Companions

Companions are recruitable characters that can follow and help the player or stand against them. Each companion has its own unique set of talent trees, abilities, background stories and opinions on the Fatebinder's (the player) actions. There are a total of 6 companions available for recruitment. Since the player's party is limited to 4 characters at a time, any additional companion will wait for the player at the spires. During that time the companion will slowly increase its stats so he won't fall behind the next time they are taken.

This page contains the background story of each of the companions. To view detailed information regarding their talent tress and abilities use the "main article" links or the gallery of portraits below.

• To learn more about an individual companion click on their portrait.
• 

  Barik

• 

  Eb

• 

  Kills-in-Shadow

• 

  Lantry

• 

  Sirin

• 

  Verse

Barik

Main article: Barik

Barik of the Stone Shields.

Barik is the quintessential Disfavored soldier. He embodies all of the rigid and uncompromising values that Graven Ashe's iron legion holds dear. He's polite, respectful of authority, and doggedly intolerant of anyone born outside of the Overlord's long shadow.

He began his career with the Disfavored in the phalanx – his size and strength made him a perfect addition to the shield wall. His strong nerve and unwavering obedience quickly drew the eye of his superiors. Barik received several battlefield promotions before drawing the eye of Archon Graven Ashe, leader of the Disfavored. Once the Great General knew his name, Barik quickly ascended to the ranks of the Iron Guard – Ashe's select group of advisors and lieutenants.

It was one desperate mission that led to Barik's undoing. During the war against the Tiers, Barik did not retreat with the rest of the Disfavored when word came that the Overlord Kyros was about to proclaim an Edict upon the realm of Stalwart. Instead, he joined a select group that embarked on a daring rescue mission to the heart of Sentinel Stand Keep. When the Edict struck and ruined any chance of success, Barik faced a harsher punishment than disgrace. Unlike the rest of his squad, he survived to witness Kyros' judgment on Stalwart.

As Kyros' Edict of Storms swept across the land, Barik was caught in the magical winds – winds that bore the weapons and armor of Barik's phalanx and the enemies they fought. When the initial onslaught of the Edict subsided, Barik was found still alive, but trapped in a prison of twisted blades. To this day, Barik wears his armor of fused iron and bronze – durable protection, yet an unyielding mark of his failure. No one has been able to free him from the armor he was sealed into by Kyros' Edict.

Eb

Main article: Eb

Eb, Tidecaster of the Tiers.

Eb is a member of an order of mages that study manipulation of water in all its forms, as well as spells that harness the pull of the moons, or that focus the light of the moon Terratus Grave into searing rays. Though their magic makes them formidable in battle, the School of Tides devoted their efforts to the study of the arts and cornering trade along the coasts. While these efforts gave the school prestige and acceptance, they've also turned the school into a peaceful order, one unready for war.

Kyros' conquest of the Tiers would take several years of war through the mountains, but the School of Tides were defeated with ease. Before the first Disfavored or Scarlet Chorus troops crossed into the Tiers, agents of Kyros sent threats to Occulted Jade, Archon of Tides and the school's founder and guardian. Unwilling to bow and unwilling to fight, Occulted Jade fled, taking nearly all of her disciples across the sea to parts unknown. Only four Tidecasters remained behind to fight, and of them, Eb was the youngest.

Having lost her husband, children, home, school, and realm to the war, Eb's life is now little more than battle and living on the run. With the death of her three mentors, Eb is now the last of her kind.

Proud to have been born unbowed to Kyros but unburdened by the delusion that she has any chance of winning, Eb now wages her own war against the invaders, rallying to whatever band of Tiersmen is still willing to fight against the seemingly limitless might of Graven Ashe, the Voices of Nerat, and their legions of soldiers. Though she knows true victory is impossible, that won't stop her from slaying as many of the foreign invaders as she can on her way out.

Kills-in-Shadow

Main article: Kills-in-Shadow

Kills-in-Shadow of the feral Beast tribe.

Kills-in-Shadow is a monster. She's frightening and hairy. She stinks of wet animal and has an insatiable bloodlust for violence and slaughter. She's also a clever hunter, a brutish, skilled fighter, and is tenaciously loyal (unless, of course, she has sensed a weakness) to whomever she chooses to follow, whether that be her ruthless sister, Creeping-Death, who was the last leader of their savage tribe, or a human Fatebinder stronger than even the toughest of Beastwomen.

As a member of a race of partially-humanoid, feral Beast creatures, Kills-in-Shadow is intelligent but uneducated, hulking but agile, and an unapologetic killer but not evil. She's a highly evolved predator, forever marked by the magic of Haven's dark forests–primarily driven by instinct and an insatiable lust for violence. She is also boastful, daring, smart, easily excited, and has a quirky sense of humor. She often snorts, snarls, growls, and chuffs with laughter.

As the last surviving Shadowhunter, she's on a single-minded hunt for blood and vengeance, and will not be satisfied until each and every Disfavored has been wiped from Terratus. And though her kith were slaughtered mercilessly during Kyros' conquest, the Shadowhunters had a reputation for being one of the most vicious tribes of the Tiers. If most Beastwomen are hyenas, Kills-in-Shadow is a lone lioness–proud, regal, and wholly deadly. Drawn by a spectacular display of strength and prowess, she is now stalking the Fatebinder's scent.

And she likes to play with her prey.

Lantry

Main article: Lantry

Lantry of the School of Ink and Quill.

