[HQ Ignorance] Re : Scene 68: The Abiding Book, Nochet and The Dead God
Lev Lafayette
lev at mimesisrpg.com
Wed Jul 9 14:14:09 UTC 2008
OOC: You only have to spend Hero Points if the item confers an ability
and whether it does is entirely up to you.
Nauticles initially starts rambling about Yelm the Sun God and his
Celestial Court and then stops mid-sentence. He can see the look in your
eye that indicates that you're not the sort who is gives in to tales
made up on the spot no matter how well they're spun.
"By the Gods. You mean the Sunstorm of Kralorela, don't you?"
Naticles looks more than a little uncomfortable. "That will take a
little time."
OOC2: Now Damien, where did you did up that obscure Glorantha
reference!?!
On Wed, 2008-07-09 at 21:14 +1000, Damien Bosman wrote:
> The Abiding Book was a masterpiece to Riku. He locked himself below
> deck studying every sentence over and over again, and absorbing the
> knowledge of the Invisible God. Riku was indeed in high spirits, as he
> had even managed to unearth some old equipment of special significance
> to him back in the Godlearner ruins (A jewel-encrusted Sickle, as well
> as some old robes from his childhood - [OOC: Need HP to acquire
> these, Lev? ] ). "The time is right", he thought to himself. Riku's
> hands twitched as he approached Nauticles when he was alone....."now,
> my dear man, I understand you have problems....and I feel for you. I
> really do. I may even be pursuaded to help you. However, I have a
> question of utmost import." He stepped closer and whispered in his
> ear, "What do you know of Sunstorm? "
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 10:03 PM, Loran <aillet_l at yahoo.fr> wrote:
> Since the discoveries in the Abiding Book, Azhur was feeling
> very strange, in fact almost sick. Whatever the angle he was
> considering the object, waves of different and contradictory
> emotions were blowing with violence in him.
> At first he felt an ecstatic veneration for the One Creator
> and His wondrous Miracles, then he was surprised to see that
> their own particular story was described there. Seeing the
> quest for Saint Talor's weapons mentioned under the title "The
> Hero Wars" strengthen his determination for the quest nearly
> to fanaticism for a while. Because the classical version of
> the Abiding Book wasn't the sacred text of the New Hrestoli
> Church, his doubts on the worthiness of the religious
> teachings of his youth came back strongly, reinforcing once
> again his agnosticism and leaving him with the impression that
> he was definitely separated from all the westerner believers
> of the Invisible God, believing in one god but no church.
>
>
> Each time Riku accepted to release his grip on the divine
> manuscript, Azhur read more details. He then discovered
> something he never felt so intensively before, a terrible and
> cold rage, growing in him like an worm, eating away all his
> good and noble education for a thirst of murderous
> confrontation with Aalmon whom he had sincerely given the
> title of 'friend' and seemed to deserve in return only
> jealousy, deceit and treason. A lot of details appeared
> now with a very different meaning: this ability to always slip
> around moral arguments to acheive a practical solution or a
> price that someone else would have to pay, like the heroquest
> he lead and which killed Azhur's pure loskalmi faith, his
> strange religion about these weird pagan twinstars, a pagan
> practice which probably deserved a much more critical
> attention now and of course his disgusting
> krjalki brother... this permanent indecency, this ever
> lasting lust, this filthy phalus
> bearer... What kind of mother was Aalmon's mother to give
> birth to two such dissimilar creatures and who could be the
> father of such bastards? Who then but the Devil himself?
> Then his imagination metamorphosed the hungry worm into a
> fearful insect with the idea that the
> perverse moon-illuminated could have faked leaving the
> Fellowship, possibly just to come back to the seshnelan court
> and to lure his wife further away. The words in the book
> described the moral strength of Marianne against the magical
> temptation of the revealed seseinite, so Azhur tried to calm
> down but he couldn't help to feel anxiety toward the tin jewel
> he had received from the arrolian rider. Would the jewel
> glitter under the stars tonight? And if it will, what would it
> really mean? If flawed in some way, should he abandon this
> magical and only mean to communicate his love to his wife? But
> Aalmon hadn't been always bad in the past, could his gift
> being a sincere untainted gift? Azhur needed the link with the
> woman he loved so much and the nocturnal, symbolic and chaste
> rendezvous it permitted.
> At day, Azhur took refuge in melancholic musing on the few
> innocent and happy times he had with Marianne but at night,
> doubts were ravaging Azhur's need for sleep. To deceive his
> fears and occupy his nights, Azhur studied the Abiding Book
> more and more, especially when Riku went sleeping himself. He
> first checked all the details about the Godlearner, trying to
> build a clear opinion on the trust he could have for the
> strange sorcerer of the past. Was the man dangerous for the
> Quest or a real help as indicated by the Luatha? He then read
> about the spiritual erring of his own faith, looking with
> great interest if the book was suggesting some excuse,
> explanation or even possible way to mend his situation. Should
> he use the Abiding Book instead of his own now broken
> religious code? His unwanted heroquested skepticism suggested
> him that no text, even sacred, should ever replace a personal
> conscience and that during history a lot of crimes were made
> because
> of doctrinal blindness… but his ever doubting mind answered
> him that refusing to follow strictly such evidence of the One
> God's will would be probably one of the most acute sin ever
> possible.
