Editing AC2:Announcements - End of Beta (section)

== Teaser ==
{{AC2 Article
 |  Link = microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Guides/episodeguide-teaser-beta.htm?nc=1
 | Title = Beta Episode: Teaser
 |  Text = ''Episode runs October 31 through November 3, 2002''

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(Scr_beta_teaser_250px.jpg)
<br>Red skies over Dereth
<br>New discoveries and red skies
<br>over Dereth...
{{!}}}

Belbena ran up to the figure that had collapsed at the base of the shattered ruins.  Those ruins had once formed the famed gates of Arwic, but no more. Belbena's patron had asked her to set watch at this gate, saying he had sensed a "great wrongness" approaching. Belbena had dismissed it as another of her Tumerok master's quirks, but once again he had been proved right. She moved closer and perceived that the figure was a young Lugian male covered in grime and blood.
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As she kneeled by the Lugian's side, she noticed the horrific burns that marred his skin. Carefully she placed his head in her lap, then undid the strap holding her water skin to her belt. She slowly dribbled a bit of water into his mouth until he began to sputter, regaining consciousness.
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"Here, drink more," she said as she placed the skin to his lips. "What happened? Who did this to you?"
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The Lugian drank from the skin, and with ragged breath began, "A great army… surrounded the city… They destroyed all… all of it…" He slipped back into unconsciousness again.
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"Another one," someone sighed. Belbena turned to see another woman come up behind her. "The other gates are crowded with survivors." The woman laid her hands on the Lugian and muttered a few words. A soft glow radiated from her hands. The Lugian's ragged breathing slipped into a more regular pattern.
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"Do you know what has happened?" Belbena asked.
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"Very little," the healer began. "Those able to speak aren't sure what happened. They only know that an army of fearsome creatures has overrun parts of Prosper." Her voice became cold. "It is even rumored that mighty winged Tyrants are to be found amongst the armies."
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"We had such hopes." Belbena tried to keep the fear out of her voice. "Will it end so soon?"
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"There is always hope," the healer said in that same cold voice, and then added more warmly, "Possibly because it is the only thing no one has found a way to kill. One of those I healed said he had been in a Kingdom fortress left over from the Devastation. He came across a series of altars there, but before he got too close to them, a Guardian creature attacked him and he fled. Those altars could be what the creatures are after, or perhaps they hold some clue to defeating them. Others say that the powerful weapons the invaders are wielding are the key to turning back the invaders. If we can defeat a few of them and retrieve the weapons from their corpses, that is."
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The healer sighed and added, "I don't know," then looked down at the wounded Lugian. "All I do know is that I will have many more wounds to heal in the days to come."
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Belbena left the Lugian in the care of the healer and ran to find her patron. Perhaps the altars did contain the power to turn the tide against the invaders. She would convince him to gather together all the people he could to fight their way to them. If the rumors about the Tyrants were true, they would need all the help they could get.
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