So another year has come and gone, and with that, a lot of life's inevitabilities have passed us by. Things like death, taxes, elections, and the rising tide of fascism have all just passed right by weirdly quick, at least in my opinion, weirdly quick. And we don't want to think about that. We want to escape that through the medium of books. So this is, I think, the third year in a row I've done this. Just let's look back at everything I read this year. Let's talk about the best stuff, the worst stuff, the weirdest, the stupidest.  Let's let's see what's been going on. And as a reminder, this is stuff that I read this year, not stuff that was released this year necessarily, because I think out of all the like 60 plus books I read this year, I think one or two of them came out this year is, I don't know, I don't read stuff as it comes out very often. Starting off, let's talk about the biggest disappointment I read this year, and that was the dinosaur lords. Now, let me be clear, I actually like the dinosaur lords. I think it's a very good series. You can watch my review of it if you haven't already. But I, it doesn't have an ending is the main thing. You know, the author planned for there to be six books and he died after writing the first three. So I got really into the story and then found out right at the end that, oh, there's never going to be more. So I'm left with all these lingering questions, you know, like, it's, it's a real shame, you know, because it's basically just epic fantasy, but with dinosaurs, you know, it's a low fantasy setting, or at least it seems so at first. So there's not that much magic. It is mostly just people with medieval technology. And then they incorporate dinosaurs into the everyday life and into agriculture and into warfare and things like that. And it's really, really cool and really interesting. And the characters are fun. The world is fun. It's just, it's a great series. And I was very, very disappointed to know that I will never get to see how these characters end up and I will never get to find out the answers to all of the questions about the nature of paradise. It's unfortunate, but it did happen. The best pleasant surprise I read this year was Guards of the Shadowlands. Now, again, you can watch my review of this if you're curious. This one I really did not expect much from, you know, like I read a lot of audiobooks or listen to a lot of audiobooks, I should say, because I'm just, you know, driving a lot and I need something to occupy my mind while that's happening. And I also, you know, have to pay attention to the road, so I tend not to go for complicated stuff while I'm... or complicated stuff for audiobooks, I should say. And that unfortunately means I have listened to a whole bunch of young adult stuff this year, which I'm gonna have to try and change next year. And Guards of the Shadowlands was one of those, you know, it just looked like something simple and short that I might think is fine when I was done with it, but actually wound up being really good, because it's a story about basically this girl whose friend commits suicide and winds up going to hell and she knows that she's in hell because she also attempted suicide at some point earlier and so now she can actually see into the underworld kind of and she decides, you know what, I'm gonna go there and I'm gonna rescue my friend. And that is basically what happens. The whole thing winds up being a weird metaphor for, not just for depression and why people commit suicide in the first place, but more of a metaphor for helping your loved ones through mental problems, like whether they're depressed or they're an alcoholic or they have anxiety or anything like that. And I really liked the way that was done and I really liked the message that it eventually got to. And obviously we see the main character like fighting demons and stuff, which is a lot of fun. And then the series does get worse in the second and third books because, well, to put it bluntly, the story just gets a lot more unfocused and kind of repetitive, but it's never terrible. You know, even in the latter half of the final book when I was just begging for things to hurry up and end because it was really stretched out, I still enjoyed myself and I wasn't expecting anything from this. So to go into it and just think, yeah, that was pretty good. That was a very pleasant surprise. The best non-fiction I read this year was The Bronze Lie by Mike Cole. And this one is pretty simple in concept. It's basically the whole idea that Sparta was this, you know, unparalleled military force in the ancient world. And the whole book is just saying, no, that's not true.  The Spartans lost a lot. Like they lost more than they won, quite frankly. Like their most famous engagement was at Thermopylae. Guess what?  And the Spartans didn't even make up a majority of the force there, despite what George Miller and Zack Snyder would have you believe. And don't get me wrong, I like the movie 300, but it's not true. It's not real. Like they lost that. They lost most of the engagements against Athens and their allies during the Peloponnesian war. They lost most of their battles in the Archaic period, like way before we have good written records. They lost to Thebes after the Peloponnesian war, and then they lost to Rome and whoever else afterwards. Like they just weren't that good at war, and the whole thing is propaganda. And I know many of you are sitting there like feeling rage, building at the base of your skull and trying to say, actually, it's not true. But where's your actual evidence of that? Like you can actually look at the records of all the battles Spartans fought in. They lost a lot. And all you have are like half remembered anecdotes from internet comments and stuff. Like that's where the myth of Spartan warrior supremacy comes from, really. But anyways, yeah, the bronze lie, it was a little verbose at times, but not that hard to get into for a history book. If you're interested in the subject, I would recommend checking it out. It's a good one. The most popular book I read and reviewed this year that I've never really seen anyone else talk about is The Chemists. And this one I talked about before was, it's written by Stephanie Meyer who wrote the Twilight books, and it was written after she was already really famous. So I'm not sure why it just didn't take off at all. I think it might just be because it's not really in the genre she's known for. You know, it's a spy thriller. It takes place in the real world. There's no magical or supernatural elements or anything. And yeah, there is a weird romance in there, but it's not the focus of the story. And it especially doesn't seem like it would be the focus of the story based on the summary, so anyone looking for a romance wouldn't really be reading this in the first place. So it's just, I don't know, it's just odd that it's in this position.  It's not very good, but it's not even the worst book ever or all that strange or anything. It's just strange how a lot of people have apparently read it. It was a bestseller. It has a lot of ratings and reviews on Goodreads and stuff, but just no one's ever talked about it except me. It's odd. The funniest book series I read this year was The Immortals, aka Evermore. And man, I'm sorry. This is the second video in a row where I've talked about Evermore, and I haven't quite finished it yet, so I haven't gotten to make the whole big video about it. I'm hoping to either get that put together in late December or early January, and then it should be released sometime in January either way. But I don't know, I'm almost done. But man, this is another one of those Twilight ripoffs that came out in the early aughts and the late aughts in the early 2010s. And it's just so bad in every way, but it's bad in like a crazy fun way. Like, the basic idea behind it is that the main character ever, her name is Everbloom by the way, that's her actual name, and her boyfriend is named Damon August. These names are amazing. But the whole thing is that Damon is immortal and over the past couple hundred years, ever keeps being reincarnated and then dying before he and her can be together. And you might recognize this as the exact same plot that was in Fallen and Elixir, which I've already talked about. And Evermore came out first though, out of all these. And it's just beautiful.   That's, I'm not making that up at all. So they just have to try and find ways around that, including like, magical full body condoms and stuff. It's, it's beautiful. It's a mess. And it's beautiful. Like, I just cannot wait to talk to you guys about it more, or talk about it with you guys more. But, oh god, it's amazing. It's the funniest thing I've read this year by far. And it was not intended to be funny at all. The worst romance I read this year, and keep in mind this is not the worst romance book I read this year, but the worst romance in any genre is Ever and Damon from Evermore. And man, I can't, I can't go into a whole lot of detail about that again, because it would just take a long time. But they're both kind of awful people who don't spend much time thinking about how their actions affect other people around them, including each other. Like, they're manipulative to each other.  He kind of sort of makes her immortal against her will and keeps her away from her family. It's, oh god, it is a mess. They're horrible people. Like, it's, no, it's the worst romance I read this year. That's all. The runner up for the worst romance I read this year would be Eden and Bramford from Save the Pearls. Now, I'll get more into Save the Pearls later in this video, don't worry. And I already spent two and a half hours going over it.  Like, Bramford at one point straight up locks her in a cell because he wants to prevent her from making trouble, which is just super romantic, I guess.  Like, they don't know each other all that well other than him being her boss at the beginning of the series. And I can't even explain it. It's just literally from paragraph to paragraph she will change whether she is in love with him or whether she hates him more than she'll ever know. And the only reason she winds up really liking him and eventually getting married to him is because she has like a weird fetish for black people and then he turns himself into a furry and she also is a furry apparently. It's like, it's dumb, okay? Like, I don't know if I would use the word toxic exactly to describe it because I don't know if that's the most accurate thing because they're both just insane assholes and in a weird way they kind of deserve each other. The best romance I read this year was Hunter and Kate from the Elemental series specifically from Spirit which is the third book in the series because Kate is only in that one book. And the thing about this is they aren't the main pairing so they do not get all that much screen time and not as much as they deserve in my opinion really but they are both kind of bad people, right? Like when we meet them they've both done some bad things in their past and they continue to do some crappy things as we go along in the story but both of them also are trying to change and trying to be better and they both inspire each other to be better and it just feels really natural that they would start developing feelings for one another and it unfortunately they do not get a happy ending and it kind of sucks. I don't want to go too deep into spoilers or anything but they unfortunately do not get a happy ending but it works out well. I don't have a whole lot else to say about it but they are just the best romance I read this year because they're very genuine and they make each other better people. The best pet in a book I read this year is She-Ra from the Dinosaur Lords. Now again in the Dinosaur Lords people use dinosaurs and warfare and stuff and the not quite protagonist of the series but the closest thing to a protagonist the series has is named Kareel and he has a pet Allosaurus that he rides into battle and