> Exhausted, but driven by the importance of the holy tome,
> Azhur finally turned on more technical teachings and looked
> for the possible spells, rituals and prayers. This book was
> the primal source of all the modern holy books. Could some
> teachings have been deeply censored and expurgated by some
> religious authorities during the centuries? He tried some
> comparisons with the sacred text of good king Siglat. 'First
> Truth' was the New Hrestoli Idealistic Church's sacred book,
> how both books were treating fundamental questions like
> definition of Sin, place of Joy and Solace and caste mobility?
> Probably one life wouldn't be enough to study all the
> implications of such works, so at last, a quite funny question
> came to his mind as if some weird influence from Saint Talor
> the Laughter was trying with a joke to help him to keep in
> mental sanity. Will the Abiding Book continue to write the
> story of the Fellowship? Then how will the book comment their
> next moves? Will they be able to read their own actions
> commented? Was it instantaneous, like one person may gaze into
> a mirror and see himself acting in response? How will the book
> speak about its own discovery and about itself?
>
> Looking haunted, Azhur wasn't very attentive to Eurynome when
> she described the situation in the Dragon Pass. He felt some
> compassion for the famished barbarian lands of the Storm (as
> some of his friends were supporters of the place) and a low
> hostility against the Moon Empire (probably nourished by his
> anger against Aalmon the Arrolian). But his mind was more
> sharp when the question of the Abiding Book's destination came
> out. For him, because the book was sacred for all the western
> faiths, it should go back to the West, but before, and because
> of the work in-progress related to their quest, it should
> remains within the Fellowship. Visibly, Azhur wasn't able to
> consider that this discovery could be something else than a
> positive and encouraging sign from the Invisible God.
> Finally when the council of Esrolia showed interest for his
> presence, Azhur shook his melancholic mood and reminded
> himself "Duty, Chivalry and Equality is my credo! I should
> represent better the peoples who put their hopes in me. This
> land is fertile and rich, who knows which role the Invisible
> God will deserve to these pagans in the future? Let's show
> them that the West is more than Ehilm's last resting place…
> and perhaps they will tell us something about Ursula, the
> Babeester Gor priestess who beared Talor's axe during Arkat's
> time..."
> [OOC]
> Lev,
> - Any answer to Azhur's questions is welcomed... even one
> single tiny clue! :-)
> - Do you thing that reading the 'Abiding Book v1.0' could
> justify to augment the "Questing" Azhur's psychological
> trait plus Worship and/or Venerate God?
> Loran
>
>
> ----- Message d'origine ----
> De : Lev Lafayette <lev at mimesisrpg.com>
> À : HeroQuest Glorantha <ignorance at mimesisrpg.com>
>
> Envoyé le : Dimanche, 6 Juillet 2008, 16h44mn 16s
> Objet : [HQ Ignorance] Scene 68: The Abiding Book, Nochet and
> The Dead God
>
>
> nota bene: Just returned from Gencon Oz! More on that
> latter...
> Meanwhile, something I composed whilst at the con..
>
>
>
> Scene 68: The Abiding Book, Nochet and The Dead God
>
>
>
> Over the next week, the Acindina makes good speed heading
> towards
> Nochet, the only metropolis in densely populated Esrolia. The
> Fellowship
> chooses a course of open sea in a nor'easterly direction from
> the
> Mournea isles and is only slowed when approaching the famous
> Kethaela
> Bay of the Holy Country when all of the sudden - in indeed
> measurable to
> a metre - the strong so'westerly wind blowing towards the
> Dragon Pass
> region comes to a sudden and complete stop, whereupon Kalen
> shaking his
> head, went below deck to command the engineer to release the
> Elementals.
>
> During this previous week the Godlearner Riku was below deck,
> feverishly
> scanning the Abiding Book. As a great treasure, lost for
> hundreds of
> years, Eurynome also diplayed a great deal of interest and
> some full and
> frank discussions broke out concerning the book's fate, for
> Eurynome was
> of the opinion that it should be handed to her patron
> Nauticles the
> Lhankor Mhy priest in Nochet. Also interested was King Azhur,
> for the
> book was indeed holy to all pious worshippers of the Invisible
> God,
> Malkion.
>
> To all three the story is well known. One thousand years ago
> the various
> Malkioni faiths were fragmented in various and sometimes
> contradictory
> sects which even led to bloody in-fighting during the Second
> Erandinthanos Conference. One heresy, that of the Priest
> Serozos claimed
> a revelation through an spirit entity called Makan, an
> expression of the
> One True God which argued for worshippers to practise
> Veneration to God
> via Priests as intermediates. Despite interrogration by the
> Dolphin
> Guild we was brought before the Conference to explain himself.
