Guide to Alatreon the Swordmaster: Artifact and Mastery - Raid Shadow Legends

The promise of immortality means little to a Drake or a rockworm. Getting them to serve the Cult of K'Lenth requires a different kind of persuasion, administered at the point of a blade or with the crack of a whip. This is the responsibility of the Cult's beastmasters, who venture to the far corners of Teledria to track, capture, and, if things go wrong, hunt down the creatures that reside there.

Hadrux was one of those beast drivers whose mission was to raid the nomadic animal trains that descended from the Deadlands and crossed the Krokan Desert. Other less talented beast drivers had previously failed in their attempts to plunder these convoys.

As a result, the lightly armed guards had been replaced by highly trained Lizardmen mercenaries. Although confident in his abilities, Hadrux had to choose his moment carefully. He settled into his hunting hideout in the Deadlands, hoping to spot a stray wagon or a lost traveler.

For days, the wagon trains traveled nearby, and Hadrux watched his prey move further away. But on the fifth day of observation, he noticed a change. The panicked whispering of the wagon drivers, the close formation of the guards, and a threatening glow in the sky.

In the distance, Mount Thunder, silent for so long, rumbled, fire devouring a tree from its open mouth as lightning struck its peak. The chariot drivers and guards were all nervous and eager to leave the vicinity of the volcano, their disorganization providing an opportunity to strike. Hadrux gathered his equipment and prepared to leave. He was interrupted by a small figure, who opened the flap of his hiding place.

It was a two-legged cat, dressed in hunting gear and clutching papers in its hands. It spoke of the need to deal with a creature from another world that had appeared on the nearby volcano and had the potential to trigger a full-scale eruption. The cat tapped the piece of paper in its hand, begging Hadrux for help.

The animal handler, having recovered from his astonishment, crouched down to calm the feline. He took the paper and inspected the cat's scratchy writing and hastily scribbled doodles.

They showed the nearest extinct eruption that seismic activity threatened with the potential of this mysterious monster. Scribbled at the bottom was its name: Alatereon. Hadrux had his new prey, something much more important than the cattle kept by the Nomads.

Hadrux grabbed his most reliable and powerful piece of equipment, a hunting scythe considered the most formidable in all of Teledria, stuffed the note into his pocket, and prepared to leave the hideout. The cat, who claimed to be a Palico, asked if he could help.

Hadrux refused; it was easier to hunt alone, and if this Alatereon was as dangerous as the tiny creature claimed, any distraction could prove fatal. After leaving, Hadrux kept the Palico's warnings in mind for a while, until they disappeared into the howling winds of the Deadlands.

With the now-awakened mountain as his guide, Hadrux trudged painfully through the impossible desert, thinking of the glory that would be his if he succeeded in bringing this monster from another world back to his masters.

Hadrux finally reached the base of Mount Thunder, whose slopes were now covered with a strange mixture of snow and ash, something that should have been impossible. Storm clouds swirled in the sky, lit up by flashes of lightning, and streams of lava bubbled down from the mountain's summit. As Hadrux continued to climb, the elemental storm grew more violent. At least Hadrux could console himself with the thought that he had lived long enough to encounter something capable of causing such a commotion.

Hadrux quickly spotted his prey on an island in the middle of a lava flow. Enveloped in frost and fire, the Alatereon saw Hadrux and a scream tore through the skies. Before Hadrux could draw his scythe, the monster had flown away and was raining jets of flame in his direction. It moved with terrifying speed through the sky, practically toying with Hadrux as the Revenant Knight dodged its fiery breath. Hadrux had to decide which mountain to head for to reach solid ground: one misstep while navigating the lava flows and he would be consumed by the molten embrace.

As Hadrux leaped over the flows, the Alatereon ceased its pursuit and flew toward the base of the volcano. Surprised to have this respite, Hadrux looked around and spotted a small figure in the distance, the Palico, who was attracting the monster's attention by jumping and meowing frantically.

This gave Hadrux the time he needed to descend the slopes of the volcano. He exchanged a knowing glance with his savior before drawing his scythe. He threw himself at the Alatereon like a cyclone of blades, and they clashed amid the lava flowing from Mount Thunder, with lightning striking all around them.

Hadrux never returned to the Revenant Knights, and his fellow beast-riders never found his body. During their wanderings in the Deadlands, all they reported seeing was a figure dressed in black, carrying a terrifying scythe that crackled with unstable energy.