her name is She-Ra and She-Ra is such a she's just a good girl okay I can't I can't help it she's we see things from her perspective several times and she's an intelligent animal she's about as smart as a dog you know and she's very well trained you know she does not attack people unless she's told to uh she goes into battle trying to protect her master and trying to protect other people and she will die for them she will sacrifice herself for them but she also will not take any shit from people who don't deserve it like from other dinosaurs or from people who try to kill her or try to kill her master or anything like that and she also has this really great rivalry with a T-Rex who betrays them near the beginning it's it's hard to explain but like watching her hate him and then eventually fight him more and more is just it's great She-Ra She-Ra's a good girl I wish we got more of her the book I read this year that makes me wonder the most why it exists is Zabiba and the King by Saddam Hussein you didn't mishear that Saddam Hussein wrote a romance novel while he was president of Iraq and it got published I could go into a bit more detail about like what exactly happens in the story and everything but that's not that important I just tell you the basic idea of Saddam Hussein wrote a romance novel and that's why I'm wondering why the hell does this exist this uh this is a thing okay and that that's about all I have to say about it for now the most boring climax I read this year was in Unearthly or more specifically in the last book in the series which is boundless and uh yeah there's not a lot to say about that like main character's friends gets kidnapped and taken to hell or not really kidnapped she kind of voluntarily went there it's stupid uh and then they just sort of stab a fallen angel with like a sword made of God's grace it's like a friendship blade basically and they stab him excuse me and he just immediately decides he doesn't want to be evil anymore and he also goes back up to heaven because his sins have been cleansed which it seems like an easy way out of your sins I gotta be honest like especially considering he's a several thousand-year-old fallen angel who's been torturing people in hell for millennia whatever it's okay whatever it's like the whole climax is over very very quickly too like it's not built up to it happens very quickly and the events themselves are not very satisfying they just sort of stab this dude and then all their problems are solved it's a not a good way to handle the ending to your series like a climax doesn't necessarily need to be action packed but it does need to be the most emotionally resonant part of the story and if it's like a romance or something it could be you know that cliche of oh driving to the airport before they leave forever to tell them that you love them or the characters finally get married or something like that but it can't be this the best fantasy series I read this year was del Torah quest and I know what you might be thinking like James this was written for kids how could it be that great well so was the Hobbit and the Chronicles of Narnia and those are all fantastic books that have stuck around for decades because they have something for people of all ages and del Torah quest does too it's a very well it seems like a very simple story at first and in broad strokes it is it's basically just heroes go from place to place to collect all the gems for the belt of del Torah so that they can use it to get rid of the evil dark lord who has invaded and corrupted their land like it's it's pretty good and watching them go along this journey and get to know each other better and rely on each other is great and most of the time when they get in the trouble they don't just fight their way out of it they have to think their way out of it and there's a bunch of puzzles and stuff that you as a reader can actually stop and look at it and try and solve yourself if you feel like it it's it's really great for kids and then near the end the story does get a bit more complex and there are some good twists and turns and the characters become much deeper than they initially seemed it's like it's just a great read you know like if you're looking for something to read to your kids that you also would enjoy i would say check that out and if you remember seeing it when you were younger but you never got around to it like which is what i did then i'd recommend going for it you know they're short books and they go by quick the worst fantasy i read this year by far bar none not even a contest is the fifth sorceress i mean like look i spent three hours complaining about this series a while ago like they're everything bad that you can imagine in an epic fantasy story is in here you have inbreeding you have villains that self sabotage you have a main character who's like whiny and annoying and goes oh i don't want to be a prince i don't want to have responsibilities but he's also like the best at everything you're the greatest sword fighter ever and all the ladies are just constantly trying to have sex with him because he's just such a chad and he's an idiot as well and then we have nonsensical magic and villain plans that don't make sense like it's just it's painful it's dumb there are very few things in there that are any good and there are very few things in there that even seem like they have potential to be good the fifth sorceress has been out for what 20 years now and it's become infamous as one of the worst epic fantasy ever written in that time period and for good reason it's terrible there's almost nothing good here to talk about and the runner up for the worst fantasy i read this year would be light lark now light lark is again somewhat infamous but it's also much more recent it only came out a few months ago and if i had to describe it it's basically just the hunger games except it takes place in a fantasy world and also it's bad like you know the hunger games worked because it kept like the rules of the contest simple you know there's 24 people go in one of you gets to leave do what you will you know like just kill each other try not to die try not to starve because they're in the wilderness you know it's pretty simple whereas light lark has all these Byzantine rules which don't really make any sense and it doesn't seem all that deadly to be honest because most people who have participated in the contest before haven't died and even outside that the world doesn't make any sense like it's just way too chipper and happy even when it's trying to be darker and edgier uh the powers and curses don't really make sense because like every kingdom has a unique set of powers that they can use but that every kingdom also has a curse that they have to live with and to give you an idea of just how dumb these get the skylings their powers that they can fly and their curses that they can't fly it's it's dumb like and the story is obviously not that great the characters are somehow less than two-dimensional it's like it's it's not good like it's not as bad as the fifth sorceress and hell i wouldn't even say it's as bad as a lot of people are saying but that might just be because i do see some potential and some of these ideas that are brought up it's just it's a mess like i i feel as if if the author had gotten a better editor or maybe just listened to the one she had then we might have gotten a decent middle grade fantasy or something but as it stands right now light lark is just it's pretty bad it's not like offensively bad it doesn't make me angry with how bad it is the way the fifth sorceress does but it's just not good the book this year that i did not actually read but i know i should have gotten to is the lost medal i know i know like but by the time this video comes out i will probably have at least started on the lost medal but it's just i i haven't gotten around to it you know i have other stuff i'm trying to read like i said evermore i'm trying to get through and i know i'm sorry i'll get to it the series i read this year that i just wonder why did i do this uh is matched it's not even that matches like the worst thing i read this year it's just why you know why why did i bother doing that to myself like again it's an audiobook because i just go through a bunch of those while i'm driving all the time but uh why i i don't get it like it's not even the worst thing ever it's just why why i don't know the dumbest twist i read this year is from 172 hours on the moon and um oh boy let me tell you like that story is basically just about a couple of teenagers who win a contest uh so that they can go to the moon you know they they get to go there on a manned mission and hang out in a moon base for a while and stuff and it sounds like a lot of fun but it's also hinted from early on that there is some nefarious stuff going on or mysterious dangerous stuff going on on the moon and it's just not a good book uh one of the problems is that they don't even reach the moon until more than halfway through and then once they're there the supernatural occurrences start happening and it's a little spooky it's a little creepy i'll give it that but then like the big twist is that the moon is hell like like literally like that's where the souls of the damned go like if you've sinned a whole bunch in your life then when you die you go to the moon and so there's demons and shit on the moon it's dumb i hated it just no no no just it's the dumbest thing i read this year or dumbest twist i read this year i should say the book series i read this year that is the most like okay i guess and by that i mean i finished it and i look back on it and i go yeah that was okay i guess like it is fine it elicits no strong reactions at all is under the never sky uh take a wild guess again audiobooks i just was looking for something to get through and originally i was actually planning on doing some sort of comparison between this and breathe because those are both series that came out around the same time and had very similar setups but under the never sky number one turned out to be a bit different than i anticipated and number two there's just i have like nothing to say about it like everything in there is just kind of fine you know characters dialogue the story itself the world building the setup it's just fine you know and there's no deeper way to explore that really like the the only thing i remember kind of liking all throughout the series was the main romance and even then um that's not featured as much in the second and third book as in the first so yeah i just i have nothing to say it like i look back on under the never sky and i go yeah that's that's that's okay i guess the most useless magical creatures i read about this year are the gnomes from the fifth sorceress like if you've read this you know what i'm talking about like their whole job is to just guard this one little hidden forest area which is also where they live and they can't do that like both before the story begins they fail a whole bunch and people break in there when the heroes show up pretty early on they fail to keep them out but i mean it's fine because they're the heroes and they don't want to hurt anybody and then later villains keep coming in and attacking them and the gnomes are just they just suck at what they're doing like even though they try to act like they're these powerful guards that will keep any intruders out so like they just they just can't do it they're useless and they don't even have any other skills like they don't tell the characters any useful information they don't uh help help them in their quest in any other way by like sneaking into areas and doing anything like there's no they're useless they do nothing all right we're near the end so now i can just talk about the worst book series i read this year should be no surprise if you follow me closely it saved the pearls man like god there is just nothing here that is good everything about it is terrible and is either annoying or makes me angry like it's