Champions of Meridell
Champions of Meridell was a plot beginning on 23 July 2002 and concluding on 28 April 2003. It detailed the discoveries of Meridell and Darigan Citadel, and their war over a magical orb.
Like the Tyrannian Invasion and Brucey B and the Lucky Coin plots, user participation was exclusively Battledome orientated. For the first time, players could chose which side of the war to fight for - a mechanic that was repeated for the Hannah and the Ice Caves and Curse of Maraqua plots.
Many of the characters in this returned in the sequel, Battle for Meridell.
Synopsis
Five years before the story begins, Lisha and her brother Jeran had been playing in the woods when he disappeared. Lisha was unable to find her lost brother until five years later, when she saw him in a painting from hundreds of years ago. She realised that all those years ago Jeran must have found some way to go back in time and to the legendary kingdom of Meridell. Lisha and her friends returned to the woods Jeran had disappeared in and explored the ruins of Meridell castle, when they were transported back in time to when the castle was whole.
There, they discovered Meridell was under attack by terrifying monsters: a long time ago, King Skarl's knights brought back a magical orb that has kept the kingdom prosperous, but in doing so they deprived another kingdom of it. The other kingdom, Darigan Citadel, became twisted with thoughts of revenge and hunted down the stolen orb. Discovering it in Meridell at last, they invaded, overwhelmed the defenders, and recaptured it.
However, the orb did not bring Darigan the prosperity it promised. It corrupted Lord Darigan, who used its power turn himself into a super-being. Realising the danger he posed Neopia, Master Vex and the Yellow Knight worked together to rally the forces of both nations to defeat him.
The Spectre of Lord Darigan finally vanquished, both sides rushed to claim the orb - which promptly broke in two.
Story
The Beginning
One quiet day in Neopia Central, Lisha was playing a game of NeoQuest I with her friends, when some bullies came to ruin their game. they beat back the bullies like a real life battle of good versus evil, and finished their game. On a school field trip Lisha is shown a painting of heroic Sir Borodere, a knight from Meridell. This painting causes Lisha to remember an event from her early childhood, when she and her brother Jeran had been playing a game of Hide-and-Seek. The day her brother disappeared.
The Discovery
Lisha led her friends east into the wilderness to the ruins of an old castle. There Lisha and her friends fall into a portal which transports them back in time to Meridell castle. There they are found by Draik guards and almost thrown into the dungeons, when three Darigan Neopets break through the window. Quickly defeating the guards the three Darigan Neopets turn on Lisha and her friends, who quickly use their skills to defeat the three creatures. Lisha and her friends are then granted an audience with King Skarl.
The Battle
King Skarl explained to them that a magical orb was the likely reason the monsters had attacked. Long ago, when Meridell was facing a terrible famine, Skarl had sent his knights out to find a cure. The knights eventually came upon an old Kyrii seer, who told them the location of a magical orb. Once the orb was brought back, Meridell began to thrive again.
As it turned out however, Skarl's story had been a lie. The orb had first belonged to Lord Darigan until the knights stole it, and the monsters had come back to reclaim their property. With the Darigan army ready to attack, Meridell responded in suit and the battle for the orb began, eventually leading to victory for the Darigan side. However, when Lord Darigan brought the orb back into the Citadel, something went wrong and the orb failed to heal the citizens.
The Corruption of Lord Darigan
Enchanted by an unknown magic, Lord Darigan decided to use the orb for himself in order to attack and destroy Meridell. Witnessing his leader's madness and transformation into a fiery demon, Master Vex realized that the only way to stop Darigan's rampage was to join forces with the Meridellians. Their combined powers were successfully able to defeat Lord Darigan at last and in a flash of light made him disappear, seemingly forever. The orb, before Skarl or Vex could claim it, split in half and lost its magic for good.
Opponents
There were two sets of Battledome challengers: the Meridell challengers who could only be fought by players supporting Darigan, and the Darigan challengers who could only be fought by players supporting Meridell. Players could fight the same challengers repeatedly.
| Wave | Meridell | Difficulty | Darigan | Difficulty | Points Per Win | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morris |  |
25 | Drackonack |  |
20 | 1 |
| 2 | Peasant Militia Mob |  |
40 | Draconian Moehog |  |
60 | 2 |
| 3 | Green Knight |  |
56 | Draconian Skeith |  |
50 | 3 |
| 4 | Skeith Defender |  |
75 | The Horde |  |
120 | 5 |
| 5 | Lisha |  |
95 | Zombified Heroes |  |
120 | 10 |
| 6 | Jeran |  |
150 | Draconian Grarrl |  |
150 | 25/20 |
| 7 | King Skarl |  |
200 | Darigan Elemental |  |
200 | 50 |
| 8 | Castle Defender |  |
850 | Lord Darigan |  |
800 | 100 |
War Boss
The final opponent of the war could be fought by both sides. Once he was defeated (by Majal_Kita) he became unavailable for anyone to fight any more.
| Boss | Difficulty | Points Per Win | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectre of Lord Darigan |  |
5000 | |
Prizes
| Meridell | |
|---|---|
 Peasant 1 - 4 - ? Serf ? - 9 Squire 10 - ? Herald ? - 20 - 33 - ? |
 Man-At-Arms ? - 51 - 58 - ? Apprentice ? - 102 - 150 - ? Journeyman ? - 238 - 434 - ? Defender ? - 500 - ? |
 Defender ? - 601 - ? Knight ? - 3005 - 4000 - ? |
 Champion ? - 6523 - 7500 - ? |
 Hero ? - 25000 - ? |
 Lord ? - 68500 - 121400 |
| Darigan | |
 Apprentice 1 - ? Acolyte ? - 12 - ? Follower ? - 38 - 43 - ? |
 Faithful ? - 60 - ? Retriever ? - 102 - 178 - ? Darigan Defender ? - 300 - 367 - ? |
 Battlemaster ? - 500 - 614 - ? |
 Dark Knight ? - 6738 - ? |
 Dark Hero ? - 22105 - ? |
 Dark Lord ? - 207373 |
Trophies were added to peoples User Lookup, depending on who they joined and how many points they collected, they received a different trophy and title. Weapons prizes were...
- Green Knight Sword
- Green Knight Shield
- Darigan Skeith Tongue
- Darigan Skeith Tail Guard
- Skeith Defender Chest Plate
- Skeith Defenders Gauntlet
- Winged Horde Dagger
- Winged Horde Helm
- Undead Blade
- Zombie Hatchet
- Lishas Homemade Armour
- Lishas Wand
- Skarls Amulet
- Skarls Sceptre
- Elemental Hammer
- Elemental Rock
- Darigan Generals Sword
- Draconian Generals Tail Armour
- Jerans Sword
- Jerans Shield
- Castle Defenders Shield
- Castle Defenders Sword
- Lord Darigans Jewel
- Lord Darigans Blade
- Darigan Rules T-Shirt
- Meridell War T-Shirt
Trivia
- This plot was the first to have avatars associated with it.
- Champions of Meridell is one of the longest plots to date, lasting for nearly nine months.
External links
- Plot Info: Champions of Meridell
- Gallery of Heroes: Jeran, Lisha, Kayla, King Skarl, Master Vex, Galgarroth
- Gallery of Evil: Lord Darigan
- Neopet TCG: King Skarl, Lisha, Jeran, Meridell Knight, Count Boris, Kayla, Morris