Ancient Tomes Weekend Challenge (20, 21, 22)

by **Kelski** on July 22nd, 2018, 11:35 pm

Note: I wanted to take the opportunity to fill in some gaps in the lore with this book and more importantly this story. The tale also contains several huge secret in regards to Mizahar's Watchtowers and Watchstones.

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The Voyager’s Guide To The Watchtowers & Watchstones

Author :

Summary :

Table Of Contents :

Appendix :

Glossary :

The Story :

When Aquiras fell to Sagallius’ trickery, His followers, The Traversals worldwide were at a loss. And while their powers did not wane, their gnosis marks lost their luster and became dull and faded things. Though they still marked their skin, the gnosis marks of Aquiras became something rarer and rarer to find as the old gnosis holders dropped off and no new ones were made. Action had to be taken fast because even in those days, Sagallius was filling the world with his followers and most of them were hunting the marked of Aquiras so that the fallen god would have no allies save perhaps Priskill herself. So the Traversals scattered to the four corners of the world, using the Watchtowers to escape.

The first thing The Traversals did was conceal their identities. Then, meeting in secret, they made one of two choices. Some, who wanted to retain their humanity, decided they would find their immortality in Claridon. The city had been long lost to time in a freak magical accident that occurred long before the Valterrian. People could enter and leave Claridon at any time, but those that dwell within tended not to age at all. And upon exiting the city, they never knew when or where in time the city will be resting to make their way back into the world. There was no choice in the timeline. Leaving Claridon without magical or divine assistance was a roulette wheel of anywhere and so they did not. Claridon thus made a perfect safe harbor for Aquiras’s marked followers. The one thing they had to watch for was Sagallius’ followers sneaking into the city, hunting them. For if one ever discovered their hiding spot, they would be like fish in a net and would have to take their chances exiting the city.

And so, they stayed snug in Claridon, biding their time and hopeful Aquiras would arise and come for them.

Another portion of The Traversals, the older wiser ones that had lived their lives and didn’t want to give up their work opted for another more magical means of survival. They gave up their mortal lives to become Nuit. They felt they must because of Aquiras’ downfall. Someone had to secretly maintain The Watchtower System and do upkeep on the towers that survived The Valterrian. They were also the creatures that were invested in rebuilding the destroyed watchtowers or erecting in secret new ones. They knew the skill to do it and they had a fantastic leader in the form of Adelo Akini.

This second group of The Traversals opted to change their name for the sake of their security and they became The Voyagers in honor of Aquiras. They still use the Watchtower System to this day, though occasionally their numbers thin as a tower malfunction. Ending up in the wrong place is never a problem for them. They tune the magic of the towers, get them back on track, and perpetuate the lie that the Towers are broken and do not work.

A third group – The Traversals that opted to do nothing – slowly died out as their lifespans played out.

As his kindred died off, Adelo was more and more aware of the fragility of the knowledge he and his fellow Voyagers owned. The mortal group at Claridon was a sort of insurance policy that they could not count on for perpetuating their skills and knowledge. As the mortals that turned immortal found out, life as a Nuit wasn’t easy. They were not accepted everywhere and their constant issues with finding and acquiring bodies to keep their souls grounded was often a struggle. Quite a few were killed outright for not treating themselves as Nuit should be treated in their frail state.

Often technicians traversing The Watchtower system had a rough time of it since Traversal and Aquiras’ magic was shaky and the trip wasn’t always easy on their bodies. It was, after all, a matter of time before something happened. Sometimes the towers would spit them off in tropical locations like the old city of Pavena and they’d have to deal with the extreme heat. Sometimes it was the extreme cold of places like Avanthal. And often they had to voluntarily travel to those locations to service towers. The work took its toll.

