The following contains spoilers to the Act 00 main storyline. Read at your own risk!
Into the Heart of Rage[]
The tale of the Freelancer began in disaster. An endeavor launched to tame the Heart of Rage with the courage of so many souls quickly turned to a nightmare of ash, flames, and death. Haluk led the charge, with the Freelancer following behind. Cypher Faye guided them all with a watchful eye. But victory was denied. The staggering power of the Anthem of Creation was unleashed in the form of a titan, dooming the warriors to certain death. Haluk remained defiant to the end. The Freelancer was forced to drag their leader away, a broken man unwilling to accept defeat and devastated over the loss of his warriors.
Early Warnings[]
For two years, the nightmare of that day in the Heart of Rage lingered. The Freelancer parted ways with Haluk and Faye, who were unable to reconcile the tragedy. The two were haunted by the disaster and were driven by their need to solve the mystery of the Anthem. But the Freelancer chose a different path. They looked for a fresh start in Bastion. Work was scarce, though the Freelancer happily accepted any available job along with a new cypher, Owen Corley. Together, they thwarted disaster when a Shaper relic spiraled out of control and threatened to spawn a new breed of monstrosity to wreak havoc on the land.
Incursion[]
Every Freelancer legend pits a brave lancer against a seemingly unstoppable foe. Sadly, this world provides no shortage of villains. Few compare to the dreaded Dominion, led by the shadowy Monitor, who proved more than a match for the Freelancer in their first encounter. What seemed like a simple task—safeguarding Fort Tarsis from rumors of foreign spies—turned into the opening salvo of a possible war. The Monitor led a brazen attack deep into the heart of Bastion to steal a prized relic, murdering any who dared step in his way. Only the Freelancer survived the battle, bloodied and wounded, but unwilling to cede ground to this menacing foe.
Finding Old Friends[]
The tides of history so often turn on the shifting fortunes and allegiances of the people who love each other, hate each other, or something in between. It was almost poetic then, that in the bid to stop the Dominion, the Freelancer found themselves in the court of Princess Zhim while seeking the help of their old companions, Haluk and Faye. Two years hadn't healed the rift between them, but the present danger forced an uneasy reunion. The former commander and his cypher hadn't been sitting idle all this time—they were tirelessly seeking answers to the Heart of Rage, which could prove invaluable in stopping the Dominion.
The Legionnaires[]
Haluk and Faye made a deal with the Regulator Princess Zhim for information. That bargain led the Freelancer on a search through the Bastion wilderness for the tombs of four fallen Legionnaires—an honor guard left to keep eternal vigil over the resting place of General Tarsis. Only when all the guardians were met, and the Freelancer found worthy, would the way to the general be clear.
The Tomb of Tarsis[]
With every challenge vanquished and the blessings of the guardians bestowed, the Freelancer sought the tomb of General Helena Tarsis herself. There, they hoped to find the fabled Javelin of Dawn that might provide a way to traverse the Heart of Rage and reach the Cenotaph at its center. Though the armor was not waiting for them, the tomb held a different treasure: the General's signet. But they were not alone in pinning their hopes on the Javelin of Dawn. The Monitor was seeking the same prize. Thus, the Freelancer was forced to carve a path through Dominion forces to escape the tomb alive.
Fortress of Dawn[]
The signet of Tarsis was more than a mere keepsake, it was a key. It opened the long-sealed Fortress of Dawn—the seat of General Tarsis, where all the greatest lancers in history had gone to prove their worth. Inside, the Freelancer realized the only way to reach the inner sanctum was to undergo the ancient trials that tested those wanting a place among the Legion of Dawn. Pitted against their own memory's worst battles, the Freelancer emerged victorious and gained entry to the hall. There stood the Javelin of Dawn. Before the Freelancer could claim their prize, Owen revealed his true colors and sabotaged the Freelancer's armor and took the Javelin of Dawn for himself.
Crafting the Shield[]
Defeated, the Freelancer returned to Haluk and Faye. But Faye had not lost hope. She believed that the Javelin of Dawn required the General's own signet to truly work. The Dominion would not make it to the Cenotaph as easily as they believed. Meanwhile, Faye hoped to construct a version of the Dawn Shield on their own, using what she had learned in the fortress and Haluk's ingenuity. But this would require the Freelancer to search far and wide for resources, risking life and limb.
Freelancer Down[]
History is rarely kind to old warriors. Even as their immortal legend grows with feats of heroism, their body and mind begin to falter. Haluk, once a Freelancer of exceptional renown, came face-to-face with his own mortality in the Fortress of Dawn. Worse, it was at the hands of the traitor, Owen. But when faced with an unexpected Dominion attack, Haluk rallied and helped lead the charge to ensure he and the Freelancer escaped to safety. Their good fortune continued when Owen, in an unexpected fit of conscience, provided them the missing piece to finish their javelin.
Return to the Heart of Rage[]
With their Dawn Shield finally ready, the Freelancer ended the tale where it began by venturing into ruined Freemark and the nightmare of ash, flames, and death that lay within. This time, the storm's horrors were made worse by waves of Dominion soldiers left behind by the Monitor on his mad race to the Cenotaph. There, in the eye of the storm, the Freelancer found him waiting. No longer a lancer or even a human being, but transformed into a monstrous extension of the Cenotaph's power which guarded the way to the relic. Although the Monitor turned the storm itself against them, no amount of fire or lightning could stop the Freelancer. The Monitor was slain and the Cenotaph, at last, was silenced, bringing peace to the Heart of Rage.