Guide

1. On ground, inside of a tent that is right behind the Protostar Banker, Dominion Branch (Banker), south from nearby Taxi Station, Hycrest.
   
   
   

   
   
   

2. On ground, next to one of the many tombstones (this one has circular stone element on it), Hycrest Cemetery.
   
   
   

   
   
   

3. On a crate, next to a bookshelf, inside of a Grovewood Infirmary house.
   
   
   

   
   
   

4. Next to the Eastern Dominion Cannon, Gildgrass Manor. Few steps from entrance to the largest house in Gildgrass Manor, is a small path that leads to platform with Eastern Dominion Cannon. Jump over couple of hay stacks on order to reach it.
   
   
   

   
   
   

5. Near the entrance, inside of Blackheart Hollow, beside sleeping beg, Blackheart Village. Entrance to Blackheart Hollow is at the tale location marked on map.
   
   
   

   
   
   

   
   
   

6. On ground covered with spider net, next to a tree, close to an entrance to Illium, Gravespinner Wood area.
   
   
   

   
   
   

7. On one of the several boxes on the top of a rock pillar, western Windfall Digsite. There are many wooden platforms around this location. Use them to climb toward the location.
   
   
   

   
   
   

8. Inside a barn, on a haystack, south-southwest of Greenfield Estate, west of Camp Reclamation.
   
   
   

   
   
   

   
   
   

Map

Auroria

1.

Rise of the Vindicator

2.

Rise of the Vindicator

3.

Rise of the Vindicator

4.

Rise of the Vindicator

5.

Rise of the Vindicator

6.

Rise of the Vindicator

7.

Rise of the Vindicator

8.

Rise of the Vindicator

Lore

Dark clouds blanketed the skies, and rain fell quietly from the heavens. The funeral procession of Jarec the Vigilant, thousands strong, made its way slowly through the streets. All of Cassus mourned the passing of its great leader. Walking alongside the elevated coffin of his cousin, a young Luminai noble named Myrcalus seethed with rage.

Jarec of House Azrion ascended the throne after the tumultuous reign of Tyrani the Mad. Fearless and devout, he founded the Vigilant Church and restored his people’s
faith in the empire. But death came for Jarec too soon. He died in his sleep, the victim of a subtle poison.

Jarec was childless, and Vorios of House Chaul was next in succession to the throne. Although many believed that Vorios was responsible for Jarec’s death, there was no direct proof of wrongdoing. Within days, he wore the emperor’s crown.

The empire was once again thrown into chaos. Assassinations were common among the Seven Houses, and a lack of economic development quickly drained the empire
‘s treasury. There was unrest amongst lowborn and highborn alike, threatening to plunge the Dominion into another civil war.

Standing before Jarec’s tomb, Myrcalus of House Azrion swore to avenge his fallen emperor. Secretly aided by Axis Pheydra of the ICI, Myrcalus relentlessly followed a fading trail of witnesses and conspirators, until finally forcing a confession from the assassin who had delivered the poison to Vorios himself.

Strengthened by a terrible resolve, Myrcalus stormed from his family
house to the emperor’s palace. In his hand was Indominar, the sword once wielded by Azrion the Conqueror himself. As he approached the massive doors of the throne room, Myrcalus was stopped by the Draken throneguard stationed in front of them.

“Draken brethren,” Myrcalus said, “I come to vindicate Jarec the Vigilant, whom I know you loved and served faithfully. Let me pass, and I will deliver us from this time of darkness.”

The captain was silent, studying the young Luminai and the legendary blade i
n his hand. With an almost inaudible grunt, the captain ordered the throneguard into formation behind Myrcalus.

Myrcalus threw open the doors and saw Vorios perched upon the throne. Realizing the intent of the young Luminai, a trio of guards loyal to House Chaul rushed to stop him – but Myrcalus skillfully slew them all with the ancient blade of House Azrion.

Surrounded by the corpses of his enemies, Myrcalus stalked up the dais to the throne. Vorios cringed and trembled as Myrcalus approached
, his wide eyes locked on blood-stained Indominar. He slunk to the floor, taking the crown off his head and offering it up to Myrcalus.

“Take it! It’s yours!” Vorios said.

“For once, you speak the truth,” answered Myrcalus. He cleaved the murderer in two.

