Any ideas about this?

[Protes]

March 2004: Across the Vast Divide
Rollout Article
(link - http://ac.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=214)

The sound of porous bone drawn across supple flesh presages the appearance of blood-soaked words. There is no quill writing upon the page, nor is there light in this chamber, far removed from the surface of the world. No footfalls in the hallways, no being working over the tome, only a whisper of a woman's voice endlessly speaking, followed by the sound of bone carving the flesh of the book. So it has been since the coming of the dark ones, since the world grew cold and darkness consumed darkness while the light whimpered and watched its children fall.

The sun rises each morning. The moons come each night. Words ceaselessly appear on the pages of this book. Auberean has survived by way of these constants. But what happens to creation if the words one day stop?


November 2004: On Bended Knee
Rollout Article
(link - http://ac.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=308)

At long last the page ran red with blood. Months of unending silence gave way to a horde that rivaled the incursion of the Olthoi. Words scribbled across the page; the prophecies began to form once again. Too long had the book thirsted for blood; too long had its words lay hidden within. The fragile fabric of the future spun from the web of the book's whim as the dark past suddenly returned full circle.

Another piece to a grand puzzle was played. Darkness gained another ally.


* * *


I'm thinking this is Nuhmurida working again in Book of the Blood. Yet I am a puzzled by "But what happens to creation if the words one day stop?".


I'm also curious if the two lore pieces above is connected to the Changelings (see below).


December, 2004: The Calm
Teaser (excerpt)
(link - http://ac.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=324)

Light and dark swirled into a mass of seething shadow as the creature's body twisted and popped. Its dark, translucent form bled into a mass of muscled, gray flesh. Blood of red, green, black, and purple flowed from the wounds which covered its new body. The wounds closed, the blood stopped, but the pain remained. The creature gasped as a mouth grew from its newly formed face. It bellowed a cry of soulless anguish. The thing fell to its knees and wept.

A hand caressed the top of its head. "Shh..." the dark voice whispered. "This pain is temporary."

The hand reached down and settled beneath the creature's massive chin. The thing looked up into the dark eyes of its master. It blinked and shuddered at the blinding light of the great one's profane beauty. "M-m-master..." it stuttered.

"Yes," the great one whispered. Its words were oily and thin, wrapped in a sea of writhing madness. "Master..."


December, 2004: the Calm
Rollout Article
(link - http://ac.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=341)

He looked down at his flesh. It was still new to him. He both loved and loathed its alien feel - its texture; its smell; its oils. So powerful, yet still so flawed and weak compared with the existence he had previously known.

He looked at his brothers. He nodded to the youngest of them. The changeling nodded in assent and ran east. The other two looked to him for their own orders.

He removed a map from his pack and unrolled it. He placed a large finger on two locations. Each of his brothers nodded and began the trek to their designated posts.

He held the map to his blade of flame and watched the paper crumble to ash. Then he began his own journey. For he, too, had a part to play in this great game.

* * *

[Hirahd]

I'm thinking this is Nuhmurida working again in Book of the Blood. Yet I am a puzzled by "But what happens to creation if the words one day stop?".

I would say you are right. This is one of the reasons we know that it was Nuhmudira (whether directly or indirectly) who brought the burun to Dereth. To answer your question, we would need to know what it is the Book of the Blood does.

I have always wondered if the Book has some connection to the Blood of the World (mana). It would fit in with the Falatacot theory of blood. They believed that the power of the world flowed through their veins. “Blood was life, and without blood there was only death” (taken from Gaerlan’s Tome of the Elements).

Perhaps the Book is a book of life? It has power over creation, and so if the words stop, life ceases to exist? This is all just speculation, but hope it helps.

As for the other lore pieces, I believe they are connected but only because I believe Nuhmudira to be the creator of the changelings. Whether she is or not still remains to be seen.

[Protes]

Thanks Hirahd, yeah your reponse does help me :)

[Scenario]

We know who was directly responsible for the entrance of the Burun, and it wasn't Nuhmudira (*cough* Rage Lao *cough*). Some of the things Nuhmudira may have done in the eight months or so previous to Rage Lao letting in the Burun may have helped facilitate the opening of the Falatacot Temples, but she wasn't the one who actully opened the portals.

