Solanaceae -> RE: Locations/Quests/Events/Shops (9/26/2016 20:40:43)
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Bunch of stuff for Cold Truth: First, the alphabet. Here's all 4 pieces, and a whole version (I can't find the person who uploaded the whole tablet but the original is here) Second, both books. They are translated word-for-word, line-for-line. It takes up a lot of vertical space though, so you might want to edit in a formatted version instead. At any rate, here's The Elder Lament: spoiler:
The Elder Lament 1 By the light of the moon we would sit by the shore and listen as the waves rolled in, the steady pulsing tide having quite the soothing effect. In the summer, you could close your eyes and breathe in deep the sea air. You could almost taste the tang of salt with every breath. In the springtime, fragrant flowers bloomed a bit away from the shoreline, the sweet aroma of the flowers mixing with that sharp salt scent. In the sky, the birds wheeled, hunting for game, or just soaring on the wind. Their cries split the air and reverberated over the hills. I can close my eyes and remember it all, even now. The keen sharpness of the air in autumn when the storm winds begin to blow and the seas became wild. A harsh mistress she is, and yet you cannot help but love her. She gives life of her own, just as she claims life. All those who live near the sea are keenly aware of this, and though we are long gone from sandy shores she stays with us still, singing the siren song of yesterday when brave adventurers sailed the stormy seas, and tempted fate with every bold voyage. 2 In the fall, the leaves would begin to turn golden and red, after the harvest and before the storm season when the men would sail out to raid, we would have harvest gatherings, where the bounty of field and forest were shared gladly. The men would drink vast quantities of honeyberry and would get loud and make spoting wagers. The elders would sit at the Tchan tables playing games of strategy. The women gathered near the harvest tables, cooking and bustling around tending the wee ones. We would play harvest games beside the shore, laughing and racing along the sand, the cold water of the ocean playing at our heels. The older boys would go on the hunt for small game, besting the wild creatures with their bare hands. On the second day, the men would go out hunting dragons. They would wear no armor, and carry only their great blades. After the hunt, there was a great feast. 3 The hides would be stretched in the sun over the highest hill, so that the best could be judged. During An Flea Mhor, the amerins would play joyful tunes of flute and fiddle and drum. There would be great dancing and merriment. The men again would indulge in honeyberry, but the women would drink honeysuckle tea, with the bounty of honeysuckle we'd pick in the springtime when the fragrant winds blew from the north, bringing the fading hints of winter. Here, in the fall, the tea, made with honeysuckle and rosehips was a warming drink when the evening winds again brought the sharp scent of snow, still weeks off, but our noses could always smell snow early. After the Gula, when the laws have been discussed, and justice dispensed, then came the time for marriage contracts. This was when we became one with another, although there was a pecking order. 4 Warriors were always prized, as they could best provide for their women and protect them. The sons of chieftains were also a prize, as they were both noble and warriors. The amerins were next, their artistic souls being greatly valued. They were our joy bringers, and they often brought great happiness to their brides. The traders were often chosen by women of a commercial mindset. Of the common folk, there were many. Rarely did we marry between different standings, but occasionally one exception may be chosen. In that day, there was one who was considered to be the greatest of warriors. His father was a great chieftain. His mother, however, was something else. She appeared to be an ice giant like us, but her colour was pale and she seemed to glow from within. 5 For all her size, she seemed almost ethereal. Her son was named Frostfyre. What none of us knew was that one day Frostfyre, also known as The Bright One, would become our savior and hero. I remember the night it happened. I remember the incoming storms that heralded the coming of the snow and ice. We were able to hear the creaking of the ships as they sailed in by the dozens all of them bearing the people of the races we had raided over the centuries. The war was brutal, and our numbers were cruelly diminished within mere days. Good men and women were lost those days, and children that made not the journey. We were driven north, always north, for we knew there was no way to turn the tide in our favor, so on we continued. 6 We were led by The Bright One in those dark days, dark of dark. The heavy storms of winter were upon us, and into those storms we went. The Bright One was a sight to see in those days his white flesh almost glowing in the tempest as he led us onward. His courage and conviction never wavered. He proved, time and again, that he was the hero we believed him to be. Many were the days of misery. We were often hungry, but we dared not slow down to hunt. We knew they were no longer behind us, but we also knew they would become violent if we again returned. The Bright One's stone thrower told us that one day we would return to the lands which we called home. One day, a champion will come of The Bright One's line who would be a great leader and warrior. What follows is known as "The Elder Lament". 7 They came in the night in a great fleet of ships To strike at our heart They poured forth in numbers too many to count We were lost from the start Harder they pressed us till soon all was lost We were driven away We gathered our children we left all our treasures We could no more stay They've driven us onward far to the north Where the snow always falls Far from our homes in the hills and the valleys Where the trees have grown tall. We walk the path that now spreads out before us Driven on in the storm We follow The Bright One throughout the dark Days To the mountain's lee warm I still remember the smell of the heather. When the summer winds blow The sight of the sea crashes into the rocks And the spray from below Our great halls would cast a gold glow of light One could see from afar Shining in brightness against the cold darkness A welcome star. 8 Now we have come to the icy cold Wastelands Where the bitter winds blow Here by the mountains The Shining One goes Ay the Frostfyre's pale glow Alone at the top of the world we have Settled And here we have grown Our halls and our castles, our great once Again Our courage is short. Here we have grown strong and raised some Fine families Plentiful is the game The trees were all planted have grown Straight and tall And our children the same. Now we will wait for the one who will lead us. We'll follow him home Against the wild seas, we will ride in the storms Once more we will roam 9 We'll hunt for the beasts that can feed All our families We'll raid wild and free We'll farm and we'll love and we'll laugh And we'll fight On the shore of the sea Once more against dragons we'll test our Great courage With sinew and steel The hide we will cure by the light of The Frostfyre At the top of the hill You might want to make pages 7-9 purple to correspond with the purple text the poem itself is printed in. Here's Laguzoki: spoiler:
Laguzoki 1 This is the journal of Laguzoki, bone caster. Young Nivelis is proving to be an adept pupil. He has progressed far more quickly than I would have imagined possible. His grasp of the basics is beyond compare. Truly the line of Frostfyre is blessed. Today young Nivelis summoned an ice elemental. At the age of twenty, his skills are already quite advanced. Not only did he demonstrate great skill, but he then displayed his physical prowess by defeating the creature bare-handed. I am beginning to believe that this may well be the one long fortold of that will lead our people back to our lands. He will bear watching. 2 Today young Nivelis captured three humans. What surprised him most was the utmost shock with which we were greeted. Nivelis was most outraged at the fact that he seemed to be unheard of at all. Master Nivelis decided to hold the humans and gather all the information about the humans that he could. Unfortunately humans are very short-lived and are somewhat fragile. Rather than Nivelis being pleased at this fact he was even more angry than ever. How could these little folk possibly defeat us, drive us from our homes, and then forget us! Nivelis used this information to whip our people into a frenzy. Many of our people fell in line and demanded that Nivelis lead them home to take revenge on the small folk. Nivelis started studying the humans, looking for the key to defeating them despite the superior numbers. 3 I am of the same bloodline. If Nivelis ever discovers this, my life will be worthless. I must destroy those pages. For now I must flee. I shall travel south, near the lands of the humans. Though I must wait for the coming of a human hero and send him on his journey. I give this journal to Sceolan in the hopes that he will preserve history within these pages. ----- Here begins the journal of Sceolan the Survivor. For many years I have kept this journal, but until now it wasn't necessary to keep track of events. After the departure of Laguzoki, his followers have quietly worked in the shadows to derail Nivelis' plan. There is a great division among our people. Many know that Nivelis is of the Frostfyre line, and that his word, by rights, is law. Some of us know better. Nivelis is a thug, and is more interested in vengeance against the small folk. There are those of us who believe that there is a better way. 4 A war of peace. The raiding is not necessary. We can live well with those who once forced us north. We have learned, in the last hundred years that we are, if anything, merely a myth used to scare human children. This has enraged some of our more war-like brethren, but some of us merely find it sad. There are those among us who would go south raging and storming and bring war to the small folk, so as to remind them that we are here, and we are to be feared. We cannot allow that to happen. The very survival of our people depends on how we react to this. True, being forgotten and relegated to myth is disheartening. Some among us, however, believe that the best way forward is to forge an alliance with the small folk. 5 War has broken out amongst our people. Nivelis has learned of the people who wish to make peace with the small folk, and has declared us to be rebels. We will fight to the last to defend our imeals. However, we cannot allow hatred to ruin us, and this is what he would have. Nivelis himself has not made an appearance, however. He has removed himself to his mountaintop castle and sequestered himself inside. The Stormrider Clan has been all but wiped out. I am one of the last survivors of my clan, but I will not allow myself to be taken by his forces. Blizzard and Dragon clans have fallen in behind Nivelis, despite their earlier resolutions not to do so. I don't know how much longer I can remain here. The fighting has gotten intense, and many of my friends have fallen. 6 Too many are dead or lost. Our village has been wiped off the face of the earth by Nivelis and his...followers. Those accursed Khy'Rhian flooded our village, killing everyone they came across. It was only a blessing that I was away at the time. I am resolved to seek out others of our kind and see if I can convince them to stop Nivelis, or if not stop him, then replace him as our ruler. I am convinced Nivelis is utterly insane. I followed Nivelis the last time he wandered up into the mountains. He's always surrounded by those accursed Khy'Rhian, and I cannot find the right opportunity to end him. He goes up and stands on a peak across from that strabge gate. He gazes at it for hours. I don't know what is going on in his mind. 7 I awaited my moment while he was away and went to his fortress. He has maps spread out on tables in his study. He seems to be obsessed with a being named Letalis. There are papers on his desk referring to a Spirit Warden, whatever that is. I am concerned about his plans. As near as I can tell from what I've seen, he's planning to destroy Lore in a cataclysm of ice. I am no bone caster but even I understand that we are part of Lore, and we cannot exist in in a world that is frozen. I am convinced he is completely mad. We are made to live in these cold climates, but we also enjoy the sun, and warmer climates are good for us as well. Our past history is proof of that. 8 The clans are scattered now. The madness of Nivelis infected our people, and we fell to fighting amongst ourselves. I have sent my warriors to White Mountain to await my word. One day I will bring them down and we will destroy Nivelis and all he stands for. I have begun searching for Laguzoki. I know that he journeyed south towards the lands that were once ours, and is now living in a place where the summers are far warmer than they are here. He may be able to guide our warriors on what to do. I have now made the trip south at least a dozen times. I believe I may be getting closer to finding him, but it's now been closer to a hundred years since anyone has seen him. 9 I have ordered my fighters to follow him. They are not to approach him, merely to keep an eye on him and what he does. I have also sent someone to steal some papers from Nivelis. I hope to find something in his papers that will help us to take him down. While it's true he's of the Frostfyre clan, and our laws make him protected, I believe he has broken the trust of his crown. He will not lead us back to our old way of life, and I'm not convinced he should return to that way of life. He will only lead us to ruin. 10 There must be a way for us to return to the world of Lore, not as destroyers, but as a part of the whole world. Here in the ice wastes we only grow stagnant. We grow less healthy as there are herbs and crafts that we cannot grow by the blue Frostfyre. In my search for Laguzoki, I have seen the ocean. I have felt the call of her storm tossed seas and it is my desire that I can experience the thrill and joy of sailing on the winter seas. Standing tall in the raging storms upon a deck that rocks wildly with the heaving of the ocean. I believe that we can return to the world of man, not as destroyers but as traders. We can lend our strong arms to the world of Lore and help protect this world. We are but one race upon the surface of this world and I believe that we are meant for something greater than just squatting here in the shadows of the mountains here. We must evolve or we will disappear. 11 We must become more than we are or we will never reach our potential. This I learned from Laguzoki, who is wise beyong his years. I have learned something from the papers that I have had stolen from Nivelis. It seems that the best moment to strike against Nivelis will be when he attempts to absorb the evil spirit called Isathaara. We have heard of this creature from legends long passed down. When he attempts to absorb the spirit, he will have to maintain all his concentration to succeed. If we attack at that precise moment, we may be able to disrupt the ritual. The biggest concern at that moment will be eliminating all the Khy'Rhian he has surrounded himself with. I will hide this journal for now, and hope that one day our chance will come, if the lords are kind. Till that time, I shall continue to search for Laguzoki, and watch Nivelis. I believe our chance will come if we are patient. Again, Sceolan writes in a different color than Laguzoki (light blue), starting from the middle of page 3. Thanks, (spoiler tags added) it will be added to the entry by the end of this week after the time frame is over. ~Peachii Edit: Oh jeez, I can't believe I didn't see that. Sorry for the blunder! All should be added now, Thanks! ~Peachii
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