a trend chaser it's riddled with grammatical errors the world it takes place in is dumb and doesn't make any sense either scientifically or within this book's own internal logic it doesn't it's just nothing about it fits together the way it should the characters are all dicks like i touched upon this a little bit earlier with eden and bramford but they're just awful people both to each other and to everyone else like there's a point near the end of the first book where eden just sends out the location of this hidden village to the world and then soldiers come in and attack it and then in the next book they all have to evacuate and move somewhere else like and at no point does anyone bring up that this is eden's fault like she's the one that did this to them and no one ever calls her out on it or anything uh bramford like i said he keeps secrets from her he locks her in an actual cell at one point uh he's semi-abusive towards his son but it's he says it's for his own good uh he's obsessed with his ex-wife even while he's now in a new relationship uh and then eden's father like experiments on her against her will and things like that like every character in this is just an asshole and then the story is just it's just complete nonsense like it starts off as like okay there's this horrible government that the characters need to work against and you think that's what it's going to be about and then they just escape into the jungle and there's kind of hanging out there without much real conflict other than eden and bramford slowly falling in love although i don't know if that's even really considered a conflict because it's just the two of them getting closer uh i should put quotes around the word closer because again it's a terrible romance but and then in the second book eden decides she wants to become a furry and she wants to turn everyone in the world into furries in order to get rid of racism and also she's an aztec god and if she can take her place as an aztec god it can bring balance to the world and it will no longer be destroyed like it is just fucking nonsense man like nothing here is good and i haven't even touched on the racism which is the main thing people talk about when they talk about this series for good reason it is extraordinarily racist but the thing is when everyone is talking about that all the time and like that's the main thing they focus on people tend to forget just how shit it is outside of that like it's not as if uh if you removed all the weird racial stuff the story would suddenly be good it wouldn't be it would still be shit so for that reason yeah save the pearls is the worst series i read this year it didn't actually get an ending uh like the author just never published the third book even though it was planned and part of me is kind of curious to see where it would go because these were you know kind of funny at a few points just because of again how freaking bonkers and off the rails they got uh but at the same time i'm just i'm glad it's done and i'm glad i didn't have to go through another 300 pages of that shit the best book i read this year was the dinosaur knights and that's the second book in the dinosaur lord series like i wanted to single this one out because of the half of a series that we got is the best one by far it wraps up the original story arc of the characters just trying to protect this one area and then the villains being you know this massive kingdom that wants to just come in and cleanse everyone because they're heretics uh and we also finally get introduced to the gray angels who seem like they were going to be the main villains of the series because they just want to wipe out all of humanity and we see them in action and we're like holy shit these things are scary and we see them raise these entire armies and it's also a weird uh play on the zombie apocalypse trope because the gray angels can how do i put this brainwash people i guess you'd say uh but the thing is they keep all their mental faculties they can still think and talk and problem solve and everything they are just so fanatically devoted to the gray angels and to uh performing this crusade and cleansing the world of heresy that they will come at you with their bare hands or with a weapon or whatever and you you have to kill them beforehand like you can cut them in half and they will crawl on the ground towards you and keep going so it's like a you know it's a swarm of zombies almost when you fight them except these zombies can still think and still use weapons and stuff so it's it's an interesting take on it and you see how the religious fanaticism of this world works and you can see some of the dangers of real world religious fanaticism and the character arcs don't exactly wrap up but several of them move forward in very satisfying ways like it's just a perfectly paced story we see more of the world it's it's great and i wish it was in a series that got to be completed maybe it would be the best part of it maybe it wouldn't be maybe it would get even better later on i don't know but i do have to say the bit the best like single book i read this year was the dinosaur nets and that is the end of another video which marks the end of another year or maybe this will come out the beginning of january i'm not totally sure but you know i just uh i didn't have a long speech or anything to go through this year you know i just wanted to thank all of you for sticking with me this whole time through uh if you are new this year then welcome i'm glad you found me if you've been around for a while then i'm glad you stuck with me and to those who have left over the time over the past 12 months or even before that i mean i don't hold any hard feelings you know sometimes my content changes and it's just not what you're looking for anymore sometimes you change and i'm just not what you're looking for anymore and that's fine you know i'm glad we had that time together i'm glad you decided to spend some of your finite amount of time on this earth watching whatever nonsense it is that i put out i never intended for youtube to be my career like it was my main job for a couple of years but now i have like an actual one and this is more just a hobby that i do that also i happen to get paid for and i i always wanted for that to be the case you know i i was never planning to be a professional youtuber or anything it just sort of fell in my lap and i don't want to be for a couple of reasons but the biggest one being that a lot of youtubers just wind up chasing trends and they wind up telling their audience what they want to hear uh even if they're not consciously aware of it that's just what they do because you know that's what gets more engagements that would that's what gets more views that's what gets more subscribers and it's especially noticeable with like political abundance and stuff but it happens to the best of us at least sometimes and i didn't want that to happen to me you know i just want to put out the stuff that i enjoy making because if i'm just putting stuff out just to chase the algorithm or just to chase trends or something then it just becomes work you know it's it's regular work it's no longer fun which is why i started doing it in the first place and i never want to reach that point you know i i am disappointed when stuff i put out doesn't do super well obviously but it's not the end of the world you know my livelihood doesn't really depend on it so i can just put out whatever weird topics or weird things i've been thinking about lately and yeah i don't know i'm just i'm glad all of you could be here uh i hope that your year went well for you it as good if not better than mine and i hope next year treats you well too and i will see all of you in 2023 goodbye huge thanks to everyone who watched this whole thing all of my nonsense that i put out there it's appreciated uh and a huge thanks to all my patrons as well especially my ten dollar and up patrons whose names are oppo savelain and olivia rayon brother santotes buffy valentine carolina clay dan anceliovich dark king deo echo flax great grebo johnny st clare karkat kitsune liza rudakova lord tiebreaker microphone mist boy peep the toad robbie reviews sad martigan sillier the vixen stone stairs tesla shark vivictus and wezzley and of course everyone else whose names you see here uh if you want to get your name put on here consider becoming a patron and if you don't feel like doing that you can also like be a channel member or just like the video and subscribe you know share share it around help help more people see my genius i'm not appreciated enough uh anyways uh see you later bye


The rocket's moving at Mach 2, coming out of the two. So it's two times the speed of sound. Sergeant First Class John Archon, a 13-mic multiple launch rocket system crew member with third of the 116th Field Artillery Battalion from the Florida Army National Guard, provided insight into the High Mars Weapon System and the mobility of the equipment and soldiers. The High Mars is basically the wheeled version of what we call the N270 crew. We could be anywhere in the world loaded on a bird, dropped off, back away from the bird, effects on target looked back on a bird, re-employed. So we fire the 265 millimeter rocket. The rocket's moving at Mach 2, coming out of the two. So it's two times the speed of sound. To become a High Mars crew member, soldiers must attend four weeks of advanced individual training, or AIT, after 10 weeks of basic combat training. During this training, soldiers learn how to handle ammunition, operate weapons, missiles, and rocket systems, as well as develop artillery tactics and battle strategy. The High Mars Weapon System and the soldiers who operate it represent a formidable force on the battlefield. With its impressive range, accuracy, and mobility, the High Mars is a critical asset for modern military operations.


The tale of two cities and shambles, one in chaos and another in Avernus. A tiny holophant with ambitions as grand as her amnesia, a fallen angel far from redemption. These are the things you will encounter in Baldur's Gate, Descent into Avernus. This Dungeons and Dragons adventure is a prequel to Baldur's Gate 3 and is a wonderful tale. It takes you from level 1 to 13, so it's a bit of a long one. Join me as I describe the story that occurs in Baldur's Gate, Descent into Avernus. Your tale begins inside a large city located on the edge of a river. Welcome to Baldur's Gate, a veritable nest of rats and vipers clinging to the rocky slopes overlooking the Chayathan River. From their high purchase in the upper city, the local nobles, known as patriarchs, gazed down with veiled contempt upon the common rabble in the grimy lower city. Climbing the river further east would eventually lead you to Elterol, the capital of the Holy Land of Eltergard, or at least that was the case until a few days ago. The flood of refugees from Elterol has gotten worse since news first arrived that the city has fallen. Everyone is saying Baldur's Gate is next, but no one truly knows who or what claimed Elterol. The patriarchs pay a mercenary army called the Flaming Fist to protect their interest in Baldur's Gate and by extension the city itself. The Flaming Fist has gained even more power since their charismatic leader, Older Ravenguard claimed the title of Grand Duke a few years ago. Apparently, Ravenguard is missing. In his absence, the Flaming Fist has sealed the city's gates to staunch the flow of refugees. No one is allowed in or out. All of this was brought to your attention shortly after you were drafted by the Flaming Fist to help defend the city. Your orders are to speak to Captain Zaj at the Bastilis Gate, which pierces the city's eastern wall. The Flaming Fist soldiers are trying to control angry mobs of commoners eager to leave the city. Armed with only a vague description of Captain Zaj, a tall man with long black hair and a leather eye patch, it takes you a while to find him. After a bit of searching the area, you eventually meet the Flaming Fist captain. The refugee crisis, says Captain Zaj, has stolen fears that Baldur's Gate might suffer the same fate as Elterol, of which nothing remains but a hole in the ground. Our Grand Duke, Older Ravenguard, was visiting Elterol on a diplomatic mission when the city was destroyed. Coincidence? I think not. The Knights of Elterguard called themselves Hellriders. A few of them escaped the destruction and think we're somehow to blame for Elterol's downfall.  