Paragon Times/20041021

Vol. 173 No. 218

75 cents

Paragon City, RI, October 21, 2004

Visitor contacts Paragon Times reporter directly

By Juliana Nehring
Times Staff

PARAGON CITY, Rhode Island, October 20 -- I was sitting in my apartment in Skyway City yesterday, when something amazing occurred. A story found me. My attention was drawn outside by a voice.

"I must speak with you, Juliana Nehring." The woman who spoke looked like any other costumed denizen of Paragon City -- at first glance. As she continued, I quickly realized that she was not like anyone I had met before. "I am from a race of beings called the Kheldians. I have chosen you to relate our tale."

The Interview Begins

I invited the woman with the strangely glowing eyes to come inside and sit down. She introduced herself only as Moonfire. I quickly grabbed a pad of paper and began the strangest interview of my life. As many of you know, that's saying something.

I began simply, by asking her where she was from. I wasn't prepared for the puzzling answer: "Earth and... elsewhere."

According to Moonfire, Kheldians are beings composed only of energy. When they came to Earth, they found they were able to merge with humans, which can benefit both parties. This is where the story takes a shadowy turn, however.

Light and Dark

It seems that the Kheldian people have internal conflicts, just as we do. Moonfire is a member of a faction known as the Peacebringers. They are interested in friendly relations and positive merging with other races. Unfortunately, they are not the only Kheldians on Earth. There is another group, called the Nictus, who are not concerned with the needs of those they merge with.

"You must be wary of the Nictus, Juliana Nehring. They have made efforts in the past to forcibly merge with humans, taking complete control of their forms. No doubt they will attempt this again in the future." Even as I type this, I know mere words cannot convey the gravity of her message.

Bright guardians

Moonfire assured me that the Peacebringers on Earth will do everything in their power to protect us from the Nictus. She and her allies are here to make certain that the Nictus are not able to thrive.

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"The threat the Nictus pose is insidious and must not be allowed to spread any farther. We will speak again, Juliana Nehring." As Moonfire flew out my window into the evening sky, I was filled a mixture of hope and dread.

Watch the skies

As we learned painfully from the Rikti Invasion, we are not alone. We cannot bury our heads and hope that we will remain safe. The silver lining to this grim warning is that we have more heroes than ever dedicated to protecting this city against whatever threats may come. I am inclined to trust Moonfire. But even if the Peacebringers are not all they claim to be, the residents of Paragon City may rest easy knowing that they will be watched over.

Paragon Times articles originally appeared as game background information on the official City of Heroes website but were removed with the website update in 2008. Efforts have been made to recreate the original format of these articles as closely as possible in the archive here on Paragon Wiki.