Main Storyline Recap

Credits for this work goes to ITinkAlot on the Dragon Nest Forums, and the story line page on ggftw's wiki page. This page is merely an attempt to compile as many sources into a single unified page. This is being written to summarize the lore and the story line of Dragon Nest, and as a result, there will be spoilers on this page.

Ancient History of the Two Goddesses; Althea and Vestinel and the creation of Altera
The trouble began, as these stories so often do, with a crime. Lucius, the favored son of Desmodeus, the ruler of the gods, stole his father's lustre and used its power to create his own world. Furious at his son and desperate to reclaim the powerful lustre, Desmodeus consulted Galantia, the sage of the gods. It was she who told him that only a mortal from the world he had been dreaming of could retrieve the lost lustre. Alas, such a retrieval would come at great cost. Desmodeus would lose what was most precious to him.

Deciding that he had already lost the lustre, his most precious possession, Desmodeus paid no heed to the sage's warning. Instead, he demanded that his two daughters, Althea and Vestinel, create the world from his dreams. Surely one of them would be able to bring the mortal he needed into being and he would be able to retrieve the powerful artifact.

Both daughters created worlds they thought would produce mortals that could retrieve the lustre. Althea created the bright, beautiful world of Verathea as well as its residents: the dragons, the ancients, the elves, and the humans. These stalwart mortals, she felt, were best suited to the difficult task of finding the lustre. Vestinel, on the other hand, crafted a world of darkness and subtlety. The mortals of her world possessed the ruthlessness, callousness, and determination to seek out the lustre at all costs. When they showed their father their creations, Desmodeus laughed in delight at Althea's world, but was horrified by Vestinel's.

Jealous and angry, Vestinel poisoned her sister with an insidious poison, one made of her own dark essence. This would be her last act in the home of the gods. She was forced to flee to where Desmodeus' power could not reach her. Alas, even this justice could not help Althea, for in her flight Vestinel took the magical chalice that could have cured her. The poison put Althea into a deep and nightmare filled sleep

It was only then that Desmodeus realized he should have listened to the sage, for he had indeed lost the thing most precious to him—not the stolen lustre, but the love of his two daughters.

As Vestinel's corruption seeped into Althea, so too did it spread in her creation, the world of Verathea, which was an extension of the goddess herself. The dragons and humans were least affected by the deteriorating state of the goddess. The ancients and the elves, on the other hand, were greatly influenced by her weakening state. For the elves, death came to a race that had only ever known immortality, and they began to die off, one by one.

Even that atrocity was nothing compared to the fall of the ancients. The corruption of Vestinel did not weaken their bodies, but rather their souls. The ancients grew discontented with their place in the universe and desired instead to supplant the gods themselves. In order to gain this power, they attempted to manipulate the Monolith, the very heart of the world. The dragons, long the watchmen of the goddess Althea, discovered what they were up to and tried to stop this dangerous and foolish action. Alas, they failed, and the ancients' bumbling caused the Monolith to explode.

The explosion of the Monolith changed the world. Most of the ancients were killed by the explosion. Those who survived were shamed by their actions and went into hiding. The face of the world was altered. Every continent save Altera was destroyed. However, the worst effect of the explosion was the gash it tore between Verathea and its dark twin, the nameless world of evil created by Vestinel. It was from this dark world that the great evil entered Verathea—the Void Dragon.

The Tempest and Sentinel Dragons and the Origins of Other Dragons
The Sentinel Dragon and the Tempest Dragon were Althea's first two creations in the moments after the genesis of the world. They were to be the guardians of peace and balance in Verathea. They were noble creatures of enormous power that ensured many generations of peace and justice in the world. Indeed, so great was their will that they maintained their purpose even after the goddess was poisoned. Alas, when the Void Dragon came from Verathea's dark twin, the dragons of Althea faced an enemy unlike any they had ever seen. The Void Dragon was their counterpart, as powerful alone as the Sentinel and Tempest Dragons were together.