We're arresting them on sight, but that's left us short-handed to deal with another problem. For that, I need your help. Owing you intently, it is clear that no is not an answer. He hands you a copper badge that bears the Flaming Fist symbol, giving you permission to act in Zaj's name. Baldur's Gate has long been plagued by followers of the Dead Three, the Gods Bane, Bal, and Merkle. I thought we had wiped them out, but apparently not. These purveyors of fear and death are taking advantage of the current crisis to commit murder sprees throughout the city. As my appointed deputies, find their lair and wipe them out. Eliminate anyone who gets in your way. If you do what I say, I'll see that you receive 200 gold pieces in addition to my gratitude, which is worth considerably more. You can tell that he has a bit of arrogance in his voice. Zaj points you into the direction of the Elf Song Tavern to meet a contact of his named Harina. Once arriving at the building, you find her upstairs playing some cards. She is quick to notice your approach, and you tell her of the mission. Seeking opportunity in this, she agrees to aid you, but first you must aid her. In the past, she had plundered the treasures of a ship she once served. Now in hiding, she hears that the former shipmates are coming for her at the city of Boulder Skate. The deal she proposes to you is you stay at the Elf Song Tavern, and if the pirates show up, to kill them all. You agree to her deal and stick around the Elf Song Tavern for a time being. Killing some time in the tavern, you learn that the once-neighboring city of Elterl had an artificial sun overlooking its skies before the city disappeared. The artificial sun protected the city and its surrounding lands from the undead. Additionally, you learn that the Knights of Elterl, called Hellriders, were named so due to their descent into the Nine Hells on horseback to fight the devils. After some time, the former shipmates of Tarina arrive at the pub, and a fight almost instantly breaks out between the two of you. Keeping good to your word, you slay the shipmates that are hunting for Tarina. You confront her after the altercation, and she provides you with the information needed to continue your investigation. Northwest of here is a bathhouse, where followers of the Dead 3 have been spotted. Whispers tell of a secret door in there that leads into a dungeon of which the killers are hiding. You thank her for her time and enter the streets, traveling to the bathhouse. After heading northwest, you find the bathhouse of which you seek. Nothing seems to be too suspicious of the bathhouse, just a seemingly normal building. You enter the bathhouse, and find the hidden door that leads deep into the dungeon below the floors. Sneaking through, you murder the inhabitants of the dungeon and come upon some interesting things. Firstly, you find the Cult of the Dragon within these tunnels. They are searching for the treasure horde that was stolen from Tiamat, the Queen of Dragons. This treasure was part of the horde that occurred some time ago by the Cultist, but was foiled by some meddling adventurers. Concluding that these cultists are not your target, you proceed further into the dungeon where you meet Mortlock Vanthamber. Mortlock Vanthamber is a man in his late 20s and wields a large club. He is surrounded by the followers of the Dead 3 and beaten pretty badly.  Helping Mortlock, he attempts to form an alliance for his freedom. Mortlock tells you that his family has been the ones paying the Dead 3 cultists to murder people in the city. This was all in an act to prove that the Flaming Fist cannot protect its people. Once the city notices this, the Flaming Fist will no longer be paid and leave the city, opening up a position for his mother to be the next Grand Duke. If Mortlock's mother is successful, Baldur's Gate will suffer the same fate as El Torol. She is one of the remaining 3 members of the Council of 4 that governs Baldur's Gate and was able to convince the current Grand Duke, Older Ravenguard, to leave for El Torol before its fall. Mortlock's brother, Amric, runs a money lending business from a tavern known as the Low Lantern. After telling you this information, you let him go and he flees the dungeon and likely the city. With a new destination in mind, you make your way back to the entrance and head towards the Low Lantern Tavern. At the docks of Baldur's Gate, you find the Low Lantern Tavern. It is an old ship that was once used for merchanting but has now been converted into a tavern and a gambling house. Stepping onto the boat, you search the area and find a man in the corner. He is Amric Vanthamber, the brother of which Mortlock has mentioned. Amric works here as a loan shark, providing money to those in need but with a steep interest rate. He assumes you've come for a loan, but that is far from the truth. You interrogate the man to learn that the mother, the Lamra, resides in her estate in the luxurious upper city. Taking him captive, you proceed out of the tavern until you are intercepted by someone. A cloaked figure approaches, armor clanking with each step. One gloved hand rests on the hilt of a long sword. The other pulls back a cowl to reveal the face of a teenager with brown skin, red hair, and a haunting gaze. She introduces herself as Rhea Mantlemoren. Rhea wishes to speak with Amric, but you explain that he is in your custody and, by extension, that of the flaming fist. She reactively reaches for her sword and prepares to defend herself, but you put her mind at ease by telling her you don't actually work for them.  Noting your valiant efforts, Rhea sheathes her sword and explains that she is in a bit of trouble with the flaming fist for an accident that occurred. Rhea is a refugee of El Torol and was training to be a hellrider. She is searching for Thavius Krieg, the overseer of El Torol, and hears that he is in the company of the Vanthamper. Rhea hopes that Thavius may be able to give her the answer as to what happened to El Torol and if there is any way to save the city. You tell her that you are going to the Vanthamper estate and she insists on tagging along. Armed with a new ally, you make your way to the upper city. Once reaching the upper city, you locate the Vanthamper villa and sneak into the overly large mansion. During your exploration of the building, you find the llama of Vanthamper, along with another of her son, Thurswell. You learn from Thurswell that he has been tasked to open a puzzle box given to him by the former Duke of Baldur's Gate. You defeat the son and confiscate the puzzle box from him. Underneath the mansion is a dungeon in which Thalammar resides. You confront her here and the battle commences immediately. She commands a devilish power and the battle is hard fought.  See you in hell, she says. In the dungeon, you also meet a prisoner named Falister Fisk. The short, lean man tells you that he traveled here to find out why Thavius Krieg had taken shelter with the Vanthambers. In doing so, he was caught and imprisoned. Falister tells you that he works with a tifeling named Sovira Savicus. She is an expert of the Nine Hells and is currently based on Candlekeep. If you were to travel there, Sovira would be able to open the puzzle box that you've collected. You free the man and add another companion to your journey. In addition to Falister, you find Thavius Krieg hiding in a vault. You question the overseer of El Torol and he tells you that he has no idea what happened to the city. Thavius was simply visiting Baldur's Gate at the time El Torol fell and he was captured by the Vanthamber once he entered the city. On the wall of the vault is a shield in which he has been tasked with studying. Cunning as he is, you discern that most of what he says is a lie and force a confession from him that none of this is true. He is actually working with the devil and wishes to use the shield to send Baldur's Gate into the Nine Hells. Rhaea, struck of disbelief at the overseer's cowardice and betrayal, takes a mournful step forward and slays the overseer, deeming him a traitor to humanity. After the events of the Vanthapyr Villa, you report your findings to Captain Zodge along with handing over Amric. You gather your reward but are interrupted by several flaming fist soldiers. Behind this wall of sword and steel steps an armored woman with a white cloak and graying hair. She introduces herself as Liara, a high-ranking member of the flaming fist and the niece to one of the remaining dukes of Baldur's Gate. You tell over your plans to travel to Candlekeep to identify the mysteries of the shield in the puzzle box you've collected while in the villa. Liara thanks you for your aid to the city and prepares a carriage for your travel to Candlekeep along with some armor and supplies. Armed with allies and equipment, you travel along the Sword Coast to find the Citadel of Candlekeep. Along the road to Candlekeep, you and Rea bond a bit. One night over a campfire, she tells you the tale of the Hellriders. Rea says, It was over a century past that the great troubles began. Fiends roamed the lands to the north and west of Elterl. Fields were despoiled, livestock slaughtered, homes raised, and people dragged off to a terrible and unknowable fate. Terror gripped the hearts of all. The city's cavalry rode across the land, striking down fiends wherever they found them and suffering fearful losses. But it was never enough. For every fiend they destroyed, it seemed as though two more appeared elsewhere. The ruler of Elterl, the High Rider, asked his people to pray to the gods for aid. To everyone's astonishment, a mighty angel entered the city the next day. Her name was Zeryl, which means companion of light. The prayers of Elterl have been heard and help had come. Zeryl located the gate through which the fiends were entering the natural world, on the fields of the dead west of the city. Zeryl declared that she would lead the Calvary into Avernus, destroying the infernal host that was amassing there and striking a great blow against the forces of darkness. The High Riders sent out the Riders of Elterl, now numbering many thousands, with Zeryl at their head riding a golden mastodon. With a great cry, Zeryl and her army charged through the gate, the legions of Avernus trembled and buckled, but did not crumble. Zeryl was defeated, and the remnants of her army returned to Elterl, overcome with grief at the loss of their glorious general, but confident that the Lords of the Nine Hells would think twice about threatening Elterl again. There were great celebrations to honor the valiant knights of the Calvary, who became known as Hell Riders from that day on. Rhea ends your story with both pride and longing. You thank her for sharing and continue your journey to Candlekeep once sun breaks. Once arriving to the great gates of Candlekeep, Falaster offers one of his books to gain entry into the Citadel. You make your way to the main keep, guided by Falaster to Severus Laboratory. A middle-aged typhoon dressed in wizardly robes stands by one of the windows. I can't tell you how pleased I am to see you, says the typhoon. What have you brought me? You show her both the puzzle box and the shield that you've gathered. She snatches the puzzle box from your hands and studies it, but shows a bit more caution when it comes to the shield. When Severus studies the shield, she tells you that it contains a pitfing known as Gargoth. Once uncovering the mechanisms to open the puzzle box, she produces nine plates stamped with infernal runes. Reading the runes, it says, Be it known to all that I, Davius Creek, high overseer of Elterl, have sworn to my master, Xerial, Lord of Avernus, to keep the agreements contained in this oath. I hereby submit to Xerial in all matters and for all time. I will place her above all creatures, living and dead. I recognize the dispensation of the device, called the Solar Incidiator, hereafter called the Companion. In my capacity as high overseer of Elterl, I acknowledge that all lands falling under the light of the Companion are forfeit to Xerial. All persons bound by oath to defend Elterl are also forfeit. I further recognize that this dispensation will last 50 years, after which the Companion will return once it came, taking Elterl and its oath-bound defenders with it. All this is my everlasting pledge. It seems that Xerial was no longer an Angel, but a Devil of the Nine Hells. In addition, Bavius had condemned the entire city of Elterl to a doomed fall into Avernus, in exchange for some years of protection through an artificial sun known as the Companion. Burea is absolutely disgusted with the contents that was just shown. Struck in with grief for her city, she collapses onto the floor and weeps for Elterl. You help her to her knees, and vow that the two of you will travel to Avernus and save the once great city from its damnation. Sevirah understands your drive and suggests that you travel to Traxagor's Tower to find a wizard that the Tower was named after. She tells you that you should leave the shield here, but the voice of the shield calls out to you. It tells you to take it with you, for it will be of much help traversing the Nine Hells.  