Sagallius and most of the remaining Seven Robes of the Pre-Valterrian mages became Nuit to survive. That meant that most of the existing Nuit were either those mages or the decedents students or apprentices of those mages. The Voyagers were vulnerable to these folks that often looked to Sagallius for direction. Because of this fact, that the places Nuit congregated to thrive – such as Sahova – was closed to the surviving Voyagers. It wasn’t that the Island wasn’t welcoming to them. It would have been. However, their greatest fear was that agents of Sagallius would find them in such places unaware and kill them off with ease. Their greatest fears came true when Dranira underwent the coup to destroy Sahova and all its inhabitants. Though unsuccessful, the foresight of the Voyagers saved their lives, and prevented them from coming together in great numbers to this day.

Since actual crafting of The Watchtowers and The Watchstones didn’t require Traversal to complete, Adelo slowly came to the realization he would have to train more Voyagers to do these tasks when the last of the Nuit died off that knew the skill. So it was he took apprentices from adventuresome and smart young men and women who had few ties to the cities Adelo visited. And he sat down finally, with the first class of these new Voyagers to craft a manual they could follow in order to continue his work long after he was gone.

The resulting text was called The Voyagers’ Guide To Watchtowers and Watchstones. This tome was copied over and over, becoming a sort of maintenance manual on the watchtowers themselves. Each Voyager has a copy of it. And so young engineers and jewelcrafters were recruited and The Voyagers survive today as a secret society dedicated to preserving Aquiras’ legacy. The numbers of Voyagers in Claridon are unknown since there has been very little contact between them and the Nuit Voyagers roaming the world still today. From more than two hundred followers pre-Valterrian that opted to become Nuit and Voyagers, less than a half dozen remain. Most are incredibly old, cunning, and still lead by Adelo Akini who does the vast majority of the recruiting for his organization.

by **Ialari Pythone** on July 23rd, 2018, 12:24 am

The Argent Flame

by Lord Hydar Argentum Pitrius

About the Author

Secret :

Preface

Secret :

Table of Contents

Secret :

Appendix

Secret :

Glossary

Secret :

Faith is the Key

Secret :

by **Tove** on July 23rd, 2018, 12:54 am

The Beauty of Movement

Author :

preface :

Chapters :

Appendix :

Glossary :

Story :

by **Nieve Glass** on July 23rd, 2018, 1:23 am

A Guide to Fyrden's Creatures and You

Section	Explanation
Title	A Guide to Fyrden's Creatures and You
Author	Talwen Imlin (202 BV - 138 BV), an Alahean mage.
Preface	A brief explanation of summoning and how it relates to familiary. (Pages I - V)
Table Of Contents	Chapter 1: The Planet Fyrden (Light Side and Dark) - Page 1 Chapter 2: The Basics of Familiary, Pt I (Negotiation and Binding) - Page 6 Chapter 2 (Cont.): The Basics of Familiary, Pt II (Abilities and Risks) - Page 15 Chapter 2 (Cont.): The Basics of Familiary, Pt III (A Familiar's Forms) - Page 28 Chapter 3: Light Side Familiars, Pt I (Avavali) - Page 30 Chapter 3 (Cont.): Light Side Familiars, Pt II (Pascid) - Page 40 Chapter 3 (Cont.): Light Side Familiars, Pt III (Sarawanki) - Page 55 Chapter 4: Dark Side Familiars, Pt I (Gordios) - Page 65 Chapter 4 (Cont.): Dark Side Familiars, Pt II (Irylid) - Page 70 Chapter 4 (Cont.): Dark Side Familiars, Pt III (Kirt) - Page 80 Chapter 5: Living With Your Familiar - Page 90 Chapter 6: Keeping the Power Balance and Compromising - Page 98 Chapter 7: From Compromises to Friendship - Page 105 Chapter 8: The Released Form - Page 109
Appendix	Figure 1 - Sketch of an Avavali (Natural form) Figure 2 - Sketch of a Pascid (Natural form) Figure 3 - Sketch of a Sarawanki (Natural and sealed forms) Figure 4 - Sketch of a Gordios (Natural form) Figure 5 - Sketch of an Irylid (Natural and sealed forms) Figure 6 - Sketch of a Kirt (Natural form)
Glossary	A short collection of basic terms used in summoning and familiary that any user would need to know.

