Long ago, a war between the forces of heaven and hell was waged over the rulership of Sanctuary. Human [[acolyte]]s '''acolytes''' - ancestors of the zealot order fought on the side of the angels and the forces of heaven. Dark [[heretic]]s '''heretics''' from the north fought alongside the demons. It was these heretics who would scour the battlefield capturing the essences of the fallen angels in [[Soulstone]]s denying them death. The war ended with neither side claiming our world, as the gates between Sanctuary and the greater planes were sealed by a small band of human freedom fighters.

A thousand years passed and a party of [[acolyte]]s '''acolytes''' led by [['''Shia Koran]] ''' discover a cache of [[Soulstone]]s while raiding the derelict stronghold of the dark [[heretic]]s'''heretics'''. Unaware of the torment endured by the angels over the last millennium, Koran decided to free his trapped masters. Selecting a large Soulstone, he opened himself as a channel for the soul to pass through. The being that was once an angel manifested fully within Koran, with chaotic fury clearly etched on its celestial features. Carnage ensued as the acolytes sought to banish the creature with full knowledge that doing so would also destroy their leader. Few acolytes survived the banishment ritual amidst the creature's devastation. [['''Augus Moriden]] ''' announced himself the new leader of the acolytes, and selecting a very small Soulstone, tentatively attempted to draw a small amount of the angel essence into himself. The resulting form scorched his left arm with an intense white fire and burned his eyes, but with a strong willpower he found he could control the form.

Through this discovery, the [[acolyte]]s '''acolytes''' became what we now know as the Zealots. Warrior monks fighting with sword and sorcery, and when necessary - the chaotic powers of insane angels!

Zealots certainly do have their flaws. One such is that they are quite susceptable to ranged attacks. Many of their attack skills involve sprinting at the enemy which leaves them very vulnerable to attacks. Also they have relatively low Health and Defence, which can be accomodated for by investing skill points in such skills as [['''Endure]] ''' and magical defence/resistance. These skills however do not increase your survival chances by much when facing ranged attackers. Manifest form only gives them an easier target, as you move slower and are somewhat larger, but at least it gives you some nifty new ranged attacks to fight fire (or more appropriately - arrows), with fire! One skill which helps against ranged attacks is [['''Sandstorm]] ''' which will flick arrows away if it is timed properly, or you could simply run in circles...

Zealots tend to equip light armour types made from fabric and/or leather. They rarely equip anything heavier than chainmail due to the wasteful strength requirements. Also light armour allows for fastest run/walk which is important for melee characters. Zealots have the passive skill [['''Endure]]''', which directly adds to defence and helps make up for the lack of defence provided by light armour.

Zealots can also equip the new class specific item [['''Soustone Chain]] ''' Which is a requirment for manifestation. New Zealot characters begin the game wearing soulstone chains that give +1 to Manifest.

The [['''Zealot skill]]s skills''' are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:* [[Zealot:Soul_Skill_Tree|Soul]]* [[Zealot:Body_Skill_Tree|Body]]* [[Zealot:Mind_Skill_Tree|Mind]]

[[Image:Zea-manifest1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[['''Manifest]]''']]The [[Soul_Skill_Tree|'''Soul tree skills]] ''' are drawn from the crystal the [[Zealot]] wears on a chain around his neck. These crystals are actually [[Soulstone]]s containing the tortured souls of angels trapped for all eternity. Through training and discipline the [[Zealot]] learns to draw out just enough of the angel's essence to empower himself without being fully possessed by the chaotic being trapped within.

** '''Manifest''' Shapeshift into a celestial being with the aid of a [[''soulstone chain]]''. Higher levels increase statistics and raises the cap on related skills. requires that a soulstone chain be equiped

[[Image:Zea-magicalDefence1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[['''Magical Defence]]''']]The [[Body_Skill_Tree|'''Body tree skills]] ''' are derived from the fact that [[Zealot]]s Zealots are trained under the harshest conditions in the desert wastelands south of [[Lut Gholein]]. The harsh sun, the cruel night and the unpredictable sandstorms are just a few of the daily struggles a lesser man would not expect to survive.

[[Image:Zea-manaBlast1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[['''Mana Blast]]''']]The [[Mind_Skill_Tree|'''Mind tree skills]] ''' are learned in the [[Lut Gholein]] monastery through years of training. For the most part they are offensive magic spells dealing different types of elemental damage. Some of the more unique mind skills involve the enemy's current mana in the damage calculation, dealing more damage when the target is low on mana and/or has a large maximum mana.