Going on a journey

p.richard

Scholar
If there is anything that these past few months have taught me is that I should not go off on my own. I may be a capable warrior; my blades may move lightning fast... but there will always be someone better than me. Always. Dying by the hands of those damn goblins showed me that.

I am planning on going to the Tranquil Plains to learn more about my people in this strange place. I heard that they might have some insight on the Savage Horde that might be useful. I am thinking that the whole "absorbing power from those they kill" thing and the "masters of elements" garbage they have going on may be information we need to learn about. I will see what my brother High Orcs have to say about this.

I always want to make a trip to the High Ogres as well, at the request of Equilibrium. I want to see if maybe their knowledge of the undead in the area might be useful to our cause. Slice? Shin? Nova? I would also like to know more about these special Houses you brought up... these "spirits of the past" or whatever. Can you let me know, here, what that is all about?

For the rest of you... I don't like feeling weak around people. You all make me feel weak. My guard is down when I enter your presence. You have this way of making me replace my cold stare with laughter and smiles. It makes me uncomfortable. I am not used to that. So I will be traveling for the next couple of months to learn what I can about the Horde...and get away from you people. But I want you all to know that when you need Bones, I will be there for you. Just get a hold of me here in the dreaming.

Zeth... you mentioned to me near the caves where we found that puzzle, that it shows through my person that I care deeply for those around me. I come from a tribe where if we didn't work with each other; grow together; become stronger together... then we died. So yes. I care for this group. They have proven to be worthy allies. They have ripped into my chest and have claimed my beating heart. I will do what I can to protect them. That would be my answer to your question, wizard.

I will see you all in a few months time, with information and knowledge of our enemies. I would not like to go alone... so if anyone wishes to join me on this quest, you are welcome. I travel to the Tranquil Plain by weeks end.

Thousand Bones of the Bleeding Eye
Harkonian Slayer
Phoenix Foe
The Lich Butcher
Executioner of the Heart Drinker
Defiler of Echoes
The Goblin Cleaver
Elemental Bane
 
The Houses of old Ceriopolis are as follows:

Base and Reason
Whispers and Thunder
Light and Lies
Temperance and Ruin
Fate and Fury
Pain and Purity
Tsunami and Dream
Peace and Malice

So far the only house which has been opened and joined is the House of Whispers and Thunder, by Master Luke of the Celestial Guild. Its standard is a lantern and its leaders are the Dominus Aether and the Aether Equotam.

Any information on the houses aside from their names is purely conjectural and circumstantial as per the diary of Sumnus, but Roann posed to me the theory that each of the houses is tied to one of the eight elements we fought, and I believe him to be correct. This theory was based on the titles of the leaders of the houses (Aether, Aqua, Vitae, Mortem) as well as the gems on the box we unlocked to retrieve Sumnus' diary (the colors of the eight elements and set in their opposing pairs). Aside from these elements, each house has a philosophy. These are also (with the exception of the House of Whispers and Thunder) largely unknown to us at this time. I do not believe the houses are discernible by function as much as they are by this philosophy and their elemental tie.

Earthen Apprentice Vellis Valeriana Tsalarioth
 
If the opinion of a butcher carries much weight, it had also occurred to me, after this gather's close, that the tavern in which we met was blatantly adorned with Orange and Yellow torches, I find this, in conjunction with our observations of the elemental ties, to be and unlikely coincidence.

Once again, acknowledging that my insights may be cast aside foolishly, I have observed these correlations:

Purple has represented death in these lands, opposed by Life which to my knowledge was represented with White. I could be mistaken, and other accounts suggest white is in fact Order, with Green representing Life.

Red represented flame (OOG, some of the elementals were not glowing IG the same color as their glowsticks suggested, I specifically asked OOG to verify this), opposed by the Bluish glow of the weak Ice elementals we faced... I strongly believe, based on hunch alone, that their weakness indicated a strong imbalance, and perhaps further comparison against the information presented in Sumnus' tome will show us which house Ice may have been tied into.

Yellow represented lightning, which in these lands seems to be considered Sky, or Aether as it would most closely be related to in old common writings. Opposed by Earth or stone, which in these lands seemed to be represented by Green, however some disagree, I observed this relationship on two separate occasions during battles this gather, but I have also heard solid claims that Green was in fact Life. Orange may have also represented Stone which would explain the opposing gemstones on the box, and the torches that illuminated the tavern.

The remaining pair is chaos and order. I have no recollection of encountering either of these, however I do recall witnessing no fewer than two elementals who undulated and changed color sporadically, I find this may be the representation of Chaos, which leaves but order to be identified.

The gems on the boxes were organized in opposition to their naturally opposed element. As were the corner stones on one or both of the small obelisks recovered this gather.

If the House of Whispers and Thunder was identified as affiliated with Lightning or Aether, it stands to reason that it's opposing house would be that represented by Stone or Earth. I am of the opinion that Vitae, or blood is meant to refer to Earth in these lands, representing the fact that our bodies and blood are formed from the stuff. So the house affiliated with earth casters would be my first candidate for Vitae.

My notes are not composed so well as Vellis', nor will they be. If you wish to take these notations with a grain of salt, you are your own master.
 
During an excursion, we were able to speak to an elemental of Life that identified itself as such. It was green.

Order is likely white.

During the shore battle , an orange elemental struck as stone, so I expect it is.
-Zeth
 
Then I am under the impression that the tavern is, or was owned or governed by Aether and Vitae, or Whispers and Thunder and its counterpart... This I find concerning as Whispers and Thunder was, by my recollection, the pivotal role in the fall of these lands.
 
Bones, I can give you some information concerning the High Ogre tribes in the area. Archer was kind enough to furnish me with knowledge on this specific topic.

The High Ogres are comprised of three clans, Clan Earthmaw who uses magic to hunt undead, Clan Skullcrush who believe magic is used by the weak, and Clan Strongjaw who uses whatever means is available to destroy undead. Each clan has a Chief, one of whom is the High Chief of the three clans. The three clans are collectively known as the Erde Ritter.

The High Ogres believe slavery is weak. Well, the current leader of the High Ogres believes that. Maybe another High Ogre that is stronger will defeat the leader and become the new High Chief and say that slavery is good, but that is unlikely. Only one High Chief ever tried to institute slavery among the Erde Ritter and he was killed six months after becoming High Chief.

The High Ogres settle everything by fighting. Don’t like my decision to attack at dawn? Lets fight. Want to marry my daugher? Lets fight. Then fight my daughter. Want to replace me as Chief? Lets fight. Don’t like my cooking? Lets fight. They don’t fight to kill; they fight just long enough for it to be apparent who is going to win. But they fight about everything.

That being the case, if you are looking for information or their help - be prepared to prove yourself a few times over. I have no doubt you'll do well with them.


As far as the Houses are concerned, Vellis has the right of it. We know a very small amount of information concerning these houses. I spoke at length with the Interrogator who is a servant of Dominus Cronus, and ultimately he said that knowledge of the houses would come from interacting with them. There is a fair bit of knowledge in the Chronicle, which I will endeavor to make as publicly accessible as possible, but it is incomplete as to the specific nature of the Houses, I believe.

What I do know is, that finding the Banner of Whispers and Thunder lead us to a test - a voice that was heard by all present told us to pass a trial and to speak oath of allegiance to the House of Whispers and Thunder. The act of the trial in addition to formally swearing ties was enough to invoke the magic that invested Luke. So, if you find a Banner and you are not sure of which house it might belong to, be VERY careful about touching it! It will rift you, if you touch the center of the Banner - in this case a flame within a lantern.

More over, Vellis is correct that the Houses are not merely associated to an elemental type, but have a philosophical principle that is the foundation of that particular house. Each serves a function in the Ceriopolis' existence.

Anything beyond this is conjecture. When I have time, I will read the Chronicle and share my notes with any knowledge gleaned. The more people who read the Chronicle, the better. There is a huge amount of work to be done, so again; please step up and help out. Need an area to focus on? Just ask: We can figure out how to divide and conquer as far as information gathering is concerned. (OOG: Downtimes! Plot wants them! Request a Digital Copy of the Chronicle if you want to read it!)

With that said, I will put forth the obligatory word of caution: Here in the dreaming, these notes and ideas are unguarded. Our words and thoughts can be heard by other beings who sleep and dream. While it is a powerful tool to coordinate our efforts and spread information, our enemies can use it against us just as easily. Please keep that in mind while disseminating information openly. Don't let this stop you necessarily, but there may be time when certain types of information needs to be conveyed by other means (OOG: Google Documents has been one way in the past). Sharing knowledge is what will let us solve the mystery of this place and restore Hope to these lands.

If anyone has need for anything, questions or otherwise, please do not hesitate to ask me or anyone else.

We are One.

In Service,
- Dragoon Squire Shin
 
I have some information from Equilibrium regarding the colors and such of the elementals. I will share it freely once I can transcribe my notes, but would prefer not to share it so publicly.

