A Hazy Morning over Mercy Island

After I took down the snake temple, Mongoose suggested I head on to Port Oakes and intorduce myself to Drae the Hook, but I still had one piece of unfinished business in Mercy Island.

Ghost Window's presence in Mercy Island isn't oppressive. In fact, I hardly heard anything about her the entire time I was there. As I made my way towards the Port Oakes ferry, however, my gaze kept finding its way towards her tower.

Sneaking into the surrounding complex was not difficult, but after you make your way through the courtyard to the very tower entrance, there's no clear way to get through. Apparently, I'll have to do this the hard way and get her attention before I'll be granted an audience.

The view was nice, tho.

Stygian Flame

Another villain Rachel asked me to spread the word on:



Eleni was the daughter of Coronus son of the legendary Caeneus. Corunus had only inherited some of his fathers legendary invulnerability and visited an oracle to see how he might strengthen his invulnerability to equal his fathers. The oracle told Coronus he must bathe in the river Styx, but Coronus was wary of the idea. To test the oracle's advice, Coronus decided to take his daughter, Eleni, along to the river and bathe her in its waters first.

Hades noticed Coronus approach the river with his daughter, but was disgusted by Coronus' cowardice. So, as Coronus lowered his Eleni into the waters, he caused a mighty wave to carry her away. Ironically, the river did grant Eleni the same invulnerability as her grandfather, so as she was dragged underneath the rapids, she didn't drown but remained alive and unharmed.

Frightened and distraught by the apparent drowning of his daughter, Coronus fled the river without bathing while the wave carried Eleni to Hades. Upon seeing the young girl, Hades decided to raise her as his own daughter. He gifted his adopted daughter with power over the flames of Hades and kept her in his court for many years.

Recently Hades became aware of subtle changes in the mortal realm. It seemed other gods had begun to once again meddle in mortal affairs. To investigate further, Hades decided to send Eleni to the mortal realm.

Hmmmmm ...

Could Stygian Flame have stumbled upon the apartment used by the alter-ego of a certain well-known Tanker/Brute?

Forgotten Hope

Rachel sent me another dossier, and asked me to keep an eye out for this villain, Forgotten Hope, who was also part of Arachnos's recent Zig breakout:

Hope Gray fled a harsh life on the streets of London by joining a necromantic circle as a teenager in the 1720's. For a full year she helped perform dark rituals and obeyed the circle master's every whim, trying to carve out a new life for herself. Then, in the thirteenth month of her membership, the circle sacrificed her in a Rite of Empowerment. Hope's soul was dragged into a dark dimension to be used by the circle to fuel greater magic and darker acts.

Ironically, a mere two days after Hope was sacrificed, a British hero, the Silver Fire, destroyed the Circle. Hope's soul managed to stay whole and untapped for centuries, the rituals for unlocking the Empowerment unknown by the few circle members who remained. Hope's spirit slowly fell into a kind of sleep, developing an unatural harmony with the negative energries of the dark dimension.

Finally, the day came when a new portal was opened, this time by the Circle of Thorns as they battled a group of super-heroes in Kings Row. Hope's soul slipped out through the rift back into the real world, drawing form and shape from the ambient energies of the battle.

Hope drained the life force from heroes and Circle of Thorns who came near her to strengthen her attachment to the world, but she was still very weak from passing through the rift. Ultimately, she was apprehended by the victorious heroes and sent deep into the Zig.