:)

[immortalbob]

what if noone got curious enough to click that portal?

[Protes]

We know who was directly responsible for the entrance of the Burun, and it wasn't Nuhmudira (*cough* Rage Lao *cough*). Some of the things Nuhmudira may have done in the eight months or so previous to Rage Lao letting in the Burun may have helped facilitate the opening of the Falatacot Temples, but she wasn't the one who actully opened the portals.

:)

Yeah, I remembered that part from Antius's investigation when he interviewed him :)

When I was reading back through the lore from The Calm event, I recalled On Bended Knee lore having also a line make a worded similiar "a great game"

If I am not mistaken, Nuhmudira had gone off without telling her whereabouts after her last encounter with Asheron. So there's a gap of time there where she is up to doing something with the Falatacot magics and it seems like Across the Vast Divide and On Bended Knee give a hint. Towards the end of the Burun/Falatacot story arc she was found on a magically hidden Falatacot island south of the Vesayen Isles, ransacking an ancient Falatacot chapel.

[sylphia]

what if noone got curious enough to click that portal?

You know not what you ask :-P

In my long years of experience as a Game Master, I have found that some player somewhere will ALWAYS be curious enough to click the portal, ring the bell, open the door, pick the chest, tickle the dragon on its--tail.

I once built a dungeon; in one obscure corner, I added a chasm purely for mood and atmoshpere, to enhance the sense of it being part of a natural underground system of caverns that had been modified for use by its occupants. If players listened intently, they could just make out the sounds of runing water waaaaaaayyyyy down at the bottom--this being the stream that had carved out the chasm over the last several thousand years. The far end of the chasm was so far away, that the players could not see it. On another wall of the cavern, there were obvious exits to be used.

Now keep in mind that the chasm was just there for decor, no other purpose, and nothing insidious about its nature or description. Nonetheless, as soon as the party discovered it, they were immediately intent upon finding out what was on the other side or at the bottom. Despite the fact that the walls were unscalable, and they had no way of reaching the other side, they spent the next 1/2 hour tryng every means they could think of to do one or the other. At one point, I even jokingly said that they noticed a sign that said "Move along, nothing to see here"--which only served to spur them on to greater lengths, now convinced there was something hidden there.

One of them came up with the bright idea to tie a rock to the end of a rope and cast the weighted end to the other side in the hopes of snagging something. None of the available rocks provided sufficient weight to make it across the cavern, so they decided to tie the rope to ONE OF THEM and launch the poor fellow across the cavern instead. One of the party members was a werebear, possessed of greater than normal strength. Another party member owned a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Might, and another owned a Girdle of Giant Strength. Despite my dire warnings of the potential consequences, the werebear donned both magical items, then tied a rope around the waist of the lightest party member and proceded to hurl him into the void. The rope, being 100+ foot, still was not sufficient to reach the other side. However, once the poor chap reached the end of its rope, gravity took its inevitable revenge upon him. The fellow pendulum-swung down into the side of the cliff at fatal speeds, crushing him quite thouroughly.

Then the rope snapped and his corpse plummeted down to the bottom of the chasm.

This was followed by several hours of 100% ad-libbed dungeon creation and adventure authoring done completely on the fly as the party attempted a rescue of the (literally) fallen comrade. In the end, they never did return to that particular room and go through the obvious exit.

Moral of the story: players will ALWAYS be curious enough to click on the portal :)

[Tindalos]

LOL, Sylphia. Once just to drive my gaming group nuts I had a huge X painted on a wall. They spent the entire session trying to disarm the "trap" I placed in their path. The next day I relented and told them that sometimes that big red X on the wall is just a big red X.

[Chrono]

*snip*

I'm laughing so hard, thanks for the story :)

[sylphia]

You think thats a hoot, ask me how one of my players got the nickname "Sheep Boy" :cool: And no, it isnt a perverted x-rated story either :D