It seems whatever is contained in the shield must have frightened the Tifling. Velasser decides to stay at Candlekeep, for he recognizes that he will be of no help from here on. Sevirah arranges for a griffin to take you to the Tower, and once you are ready, you may take flight across the lands. Preparing yourselves for the journey, you and Rea exit the building and board the griffin, taking into the skies and traversing to Traxagor's Tower. When the griffin lands, you dismount yourself from the beast and explore the large Tower. From within, you find a strange Otter who introduces himself as Traxagor. He had heard news from Sevirah, and has prepared a Plane Shift spell in order to take you to Avernus. Along with the strange Otter is a Holophant named Lulu. Lulu requests that you take her along with you, for she was once a companion of Xerial when Xerial was still an angel. The Holophant was instructed to hide Xerial's sword and had the help of someone to do so. As for the rest, she is unable to remember and wishes to reclaim her memories. You agree to her companionship, and step forth to Traxagor, ready to leave. As you stand together, Traxagor cast the Plane Shift spell, and all of you travel to the Nine Hells. After a brief flash of light, you are greeted by a view of a fiery hellscape. A hot stinging air assaults your senses. The city street in which you stand is lined with buildings that are crumbling, if not already collapsed. The ground shudders beneath your feet. In the red smoky sky, a 400-foot diameter sphere of darkness discharges strokes of bluish-white lightning that strikes the city at irregular intervals. Perched atop a distant cliff, overlooking the rest of the city is a crumbling fortress. Traxagor gazes up at the Black Orb nervously, utters a few arcane syllables, and disappears in the blink of an eye. Lulu, the Holophant, tells you that her surroundings feel familiar. Rhea is disheartened by what she sees around her. It is the city of Elterl and Shambles. Rhea offers to take you to the High Hall Cathedral, where someone in charge may be of help. That offer is soon interrupted by the screams of a woman along with two children. They are being chased by some fiendish devils. The three of you immediately rush to the commoner's aid and fend off the devils. After the dust of battle clears from the area, you confront the commoners to find that they are residents of Elterl. Many of the residents of Elterl had died when the city fell into a furnace, and the city is quite literally split into two. The woman wishes to find refuge at the High Hall Cathedral, where the Grand Duke Older Ravengard may reside. You offer to take her to the location and make your way there. Trekking through devil-infested paths and sneaking your way through, you find yourself at the High Hall Cathedral. This cliff-top castle is once the crowning architectural jewel of Elterl. Only three of its five watchtowers towers still stand, though they appear abandoned. The wooden gates that once led into the castle grounds have been shattered, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. At the center of the castle grounds, the High Hall Cathedral stands defiant. You enter the castle's grounds to find an overrun by devils of all sorts. Fighting your way through, you clear the castle of fiends that attack the area and find the survivors of the raid. Among them is an acolyte named Faraya Jinx. She tells you that Ravengard had took a group of guards to the Grand Cemetery of the City to investigate the undead in the area. Ravengard hopes that a holy relic there, known as the Helm of Torm's Sight, may be able to reveal what has happened to Elterl, as well as bring the city to salvation. His return was expected to be hours ago and Faraya's concerned for the Grand Duke. Dropping off the family that you've saved, you head back into the city in search of Older Ravengard. Rushing to the Grand Cemetery, you find the fences and gates torn apart. You walk into the hallowed grounds and find a chapel erect in the center. You proceed onward and find mutilated bodies of humans wearing the uniforms of Baldur's Gate and Elterl. An armored man with a shield slung over his back crouches among the bodies, writhing in pain.  Unintelligible words spill from his lips, some sounding saintly and solemn, while others resonate with a cruel hissing. You take the man back to High Hall Cathedral and consult with Faraya on how to save the man. Faraya identifies that the man is Older Ravengard and the helm that he has done has caused him to be in a terrible state. Conducting a ritual of returning, you free his mind and remove the helm from his head. Older Ravengard comes to his senses and thanks you for the aid that you've provided. He tells you of the strange visions that he had while wearing the helm that came from the god Torm. In his spirit journey, Ravengard saw a bloodied woman in armor wearing the colors and crest of Elterl grasping a longsword fit for an angel. Flying next to the woman was a small golden elephant. He points to Lulu stating that that is the creature he saw. As an enormous, loping demon threatened to devour the woman, she plunged the sword into the ground. Lulu had fled and wandered into Delirium before coming upon two odd, bird-like humanoids dressed in patchwork armor and standing next to a strange, infernal vehicle. Lulu recalls that the hellrider in Ravengard's vision goes by the name of Yale, Zario's most loyal hellrider. She is particularly excited by the last part of his story regarding the winged creatures. Lulu tells you that the birds were named Chuka and Klonk and are likely to be Kankus. She recalls that they belong to a fort in Avernus called Fort Knucklebone where they build and repair infernal vehicles. Older Ravengard recommends you traveling to the fort while he remains in Elterl and defends the remaining survivors. Rhea Mantlemore decides that she shall remain in the city too for defending is where she belongs. She fights back a bit of tears as she bids you farewell. You exit the city and set further down into the hellscape of Avernus. You climb down from the city of Elterl and land onto the floors of Avernus. The hellscape of Avernus sits under hideous clouds that obscure the vault of the sky from which the occasional meteor streaks before crashing into the ground. Ambient light continually swells up from just below the horizon as though lit by nine setting suns yet no actual celestial bodies fill the sky. No sun, moons or stars. The atmosphere reeks of brimstone and burning tar and hot gust of wind shriek across the hellscape to scour the land below. Biting flies, hell wasp, and blood-sucking Sturgis patrol the area hunting for any source of blood to feed on. Bone fields, quicksand, bubbling tar pits, lakes of lava, canyons of wailing souls, and salt flats made from the tears of the damned all await those who wander the hellscape. After leaving Elterl, you head to Fort Knucklebone, a junk yard stronghold on the edge of a desolate expanse of Avernus ravaged by rival gangs of scavengers. A fortified compound sits atop a low plateau that rises out of a crater-popped landscape. At the center of the compound is a hill of rust-colored stone that resemble a hand clawing out of the ground. A pair of Kenku examine one of the strange vehicles chattering to each other in high-pitched squawks. These Kenku carry an assortment of strange tools. When they see you, they turn and stare in wonder. One of the Kenku waves in your direction as if telling you to remain where you are. What a deal! Patience is a virtue! Can't keep the boss waiting! He runs off into one of the trash structures. Moments later, he returns, leading a tall creature wearing a long tattered shift covered in mud, blood, mold, and worse. The hag's eyes seem to move independently of each other as she approaches. Both of the hag's eyes focus on Lulu specifically. My goodness! The hag croaks. Where did you find such a treasure? The two Kenkus present are the ones from Lulu's memories, Chuka and Klunk.  You explain to her your situation, and she offers to help by restoring Lulu's memories. Mad Maggie wishes to perform a ritual to reclaim the lost memories in hopes that she too may find valuable bits of scrap left from Xerial and her crusade into Avernus. You look to Lulu who nods in agreement. Mad Maggie prepares the ritual, and you help her through the process, fending off devils in Lulu's dreams. Once the ritual is completed, Lulu explains, the sword! The sword! I know where it is! Lulu uncovers that the Sword of Xerial is located at the Bleeding Citadel. Thankful for allowing her to revel in the past memories of Lulu, Mad Maggie takes you to her junkyard, where she offers you a war machine for your travels. In addition to your vehicle, she offers weapons of silver along with rations of two weeks. You thank her for her aid, and set forth on your newly acquired war machine towards the Bleeding Citadel. Following Lulu's path, you find yourself on a hill lined with iron trees. At the top of the hill is a vampire by the name of Jandar Sunstar. Impaled on an iron tree, Jandar tells you that he has been sentenced here due to his betrayal to Xerial, and she descended upon Avernus. After years of anguish, Jandar begged the Lathander for mercy, but it fell on deaf ears. You take pity on the poor soul and free him from its iron tree. Just as you release him, Lulu is abducted by Hell Wasp, and a Narzaghan named Haruman battles you. You defeat the Narzaghan, and follow the Hell Wasp into their nest to free the Hall of End. Once rescuing Lulu, she apologizes for leading you here, for this is certainly not the Bleeding Citadel. Her memory of the landscape has become unreliable at this point, and she can't seem to remember the path to the Bleeding Citadel. Lulu ponders for a bit, and tells you that there are two sights and which may be of interest when it comes to finding the Citadel. One sight is where the demons manifest, and another is where demons are destroyed. The path that leads to where the demons manifest will take you on a series of quests that have you fetch favors for various devils and demons. At the end of the ordeal, you find a crypt that houses the souls of the former Hellriders that attacked Avernus of Xerial. A particular Hellrider, named Alotheus, cannot stand the fallen status of Xerial and vows to end her rule at all cost. He reveals to you the location of the Bleeding Citadel, and agrees to help you in the battlefield against Xerial if the time ever comes. The path that leads to where the demons are destroyed takes you on a journey to meet a devil named Bell. Bell has you retrieve 9 Adamantine rods in exchange for the location of the Bleeding Citadel. After retrieving said rods, he keeps his end of the bargain by revealing the location of the Bleeding Citadel. Lulu advises you that it be best to search out the Sword of Xerial. Heating the Holofan's advice, you hop on your war machine and travel to the Bleeding Citadel.  