I. The Hermits of Zone 4
Zone 4, known as the Devastated Lands, is a place where most Orbis races lose their sanity or their lives within hours. However, amidst the ash jungles and floating islands, dwell the Sloths. These humanoid sloths are natural philosophers who have learned to live in symbiosis with a geography falling to pieces. For a Sloth, fast movement is a form of vulgarity; they believe that haste allows the Void to find cracks in the soul.
For eons, they remained on the sidelines, meditating in the canopies of "mother-ash" trees. Their long fur acts as a magical filter, absorbing Void radiation. Varyn's arrival in Zone 4 finally forced them to break their vow of silence. When the obelisks began to drain the gravity from their sacred forests, the Sloths understood they could no longer be mere observers of the world's fall.
Sloth magic is radically different; they master "Statism." They do not fire projectiles; they alter the weight of reality. A Sloth Mystic can, with a slow gesture, increase gravity in an area, crushing Outlander legions under their own armor. Their control over inertia allows them to stop arrows mid-air or slow down the fiercest beasts.
"Lightning is fast, but stone is eternal. We are the pause between two blinks of creation."
II. Statism and Gravity Magic
In combination with Tessa, Sloths have become a feared tactical support. While Tessa moves at impossible speeds, Sloths locally "freeze" time for enemies. Their presence acts as a natural suppressor against the distortions Varyn tries to provoke in Orbis. They are literally the anchor preventing Zone 4 from being completely absorbed by the void.
The meeting between Tessa and the Sloth Elder is already a legend. Sloths saw in Tessa the "Thunder that precedes Order." They joined the alliance to restore the original silence of Gaia. Their wisdom of "ash currents" has allowed the Mobile Bastion to navigate routes Varyn considered impassable.
A Sloth mystic meditating on a floating island.
III. The Mystical Bond
The meeting between Tessa and the Sloth Elder is already a legend. Sloths saw in Tessa the "Thunder that precedes Order." They joined the alliance to restore the original silence of Gaia. Their wisdom of "ash currents" has allowed the Mobile Bastion to navigate routes Varyn considered impassable.
Today, Sloths are key to the final offensive. As natives of the area surrounding the Temple of Time, they possess mental maps of temporal anomalies. Sloth Mystics are now chanting the "Anchor Song" to stabilize reality during the final attack. For them, victory is the return of the moment when the world can finally breathe slowly again.