Author - Talwen Imlin :

Preface :

Crafting the Book :

Talwen had finally crafted the perfect summoning lab; but in the time it had taken him to do so, his interests had experienced a shift, for indeed the creatures that he could summon and what could be done with them had grown to fascinate him much more intently than the actual art of simply summoning.

And so, with his lab crafted, Talwen drew out a summoning circle, taking the time to reinforce it with glyphs of all sorts, and opened a doorway to Fyrden. The first creature that Talwen came across was an Irylid; the icy familiar gave him little to work with, but he was not to be discouraged.

Through a long series of trial and error, and many, many summonings, Talwen slowly interacted with each type of familiar present on Fyrden. Some were more difficult to converse with than others, particularly when they found out his purpose was for research and not to find a familiar of his own. He had to sort through lies often, but eventually, Talwen begin to gather data on the planet itself, as well as the different types of familiars.

Finally, Talwen began to consider taking on a familiar of his own; for how could he faithfully and accurately describe the magic if he did not practice it himself? And so he began the lengthy process of interviewing different familiars. He thought he would find his match with an Avavali or perhaps a Sarawanki despite his reclusive nature, and so it came as a surprise when he met an Irylid that he got along with almost surprisingly well.

The Irylid, Savhel, agreed to become Talwen's familiar, and so the two signed signed their contract. Talwen's case was a rare one as due to his research and expertise with summoning, he went about the process of finding his familiar by himself; this of course had the potential to turn out very, very badly, and he did note explicitly in his section on negotiating and binding with a familiar that one should have another familiar act as a go-between; particularly one that has already been bound to a mage.

However, Savhel respected Talwen's tenacity and his research, and so the pairing worked out well. Savhel helped Talwen with his research, pleased to know his mage was intelligent, and more than alright with his reclusive nature and frequent bouts of silence.

The two lived and researched together for many years, and what was an agreement turned into a friendship as they grew to respect and know each other; eventually, the two mastered their released form, to which Talwen wrote extensively about the possibilities, dedicating an entire chapter in his book to it.

Savhel urged Talwen to make copies of his book so that it may benefit others, but the mage was hesitant; towards the end of his life, this drove a rift between him and Savhel, and indeed the two died with only one copy of the book having ever been penned by its author.

by **Tarn Alrenson** on July 23rd, 2018, 2:12 am

Title: Shepherd of Minds

Author :

Prelude :

Table of Contents :

Appendix :

Glossary :

The great storyteller and court bard Eilren Maccori was renowned and respected by the nobility and upper-classes all throughout the Suvan empire. With the skill of a man who knew his trade through and through, Eilren could take even the haughtiest lord or lady and leave them wide-eyed and mouth agape in anticipation. He could dazzle them with song using his dexterous fingers and beautiful harp, or inspire them with epics detailing the exploits of heroes and gods. Just as impressive as these courtly spectacles, were his journeys among the common people. Many villages across the countryside remembered a thin, long-mustached man riding through town and stopping for a night or two to spin wondrous tales and lead glorious songs that were echoed by the villages own residents for years to come. Eilren travelled everywhere his horse could take him, and to quite a few places it couldn’t besides. Each place he visited, he spread his stories and songs. But he did not just tell stories, he gathered them as well. Everywhere he went, Eilren listened to anything anybody was willing to tell them. He heard stories from wrinkly old men of times long past and gave ear to the smallest of children telling of their exploits or of the latest rumors among the local youth. Eilren took in all these stories with a relentless fervor, recording them within his mind with the same impeccable memory with which he recalled his own epics and songs.

Eilren had mastered the art of telling stories to all manner of folk. He had followed soldiers on their bloody campaigns, both inspiring them and seeing the horrors of war for himself. He had travelled with grizzled woodsmen, entertained lords and ladies of fabulous fortunes, and filled countless taverns with peals of laughter and raucous applause. However, as he grew on in years, and his body lost its keen edge—although his mind did not—he began to contemplate upon his own death. The single greatest worry that settled itself on Eilren’s shoulders was that the world would be at a loss for quality storytellers with his passing. There were others of the trade that he respected, but few enough of these had ever tried their hands at teaching, and even then, only a student or two in their lifetimes. Struck by the need to impart the skills and knowledge he had acquired over his long and decorated career, Eilren set about recording them in a book.

