Sir Gnome
Member
|
~As written in the diary of the travelling scholar Morvayn the Wise~
Entry 1: I do so tire of the mainland. Everywhere one looks, one sees would-be adventurers hauling grisly trophies gathered from their latest hunt, self-important mages strutting around the towns with little regard for those unskilled in their art, and skulking rogues, always ready to pick the pocket of a lone traveller such as myself. Where has all the respect gone? What is happening to Lore? Does no-one recognize that a Scholar is as worthy a profession as a Paladin?
I cannot continue my works here, as my feelings would begin to cloud my judgement, something which I find abhorrent in other works. A new start is needed, a new place where I can begin anew with my studies, where life is simply different. I intend to take a boat from the port of Lolosia, and sail East - if nothing else, the voyage will serve the purpose of furthering my studies of marine life, the studies I hope to be remembered for when I pass on.
I will leave my works as yet unfinished with my colleague Beleqwaya, so that if I decide to stay away from this continent for some time, then my past work will not be in vain. I have asked Beleqwaya to come with me, many times, but he is insistent that he stays - he believes that there is the potential for Scholars to be recognised in this land yet, but I cannot say I share his optimism. Perhaps, one day, I may meet a student of his... But until then, I do not believe I will hear from my good friend again, and this saddens me greatly.
Entry 2: Ah, the smell of the sea! How it does invigorate the soul and the mind! It's been too long, far too long since I’ve felt the planks of a ship beneath my feet, and felt them sway beneath me with the movement of the sea... I hate to admit it, but now that the ship has set sail, I truly feel no regret in leaving the west. I have written my books, and when a scholar finds he has no subject of true inspiration, he knows that it is time to move on. However, I will never tire of the sea! The variety of life, the pure power held within the crashing waves, and the pressure of the crushing depths... What a thing it would be to be able to go down there, past the depths where the water is breathable, into the unknown... What books I could write! What discoveries could be made! I get excited at the very thought... but then, as always, I am saddened - for now, I know of no means of breaching those mysterious depths, and I know not whether such a thing will be discovered in my meagre lifetime... One can but hope.
For now, I can immerse myself in my research, always a welcome distraction from the problems of mundane life. I hear that an almost unique type of creature lives in these coastal waters, something the overly superstitious locals call 'sea-fiends' - I intend to document them as far as is possible from this ship, for as of yet, I know of no study of these creatures.
Entry 3: Will these infuriating impediments never end?! When, finally, we saw one of these 'sea-fiends' off the side of the ship, I went to the Captain, eager to approach it, so that I could see in detail the features of this creature. Instead of acceding to my request, the Captain instead ordered that all the sails be hoisted, so that the southerly wind that prevailed that day took us away from the creature at high speed! While I am extremely vexed at the purely superstitious reaction of the Captain and his crew to what I am sure is a harmless creature, I cannot deny that I do not mind the extension to the trip that this diversion will create - a few more days on a boat is something I never object to.
Entry 4: My voyage is nearing its close. My time on this vessel has been thoroughly productive, which pleases me greatly. I have managed to add three whole paragraphs to my essay on the fauna of the Middle Sea, and also a footnote to my document on the coastal seaweed. It appears to be common practice amongst mariners in this part of the ocean to collect many of the flotillas of seaweed that we pass near to, and make it into a broth, which I found to be highly nutritious and thoroughly enjoyable.
But I must press on, both in my voyage and in this diary. I now know the name of my destination - the Isle of Paxia. While there was a nearer continent than my destination, I have heard stories of this Isle from the ports we stopped at on the voyage, and I must say what I have heard intrigues me. An island split in to distinct lands, but unified by a power that can easily overwhelm visitors? Of course, these rumors may prove to be exaggerations, brought on by an excess of rum, but it is my duty as a Scholar to investigate this place, and document any unusual activity. I only hope that this trip is not as fruitless as the one I undertook after hearing the rumors of a Mysterious Necromancer!
I am told by the Captain that we will arrive near to twilight tomorrow morning. These next few days will definitely prove to be a change from those unhappy days in Battleon.
Entry 5: At last, my voyage is finally at an end! A new land to explore, new sights to see, things never before documented by civilised man... So why is it that I again feel out of place?
The ship sailed for but a few days after passing under the long sea-bridge, in a north-easterly direction, towards this island. Just as land came into view on the horizon, I started to note strange occurrences in our locale. The weather had become unseasonably cold, with an unceasing chill wind seemingly coming from the Island itself. As we neared the Island yet more, the severity of these meteorological oddities increased. It started to snow, and this prevailed through the greater part of one day; then ice was spotted floating in the water ahead. At this point, the Captain refused absolutely to travel any further, understandably fearing damage to his ship. However, he did allow myself and one of his crew to take a small rowing boat towards the island, which could by this point be seen clearly from the ship. After a gruelling row (I must admit, I am not in the peak of physical prowess), we arrived at a point where the sea ahead was entirely frozen. I despaired at this point, fearing that I would have to turn back, but as chance would have it, I thought to take some of the ice from this floe back with me, to see if it stayed frozen after leaving the proximity of the Isle. I discovered, much to my surprise, that the ice was incredibly hard here, and whilst I was unable to remove a piece for my research, I was quickly able to establish that it would support the weight of myself and my pack (which was a heavy load, seeing as it contained two week's rations, materials for making a make-shift campsite and, of course, my writing materials). Looking back on that moment, I feel I was rather rash in deciding to set out, on my own, on this ice floe, in a land of which I had no comprehension. But a feeling that I could not describe, and still am unable to, drove me on, away from the boat, which was quickly turned back towards the ship that had been my home these past weeks. I waved goodbye to the last human that I knew of in the surrounding area with only a mild trepidation in my heart.
