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The HelBound Class[ | ]
Helbound
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Overview[ | ]
The HelBound is a Healer class for the Vikings. [1]
Quote: "Those who swear fealty to Hel, the Mother of the Nine Worlds, become infused with the dual forces of life and death. The bodies of the HelBound bear the marks of their service, etched with the forces of Hel’s magic, which dwells within them." [2]
The HelBound was the first official class reveal, however, no concept document has yet been released and so detailed information is limited mostly to what has been hinted at in the Becoming Story lore.
The HelBound was first revealed in the September 19, 2013 News Update [1] which included some early concept art. It should also be noted that when the class was originally revealed, it used the term 'To Be A...' [1] rather than 'Becoming' which was a term originally applied to race reveals.
The different types of reveal seem to have become unified under a single 'Becoming Story' terminology on the official site pages.
An animation test was later posted to YouTube on March 29, 2014.
HelBound Paths[ | ]
While the Becoming Story for the HelBound does bear some similarities to more detailed elements in the Drengr class document, no detailed class document is available yet for the HelBound and it is unclear how directly the mentioned HelBound Paths relate to the later presented Path System.
- Key Features
- Weapon:
- Concept art has primarily featured a dual sided staff, though lore also suggests that a HelBound's hands may be used as an effective weapon as well. [3]
- Quote: "Your choice of Path will also dictate your initial choice of weapon, and this weapon will be bonded with you. This bond can be transferred to another weapon in the future, but you may only have one bonded weapon at a time. However, you can also choose to use your hands as a weapon. While not as effective as using a crafted weapon, if you choose your hands a permanent rune of power will be etched on them. Over time, Hel will help harden your hands so that they take on the aspect of a weapon in more ways than one." [3]
- Armor:
- Lore and concept art primarily feature cloth robes and masks, though chainmail can also be seen in some of the concept art.
- Magic:
- The followers of Hel can wield both healing and damaging magic, and fuel their magic though blood. [3]
- Bonding:
- The HelBound form a bond with Hel which is strengthened through the use of their abilities. HelBound also form a bond with their Path based weapon. [3]
Path of Life[ | ]
Quote: "If you choose the path of life, you will learn the runes of magic that heal those around you." [3]
Path of Death[ | ]
Quote: "If you choose the path of death, you will learn the runes that bring death upon your enemies." [3]
HelBound Lore[ | ]
Becoming[ | ]
Beneath a dormant volcano, a group of initiates dressed in black and red robes are put through a test of endurance. They are subjected to intense heat, bitter cold, and noxious fumes. Many initiates succumbed to these conditions and had to be carried out. Eventually, the room balanced and filled with the smell of death as the robed Speaker of Hel emerged.
He began to tell the remaining initiates of the Greater Power that was Hel and her transformation by the Veilstorms. He spoke of her dual powers of life and death, and her transcendance of mortality.
The Speaker warns that once the vow is taken, the initiates will be marked by Hel so that all will know them as being bound to her. He speaks of the choice of Paths before them, life and death and reveals that the HelBound's power is drawn from the Veil through the intervention of Hel.
The Speaker finishes by warning them of the price they must pay for serving Hel, revealing his deformed body: one side hung with dead flesh, while the other seemed all too alive and writhed with growths and strange organisms.
Significant Figures[ | ]
- Hel: Though often referred to as a goddess, Hel is actually a Greater Power, a being transformed by the Veilstorms into something beyond humanity. She and her followers represent a duality of opposing forces; Life and Death.
- The Speaker of Hel: Is/was Hel's father. The Becoming Story is told by the Speaker to a group of HelBound Initiates.