The dome top of an alabaster temple pokes through the scab. Many black iron chains of Avernus converge on the building, attaching within the grotesque mound. Lulu chimes in at the side of the area. She tells you that the scab will eventually cover the entire structure, whereupon the citadel will be absorbed into the Nine Hells, and the Sword of Xerial will be lost forever. With great haste, you delve into the many tunnels leading into the citadel. You travel through the dangerous tunnels surrounding the structure, and find yourself at the entrance of the Bleeding Citadel. Brass double doors stand exposed in the wall of the scab. A relief image on the doors depict a blindfolded angel wielding a sword, and carved into the door frame are beautiful, gold inlaid runes. The runes on the door say, Against evil, we stand united. Only the peer of heart can part these holy gates. You look to Lulu, who nods in agreement. Lulu approaches the large doors and is able to open it.  Restorative energy brings life to numb muscles as the glow softens to reveal the interior of a sun-kissed cathedral. How light passes through the scab and into stained glass windows is a mystery only magic can answer. The interior of the citadel is one large alabaster chamber, brightly lit by magically created sunlight shining through the windows. The sword atop the dais is the sword of Xeriel. The carving on the dais read, The hero who become one with this blade exists no longer. You take a step forward, ready to reclaim the lost sword, but as you do, you are stopped. The translucent image of a woman in her 30s wearing plate armor and bearing a thin scar on her cheek appears before you. As she points towards the holofent, Lulu's eyes turn pure white. A whisper fills your ear and says, I remember. A wave of radiant energy erupts from Lulu's body and in that blinding flash, the ghostly warrior, the holofent and the bleeding citadel disappear. The solace of the cathedral is replaced by havoc, screams of panic, and accurate smoke. You stand at the edge of a small town of burning cottages, fields, and trees. A broken sign on the ground reveals the settlement's name, Idleglin. Shrieking townsfolk run from the cackling, snarling demons and gnolls. You recall that ages ago, Idleglin was threatened by gnoll tribes. Solander Brightstar, a cleric of Lathander, led the people in prayer to his god for aid. Lathander was moved by the people's bravery and sent the angel Xeriel to defeat the gnolls. After driving off the gnolls, the people erected a statue of Xeriel to honor her. Generations later, the gnolls return to Idleglin, this time with demons in their ranks and Ynogu himself leading the warband. Xeriel and the Hellriders came to Idleglin's aid, but not before the town was mostly destroyed. Packs of gnolls and demons surround you and begin to attack you. You fend off the creatures and save the townsfolk from utter annihilation, but stop when something unexpected occurs. A woman's voice enters your mind. Night's work, take a break. You've gotten an hour before the really bad stuff happens. You hear a cackling laughter in the far distance. It gets louder and louder as the hour passes. You rest up a bit before the upcoming event and prepare yourself for anything. As the time approaches, you notice some figures in the direction of the laughter. More demons pour out, but this time it is different. A wild, hideous laugh pierces the air and cuts through the din of battle. A giant gnoll covered in matted bloodstained fur and swinging a three-headed flail charges out of the haze from the west. Gord drips from his red maw, open in a violent laugh. You stare in fear and awe. This is the demon lord of gnolls, Yunogu. You fend off the demons as best you can, but it seems as though all hope is lost. The cackling demon lord shuts his maw and narrows his eyes, gazing up toward the sky as a beam of radiant light pierces the haze. A powerful angel streaks down from above, followed by a gold-furred mammoth with feathered wings. The angel slashes her sword across Yunogu's chest and utters a spell. A portal opens behind the demon lord as the mammoth rams is head into Yunogu. The demon lord is sent tumbling through the portal, which quickly closes behind him. After ridding idle glen of Yunogu, Lulu and Zerial introduce themselves to you, healing you as best they can. While these introductions happen, the original hellriders appear on more horses and kill any remaining demons and gnolls. One of these hellriders, a woman in her 30s with a fresh, deep cut on her cheek, thanks you and introduces herself as Yale. She gives a wink before lining up to join the rest of the battalion. You also recognize Alantheus, Haruman, and other original hellriders. As Zerial prepares to lead her forces through the portal into Avernus, all other creatures except for her, Lulu, and you stop moving and responding as if frozen in time. Zerial turns to you and says, Yunogu slaughtered those I sworn to protect. I can stop him and others like him. I might have to give up all I stand for, but I could stem the tide of chaos and save many lives from the demonic terrors of the Abyss. Were you in my place, would you risk it all to save others? You look to the angel and answer her earnestly. No matter if you answer yes or no, Zerial blesses you, and a flash of light brings you back to the bleeding Citadel. You stand before the Dias, a top which glows the sword of Zerial. Also before you are Lulu and the Ghostly Warrior, Yale. The Hallifant is first to speak. I remember everything now. Idolglen was the last straw. We followed Zerial into Avernus, but the evil dare proved to be too much for us. As Modius appeared and promised Zerial infernal legions to end the blood war, but she had to give the Lord of the Nine Hells her fealty. She accepted and became an Archdevil, but not before Yale and I took her sword, hoping it could redeem Zerial someday. I gave up my magic and memories, and Yale gave her life to construct this place to protect the sword. Yale's Ghost says, You have faced many trials to claim the sword of Zerial. I'm sorry to say, you have one more. As the inscription of the Dias says, The hero who becomes one with this blade exists no longer.  You nod to Yale and take your steps forward to claim the sword. Wrapping your hands around it, you pull the sword from its stone and attune to it immediately. The citadel and the scab around it explode outward and blinding rays of light. Creatures inside the bleeding citadel are unharmed by the explosion and find themselves suddenly under Avernus' red sky. Once you claim the sword of Zerial, Yale's work is done. Her ghost bids you good luck and fades away as their soul passes into the afterlife. Before you set off to confront Zerial, you make your way back to the crypt that houses the souls of the Hellriders. Here you find Elantheus, one of the original Hellriders. Convincing him to come along to redeem Zerial, he agrees to help you for this may be his only remaining path of redemption. With Zerial's sword in your hands and allies by your side, begin your final act to save Elterol and redeem the fallen angel. You follow Lulu's path to the ground of Avernus beneath Elterol. Elterol hangs above you and the river Styx. The iron spikes that anchor the city have dragged it nearly to the river's bank. Within a few hours, Elterol was sinking to the Styx. Hordes of distant demons fly around the city like gnats and a battle rages fiercely beneath it. Thousands of fiends clash in Elterol's shadow. At the center stands a being wreathed in flame, striking down demons with tireless fury. Lulu points at the figure with her trunk and whispers, That's her. Zerial stands exactly where she always does, where the fighting is fiercest. You rush to Zerial and bring the sword close to the archdevil. The weapon glues brighter, then levitates to hover before her. Confronted with the last fragment of her angelic spark, Zerial faces an internal struggle. Lulu weeps for what Zerial has become. Zerial feels sorrow as she remembers Lulu's friendship. Seeing Alantheus fill Zerial with shame for leaving her loyal friend to a horrific fate. You plead with the once holy being to take up her mantle as an angel and abandon this path of evil. Overcome with emotions, Zerial makes her final decision. Zerial's trembling hand reaches toward the gleaming hilt of her sword. Her fingers brush against it, and she grimaces as radiant light sears her flesh. As her grip tightens, she gasps in pain, then speaks in oath through tears of confusion, sorrows, and dawning joy. I, Zerial, supplicate myself before the holy light of justice. If it should accept me, I vow to take up this blade once more in its service. The archdevil's words hang in the air for a silent moment, and she glances upward in agonized uncertainty. Then Zerial is bathed in a brilliant wash of radiant light. Her fiery halo disappears and feathers burst from her leathery wings. All of her diabolic features vanish as her angelic form is restored. At the sight of this blessed transformation, Lulu gasps in delight and transforms into a celestial mammoth with golden fur, feathered wing, and gleaming tusk. Returned to her full celestial glory, Zerial takes on the task of saving the besieged city of El Torol. Zerial first soars above El Torol within reach of the corrupted companions. She closes her eyes, raises her sword above her head, takes a deep, centering breath, and brings the blade down. The companion rings like a bell, and then shatters, sounding out an angelic tone that can be heard with perfect clarity across the infinite breath of Avernus. With the destruction of the companion, the people of El Torol are freed from infernal bondage. A planetar imprisoned within the companion raises the city out of the nine hells, and returns it to Faerun. Zerial and you accompany the city until Zerial is satisfied that El Torol is safe. The Chiantar River shines like a golden road, stretching from El Torol to Baldur's Gate into the sea beyond. The scent of morning dew cuts through the odor of smoke, brimstone, and rot that clings to El Torol's stones. Slowly, the people of the city make their way out from their hiding places to stand in the light of the mortal world once more. All eyes focus on Zerial where she stands, sword in hand. The planetar that raised El Torol out of Avernus kneels before her. Lulu nudges Zerial, then gestures towards you with her trunk.  This dark chapter has at last come to an end, and it is a brighter end than I ever dared to hope for. Thank you. Your selflessness will live on in my memory forever. And in mine, Lulu says. Zerial's tone turns more somber as she says. You have made an enemy of Asmodeus this day. We have that in common now. I wish you strength and good fortune, and if ever you have a need of my power, hold this feather aloft and invoke my name. I shall come to your aid. Zerial pulls a single golden feather from one of her wings and hands it to you. With her gift given, Zerial inclines her head, unfurls her wings, and soars into the sky. Lulu turns to wrap you up in a massive hug with her trunk. When she lets you go, she smiles warmly and says, We'll see each other again. The golden mammoth then flaps her wings and soars into the sky. You watch her silhouette dwindle until it is swallowed by sunlight. So much, and if you liked the video, please like and subscribe. It really helps me out. Thanks.