The land that I now find myself in is one of ice, snow, and permanent cold. Not far from the edge of the floe, the ice underfoot was covered in a layer of snow, which continued as far as the eye could see inland. This meant that I could progress more quickly, not having to watch for thin ice, or worry overly about falling over, and damaging the things in my pack. There are large rises in the distance, which I would normally assume to be mountains, but their profile against the sky is peculiar. They seem to be very jagged, and while tall, oddly thin for their height. I intend to press on to the nearest of these tomorrow, to discover what I can about the geographical features of this land. If it proves to be scaleable, then I will be able to gain a good view of the surrounding area.
It is very tempting to start on my essay now, but I feel that this area cannot be representative of the whole island - What of the rumors of the eight regions? And further to that, I have not seen any signs of life yet. It would definitely be unscientific to make any conclusions about the isle before having seen as much of it as is possible, and if there are any locals in this harsh land whom I can communicate with, before having talked with them about their knowledge of their home. For now, I must sleep, so that I am invigorated for the day ahead, which will doubtless be harsh in these conditions.
Entry 6: Ah finally, it has grown light enough that I can write here! The last day and a half have been such as I could never have imagined. Such strange sights I have seen on this Island, and I have not yet been here more than a three-day. The night after my last entry, as I was preparing to retire for the evening, and the last vestiges of light were fleeing the horizon, I noticed that in the mid-distance, near to what I had concluded was a large cluster of the mountainous features I had earlier espied, a bright light was pulsating. It was a pale blue in colour, and in looking at it, I felt a power compelling me towards it. Indeed, when I finally managed to avert my gaze, I realised that I had taken many steps towards the source of the light without realising it! This power must be magical in nature, and definitely warrants investigation; however considering its effect on me at even this great distance, I concluded that it would be highly inadvisable to approach it further alone, and without any protection against fell magics. I returned to my camp, and making sure not to face the light again, I managed to settle into a fitful sleep, filled with wyrd dreams.
I intended to catalogue the events of that night the following morning, but the circumstances did not allow it. Surveying the area surrounding my camp after I woke, as is prudent for one camping in wild territory, I saw that a family of white bears was sleeping near to my camp. While I had not personally read any studies of these specific creatures before, I knew that their now-extinct cousins on the mainland used to be especially ferocious, so I swiftly packed my belongings and moved on, before these creatures decided that I would comprise their next meal.
Originally, I had thought to move towards the large cluster of the mountain-like features to the East, but after seeing the light from them the previous night, I decided it was prudent to change my course towards a solitary feature, which lay in a north-easterly direction. I pressed on for the better part of the day, and the features of the structure only became clear to me in the late part of the afternoon. What I saw there shocked me. I do not believe such things exist anywhere else in the explored world. What I had thought was a mountain was in fact a thick sheet of ice, raised at an impossible angle, jutting up at least a league into the air. Obviously, it would be impossible to scale such a thing; the side with the most forgiving angle from the ground was still sheer, and the ice was slippery smooth, as that which I had encountered at the edge of the ice floe. Not even my diamond-tipped ice-pick could leave a mark on it!
I stood there looking at it for what must have been an age, trying to think of some logical explanation for such a geographical anomaly. Not only was I unable to think of one, I also stood there for such a great time that when I had finally gathered my thoughts it was too dark to add to my diary. I set up camp in the relative shelter provided by the towering ice, as it gave relief from the harsh winds, although the biting cold intensified even further, the closer one was to it. I noticed that strange light again last night; however seen through the towering ice it did not have the same effect on me as it had the previous night. I intend to press on East tomorrow, and further explore this land - this icy expanse must end soon!
Entry 7: I am making this entry now, as although the day is young, the sky overhead is already darkening. As I travelled East from last night's campsite, the snow underfoot gradually gave way to ice, just like that which I had encountered at the edge of this isle. I was vaguely concerned that this icy realm may be an island in its own right, but as all hypotheses require testing, I set on, to see what lay ahead.
As I went on, I could see that the ice underfoot was getting thinner and thinner, and my advance was slowed considerably as I tested the ice ahead every few steps, but in the end, the ice held. At the edge of the floe, the ice gave way to solid land. I must confess that after all those days worrying about the ice caving under me, I was glad to be back on dry land.
From where I am now, the Island continues ahead of me and to the North, while to the south I can see the sea on the horizon. The land here looks quite poor, compared to the continent. The soil quality is low indeed, and only straggly grasses grow, occasionally punctuated by a sickly looking tree, as far as I can see. Also, throughout the day, there has been a darkness on the horizon to the East, and now that has spread, quickly bringing night to my position.
I cannot help but wonder: will there be any more beacons calling out to me this night?
I would love to replace my 'Entry #' with actual dates, but as no concrete calendar has been alluded to in the AE games, I'll leave it like this rather than create one completely from scratch
< Message edited by Sir Gnome -- 7/16/2009 17:44:48 >
|
Printable Version
Icon Legend
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread
