On a day much unlike today, Tigreal and his Expeditionary Forces of Light charged into the Fortress of Despair, in Necrokeep, with all their might, and swiftly decimated many of the undead lurking within. After this devastating defeat, Vexana realized that she needed to find a formidable ally, who could take on the Warrior of Light head-on, or else she would face certain defeat. Vexana paced back and forth as she carefully pondered over, wondering who had the strength to defeat Tigreal. Suddenly, a vivid image of a face from long ago seared across her mind- Leomord. A long time ago, the Fortress of Despair was actually the center of a beautiful and rich kingdom. Leomord and his Royal Knights had vowed an oath to protect their King and the Queen, who was in fact Vexana. Any invader who dared to attack the kingdom could not avoid the fate of death from Leomord's sword, The Oath Keeper. However, one day the Queen became corrupted by the Abyss and the kingdom came to a grave ruin. That was the day Vexana had transformed all of the kingdom's creatures into the undead. Leomord fell into great despair. Even if he could single-handedly eliminate all evil from the kingdom, he could not raise his sword against the woman who was once his queen. He could not bear to watch the kingdom he loved and swore to protect, fall into ruin. After having lost all hope, Leomord took his own life out of sorrow and desperation. Leomord's strength and resolve burned so brightly in life, that Vexana could not control him as a spirit. However, since the Fortress of Despair was met with great danger, she had no choice but to awaken him. When he rose from the dead, Leomord felt that his soul was filled with torturous amounts of pain and despair. Whispering sweetly into his ear, Vexana told Leomord that the undead that stood before him were, the once beloved people, he had swore to protect. She warned that, if he did not protect Necrokeep, then all of these innocent souls would suffer eternal damnation. Leomord was outraged, but he had no choice. He would rather be a slave to Vexana's sorcery than watch his compatriots suffer another day. Leomord summoned his beloved horse, Barbiel, and his famed sword, The Oath Keeper. Just as the Expeditionary Forces of Light stormed the horrific Fortress of Despair, Leomord and Barbiel struck the invaders with black lightning. Much of the Expeditionary Forces of Light were decimated. No one could withstand Leomord's sword, or so they thought. Tigreal stood there in defiance with his Sword of Dawn, drawn against Leomord. As their swords clashed, Tigreal could feel Leomord's grief and despair coming from his sword. On that day, Tigreal knew he had met one of the strongest opponents he would ever face. The battle lasted much longer than expected. Both armies suffered numerous amounts of loss and were still battling. As Tigreal, stiffly fought Leomord, he realised that there would be no end for this battle, and that both armies would keep battling until one of them was entirely wiped out. Most of all, Tigreal feared that if one of them was to be defeated, it would most probably be the Imperial Army. And Leomord for once, was Tigreal's match. Even as the two continued their fierce combat, they couldn't beat the other. Tigreal felt Leomord was equally stong, if not, even stronger. Having been exhausted after hours of fighting, he summoned all his might, and struck his sword on Leomord, hoping to get a kill shot. But, Leomord blocked his assault, yet being thrown aback. Tigreal looked around and noticed the eternal bloodshed. He was grieved to see his men being mercilessly hacked down. He realised he was down to just one option- Marching back, he ordered, what was left of his army, to retreat, hoping that the undead soldiers wouldn't lunge forward for yet another assault, on his retreating army. As Tigreal and the other warriors backed down, Leomord shared a brief look with Tigreal, as he stopped the undead soldiers from lunging forward for even further bloodshed. Even though Leomord knew, that with one more offensive move, he could beat Tigreal and the rest of the Imperial army, he believed that it wouldn't be the wise choice. Since, it would not only result in great rivalry between Necrokeep and the entire Moniyan Empire, but also because he could see himself in Tigreal. After all, he too was leading an army, the Imperial Knight army, just like Leomord once lead the great and lively armies of Necrokeep.