Bhaskara J Santori
 
Squire Shin,

Shall we set up the same style of information book that we have used in the past? I'll help you to maintain this record, and we can make it publicly accessible for all of the adventuring community.

If so, I gather we could have it set up and established by the end of the week, available for public use.

~Kasuni
 
Kasuni, et. All;
Yes, I think that would be ideal. I think we will put some thought into building another archive of information.

The pitfalls to this however is that they can become ungainly with the amount of knowledge that goes into them, so I think spending some time thinking of a way that it can be kept clean and easily accessible to those who need it. I have an idea or two.

Also, please if anyone can identify and confirm which Goblins were infused with elemental energy and what types they saw that would equally be an important asset.

As Bones found at for us, at great personal cost, the Goblins - and it seemed a certain elemental being, have the capability to absorb other's power through consuming their essence. This type of sacrificial magic is extremely dangerous! That means ALWAYS be on the look out for Elementals and Goblins absorbing one another's power to become stronger and similarly always be ready to put your blade or body in the way of an enemy's blade that is about to Killing Blow one of our own, to stop them from gaining strength through that blood letting.

We are presently trying to understand how they are accomplishing this. Finding the source of this magic and neutralizing it should be one of our primarily goals in the long term, so keep your eyes and ears open for these bits of information.

-Squire Shin
 
Per the opposing colors on the top of the box and the locks, pink would denote chaos as it opposed white and green and purple were opposed.

As for a repository, Furion mentioned that the crystal consillium has knowledge stored in it and is very valuable. Unlocking it may be a priority.
 
This is the consillium in the Tavern yes?

What of the Scholastic archive? What was it referred to as?
I similarly was pointed in that direction, as it has a huge amount of information within it.

- Shin
 
Correct Shin. The one that is luckily locked in the tavern.

He mentioned that no information on the houses is in there. He may be a liar as he didnt want to offer information freely. He also mentioned that he hadnt seen the house banners in at least 1000 years making me believe he isnt a hobling or at least he hasnt always been a hobling.
 
Would it help to have an image of the banners?

I'm working on a way to acquire that at our next gather.

-Zeth
 
If this is indeed the appropriate place for conjecture regarding the houses, I believe their elements, at the very least, are as follows:

Whispers and Thunder: Lightning, because of the title of their house leaders (Aether). Master Luke of the Celestial Guild can likely shed more light on that house, as any further information I have on them was gathered from him essentially in mid-battle.

Base and Reason: Stone, because they were described in the Chronicle as working to repair the masonry of the city.

Fate and Fury: Flame, as their leaders were titled "Ignis." Also their house exploded because an artifact within it was disturbed.

Light and Lies: Order, as they were described by the Chronicle as being peacekeepers, a military force or knights.

Pain and Purity: Life, as their leaders were titled "Vitae," and they were described as healing the plagued members of the House of Temperance and Ruin.

Tsunami and Dream: Water, as their leader was titled "Aqua," and they were in charge of evacuations by water as well as a defensive mechanism powered by water. Note: This is the only element we did not fight during Equilibrium's ritual. We instead were faced with ice elementals. It remains to be seen if this is significant.

Peace and Malice: Chaos, as their leader was styled "Chaus" and they were described by the Chronicle solely as "more disorganized than ever" (paraphrase).

Temperance and Ruin: Death. Their leadership was titled "Dominus Mortem" and the entirety of the house succumbed first to the plague whilst doing their duty of disposing of the dead, and afterward to the actions of the Whispers and Thunder remnants who panicked and slaughtered the few remaining members.

These are absolutely the accurate correlation of colors and elements, if not the elements and houses, as per the battle wherein we faced them. As an aside, I find it less likely that there is an inherent flaw in the House of Whispers and Thunder than that its particular leadership in the instance of the fall of old Ceriopolis was, to put it mildly, flawed. I also find it likely that the colors of the lights in the tavern is coincidental.

Earthen Apprentice Vellis Valeriana Tsalarioth
 
You hear Bones sigh loudly in the dreaming.

"So, I don't understand a word you guys are saying. I had my scribe, Jacob Townsend, listen in on this dream and he is laughing at me. He says I will never understand what you are talking about until I start reading and writing. Yeah, that will never happen. So maybe you can dumb all this down so this High Orc can understand you?