>
> Suddenly a hand, quill and book of indestructible binding and
> paper
> appeared from nowhere. A disembodied voice commanded 'Write',
> and the
> hand did so, expressing how worshippers of the invisible God
> were to
> live, how they should worship, what was True and what was
> Illusion and
> how heresies could be reconciled. For a thousand years it has
> been the
> most holy of texts for all who follow the Invisible God.
>
> Reprinted many times, all these doctrines are well known
> throughout
> western Genertala. Yet what has surprised the Fellowship the
> most, and
> has held them in greatest awe is the appearance of a new book,
> as yet
> unfinished. Entitled "The Hero Wars" it recounts the
> adventures of the
> Fellowship from the very day that a brave shepherd discovered
> fragments
> of Kyrmon's Scroll to the most recent encounters. More so, it
> records
> what is seen and unseen; Azhur discovers the depth of Aalmon's
> madness
> and wickedness from the eve prior to his wedding and Eurynome
> discovers
> that the pirates of Smelch are actually in the employ of the
> Free City
> of Khorst.
>
> Taking almost two days, at a pace of a slow moving ferry (for
> the
> Dwarves wish not to exhaust the Elementals), the Acindina
> makes it
> slowly through the Bay. There are very few ship in what is a
> normally
> teeming region and those that do exist are either powered by
> oars or by
> magical means such as this Seshnelan craft. Most disturbing is
> the
> absolute lack of wind - not even the faintest breeze. Even
> breathing,
> although necessary, feel peculiar. Passing through the fabled
> City of
> Wonders one is struck by the silence and inaccessibility of
> the place.
> Once teeming with its golden dome, the exterior is now like
> tarnished
> bronze from a by-gone era.
>
> Eurynome explains some of the recent events in Dragon Pass
> that have led
> to this unusual state of affairs. Over the past thirty years
> the Lunars
> have invaded steadily from the north, first taking the
> Heortling Kingdom
> of Sartar and then the Holy Country. The Pharoah died suddenly
> some
> eight years ago and no replacement was found, leaving the Holy
> County
> vulnerable. A mercenary leader from the west appeared and took
> some of
> the old Satarite lands; named Sir Richard the Tigerhearted, he
> too was
> eventually driven away by the ever-expanding Lunar Empire.
> From
> Eurynome's description he bears a remarkable resemblance to a
> certain
> mercenary captain encountered in the Battle for Segurane by
> certain
> members of the Fellowship.
>
> Two years prior, the last surving Satarite stronghold,
> Whitewall, fell
> to Lunar troops although King Brian is still at large. With
> the last
> surving temple to Orlanth, most senior of the Gods of the Air,
> in Lunar
> hands the very winds themselves stopped and have remained so
> for two
> years. The Lunars openly proclaimed that the God himself was
> captured
> and over time would acknowledge his subservience to both the
> Sun and the
> Moon and may even be released once more.
>
> The Acindina chugs its way in Nochet harbour, a massive city
> of some one
> hundred thousand people, most important of Esrolia and seat of
> their
> matriarchial government. A number of men assist the docking of
> the ship
> whilst women in authoritive regalia approach Eurynome for a
> report on
> the condition of the ship. When it is remarked that a foreign
> King is
> aboard, the women show deferential respect and mention that
> the Council
> will be informed of his presence. Karala gives her fair well's
> to Knarl
> who, without much ado, leaves the boat to head inland to his
> people.
>
> Talor's Axe feels particularly heavy at this moment with the
> realisation
> that the prophecy of her relationship to the fate of the
> Telmori has
> grown even more.
>
>
>
> In the meanwhile, Eurynome takes the Fellowship to the
> Lhankhor Mhy
> temple, where she has rooms along with her mentor Nauticles
> one of the
> few men in Nochet with any semblance of position or authority
> (and even
> that is most nominal). The elderly scholar offers drinks to
> all and
> seeks reports on the journey, hanging off every word that is
> spoken. He
> is particularly fascinated by the presence of both the
> Dragonewt and, of
> course, the God Learner for the former are most rare in any
> human city
> and the latter were believed to be an extinct people.
>
> It was the ever-empathic Jareena - and the ever sensitive
> Icthya (albeit
> for different reasons) - who noticed that the people of the
> city bore
> many of the signs of a very modest diet. There was no
> indication of
> starvation, but nobody could be considered of generous girth
> by any
> stretch of the imagination. Inquiring of this state of
> affairs,
> Nauticles sighs. "It is the capture of Orlanth. With the winds
> dying,
> the temperatures have become more extreme in heat and in cold.
> Crops
> have failed - not so badly here is Esrolia I will readily
> admit - but
> certainly in Heortland, Sartar, the Grazelands and parts of
> southern
> Tarsh. The winters have been most terrible there, 1621, 1622..
> thousands
> starved. Gradually some are beginning to make adjustments of
> course, but
> nevertheless life is terribly tough for the Heortlings and
> Satarites. If
> of course, the Orlanthi submitted this would change.. But I
> don't think
> that would happen. *We* Orlanthi value our independence a
> great deal,
> and have always sworn we will never submit to the Lunar
> conquest. There
> is, of course, rumours of an Iron Ring of rebels leaders who
> seek to
> liberate free the Storm God..."
>
>
>
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