As he wrote this tome, he travelled, taking his final tour of the world he had come to love and reliving past experiences that had made him who he was. Eilren wished to capture the very essence of the storyteller’s life in his book, and he couldn’t bring himself to do that stuck up in a fancy manor somewhere. The book he wrote was not kind to the person that read it, not at first. Many of the first people to whom Eilren showed the original manuscript scoffed and turned their heads. Still, Eilren fine-tuned the book, changing the manner of the writing subtly, until while most people still set aside the book, taking insult, a few students persisted and extracted what considerable wisdom Eilren could impart.

Over the course of several years, Eilren worked at boiling the vast stores of knowledge he held into a form small enough to be copied and spread beyond a single tome. When he had finished the work to his own satisfaction, Eilren had recorded what he considered to be his three greatest original stories within the pages of his book, to illustrate the concepts of which he spoke used properly.

Eilren’s book was never meant to instruct simple storytellers to the point where they could impress their friends or make some small amount of coin at local taverns. To Eilren, the art of telling stories was something far greater than that. It was a tremendous responsibility, and a great duty on the backs of those who took up the torch of the profession. While kings or queens could force people to act, good storytellers made them want to. Storytellers shaped and herded the hearts and minds of their audience. They could stir a people up to war or smother their motivation to fight. The power held by the ones who told stories was enormous, and Eilren made sure that there would be those who used it properly.

Published a century before the Valterrian, the bards and storytellers that found themselves with copies, and followed the teachings therein, were often revered among their peers and audiences. Eilren Maccori’s masterpiece never made its true mark however, until the catastrophe of divine rage that nearly destroyed mankind struck. In the small years following the event, the few students of Eilren, clutching their copies of the tome tightly, worked to inspire the people of the world once again. The storytellers trained on the words of Eilren saw this as their work, igniting the hearts of humanity once again, after the blow that nearly quenched them.

As the world began to recover and the means became available, the surviving copies of Eilren’s tome were copied, ensuring the immortality of his words and wisdom. The original copies, the ones predating the Valterrian, are now held only by the richest of lords and merchants, under lock and key in prized collections.

In addition to its original purpose, many students of the work have found other uses for the knowledge it contains. Sheperd of Minds, the book, was found to contain one of the best studies of the workings of the human mind ever recorded, presented in a guide on how to most effectively inspire it with stories. As such, people from con-artists to generals seeking to inspire their men have been found reading the book, seeking to recover some of the ancient Eilren’s wisdom.

The tome is put to best use however, when studied by its intended students. Following the tradition many of them now see as near unto sacred, they live the old bard’s words, following his path and forging ahead in the never-ending quest of a transient storyteller.

by **Gossamer** on July 23rd, 2018, 2:54 am

Well be closing this contest in roughly 1 hr (give or take 6 minutes). So please try to have your entries in! So far they've all been lovely!

by **Madeira Dusk** on July 23rd, 2018, 3:03 am

Title	A Study of the Divine: the Crafting of Aquiras’ Heart
Author	Victoria Lavoie (329 AV-415 AV), devoted champion of Priskil and founder of the Syliras chapter of the Order of Radiance, started the great work. Completed after her death, many hands over many decades has guided its creation.
Preface	(Victoria Lavoie) I begin this tome with the blessing of the Goddess of light, may she watch over us and light our path. This moment marks the beginning of the resurrection of Aquarius. We are fuelled by the hope of a better world, and our ability to overcome the treachery that surrounds us. This is the written record of the collective knowledge the Order has gathered for the purpose of building the Divine Heart.
Table Of Contents	Tools and Prerequisites: p5 Anatomy of the Divine: p75 Assembly of a Divine Vessel: p784 The Application of Malediction: p205 Animation- harnessing the power of the Ukalas: p456 Magecraft and the Application of Divine Blood: p890
Appendix	(Unknown Author) This guide completed, our experiments run and our instructions set, it is never the less the will of our Goddess that these words be sealed away and the information therein to never to see the light. Our decades of work have been dismissed and the future that generations have worked towards has been stolen. Yet there is still hope. Our Goddess has demanded our knowledge and progress be sealed away, but not destroyed. Perhaps Priskil too secretly hopes for a future where there is person strong enough who will find this tome and complete our work. And if you are reading this, then that hope was not misplaced. Please, do what must be done for the good of us all.

