A once proud city lies in ruins.

Ye Sagira was once the capital city of the Giants and their king, Harnak. This immense, sprawling city with its underground labyrinths showcased the advanced technology of the Giants. When the Giants lost their war with the Gods, Einhasad decreed that the last Giant, Hermuncus, be imprisoned inside the stone dungeons of Ye Sagira for all time. Ye Sagira faded into distant memory.

In time, Shilen awakened. Believing that Hermuncus had hidden stolen powers inside Ye Sagira, Shilen hurled the city to the earth. In the impact, Ye Sagira and much of Talking Island were destroyed. Now, fragments of the once proud city of the Giants are strewn across the island.

The Ruins of Ye Sagira are a series of floating slabs and walls of stone, glowing with ancient glyphs. Characters can move through the five exploration zones in the central part of the ruins using red and blue teleportation devices. The Labyrinth of Belis and the Harnak Underground Ruins are accessible from the exploration zones. New players and Awakening players alike are sent to this area as part of their quests for class advancement.

The Reliquary of the Giants is separate area of the ruins. This mystical place displays the eight statues of the Giants of the Awakening classes. Characters come to the Reliquary as the final step of their Awakening process. Characters approach the statue of their destined class, absorb the Giant's powers, and Awaken.

Within this dungeon, sacrificial blood fuels Shilen's powers.

Long ago, Shilen was sealed into Forbidden Gateway by the seven seals of Einhasad and Emperor Shunaiman. The ancient cult of the Embryos has begun to break the seals that bind their goddess. They have succeeded in waking her, but more seals must be destroyed before Shilen will be freed. To help Shilen regain her full powers, the Embryos built an altar inside Forbidden Gateway. Blood from the continuous sacrifices of creatures inside the Catacombs and Necropolises across Aden is sucked into this altar, which fuels Shilen's powers.

Shilen's Altar is a new instanced dungeon that consists of three cycles through the same series of rooms, culminating in the raid against the Twins, Maliss and Isadora. The dungeon is geared toward group play. It can only be entered by completing a campaign quest that is central to the developing lore of Shilen's awakening. Shilen's Altar is located inside the cliff wall at Forbidden Gateway, east of the Cemetery near Aden. Forbidden Gateway was once a calm, mid-level hunting area, but now it crawls with dangerous, hellish creatures. It is also home to the new raid boss Half. This area is well-suited to solo hunting by high-level characters.

The new village brings all races together to begin anew.

Searching for the hidden power of Einhasad, Shilen pulled the floating island of Ye Sagira from the sky and hurled it down toward the continent of Aden. Hermuncus, last of the Giants, dispatched warriors to tilt the trajectory of the falling island away from the main continent. They succeeded. Aden was saved, but Ye Sagira fell onto Talking Island.

But this is not the only settlement to succumb to Shilen's evil. The villages that were once home to other races have also been greatly altered by the approach of the Goddess of Destruction.

View the Destroyed Villages image gallery.

The new village brings all races together to begin anew.

When Ye Sagira crashed into Talking Island, Talking Island Village was destroyed by the impact and the geography of the island was altered drastically. King Amadeo of Aden sent scholars to investigate the ruins of Ye Sagira. These scholars started a small settlement, which grew as it attracted first merchants and then refugees.

Merchants came to Talking Island in search of brisk trade, refugees of all races came to find a new home, and many others travelled to Talking Island to escape Shilen's pestilent fog. In time, the scholars built a large museum to house the relics they found in the ruins of Ye Sagira. This museum is now a central feature of the new Talking Island Village. Today, the village is a hub of activity and resources, and the new home of members of every race.

Talking Island Village is a popular destination for characters of all levels. New characters first enter the game here, and go through their newbie quest series to reach level 20 without leaving the island. Masters, priests, and class trainers of each race can be found in the village, mostly inside the Administrative Office. At level 85, characters come here to do their Awakening quest and choose their next class.

Talking Island Village also has every type of vendor and function NPC, making it a one-stop shop for any character. There are some new NPCs as well, such as a gatekeeper for the new Provisional Clan Halls and a Dwarf inventor who will offer you a brief ride on a mechanical mount prototype, the Kookaru. One of the most interesting buildings here is the Museum, which allows players to see a record of their characters' achievements and statistics in the game, as well as the statistics of the server as a whole.

Resting-place of heroes, transformed by Shilen's evil.

