The halls of Gray Baron’s mysterious residence looked different somehow. They seem to have changed since the last visit, although at the same time they looked quite familiar. Did that visit actually happen? Or was it all just colorful dreams and visions? "Please, come in…" - the calm and inviting voice of Majordomo Roderigo interrupted the surging stream of thoughts and doubts. The estate master’s faithful servant opened one of the doors out of all the countless doors that would catch the eye along the way, and froze with an inviting gesture. "Just don’t speak too loudly", - he promptly added in a low voice, - "The artists recently found their inspiration. I wouldn’t want to scare him away.". His words sounded quite peculiar, but it was easier to go in and to finally understand their meaning.
The painting before the eyes was indeed quite… creative. The chamber looked like a cross between an art gallery and an artist’s workshop. The walls were full of numerous portraits, each of which displayed only one single image - the cat Marquis, Gray Baron’s favorite. They all resembled each other in some way, but each looked different from the other as if drawn in a completely different artistic style. The scene revealed both - completely primitive images, more reminiscent of a child’s scribbles, and ones so realistic that it seemed as if they were a fragment of a captured reality. Meanwhile, in the middle of the chamber, some strange activity was occurring. As if flaunting in the rays of narcissism, the fluffy pet imposingly reclined on a luxurious pedestal, demonstrating all of its greatness and grace. In front of him, surrounded by tables with paint and various painting tools, were two canvases. Their surface was touched by two brushes soaked in paint, which mystically levitated from side to side as if at the behest of a magical spell. Only a few moments later, the subtle outlines of two transparent images were revealed to the eye, which were wielding tools for creating future works of art. Their detachment from the frailty of the world around them has reached its limit – nothing should distract the mind of the creators from the mysteries of their craft.
"Take a look…" - from behind the left shoulder came the soft and calm voice of the local master, who appeared as if out of nowhere. Finally arriving, the Gray Baron, with a light gesture of his hand, pointed forwards to a colossal portrait stretching from the edge of the floor to the very ceiling. Its monumentality was impressive, attracting and completely captivating all attention. It’s bizarre that the gaze noticed it only now. It featured the same Marquis, whose image was depicted in the traditional style of the best imperial artists. A grandiose creation, worthy of the greatness of the Empress herself. "Don’t you notice anything?" - the question that dropped from the Gray Baron’s lips immediately sowed a feeling of an odd worry in the mind, - "These too smooth of a lines that do not relay all the beauty of the smallest of details. This palette is conveying the point, but not unfolding its depth. And these strokes - they give excessive complementarity, filling a non-existent void with unnecessarily free speculations". A moment of incomprehension of the sounding words forcing through the wall of mental rejection was abruptly replaced by a moment of epiphanies, as if a veil had fallen from the eyes, materializing the imperfections that now cropped up. The portrait no longer looked as grandiose as before. Every now and then, the gaze would cling to the numerous flaws, of which, it would seem like almost the whole picture consisted of.
"Now look here…" - the master of the estate spoke again, with an invitation to take a few steps forward and to look at the contents of two fresh canvases. Both portraits were still far from complete, but the most important details of the overall composition could already be seen. They were so similar, so much in common, however completely different from each other. A more traditional style that is familiar to the eye, but devoid of the previous flaws. And an excitingly innovative, full of contrast and shadows. "Hmmm, which one should I choose?..." - pondered the Gray Baron, awakening a storm of apprehensions and contradictions in his head, which subsided as soon as he continued, - "Alas… or fortunately, the choice is not ours to make", - his gaze turned to Marquis still lying in that same majestic pose, who did not even move a whisker in response, - "The lack of choice can be a little frustrating, nevertheless the Crossroads will provide it in abundance. Step into them boldly, and don’t be afraid of the inevitable changes".
Lords and Ladies! The mysterious Gray Baron once again invites all daredevils who wish to touch the fragments of ancient and long-forgotten secrets. If you are not afraid to make choices and face their consequences, then this combat challenge is especially for you!
Addendum ¹101 to the Participation Agreement:
1) All Lords and Ladies of combat level 5 and higher are invited to participate.
2) Only shop artifacts are allowed. Artifacts’ enchantments have no effect.
