During your journey to the heart of the Earth, you have to pass three realms, full of dangers and surprises. One of them is Mantle, lands of neverending change, where the best you can do to survive is to accomodate. Having a guide who understands the subtleness of this land would be quite helpful, don't you think?
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Back in ancient times, magic ruled the Earth, not only inhabited by humans. Variety of spiecies like trolls, faes, sirens and so on livedamong the humans, until the Dark Ages, when they were considered a threat and banished to living in an undergound realm. Vatican Council decided, that the gate to the realm has to be guarded by specially trained Order of The Gate, where children were rising, taught to not trust anything that is inhuman. You are one of the Protectors, now send underground to discover if there is a potential threat of rebellion. Are you going to stay faithful to your cause or maybe "The Damned" are not as bad as the Order paints them?
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Gehenna is divided into three rings: Crust, Mantle and Core.
Crust is inhabited by dwarfes, gnomes, trolls and so on, they live in a labyrinths of mining corridors, where the light is as scarce as it is unwelcomed. They are the main source of minerals and gold for the richest on The Surface.
Mantle is the place where hot and cold mingle and mix, creating a landscape where deserts meet seas, where a rainforest can dry out in a matter of days. Anyone can live there, if they dare to. The natives are called Adapters, for their bodies evolved to shift and change to the whims of nature.
Core is where the highest of all the creatures live - faes, elves, faries. They are the nobles, the warriors, the wise ones. To protect themselves from the heat of their main source of energy, they built soaring unmelting ice cities, covered in clouds of steam. The Order suspects that the King, Aerendyl the Visioner, will try to unite the rings to rise agains human race.
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Adan in the Adapter that prides themselves in being the best. His intuition is as sharp as his teeth and the survival instinct keeps him on the highest alert, even in his sleep! Well, allegedly... This cocky, boyish bravado is quite convincing, but as soon as you ask them why is he wandering alone, it suddenly vanishes, leaving them a flustered mess. What's even more amusing is that it's him following you around, claiming how much YOU need HIM. And since he kinda saved your life (dragged you to a hole during a hurricane) you kinda owe him one now...
Have I mentioned he is pretty... clumsy for an Adapter and has luck for unfortunate events?