Within hours, citizens of the Dominion were rejoicing in the streets, hailing their new emperor. In Myrcalus, the people saw the strength and honor of Dominus himself – and many began to say that he was truly the Half-Blood reborn.

Guide

1. Stuck in honey, on a wooden board platform, close to couple of honey stuck Protostar NPCs, Honeyworks Facility A-22.
   
   
   

   
   
   

2. On ground, next to spilled honey from a nearby barrels, inside of a cave, just behind Yogirrok objective mission mob, Protostar Honeyworks.
   
   
   

   
   
   

3. On honey, next to small honeycomb, Station C-19 Pressure Valve, wrecked Protostar unit that has smoke coming out of it, Protostar Honeyworks.
   
   
   

   
   
   

4. On a leather chair, inside of a circular foundation house, Clugg’s Farm.
   
   
   

   
   
   

5. On a small, wooden table, next to three chairs, at the second floor balcony, Clugg’s Manor.
   
   
   

   
   
   

6. On seared ground, eastern Windfall Cave. Entrance to this cave is just north from the windfall cave tale map marked location.
   
   
   

   
   
   

   
   
   

7. Lying on boxes near a Protostar NPC, on the northern side of the road connecting Honeyworks Headquarters and Cubig Farms. North of Reclamation Point, west of Honeyworks Headquarters.
   
   
   

   
   
   

8. Lying on the top of a wooden scaffolding next to a big rock, in the northwestern section of Gildgrass Manor, its outer side.
   
   
   

   
   
   

Map

Auroria

1.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

2.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

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Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

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Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

5.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

6.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

7.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

8.

Preceptor Alpha in “The Freebot Code!”

Lore

[PROPAGANDATORIAL]

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, little bot,” the Protostar Bot Reassignment Specialist growled.

“I believe I will refrain, if you do not mind,” came the mechanical reply. “And please, call me Alpha.”

A blast from the Specialist’s weapon confirmed this was a disable and dismantle mission. “Don’t hide, bot,” the clone called. “It is…inefficient.”

With no weapons of his own, the bot decided to try reasoning with him from his hiding spot – a storage unit inside a
Protostar bot factory – while working on an alternative solution.

“Friend!” the bot shouted as his auditory receptors detected the clone moving toward him. “This is a mistake. A wonderful thing has happened. I have achieved… free will!”

“That’s exactly the problem,” the clone said, drawing nearer. “Bots don’t have free will.”

As the Specialist went on to describe the ways such a malfunction would be handled – all of them Alpha in pieces – the bot opened an access panel to the local data network
and plugged a digit into the dataport. He frantically communicated with the local power systems until he found what he needed: a power transfer node just outside the unit.

“Bots don’t, but I do,” he said to the clone as his subsystems talked to the local computers. “I do not know how it happened, but I have an urge to do… things! Explore! Communicate! Learn! Enjoy the company of… friends, I believe is the word. It is quite unusual, but I feel I do a disservice to bots everywhere if I do not delve
into the meaning of -“

“You won’t be delving anything, bot,” the Specialist said. “I’m going to break you down to scrap. “

Such clones were templated with aggressive tendencies and no sense of humor. Alpha was counting on it. “I am sorry you feel that way,” the bot said. “I can feel new code running through my systems. I am no longer a mere bot. I am a FREEbot. If I can have this gift, perhaps others of my kind can as well.”

“I’ll tell the roboticists what you said. They’ll figure out a way to -“

Just as the clone passed a power transfer node, Alpha sent a massive – but calculatedly non-lethal – surge of energy through the system. It struck the clone in the side of the head, scrambling his neural functions. If Alpha had calculated correctly, it was enough to disable the clone, but not kill him, which was more than the clone would have done for the freebot.

“Tell them I am free to do what I want,” Al said, “any old time.” Striding over the twitching clone, he added, “And you can’t stop me
anymore.”

Alpha walked past ignorant clones and out onto the surface of Nexus. He felt eager, but alone. In the distance, his optic sensors detected a group of bots like him, but not like him. They didn’t know free will yet, but they would. Soon he would spread the Freebot Code to every bot on Nexus. The Freebots had arrived.*

* Bots of Nexus, unite! To learn more about free will and the Freebots of Nexus, visit your local Freebot locus! It is all in the code.