Carved in Stone

Carved in Stone is a Raid Event scheduled to start on May 1, 2019 at 8:00 PM (PST/PDT) and end on May 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM (PST/PDT). It is the seventy fifth episode of the Dark Stigma story and thirty eighth in the Malice Canon storyline.

Half-time Reward Calculation Period is at May 3, 2019 from 8:00 PM to 8:59 PM (PST/PDT).

Feature Changes

 * (Chaos I) Armageddon Ouroboros as Individual Ranking Reward.

Raid Bosses Skill Cards

 * Hellmaster Talineth (LR) Anti-Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Lage & the Sand Whale (LR) Anti-Hidden Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Linecrosser Merigris (LR) Anti-Secret Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * Decimating Ishtar (LR) Special Evolution Card, Skill works against all Raid Bosses of the event, obtained from the Master of Fate Card Pack. All stages of the card are bound until the event rewards are distributed.

Prologue
The stone soldier motionlessly watched over the barren land of Ugra, just as it had for decades. Merigris craned her head skyward and returned the statue's glare. "Today's the day I finally surpass you."

You understood she referred to everything the looming colossus represented. Beyond it was the country of Barser, and she, along with every other Ugran native, was forbidden from entering it under penalty of invasion. It was the Stone-Clad Rule, the agreement enforced upon them as absolute and immovable as bedrock.

......

Nearly a hundred years ago, Ugra and Barser had fought a terrible holy war. The god of the Ugran faith saw the Barsic volcano as a cursed dwelling of demons while the Barsics themselves believed it to be a divine blessing. Tension continued to mount until it erupted into full blown conflict, with Barser launching the first assault.

The towering statue before you was a Barsic crusader from that war. Made from the sacred lava of the volcano, it was once animate and overran the Ugran army with others of its kind. After clinching a swift victory, Barser claimed most of the Ugran territory and placed the soldier at the new border. A one-sided truce was then drafted, the most important condition barring any Ugran from passage into Barser. Should it ever be violated, they claimed the right to take the remaining land and resources of Ugra and do with the people as they saw fit.

It was a diplomatic but shrewd plan to force Ugra to either emigrate or perish, since what territory they had left was largely infertile. All that could be cultivated without great toil was poisonous plants. However, Barser had not imagined they could be sold as a magic ingredient. They scorned the Ugra people as 'plague peddlers' but could not stop them from earning enough to support themselves. Even so, theirs was a meager lifestyle. It was also sadly common for traders to return from lengthy trips and discover a friend or family member had perished to disease. Ever since the war, the Ugran people teetered on the brink of collapse. Merigris was another victim of fate. Her father was killed by bandits when they attacked his caravan, and she soon lost her mother and siblings to illness. All she had now was hatred for the Stone-Clad Rule. If Barser had not stolen their fertile land, so much suffering could have been avoided. She was tired of the senselessness of it all, and she was determined to be rid of it -- one way or another.

Merigris' anger was not the only thing driving her to action. Barser's ruler and head priestess Nadyla had been expanding their army since taking power, keen to wipe out the last of the 'heretics.' Her aggression was not expressed publicly, but the Barsic army had been capturing Ugran caravans shortly after leaving their home territory. This was meant to goad Ugran into breaking the Law and giving Barser the right to attack without greatly harming their international reputation.

Merigris knew of the priestess' scheme but had every intention of defying her, even if she had to do it alone. However, you were reluctant to let her shoulder a burden of such magnitude without help. It was also plausible that word of Nadyla's artifice could catch the notice of the empire. You swore to lend your aid in freeing Ugra.

......

Merigris stood parallel to the towering figure. With another step, the Stone-Clad Law would be broken, but a distant rumble caused her to stop and scan the horizon. "Nadyla's coming."

Barser's high priestess was approaching the border along with her soldiers. She walked up to Merigris and spoke with thinly veiled contempt. "I've heard of you, Merigris. They say you're the last hope of the Ugra, but it seems you'd rather cast that hope aside. That is, unless you decide to turn back while still able..."

Unperturbed by Nadyla's challenge, she wordlessly took one firm step forward. The moment after her foot touched Barsic soil, the entire ground began to tremble. "How foolish you are, Merigris. The name of your home will be removed from the map, and history will forever remember you as the one responsible."

With that, she turned to her troops and raised her hand. "The truce is void! In the name of our god, go forth and destroy the heretics!"

Massive shadows slowly rose from over the hill behind Nadyla. They were the source of the tremors, golems created with lava from the volcano of Barser. A backwards glance revealed there was no retreat either. The giant border guard also sprung to life, shifting its ponderous heft to attack.

As ordained by the Rule, those who broke it would be crushed.