Basically you are saying that there were some old houses or clans who used to live here. You think that the Elementals are directly tied in to these clans downfall? Or is there something else? A missing link in this chain of events that I... or we... don't understand? How can this Orc be useful to the cause, outside of the dream that Kreiger mentioned in another thread? I don't want to be cast aside from anything because I am ignorant of your ways of reading and writing and big words."
 
Well, then...

Thank you, Vellis. I suspected something along those lines.

You've helped me make a decision. I appreciate that.

-Zeth
 
Bones, you wished for our information regarding the houses and this is it. I do not believe the elements were malignant forces upon the houses, only that they were related. That is... I don't think the elements were bad. For the houses. You can be useful in contacting unaff... In contacting orcs and ogres who are not members of the Legion. Perhaps more carefully than your first scouting trip. If you wish to learn to read, I may be of use in that endeavor.

Zeth, how ominously vague. I believe any action taken for or against the houses yet would be inadvisably rash, unless necessary to save lives, as it was with Luke. I similarly believe unilateral action in this instance to be very, very inadvisable.

Earthen Apprentice Vellis Valeriana Tsalarioth
 
I appreciate the concern.

That being said, rash action is practically guaranteed in our community.

I promise that any decision that I make has been deeply considered, and my decision is more in terms of....direction to pursue my investigations. I'm not one to throw my life recklessly into a fire and see if it burns.

-Zeth
 
I have some brief notes and curiousities...

"Tsunami and Dream: Water, as their leader was titled "Aqua," and they were in charge of evacuations by water as well as a defensive mechanism powered by water. Note: This is the only element we did not fight during Equilibrium's ritual. We instead were faced with ice elementals..." -Vellis

Ice is water, I don't believe it would be far reaching to suggest that both the Weakness of the elementals, and their frozen state indicate a massive planar imbalance in these lands, which we already knew existed.

"Peace and Malice: Chaos, as their leader was styled "Chaus" and they were described by the Chronicle solely as "more disorganized than ever" (paraphrase)." -Vellis

We can speculate to no end. This house is a mystery. Sanctioned criminals? Necromancers? Bureaucrats? Minor Nobles? One can list disorganized things until they expire and not be closer. I'll keep my ears and eyes peeled for information on this house.

"...I also find it likely that the colors of the lights in the tavern is coincidental..." -Vellis

"Whispers and Thunder: Lightning, because of the title of their house leaders (Aether)." -Vellis

"Base and Reason: Stone, because they were described in the Chronicle as working to repair the masonry of the city." -Vellis

"3.8. Whispers and Thunder
Members: Luke
House Symbol: Lit Lantern
Elemental affiliation: Lightning

This houses ideals revolve around truth and honor. Before the fall of the houses this one was made up of seekers of truth, and fought for truth in the face of adversity. This house being opened is important to keep the other houses from falling to corruption. Their tenets are, “Do not ever suffer those to gain by allowing pettiness, lassitude, or greed” and “Always speak the truth for the better of all” because a land without true honesty for the good of all will die.
" -The Communal Information Tome

In the chronicle, we read that the city was obliterated. Save for, specifically, the central area in which our storyteller and the Dominus that saved him stood. I believe it likely that this tavern and surrounding area are central enough to fit that description.

The tavern has stood for no fewer than 1500 years, by the Dryad innkeeper's testament, likely longer which supports the theory that it is relatively untouched as of the fall of this civilization we investigate.

I find it less likely that the lighting in the tavern is coincidental, than that it was built by the House of Base and Reason FOR The House of Whispers and Thunder as a place of discussion, open communication, and information sharing. The place was adorned with lanterns and torches, much like the light that adorns the banner of the House of Whispers and Thunder and those lanterns and torches glowed in colors associated with both houses... While I am certain on this point, admittedly I cannot see its value, save for it answering one question that was left unanswered at our gather...

Does joining a house mean we could be drawn in opposition to one another? I strongly believe, as evidenced by the obvious work of collaboration that the tavern itself represents, that the answer is no.

I believe joining houses is far more likely to, if done wisely, contribute to camaraderie. This city was built on that concept, which ultimately failed due to... oh my...

Perhaps this will interest you.

The city fell to Base, Fury, Lies, Pain, a Tsunami, Malice, and ultimately Ruin... I believe that lines up with the chronicle fairly accurately.
 
As one who was there to witness the vision cast upon the banner, no house is in direct opposition, but instead act as checks and balances against one another. They all work toward the common goal of making this a better place to live.

Base is more likely regarding the element of stone as logic is not an element and stone is both the base of the elemental pyramid and stone is what our base should be made out of.
 
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