Welcome to Monet cafe artistic friends and visitors. I'm artist Susan Jenkins We're gonna have a lot of fun with the snowman and snow tutorial and if you haven't already subscribed to this channel Please do so to keep more artistic lessons coming your way. Here is the sweet snow family I created the final painting and let's get started. I'll show you the supplies first I'm using a piece of pastel matte and Some Daylor Rowney acrylic ink. I love pastel matte for pastel paintings It does allow for some layering and this particular piece is from a pad of just white It does come in multiple colors But I like the flexibility of being able to tone the white surface to suit the painting now Of course with this being a snow painting or snowmen and snow I didn't want to work from a white surface which I rarely do and I thought I would tone it this pretty turquoise Daylor Rowney ink color because I wanted some Coolness to it, but I didn't want it so cold like a blue So the turquoise is kind of a little bit in between blue and green I did add water to the acrylic ink and it ended up drying a bit lighter than I originally intended But it still worked just the same now. I'm using just a piece of vine charcoal or willow charcoal I like using the bigger thicker pieces I feel like it helps for me to keep a real sketchy quality Plus they don't break as easy I try to hold my drawing implement or utensil in a way to keep a sketchy and artistic feel Also rather than working from a reference photo I decided to display the final painting for you guys to follow along with the original reference photo I wasn't positive on the copyright But I altered it a lot in Photoshop and with my imagination I flipped the image I cropped it I changed the background so it's altered enough So there's no issues, but I just didn't want to share the original photo Now if you're a patron of mine, I will share the original reference image within the Patreon post of this particular video and if you're not sure what a patron is of mine I have a patreon page and patreon is a neat way that people can support artists Musicians and more in order to help them keep their content coming improve things in my case improve my Equipment my videos and also to help me just keep these videos coming I love the communication I have with so many of you from all over the world and how often you don't have any other means To get art instruction, especially in these trying times now Let me talk a little bit more about what I'm doing here You can see the snowman the snow papa or daddy has two snowballs So does the baby and the mama has three and so when you sketch things in you can just be very Loose sketchy and not a lot of detail now here are the pastels I'm using now that might look like a lot of pastels But this is kind of my in-between set that I often use where I store my pastels In between different paintings that I'm doing as a temporary storage system before putting them into my studio palette And I find it's really practical for just grabbing because it often has just about every color and value I need for a painting now with this background you can see I already applied kind of a medium value blue And now I am applying a little bit of a darker value blue notice. These are more neutral. They're not super highly saturated colors and I imagined the darker blue background portion of being further away a little bit more in shadow and See how loose and sketchy I'm doing this all I'm doing is giving the suggestion of trees I wanted the background you can see the final painting here. I wanted it to not Grab so much attention that it stole from the main characters of this snow family And so I'm just keeping real loose sketches suggesting trees putting in some branches Hopefully in a way that doesn't detract from the snow people and I often try just like in photography I mean you don't want a tree coming out of somebody's head, you know, so you just Think about these things and gradually you kind of start to do them While not even thinking about it so once again the background should be loose painterly and A bit out of focus and you'll see I develop it more later but I wanted to get something in for contrast first and I used three different values of blues here and all of them were a bit more neutral that last one I used has a little bit more color to it and Really for the most part this is just a value study that I'm doing at the beginning and I'm using some of the same values that I used in the Background to establish the shadow side of the snow family now if you're wondering what is the shadow side? You can look usually at any image and see where is it lighter and where is it more in shadow? And then you can kind of know where the Sun is coming from and at this in this particular case the Sun is coming from the upper right area and therefore the shadows are going to be on the Left side of the snow family and blues are excellent for shadows and this being a snow scene and being cold That definitely works. So see how I'm working in shadowy areas a bit more where it would be further away from the Sun and also Underneath the base a little bit of the the base form of the snow people and also what I'm trying to accomplish Is the roundness or spherical quality of the snow people?  It's the same concept When you add the cast shadow and shadows in certain areas you definitely develop the illusion Of roundness now. I've got a little bit of a it's still a blue Um, remember with pastels you can layer so often I will get a darker value in first and then layer On the top so I know I'm going to come back on the right side of those snow people and add my highlights But I'm not super worried about that right now. I'm more interested in just getting an overall value study Overall for the whole painting before I get into any serious detail and I highly recommend that strategy If you want to keep a more painterly feel and have your painting feel more Believable, you know, it's really is a so much about getting the correct values in and that just means The lightness and darkness that scale from light to dark in a scene Now you probably notice I have portions of this sped up and I have it Pretty minimally sped up and just keep in mind that if you decide to follow along Um What I used to do um when I would follow tutorials Is just to pause the video watch a certain section pause it get to that point But my reason for speeding up portions is I think the final Painting was it was over an hour, but um Some of that was due to the fact that I did this as part of a Live stream test. Yes, I'm going to be bringing some live stream videos I'd like to have it be kind of like a paint along a casual experience Almost like a sketch and sip type of thing maybe on Friday evenings. And so I did two parts of this Um with my patrons. I had an unlisted live stream that they could access and see But I didn't make it public. So that's why um some of the video I've I've edited And if you see me talking my jaw moving a lot It's because I was talking during the the live stream and that's that's my goal That's what I'm going to be doing and hopefully you can still follow along even though it's sped up just a bit now I decided to give him a green hat even though in the original reference image. It was a blue hat And uh, we can do that we can break out our artistic license I wanted to make because the scene was so cold so much blue and coolness going on I wanted to have that pop of color in their attire, which is hats and scarves Also too with the little orange noses Now I am going to be adding some music in a bit and letting you guys just enjoy follow along if you like But also I wanted to share a little bit more Before that about painting in pastels in general if you've seen many of my tutorials You probably already know some of the things i'm about to say, but there are always some new people Tuning in falling in love with pastels. I love the fact that my videos Really have inspired and encouraged a lot of artists or want to be artists to try pastels There's such a great to me. I call it a user friendly medium. They don't dry up on you I love being able to hold them in my hands not having to use brushes Now you could see I was just adding I put in the pieces of coal for their eyes and the mouth And um, if you add a little bit of shadow imagine pushing a piece of coal into the snowball And you would create a little divot and there's going to be a little bit of a shadow around it And a highlight on the side where the sun is coming from So those little teeny things that you can do will increase the believability Of uh that illusion of something being three-dimensional rather than very flat now I'm kind of sketching in the scarf and um What we can do I wanted the scarves to be really up high around their chins like you're all bundled up Especially the little guy notice you can't even see his mouth. I just love that And um, so I'm just kind of using a pastel to sketch in the generalities of the scarf I changed the scarf a lot from the original um image that I saw to be Obviously a different color and also I wanted it to feel like the wind was blowing So the little guy in the middle I felt like he was kind of safeguarded between his mama and daddy So his scarf wasn't blowing as much But I gave some gestural marks and strokes to their scarves added some tassels And it gave that feeling of energy and movement Now in these next scenes that are about to come up, you're going to see the screen split into three sections It was part two of the livestream that I did and I didn't really have any way to crop it Any better for you guys to see me actually painting So you're going to see a view of my easel and myself from behind here as I'm working And this will actually be kind of the format of how the livestreams are going to work I'll paint for a while and like I did in this actual livestream sample I'll paint for a while then I'll come up and talk to you guys read your chats Answer any questions I can and then get back to painting I think it'll be a really neat format where I can engage with you guys Live is always fun anyway, you know, so I just really am excited about this So hopefully by the beginning of the year, I'll be able to start offering that and I'd love your comments and suggestions as to What I'm thinking maybe Friday afternoons I don't know maybe Saturdays and I know we have people not only in different time zones here in the united states But people all over the world. So I know it's not going to work for everybody, but I'll do my best All right, so now I wanted you to notice that when I did the scarves I typically put a darker value down first and then I add the lighter color And value on top of it And I've found that you really can get away with less information than you typically think you need It's just suggesting things and that way it keeps that painterly style So in this image, what was the focal point to me? It was kind of their faces and those scarves So I wanted to make sure they got the most contrast brightest color And in this case I am making instead of making the dad's scarf blue like it was in the reference image I decided to make her scarf not quite blue But more of a a teal maybe to go along Harmonize a little bit with that original kind of turquoise teal background