Shortly after the creation of the Takula Outpost, the Cerulean discovered an entrance to an underground ruin. At first, the Cerulean had wanted to tell the Council of Elders of their find, but eventually came to agreement that this should be a prize to themselves in their exile. The Takula Outpost was completed, and the entrance to the ruins hidden away within, one of the only secrets the disgraced men kept. The ruins appeared as a long series of corridors, lined by massive columns, many of which have crumbled and fallen, they seemed to be nothing more than an antiquated area from a people and time long since past. The corridors are quite long, and they head in the direction of the city, and end beneath the walls, but no entrance or exit into the city proper has ever been located. The most unusual feature of the pillars is that at random intervals, a single pillar will glow a dull blue. It has been noticed that only one pillar at a time will glow, and there is no discernible pattern in the order. It is a common belief that this are was built as a training ground designed to pit young warriors against the Ajiazac within. The entirety of the corridors has never been fully explored or mapped, and it is commonly believed that there may be treasure deep within, though there has been none found to confirm this suspicion. In recent years, the Council became aware that the Cerulean discovered this location, and guard its secrets jealously. The Cerulean keep the creatures from escaping, and the council ignores the fact that they have extensive history in their possession. Unless one is Cerulean, only those who have impressed the Cerulean, or are marked by Akajia, can gain access to these ruins. NPCs
Name: Venkork Race: Akalak DoB: Spring 54, 245 AV, 267 years PoB: Riverfall Title: Cerulean Skills: Lakan 67, Leadership 54, Unarmed Combat 46, Stealth 42, Investigate 37 Gnosis: Night Stalking: 1 Venkork has been a Cerulean for much of his life, after his darker brother took a strong hold at a young age, and has never since relented. After several years of crimes, violence, and emotional outbursts, Venkork was branded Cerulean, and sent to the outpost. At first, he simply fell into line with the protection of the city from the outskirts, still losing control, but being maintained by his brethren within. After a handful of decades, Venkork found himself among the upper end of the unofficial hierarchy of the Cerulean, and used the ruins as his own personal meditation and training ground. He is one of the few members that can fight the Ajiazac and live to tell the tale. He has a gruff demeanor, and is often easily annoyed when approached. He's not the type to go teaching, but he is a natural leader. This means he's likely to berate newcomers and tell them to improve and will not acknowledge them until they do. But in a true combat situation, he is often at the forefront of the fight, taking on enemies alongside his charges. Those who've worked alongside him for a while will begin to notice that he has a tendency to take on more enemies if it means protecting those around him. He doesn't have much respect for anyone higher ranking than him, and is quick to show it. The only exception is to the Council of Elders, because he has no desired to be truly exiled. Ajiazac
Name: Ajiazac Summary: Deadly Creatures Born of Shadows Frequency: Rare, limited to the Vault only. Major Features: Shadowy details, shape-shifting Abilities: Able to damage a body and shadow equally. Most Common In: Vault of the Cerulean
Not much is known of these deadly creatures that reside within the ruins. They appear to be made of a substance akin to shadows, but look thicker, with a cloth-like texture. They come in many natural forms, usually of Akalak themselves or animals in the nearby vicinity, but lack all of the minute details, appearing more of an outline than anything else. These creatures possess the normal strength, speed, and physical abilities of the creature they mimic. Any special abilities however, such as the ability for speech, dual personalities, magic, etc, are all seemingly beyond the creature.
They do however, maintain a single ability that makes them much more dangerous than those they mimic. They have the ability to attack directly, and consume a person's shadow. This could involve stabbing, biting, slashing at a person's shadow, and the individual would find the wounds inflicted upon their shadow, would manifest themselves upon their body. This results in an extremely difficult style of fighting to counter these enemies, as the glowing pillars cast a dull light all around the area, multiplying, stretching, manipulating all shadows.
Night Stalkers will find that they are able to understand communications between the creatures themselves, but will find all attempts to speak to the creatures falling on deaf ears. They also find that their own shadows are immune to attacks from the creatures, even if their physical bodies are not. Powerful light sources will weaken the creature, but will never destroy it. Venkork discovered that in order to destroy the creature, you must trap it with powerful light, thus weakening it, and then stab or crush the space in the direct center of its body. Special Note
Must be a Cerulean, Akajia Marked, or have impressed the Cerulean In Character in order to access this location. *Location credit goes to Jaspayia. |
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