Orbis Temple is the resting place of heroes beloved by gods. Octavis, Spezion's betrayer, was rewarded by Einhasad and made keeper of the temple.

Einhasad's daughter, the Angel Paulina, built this temple. When the temple was complete, Paulina returned to the Realm of Light. Soon after Paulina's departure, Orbis Temple fell prey to Shilen's increasing evil influence, wielded by rebels banished from Magmeld. The slumbering heroes within the temple began to awaken, one by one, corrupted by Shilen's evil into raging madness.

Orbis Temple is located northwest of the Ancient City of Arcan. This vast, solemn space is dimly lit by torches and the windows of a soaring nave that can be glimpsed at the far end of the temple. The statues of honored warriors line the walls.

This zone is a group hunting ground that can be entered freely on foot or by talking to a Gatekeeper. Only higher-level characters should attempt to take on the corrupted heroes of Orbis Temple, but some of the zone's handicaps, such as the Orbis Curse, can be used to your benefit. Orbis Temple is composed of three floors with many rooms and grand corridors, including the instanced Octavis raid, which takes place in a gigantic, gladiator-style arena.

A place of eternal suffering.

Long ago, the goddess Einhasad called the heroes of the world to come live in Magmeld, the place of eternal beauty and goodness. However, Gran Kain's trickery lured lesser beings to Magmeld, as well. Einhasad decreed that these flawed beings must be separated from her favored ones. She ordered the Angel Paulina to confine these lesser beings to a penal colony.

One of the prisoners, Spezion, defied Einhasad and led a rebellion. Spezion hoped to bring the plight of the captives to the attention of the rest of the gods, but he was betrayed by his trusted friend Octavis and the rebellion was crushed. In retribution, Einhasad sentenced Spezion to the Prison of Darkness. There, behind bars of starlight, Spezion was slowly driven mad by his memories of betrayal and failure.

The Prison of Darkness lies far below the floating Ancient City of Arcan. It is a dark and dangerous place, full of the twisted manifestations of Spezion's nightmares and the vengeful ghosts of his past. Spezion is caught in the heart of the prison, in an elaborate, towering construction generating the light that pins him. Since Shilen's awakening, evil has gained an even greater hold on the Prison of Darkness, partially liberating Spezion and causing continuous earthquakes in the city above.

This zone is both a solo hunting dungeon and a party instanced dungeon for the Spezion raid, all suited to high-level characters. The Prison of Darkness itself, for solo hunting, can be accessed by speaking to a teleporter in the Ancient City of Arcan. To gain entrance to the instanced dungeon, a full party is recommended. Each party member must have a Frightening Memory Fragment or a Terrifying Memory Fragment, which can be obtained by hunting certain monsters in the Prison of Darkness. The type of fragment your party has will determine whether the party can fight the regular Spezion raid or the epic Spezion raid. The Spezion raid resets once per day.

Imposing titanic ruins that dwarf those who enter them.

The Harnak Underground Ruins are the tomb of Harnak, a brilliant and possessive great king of the Giants in the ancient past. These ruins are where Harnak spent his last days.

Belis, Harnak's queen, was a woman of amazing beauty. Harnak was so jealous of anyone who might look upon her except himself that he shut her in a labyrinth. Gran Kain found her there, nevertheless, and seduced her. When Harnak found out, he became enraged and murdered Belis. He then secluded himself deep underground, never to emerge again.

These monstrously tall ruins are covered with curious glyphs. The secrets of Harnak Ruins can only be dimly glimpsed through the light of these glowing runes.

Harnak Underground Ruins is a party hunting zone comprising three floors and various chambers. As you hunt the monsters here, special monsters gradually appear to challenge you further.

Ghosts of the past crowd these brooding, gloomy stone halls

Fortuna is anything but a fortunate place. This wrecked and desolate stone-carved ruin was a temporary rebel base in the past. It is the resting place of the spirits of rebel troops led by Spezion defeated in the war against Paulina. Presently, it is a stronghold of the fallen hero Ron and his troops who were banished from Orbis Temple.

The souls of rebels buried in Fortuna tried to warn these infiltrators to leave this dim and dangerous place, but their bodiless souls were helpless to make their warnings understood. Ron had been exiled from Orbis Temple. He was contaminated by Shilen's evil and tried to kill Octavis, but failed. He was sentenced to banishment, but on his judgment day, led his followers in hiding into Fortuna.

Fortuna is a small group instance. This challenging dungeon has nine stages, with each stage ending in a boss that must be defeated before the group can progress to the next.