The battle between the dragons was titanic, shaking down mountains and razing forests. After much time though, the Sentinel Dragon and the Tempest Dragon were able to defeat Void Dragon at the cost of the Tempest Dragon's life. Yet even in defeat, the Void Dragon's evil could not be extinguished. The soul of the Void Dragon slid into the lifeless body of the Tempest Dragon, raising it as an undead monster dripping with corruption. Tears filled his eyes as the Sentinel Dragon battled the possessed body of his beloved brother.

Battered and bloody, the Sentinel Dragon was able to defeat the body of the Tempest Dragon, only to be defeated in turn when the body exploded, shredding the Sentinel Dragon's flesh. Dying, the Sentinel Dragon realized that each piece of the Tempest Dragon's body that had landed all over the world would possess a fragment of the Void Dragon's power—and they would inevitably be discovered and continue to spread their corruption. As its last gift to the world, the Sentinel Dragon split what was left of its power to create two new dragons—the Gold Dragon and the Silver Dragon—who would protect Verathea and hunt down the Tempest Dragon's lost flesh, known as dragon lustres. It was not easy. The dragon lustres beckoned and called, luring all ambitious enough to desire the Void Dragon's power. Some died to obtain the lustres; others died to keep them hidden. The only thing that kept the struggle within bounds was the fact that no one actually knew how to unlock the lustres' power. Until now.

A key has emerged that can unseal the dragon lustres. The forces of the world stir, seeking to possess that key.

The key itself? Her name is Rose.

Ancient magic and the split between the clerics and the Astral Coven
There was an Ancient sage (ancient meaning of the race of the Ancients) who taught magic to two human disciples - Jacob and Marion. After the sage left them there was a dispute between the two disciples and Jacob went on to establish the Divine Order (the clerics) while Marion went on to establish the Astral Coven (the sorceresses). Despite their differences in the present, both have their magic based on ancient magic. Divine magic focuses on drawing power from the Goddess Althea while the magic of the Coven focuses on manipulating the forces of nature. The storyline quest in game also explains that Kasarana blamed Teram for the loss of one of her earrings, which were likely given to her by Varnak, which further heightened tensions.

War of the Ancients
The War of the Ancients was caused when Vestinel's corruption, along with the Void Dragon, crossed over from the Land of Mist into Altera and corrupted a portion of the Ancient population. A war then ensued between the corrupted Ancients and the uncorrupted Ancients. Eventually the uncorrupted Ancients reigned victorious, but not without cost - they had almost died off completely as a race and what remained of them went into seclusion from the rest of the world, forming a small village (this is the village that the Kali comes from). During the war the Black and Sea Dragons were artificially created as weapons as well as the Titan Mach from the Titan's nest. Another notable monster that was created or employed by the Ancients was the Manticore from Prayer's Retreat.

King Cassius I and King Pether
After the War of the Ancients the continent of Altera was a mess in terms of political stability. Eventually on man rose above the chaos and established a kingdom. That man was King Pether. He established an alliance with the Elves which resulted in Port Hermalte and Lotus Marsh. The creation of Port Hermalte resulted in the death of the water spirits which made the Elves angry and they broke off relations with the humans. Eventually King Pether went on an expedition to an island called Ravea. Here he disappeared, forcing his brother Cassius I to assume the throne in his stead. 250 later though he appears again as the Red Dragon, leader of the Dragon Cult, and leader of the Seven Apostles. Whether or not this "King Pether" is the real one or not is still a mystery, though it seems clear that since dragons are immortal (they don't die of old age) it is certainly possible.

King Cassius I went on several expeditions before he was king. Notably he met and fought along side the Desert Dragon, Zakad. He gave her a "human" name - Aisha. In the course of their adventures together they fell in love with each other, but it was not meant to be. Cassius I became king and because of this Aisha left him, knowing that his subjects would not take kindly to a dragon being their king's friend or lover. Tragedy ensued as King Cassius I went on an expedition where he once again encountered Aisha, but his men encountered her in her dragon form and Zakad, believing Cassius I had betrayed her, fought with Cassius I and was defeated by his hand. She lived however and was sealed away to wander in the desert where she would eventually have her inert lustre sealed away by Gerrant. Cassius I always regretted the way his relationship with Aisha ended. Under Cassius I's reign the continent of Altera was united firmly and the city that would become Saints' Haven was built.