Victoria Lavoie was a human born in 329AV to a pair of Syliran knights. She was a brilliant and resourceful child with a head full of wild ideas and an endless curiosity. From an early age her family recognized her potential and groomed her to become a knight in order to further the family’s goals and consolidate their power. However, the child did not take well to the pressure her family placed on her. She became lazy and impulsive, starting fights with other squires and talking back to her superiors. She shunned her family and fell in with the shadier underbelly of the growing city, where she took to petty thievery and drink. Anything to separate herself from the stifling pressures placed on her since birth. She was kicked out of the squirehood at the age of fifteen for her behaviour and became the family embarrassment. Brilliant but lazy and malicious she let her families status in the knighthood negate the consequences for her actions and was content to coast through life on the merits of her family’s name.

On the eve of her sixteenth birthday she broke into the house of a high ranked Knight on a dare. As she crept around in the shadows she witnessed the abuse of the knights child by his own hand. Shocked, disturbed, and upset, Victoria ran, successfully escaping the house and falling into the safety and comfort of her own bed. But the events she had witnessed weighed heavily on her soul, she wanted to confront the council of three for the sake of the girl, but she had no evidence other than her word against the Knights’. Being the high rank that he was it was sure that he had many allies that would back up his character while she had no one to do the same. And if she couldn’t convince the council then she was surely to be sentenced to hard labour for breaking and entering. She stood up then, a wave of resolute calm washed over her, for the first time in her life she had a purpose and a goal of her own, and someone to protect. Regardless of the consequences she had to protect the girl. She approached the higher ups the following day, summoning all her courage she pleaded with them to hear her out, but her reputation proceeded her. The council wasted no time in sending the young woman away for the crime of attempted burglary.

Priskil approached the woman as she waited in her cell for the caravan that would take her to the mines, she wore the guise of an elderly man and asked her why she would risk so much for someone else. There was such a small chance of success, and she’d surely die out in the woods if she failed, so what was the point of risking her life? Why had she had sacrificed so much for a stranger? Victoria, calm and resolute, said "I can’t just sit back and blind myself to the suffering of others. I realize that now, I don’t want to run away anymore.“ Priskil, pleased with her answer, revealed herself to the human then and marked the woman as hers.

Renewed with a new purpose in life Victoria became one of the most dedicated servants of Priskil, eventually earning her the title of Champion. She travelled the world to spread her message of hope during the dark times and founded the Syliras chapter of the Order of Radiance. When she learned of the fate of Priskil’s lover, Aquarius, she spent the rest of her life in search of a cure for the sleeping god. She was aware of the unlikelihood of stealing back Aquarius’ heart from Sagallius, so she honed her natural brilliance to the creation of a replacement. Victoria and the order scoured the world for pre Valterrian artifacts and forbidden magics to realize her dream of bringing back Priskils lover from the brink of death with a substitute heart. Using Magecraft, Malediction and science Victoria built the foundations of the heart until her death in 402AV, since then the Order of radiance and her decedents have worked to keep her dream alive and forge a heart to revive a god.

From that point on the order has collected all knowledge they could find and recorded everything in A Study of the Divine. Generation after generation poured their lives into the creation of the heart which they kept hidden in the secret watchtower. Keeping meticulous notes on the steps and functions of each layer of magic and the materials used in its creation.

