Terra Cotta

The Terra Cotta is one of the five original magical factions that participated in the First Pandemonium Assembly to procure the Water of Life. It is the oldest known faction in Pandemonium, rumored to have been created as a Bakal Resistance force by Keening Hilder during the time of the Dragon War. They are a group comprised of powerful elementalists who are capable of manipulating the forces of nature. Its headquarters is located in Brooklyn, and its current leader is Nihilistic Ron.

Lore

The oldest organization in Pandemonium. Its current leader is Nihilistic Ron.
Rumor has it that Hilder, the Second Apostle and the first and greatest Elementalist in the multiverse, was involved in its establishment.
It mainly consists of Elementalists who derive their power from nature.

History

In 30 B.A.C. (30 Years before the establishment of the Arad Calendar), the resistance organization known as the Terra Cotta was created by the Second Apostle, Keening Hilder, as a countermeasure against the Ninth Apostle Dragon Tyrant Bakal's growing influence in Pandemonium. Fearing that one day the Dragon King would attempt to conquer Pandemonium, the group assembled capable Elementalists to prepare for an upcoming war. Around that time, an elementalist of unknown origins named Iris made her debut, and due to her overwhelming strength, the group declared her as the resistance's leader.

When Bakal initiated the Dragon War in 15 B.A.C., the Terra Cotta gathered with the other Apostles led by Hilder to defeat the Dragonoid Army and trap the Dragon King. Although they succeeded in suppressing Bakal's forces, they failed to stop Bakal from escaping to the outside world of Arad. However, despite this failure, the Terra Cotta succeeded in protecting Pandemonium and ridding it of the threat of Bakal. With its main objective now completed, the organization continued its existence, but as peacekeepers within Pandemonium.

For many years under the guidance of Iris and Hilder, the Terra Cotta flourished and succeeded in maintaining peace within the eight districts of Pandemonium. However, almost one thousand years later, in Arad Year 980, a group of mages in Bronx known as the Kashipa discovered a new magical power called the Abyss. Using this new power, the Kashipa began to infringe upon and invade the nearby territories of Harlem, Central Park, and Brooklyn.

Complications between the Kashipa and rival magical factions grew rampant. The Terra Cotta feared that the confrontations may escalate into a full-scale war that would engulf the entirety of Pandemonium, similar to the Dragon War. To prevent this from occurring, Iris hosted a magical tournament called the First Pandemonium Assembly to negotiate peace agreements between the factions. As an extra incentive, she offered knowledge of the Water of Life to the victor. As a result, the five dominant magical factions: the Terra Cotta, the Circle Mages, the Ancient Library, the Kashipa, and the Guardians, all entered in the tournament to decide Pandemonium's future.

In the end, the Terra Cotta's leader and representative, Iris, succeeded in subduing all the other factions' chief combatants, allowing it to keep the information regarding the Water of Life as well as dictate the peace agreements between the factions. Additionally, due to this victory, the Terra Cotta obtained the role as the most influential faction in Pandemonium, and became the main determining party to handle disputes between other organizations.

Soon after the Assembly, Iris would take leave from the Terra Cotta for reasons unknown. Because of this, vacant seats opened for the position as leader and chief-combatant for the organization. To this end, two rival Archmage candidates named Nihilistic Ron and Purging Snader challenged each other for the role. In the end, Ron succeeded in subduing Snader, and became the new leader of the Terra Cotta.

Prior to the Assembly, progress in elemental magic had improved significantly. Mages began to access a temporary state called "Transcendence", allowing them to access knowledge that revealed of the nature of the universe. In one such case, a mage named Razin unlocked the ability to maintain "Transcendence" indefinitely. For her contributions in the field, Razin was later deemed Iris's successor as chief-combatant for the Terra Cotta.

In Arad Year 1006, a glowing meteor revealed to be the egg of Isys fell in the Kashipa controlled district of Harlem. With tensions between the factions now at an all time high, the Terra Cotta used their authority from the previous Assembly to issue the Second Pandemonium Assembly. Using Isys' egg as an incentive for participation, the factions, new and old, gathered to participate in this meeting. However, the Kashipa used this as an opportunity to launch an assault on the other rival factions, beginning the Pandemonium War. Although the Terra Cotta were not significantly affected by the Kashipa raids, having retreated from their encampment to Brooklyn prior to the Assembly, it joined forces with the other factions and the Adventurers to combat the Kashipa.

Notable Members

• Nihilistic Ron - Current leader of Terra Cotta. Known for his mastery over dark magic, he fought and won against Snader for the organization's leadership.
• Iris Fortunesinger - A Elementalist, bard, and a fortune teller who's well-versed in the subject of the Apostles and aides Adventurers on their journey.
• Returning Razin - A very talented Elementalist who achieved Transcendence and became the first Overmind. One of the four possible opponents in Stadium.
• Purging Snader - A former member renowned for his mastery of fire magic. He lost against Ron in a duel for leadership and was later modified into one of Luke's followers.

Trivia

• Terra Cotta comes from the Italian word "baked earth" which is a clay-based ceramic material.
• In Tower of the Dead, there was four Female Mages that were part of the organization, but they're never seen again since the Tower's removal.