Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom Character Spotlight 3

If you were a fan of Blueside's unique Xbox series Kingdom Under Fire--which blended Dynasty Warriors-style large-scale hack-and-slash action with a seamlessly integrated real-time strategy element--you may have been feeling left out in the cold on the Xbox 360. But finally, the developer will provide its first 360 version of Kingdom Under Fire next week with Circle of Doom, an action role-playing game that may not offer the same style of gameplay as its predecessors but is looking to revisit many of the series' unique locales and characters. Microsoft has provided in-depth information on the last two of the game's six total playable characters. Read on about Kendal and Regnier below.

Kendal

Holy Knight

The Church of Ecclesia knew Kendal as the ideal military commander: a zealous knight with an unshakable belief in the tenets of his faith and his duty to the church. But behind his inscrutable faceguard, Kendal hid his worries and self-doubt. To escape the confusion in his mind, he threw himself into the certainty of battle. His bravery saved the Age of Light from the encroaching Darkness and brought about the end of the Encablossa War; but when the dust settled, Kendal was nowhere to be found. What happened to Kendal after he dove into Encablossa? Did the holy knight choose the path of righteousness, or are the cosmos more complicated than they seem?

Background
Originally born in Azilla, which was later annexed by the neighboring church-state of Ecclesia, Kendal commanded the Ecclesian Army during the Encablossa War. His strong sense of responsibility--stemming from a deep religious faith--and his brilliant strategies made him an ideal military leader.

In order to stop the resurrected Encablossa from unleashing a doom upon Bersia, Kendal charged into Encablossa's body with Regnier and ultimately stopped the Epoch of Light from shifting into the Epoch of Darkness. What is it that he witnessed inside of Encablossa? What is the hidden truth behind the circulation of epochs?

Within Encablossa, all mortals must go through "corporal mutation," an excruciating process that acclimates them to the dimension. Additionally, those who do not possess pure good (or evil) in their nature will experience "ethereal mutation," a slow decay of willpower that will ultimately strip all intellectual capacity. Kendal originally had no intention of going back to Bersia, but one day, his former colleague Walter appeared to Kendal in a dream and asked him to return. Now that Kendal has a strong will to return to the Epoch of Light, ethereal mutation will attempt to corrupt him.

Meanwhile, Moonlight the Archmage (one of the great figures from the Second War of Heroes), had succumbed to the mutation Encablossa enforced upon him. To stop further corruption of his body and mind, he had separated his mind from his already mutated body and survived in the form of a spirit crystal. Moonlight helps stop Kendal's mutation, but it seems like there is something in this relationship yet untold.

Regnier

Immortal God of War

In the history of Bersia, no one has been more influential or more infamous than the man now known as Regnier. Once the noble Rick Miner, he was slaughtered during the First War of Heroes by the lich Khiliani. Resurrected by the archmage Moonlight and the dark Ancient Heart, he surfaced as Rick Blood, commander of the Dark Legion, in the Second War of Heroes.

Finally, wielding a flaming blade with devastating strength and ruthlessness, he reemerged as Regnier, the immortal warlord of Hexter. Forging an unlikely truce with the Human Alliance, Regnier united with Kendal to pierce the body of Encablossa and prevent the Age of Light's destruction. Where is Regnier now, and what form has he taken? What secrets lie hidden in his past?

Background
His soul slowly corrupted by the Ancient Heart's power, Regnier unified the Orc and Ogre clans of Hexter and formed the Dark Legion to wage a war against the Human Alliance. Wielding a fire-imbued blade with his monstrous power to ruthlessly crush all his foes, Regnier was the god of war himself.

At the end of the Encablossa War, Regnier combined forces with the Human Alliance to break into Encablossa's body where he had once been trapped and from which he eventually escaped. Who does this tortured warlord encounter in Encablossa's dimension? All such dark secrets shall be unveiled in Circle of Doom.

Regnier has already entered the dimension of Encablossa, and the power of the Ancient Heart, which he possessed at the time, prevented mutation from taking him over. When the Ancient Heart was destroyed at the end of the Encablossa War, Regnier lost his immortality. Now that the fear of death is again in Regnier's mind, the mutation slowly corrodes his soul. On top of that, Encablossa is using Regnier's memories of the past, before he received the power of the Ancient Heart, to torture him both physically and mentally. Once Regnier's body and soul are completely mutated, Encablossa will appoint him as the leader of the invasion into the Epoch of Light.