3) Only castle armies are allowed to fight, Faction skills and Talents are fully functional.
4) The opponents will be the armies and units of various official and unofficial factions.
5) Battles can be fought in several different formats. Pay close attention to the surroundings on the map, so as not to miss possible hidden details of current and future battles.
6) All combat encounter points are tied to the location of the ancient mysteries scattered on the map. Each track reveals the secret of some long-forgotten knowledge and this is a permanent gain to one of the Lord’s or Lady’s characteristics, which will last until the end of the event. However, the fragility and instability of these mysteries make hesitation not an option: It will not be possible to go back to the missed stages. You can only move forward!
7) Important! Each battle stage of the event will offer a fork of two possible paths with different choices of opponents and rewards upon victory. Only one of the suggested paths will allow you to move on. Make your choice thoughtfully and deliberately, as EACH defeat will impact the final result.
8) New! For each victory you can get up to 10 points. Each defeat will deduct 1 point from the potential reward for both available battles. However, at the same time, the strength of the enemy’s armies on that stage will weaken with each loss. Stages cannot be skipped.
9) A total of 35 battle stages will be available with the ability to win 3 times on each. Maximum number of wins: 105.
10) On the first day only 5 battle stages will be available, each following day 5 new ones will be unlocked.
11) The event will last 11 days, until April 28 inclusive.
12) As a reward for victories, there is a chance to gain Hunters’, Mercenaries’, Thieves’ and Watchers’ guild points, as well as – Gold, Diamonds, Creature armaments, Elements, Leaders’ guild followers, Scrolls of calling, parts of creature stacks and parts of special artifacts.
From the battles it will be possible to obtain up to 25 parts of Fear Amulet, up to 15 parts of Imperial Dagger and up to 15 parts of Heaven Shield. In addition, Grey Baron promises to honor the successes of Lords and Ladies with a trophy artifact from his personal collection and mark them with a special achievement. The durability of this artifact will depend on the number of gained .
Annex ¹101A:
Extremely important! During this event, the "Battle Exhaustion" system is in effect. Starting from the 15th turn of any battle, the Lords’ and Ladies’ Talent 'Mana recovery' will cease to function. The same will hold for the abilities 'Life drain' and 'Battledive' for the units in the Lords’ and Ladies’ armies. Additionally, all enemy units will gain the ability 'Attentive', and an increase in initiative and speed. Notifications corresponding to this exhaustion will appear as a warning 1 turn before and at the onset of exhaustion.
- The top 75 military clans and all their active members will be specially rewarded. Awarding will be based on the final clan ranking, where the final result will be equal to the sum of gained of the Top 100 Lords and Ladies of the clan.
- All unblocked Lords and Ladies of successful military clans will be rewarded if they bring at least 500 points to the clan.
- If a Lord or Lady leaves or is evicted from a military clan, the clan loses all the points the Lord or Lady gained for that clan, if they rejoin the clan, all the points will be returned to the clan.
- Leaving the clan on the last day of the event and before the award ceremony is forbidden .
- Admission to military clans from the second day of the event and onwards will be limited to three Lords or Ladies per day.
- Important! Lords and Ladies who achieve 50 victories or more in the event will not be able to join any military clan until the event is over.
Reward for active members of top-ranking military clans:
| Clan rank | Reward | Glory | | 1 | | 1,500 | | 2 | | 1,300 | | 3 | | 1,100 | | 4 | | 1,000 | | 5 - 8 | | 900 | | 9 - 13 | | 800 | | 14 - 20 | | 600 | | 21 - 30 | | 500 | | 31 - 45 | | 400 | | 46 - 60 | | 250 | | 61 - 75 | | 100 |
Personal reward for the top 5,000 Lords and Ladies based on the gained :
| Lord/Lady rank | Reward | | 1 - 50 | | | 51 - 100 | | | 101 - 200 | | | 201 - 400 | | | 401 - 650 | | | 651 - 1000 | | | 1001 - 1500 | | | 1501 - 2250 | | | 2251 - 3000 | | | 3001 - 3750 | | | 3751 - 5000 | |
There will be no additional rewards to the ones mentioned in this addendum!
Step into the crossroads! |