color So again, I'm putting down the dark. I'm using this pastel kind of to sketch in her hat It kind of looks like it was a hat with a little brim over her Face if you see in the final painting and then it also looked like she had on like some ear muffs Or either the hat had a little ball on it. So I just suggested I don't have to spell everything out And then I will gradually work and Move from that darker value to that brighter More highly saturated kind of pretty teal blue color And now once again because I want the focal point to be more of Primarily their faces their scarves After I apply this blue. This is kind of a medium dark value I go back in with a prismacolor new pastel. It's I or well not yet I'm actually kind of reestablishing her face. I knew it needed to be a little bit wider sticking out and that second ball was a little bit Too thin So that's the neat thing about pastels with this layering ability. Like I said, this pastel matte paper is perfect for that You have those options. There is the little spruce blue prismacolor new pastel And I'm using that to establish a little bit more shadow underneath the hat And maybe a little bit darker values in some of the folds of the scarf Now that backside where that earmuff is was definitely going to be darker It's more in shadow on that left side Underneath areas of the scarf and you see how just that little bit of contrast You don't want to overdo it or have really solid lines. I try to do broken lines and sketchy quality lines And once again establish some gestural strokes For the scarf blowing in the wind, but you see how that little bit of contrast causes your eye to go right there Now here's that pretty blue. It's such a pretty color. It's kind of just I love colors that are in between I love a periwinkle that is in between purple and blue And uh, this one's just kind of that neat in between a blue and a green Um, which is just really pretty So I'm just with the scarves too Imagine that scarves and these hats that are like toboggan's they're made kind of out of yarn So when you get your darker value down, you can just kind of add little Little kind of zigzaggy marks in places and it really does give that feeling of a What do they call it like weaving like crocheting or whatever? There's just little parts of fabric that are on top and lighter and brighter than others Oh, I'm talking to my patrons there But again, this is kind of going to be the live format that we'll be getting hopefully soon And at this point I was pretty much done with the Part two of the live stream experiment and then I did part three. Actually, I just recorded the footage So you'll see the screen change again in a minute. Actually, you might even be able to see better So enjoy this. Didn't I say I was going to add some music? Let's add some lovely Christmas music Hopefully I've given enough instruction at this point for you to learn something maybe follow along and again If you're a patron of mine You'll get the image the reference image of the final painting The reference image that I used and you'll also be able to share your work if you follow along with this tutorial patrons In our homework album. And if you're patron listening if you're new patron Just so you know, I always have the link to your homework album within the post that you will see Okay, so that was to my patrons. All right. So now here's the point that I'm at when I started part three enjoy this music and Don't go away because I'm going to be sharing with you the technique I used for creating this snow in the scene Which really just set it off All right, enjoy and I'll be back now that I have my snow family Established I'm going to work a little bit more on the background now It's already pretty loose, but I'm adding in just a little bit more interest with some suggestive branches And giving a little bit more value. I decided to make that area behind the mama snow lady Feel like it was going back a little bit further in the distance like the ground. There's maybe a trail back there And so I'm just trying not to make it too busy And then I go in and soften things with a little bit of almost like sky holes behind They're pretty bare in trees anyway But it gives a little bit more interest if I add some different values And I added some purples in there a little bit more of that periwinkle And the goal is to make this not the focal point and thus that's why it's very Suggestive and I know I'm going to be adding snow on top of it. Anyway, I decided to put a little bit of a cooler green Just suggesting maybe a little bit of the green showing through on some evergreen trees back there And now let's add some snow to this scene I've laid my painting flat and I'm using a kitchen grader with some different values of pastels now You might think well snow is white. Let's just use white But I am using different values because snow is different colors based on whether it's in the shadow or in the sunlight And so I'm just kind of working around areas using the larger greater holes to get some bigger chunks of snow And the smaller greater holes to get that More blizzardy feeling of snow where it's um A little bit more compact with smaller particles And so I'm just kind of artistically working it around with some of the different values of the A little bit more of a lavender color Blue periwinkle blue and then I use the lightest one That's kind of my warm white that I I added a little bit of that warm white on the sides of the snow people I didn't comment on that before but that added like the sunlight part Some warmth to it on the on the sunny side of the snow family So I just continue to add it as I think it needs it and then if I get a piece That's a little bit too large. Sorry for my camera shaking I can use my xacto blade to break it up to sign kind of gently move it around in different areas And then when I'm happy with The general snow application I take a piece of tracing paper or glass scene And I lay it over the snow family and I use anything that has a flat round surface a rolling pen in this case A yankee candle. Oh this candle smells so good. And so I'm speeding this up But I roll it in multi directions. What's interesting is it kind of makes a ghost image of the painting on the other side That's kind of neat. So now by rolling the snow in this technique I am able to lift it up and none of it fell off So it is ready to display frame and enjoy I will have this painting available in my etsy shop and also patrons remember to share your creations in the homework album I hope you enjoyed that and Merry Christmas to all and as always happy painting


Stand by. My fellow Americans, in just two days on Monday morning, I will have the honor of representing you and our country when I appear before the General Assembly of the United Nations. This will be my seventh and final appearance as President before the UN. And on each of these occasions, as with each time I've represented America in my trips overseas, whether to the Berlin Wall or the demilitarized zone in Korea, to the Canals of Venice or the Palace of Versailles in France, to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing or St. George's Hall in Moscow. Yes, whenever I've carried our flag into meetings with foreign leaders, I have felt a special pride. We Americans have so much of which to be proud, so much that others can only dream of. Most of all, our freedom and our democracy, and we stand for so much that is good and decent and honorable in the world. When I step up to the podium on Monday, I will see before me the representatives of nearly all the countries on Earth, some like Western European nations and Canada, Japan, a long-standing democracies, major industrial powers, and good friends. Others like the Philippines, South Korea, and many countries in Latin America are fledgling democracies with economies that hold great promise, even if, as is the case in the Philippines right now, those economies are troubled. Others struggle toward democracy or economic strength, or both, and too many others still live in lands that know neither. My message this year to the delegates of the United Nations will be a message of hope. For eight years around our nation and around the world, I've been saying that the key to world peace and human freedom is the strength and determination of the great democracies. This year, as we survey the scene one last time, we can see that our strength has indeed proven to be the engine of peace and hope in the world. Nowhere is this clearer than in U.S.-Soviet relations. Just eight years ago, our critics at home were calling our plans to restore America's strength a threat to world peace. These were often the same people who later criticized our rescue mission in Grenada when we freed that tiny island nation from the grip of a communist tyranny, or who were to condemn our strike against Gaddafi's Libya. And yes, in the fall of 1983, when the Soviets walked out of the intermediate-range nuclear force talks in Geneva, many of these same critics said we were to blame. Our firm stance in negotiations and the resolve of our allies precipitated the breakdown in the talks, they said. And they criticized our zero-option proposal that called for the elimination of an entire class of U.S. and Soviet ballistic missiles. They said it was unrealistic and a sign that we were not serious about arms reductions. Well as you know, we continued to hold firm. And finally the Soviets returned to the bargaining table. Just a few months ago, Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev and I stood in the gilded splendor of one of the Kremlin's most splendid rooms and exchanged the instruments of ratification for the INF Treaty, a treaty that will, for the first time in history, eliminate an entire class of U.S. and Soviet nuclear missiles. At the UN on Monday, I'll talk about this and other successes for our philosophy of peace through strength. A firm show of strength by America and its allies has kept the vital international shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf open and was a key factor in pushing one of the bloodiest wars of this century to a ceasefire. From Cambodia to Afghanistan to Angola, our strength, our assistance to those who would fight for freedom has given both peace and freedom a new breath of life and, given the people of those countries, new hope. Yes, the world today is filled with realistic hopes for peace and freedom that would have seemed totally utopian just eight years ago. After all, eight years ago, who would have thought that a president of the United States could stand before an assembly of students in the Soviet Union and speak to them about the wonders of freedom? The great question now is, what next? Where does the world go in the next eight and the next eighty years? What are the steps we might take toward a safer, better, freer world? And I'll have some thoughts of my own on Monday. One thing is certain. If we're to continue to advance world peace and human freedom, America must remain strong. We must turn a deaf ear to those born-again patriots who talk about strength while serving up the same old menu of weakness. If we have learned anything these last eight years, it's that peace through strength works. Until next week, thanks for listening and God bless you.