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The Earthbound Expedition marks one of the most pivotal adventurers in the history of The Sunsations, beginning as a search for truth and ending as a testament to ancestral legacy, elemental balance, and the roots of rebellion against the false Sun God (Malekith). Undertaken after the fall of the Promythean and the presumed death of Talyen, this expedition saw the Sunsations cross the torn realms of desert and sky, culminating in their first passage into The Earth Realm.
Origins & Purpose
Following their return from the Journey to the Netherveil, the Sunsations gathered atop the fighting arena of the Emris Adventuring Guild. There, Talyen—moments before vanishing—shared visions recovered through contact with the Ebony Amulet, revealing secret memories of Avatar Lumina and Avatar Rok’s forbidden union which were stoked to memory by the painting they had discovered in The Umbral Gateway. These revelations shattered long-held assumptions about The Sun Realm’s connection to the greater continent of Osira and cast doubt on the Holy Order of the Sun's control over recorded history.
Soon after, Elder Runewright Blizz shared the ancestral testimony of his great-grandfather Talus, a master rune-shaper once exiled from the Earth Realm by Malekith himself. With Rift Magic tech now accessible through trade with the East Empire Company, the Sunsations possessed the means (Airship technology) to reach the lost lands of the north—lands thought to have been buried, and sealed in stone. Thus began the Earthbound Expedition: a quest not only to uncover forgotten truths, but to restore harmony where Malekith’s corruption had cleaved ancient bonds.
The Journey North
Aboard the Sky's Edge, captained by the iron-willed Captain Aurelius, the Sunsations departed westward across The Sands of Serrakhan. Their route led them through the post-Conjunction Faewylds—a jungle-choked landscape of overgrown Fae forests—and into the misty mesalands known as the Fingers of the Fallen. There, they saved a wounded Corivilus named Thantu from the stalking mist-dragon Miavryar. The encounter left the ship’s hull badly scarred, forcing a desperate detour through The Skybound Shardlands, a floating archipelago of shattered landmasses born of the ancient war between Avatar Rok and Malekith.
After their airship clipped a floating rock in the shardlands and nearly fell into The Severed Sea, they crash-landed over the Spine of the World mountains which acted as a natural barrier between the Earth Realm and the rest of Osira. Landing within a verdant valley before a mountaineous wall protecting the stonehold city of Umber, they were eventually granted audience with the meditative Avatar Terra, who offered guidance—but only after the Sunsations earned the Exarchs of the Earth: Exarch Maar, Exarch Kaolin, Exarch Gea, and Exarch Hunk.
Rites of the Earth
The Sunsations' path wove through highland valleys, across the rolling Hills of Avalon, and into the city of Avalon where they exposed the hag Esmerelda Honning at the Emerald Estate and earned the respect of King Balder Stonefist (see: Evil Within the Emerald Estate). Journeying further to complete their final two rites, they entered The Stillwoods and thrwarted blackwood hunters to save the spirit of the White Stag. With the aid of the ancient Green Dragon Verdan (whom they had resurrected to restore balance) and the freed Goliath Anvel Tyrson, they defended The Crowned Grove and restored the harmony of the Stillwood’s sacred wilds.
Their travels then led northward into The Vale of Everwinter. There, alongside the druids of Frostfall (see: Festival of Frost) and the Skraelingmen (notably - the Tribe of The Caribou & Tribe of the Wolf), they faced Harkon Chillbringer in the Cold-Front Confrontation... Thwarting the Frost Giant warlock's apocalyptic ambitions and preventing the eternal freeze of the world from Everwinter.
After this, they trekked further through the Stillwoods before coming upon the mountainside Temple of the Stone Lords, wherein they discovered more about Avatar Rok and Avatar Lumina's secretive relationship. Notably, they found an unsent gift from Rok to Lumina, which resembles the golden Dawn Device and held a love letter between the two within it. It detailed how Avatar Rok wished to go public with their relationship and family, strengthening the bonds between their divided peoples... But this gift was never sent as Rok would not be seen again after leaving Umber with Talus to confront Malekith on The Isle of Ember.
The Trial of Bjorn
Telling these discoveries to Avatar Terra, he urged them to join him on a final rite.. And so the Sunsations embarked on the Pilgrim’s Path to The Earthen Eternal. Atop the great stone statue of Avatar Umber, Terra challenged them to a fight so that he could see for himself what they were made of. Although he handily defeated them, they had by-and-far proved their will to the avatar.
With his blessing and company, Terra then guided them to Grimhold to undergo the Trial of Bjorn. Braving the arctic highlands of the Northern Greypeak Mountains and solving the runic puzzle upon an ancient Njordir bridge, they crossed the chasm and delved deep into the heart of the mountain where.. Where Bjorn awaited. There, amidst molten stone and echoing runes, they confronted Bjorn—the Archon of Earth—in his primal, magma-bear form.
The trial tested strength, harmony, and will. Upon their victory, they were granted vision through the Earthstone and spoke with the spirit of Avatar Umber, who spoke of The Planar Rapture and the tumultuous history of the elven realms during the Third Age. Before they left, he told them how each realm had been fractured from the others for far too long, and alluded to The Sea Realm.
Legacy
The Earthbound Expedition realigned the Sunsations with the truths of their forebears, restoring their understanding of the old bonds between Sun and Stone, and exposing the Holy Order’s centuries of obfuscation. With newfound strength, the Sunsations bid farewell to Avatar Terra, sailing once more on the Sky’s Edge—this time toward the Sea Realm, bearing the memory of the earth and the burden of the world’s unraveling balance.
The expedition is now taught in the halls of the Sunsations Adventuring Guild as a pilgrimage of understanding: the moment where stones remembered names long forgotten, and the earth opened its heart to those who would defend it.