Five hundred years after the Valterrian they are close to the completion of a working model they will use in their attempt to wake Aquarius. However during the construction the Order found a flaw in the design of the heart. When held by Priskil the materials deteriorated rapidly, unable to handle the gods overwhelming djed. For years the Order experimented with magics and gnosis, sending items and materials into the void and the Ukalas and studying the effects. But their sacrifice was in vain as no materials could withstand the energy and any magics such as magecraft or shielding wore away over time leaving the group at a dead end.

One scholar, having researched the gods for decades raised the idea that in order for the machine to work it had to be made from godsblood. A mortal gods' child could walk unaided through the Ukalas without being consumed by it so, in theory, their body could exist inside of a god without being destroyed. All they needed was to find an Araka to test their theory and finish the heart. However, Priskil, unable to accept the murder of an innocent, refused to allow the order to continue their work, insisting they find another way. So the tome, and the heart, sit heavily guarded in the underground watchtower. Waiting for a willing sacrifice in to revive the God of travel.

by **Gossamer** on July 23rd, 2018, 4:14 am

Contest Closed! Great job folks! Poll going up. Please vote once. Prizes announced sometime tomorrow.

PS. I had to truncate some titles because they wouldn't fit on a singular line of the poll and read as two entries.

by **Gossamer** on July 24th, 2018, 4:36 am

The Ancient Tomes Weekend Challenge is complete!

The Divine Nature
2
6%
Beyond The Gateway
0
No votes
Search For The Legendary Tarrlon
1
3%
Sacred Rituals Of The Sixth Finger
1
3%
A Million Little Gears
2
6%
A Truthful Deography of Priskil
2
6%
A Study On Sea Dwellers
1
3%
The Shape Of A Being
1
3%
Voyager’s Guide To The Watchtowers
10
29%
The Argent Flame
1
3%
The Beauty Of Movement
1
3%
Guide to Fyrden's Creatures and You
1
3%
Shepherd of Minds
2
6%
A Study of the Divine - Aquiras' Heart
9
26%

Total votes : 34

Hey Folks! Nice participation in this one with a lot of great effort. Many of these books are going to go straight into the Wiki that can be potentially used in RP later on. I was going to do a 'grand prize' but I don't feel right about it with the results being the way they are. So I'm just going to give everyone the same prize with the two top vote acquisitions getting a choice to pick something extra.

On to the good stuff!

Winners will get to choose a book of their very own. They can pick a volume on any skill or magic topic available out of the wiki. This book should be detailed enough that they can learn at least through the Novice level of the skill (with practice of course). And if any tools or special things are needed for the use of the knowledge (such as a set of tools for blacksmithing, a loom for a weaver, an instrument for a book on that instrument), they will be included with the book. Items included must be of common average every day ordinary quality. They won't be anything special.

If the book is on magic but initiation by another mage is needed (such as reimancy), the owner of the book will have to acquire the book via someone willing to initiate them (a close relative perhaps?). The tale must make sense though.. no initiations out of the blue... there has to be a story that makes sense to back it. HD/ST permission is required to verify that this makes sense.

If it is a more unique magic, such as Familiary, is selected, then a familiar willing to write the contract and perform the ceremony of binding will be part of the package. The situation must MAKE SENSE as you write it though (a long lost relative and his familiar...? A familiar desperate to free a loved one from the horrors of Fyrden) and approved either via an ST or the HD.

All additional NPCs or things such as Familiars won't stick around past the initial Initiation.

The two top score winners (the race was very close!) can select from Lost Disciplines as well. For obvious reasons Static and Dominion will be excluded from this list. However Pathfinding will be included as well as Architectrix. If Pathfinding is selected, a small Iraso animal will be included in the prize in order to preform the induction. If Architectrix is selected, a splinter and a seed will be included in the form of a small birdhouse that can be attached to a structure.

Books (and assorted items) must be acquired via threads that are at least 2.5K in length. They are not transferable sellable etc.

Enjoy!

Goss

by **Gossamer** on July 24th, 2018, 9:58 am

You know the drill. Request your awards by Friday 9pm in this thread. I'll add them to your SS thread.