this world shall know kings and crowns again. But I care little for that. I have betrayed my king, and no forgiveness or Blessing shall ever wash the grief from my soul.
Would you be a king? Take my hollow blessing, then. Use it well. May you find the Wisdom that eluded my lord and master. May you and your brother monarchs fashion order out of lawlessness. May you reign in peace.
King
Gods make kings -- not crowns, or armies, or palaces. To gain dominion over a realm you need a Palace. To build a Palace, you will need a full-grown Tree of Life, many followers, gold and resources in great store, and a Charter. To enact that Charter, you will need the favor of the Gods. You must walk the King's Path humbly, around the world and back again, and return home for a boon at a Shrine with three Blessings upon you.
There are three Hermits, dwelling in the far corners of the world. Seek them out, and from them gain the Blessings of Fortune, Wisdom, and Power. But beware: just as rule is a burden, so are these Blessings. They will slow your pace, deny you easy travel, and draw your enemies. You must walk the King's Path as quickly as you can, to all three hermits and home again without any aid but Runegates. If you die on the path, or if a blessing should expire before you return home again, your quest has failed. Your enemies will know you seek a throne, and may try to stop you. If you are served by loyal followers, and if Wisdom, Power, and Fortune favor you, you shall run your race well, to the end.
Once you have attained all three blessings, return to your city and use your Charter. Your Tree shall be reborn as a palace, and your dominion over a new realm will begin.