Lantry is a Sage of the School of Ink and Quill. He's a man of letters and numbers, a student of magic and nature, and an archivist obsessed with the accurate accounting of important people and events. His school is famous throughout the Tiers for amassing knowledge from all throughout the known world, but the Sages are even more famous for rarely sharing this treasure trove of learning with outsiders, despite their claims of preserving knowledge for the betterment of mankind. The Sages revel in knowing a little bit about everything, and Lantry is no exception – in his long years he's learned the Sage's traditional Preservation magic, as well as the arts of Healing and Concealment – styles of magic long ago pilfered from other Schools and Guilds that the Sages now boast as their own.

His life's work has been contributing to the Chronicle, the running archive-of-all-things built over the ages through the long work of hundreds of Sages. Lantry uses his arcane training to witness history where it happens, as it happens – for him, magic is a tool to gain access to the battlefields, backroom dealings, and hidden ceremonies that most have to read about after the fact. For Lantry and other Sages driven on this pursuit often seem to live very long lives – a fact most Sages will laugh away as the byproduct of loving your work, but is in truth the mystic side effect of decades of use and practice of Preservation magic.

As a student of history, Lantry has a certain adoration for Kyros, for no one has the power to define the unfolding march of events quite like the Overlord – nobody in recorded history even comes close. So when Kyros' armies came to the Tiers, Lantry was one of the Sages to argue for surrender – but his was the dissenting voice among the elders, and the Sages fortified their library stronghold of the Vellum Citadel in defiance of the Overlord. Old enough to know a suicidal plan when he hears one, Lantry fled the Vellum Citadel before the full force of Kyros' wrath descended upon the Sages, in the form of an Edict of Fire that turned the mountainous archive into lava-soaked ruin.

Sirin

Main article: Sirin

Sirin, Archon of Song.

Sirin caused the death of more people before she was seven than most soldiers do in their entire careers. One of the few mages on Terratus who was born with magic, Sirin first displayed her abilities the first time she cried. The midwife assisting with her birth burst out crying and asked what that bright light was and why everything was so cold. Her parents quickly learned anyone who heard Sirin's voice was compelled by the emotion behind it. Fortunately for them, she was a genial and easy-going child, so it wasn't much of a problem. Occasionally they would have to remind her not to use her powers on local children – especially after an episode with a local bully – but there were never any major incidents until she was seven years old.

Once word spread that Sirin had powers, people from all over requested her help. Crops weren't growing? Send for Sirin. Your son broke his leg? Send for Sirin. People spoke of her miraculous voice and its heavenly sound. It wasn't long before she gained the nickname Songbird, and everyone wanted to hear the Songbird sing. Eventually, tales of Sirin's voice reached Kyros, who knew that if this child truly was as powerful as everyone said, she could be a power tool for conquest. Using the Voices of Nerat, Kyros kidnapped Sirin from her family and delivered her to the royal court for training. During her schooling, she was deemed too dangerous to be allowed to use the full extent of her powers, so Kyros and the Voices of Nerat created a special helmet, placing it permanently on her head. If Sirin tried to go beyond the limits the helmet placed on her, the gem placed in it would shatter, killing her.

Once she was deemed ready (and properly under control), she was given back to the Voices of Nerat to help the Scarlet Chorus in their recruiting efforts. From that point on, her voice was used to convince any and all to join the Scarlet Chorus and fight for Kyros. But Sirin knew that she – and her voice – were simply a means to an end and that the moment she stopped being useful, her life was forfeit, so she did her best to recruit as many bodies as she could for the Chorus while planning a means of escape if the opportunity ever presented itself.

Verse

Main article: Verse

Verse of the Scarlet Chorus.

Verse represents the bravado of the Scarlet Chorus. She's constantly proving herself, challenging others, prodding for weaknesses, and delighting in the social power play within Kyros' more volatile army. Her free spirit and playful sarcasm make her a fitting counterpoint to Barik and his iron walls of emotional repression.

Verse is a Scarlet Fury – one of the elite fighters in the Chorus, possessing training in all manner of exotic weapons and fighting styles. Combat for Furies is an art form, a coordinated dance ruled by passion over reason or tactics.

Like all members of the Chorus, Verse started out as a civilian in the southern continent of the Tiers – an ordinary girl on an ordinary farm. When the sun went down, she liked to sneak out to the barn and take a knife to the farm animals, and always sensed that she was destined for something more.

When the armies of Kyros arrived and started conscripting from the local populace, Verse recognized her calling. She was one of the few mad enough to volunteer and begin her new life in the howling mob, where she made a point of rising in the ranks with bloodthirsty ambition. She led multiple gangs at different times in the war, so she's no stranger to pushing others around.

Everyone who joins the Chorus gets a new name. The name “Verse” was a compliment from the Voices of Nerat, who – in one of his crazier, artistic moments – heard music in the shrieking and howling of battle. He said that hers stood out louder than anyone else's, and contained too many parts to be easily defined.

Verse has a special knack for learning the combat styles of others. She could spend five minutes watching a grizzled veteran wield a spear and know the form as if she had used it across a hundred battles. During the war, this talent manifested in an unexpected fashion. During a battle with the defenders of Apex, Verse suddenly froze in panic – a totally unheard-of reflex, coming from seemingly out of nowhere. The Scarlet Furies fighting alongside her died in battle because of this spasm of hesitation.

What happened next was stranger still: Verse felt the deaths of her sister Furies like a part of her mind getting ripped apart, and she stumbled from battle possessing knowledge of the battle stances and weapon acuity of her sister Furies – an unintended, almost parasitic reflex that fascinated and disgusted her.

Verse hates herself for the hesitation that stayed at her hand, and feels revulsion for everything that came after, which casts her instinctive need to challenge others and prove herself in perhaps a sadder light.

Companions

Game concepts