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War of the Wheel Ends!
The War of the Wheel has concluded! I hope you all enjoyed the event that sprawled throughout the past year! I especially hope you like the latest chapter in Lusternia's history released at the death of the Last Goloth. Who knows what more could be learned if he were ever to come back fully in power! And now.... Ascension, baby!
3
(c) Iron Realms Entertainment 2012.
Comments
I am the daughter of a simple farmhand, living in a small community in
the highlands of Parun. My name is Aurelia Serrano and I am a krokani,
the race known most commonly for having only one eye. We lived in the
Age of the Vernal Wars, that endless epic battle between the Soulless
Gods and the Vernal Gods, but those weighty events were far removed from
Parun. At least they were until the day I lost everything I knew.
Our farmlands were atop the high cliffs of Parun that overlooked the
Amberle Sea, seldom visited by outsiders and even more rarely marked on
maps. My father and I were harvesting potatoes under the grueling sun,
hard but honest work. Singing a simple song of labor along with the
dozen or so other krokani farmhands, I was lost in the rhythmic thrust
of my spade as I gently pried potatoes out from the loamy soil, brushing
them off with a corner of my apron before placing them in a basket. It
was work I was used to, having turned five and twenty this past summer
solstice and as yet unmarried--not unusual for a krokani woman. We were
not a hurried people.
When the earthquake struck, we did not panic for they were not unheard
of in Parun. We crouched down and waited for it to pass. But the tremors
kept growing in intensity. My father, who was several rows in front of
me, waved at me to keep low, and his eye was wide with worry. The quake
was getting worse. Baskets overturned and spilled potatoes upon the
earth. A younger krokani cried out in dismay as the ground undulated
like a violent wave of earth until even I was knocked flat onto a row of
potato plants, crushing the small green bushes.
Suddenly, the ground erupted at the edge of the farmland to the north.
The earth buckled and an enormous hill rose up out of the ground,
ripping apart the grasslands there. So startling and sudden did it
appear that we could only stare in wonder. Dirt streamed down the sides
of the newly formed hill in thick rivulets of soil. It rose higher than
the surrounding hillsides, casting a dark shadow over all of us. As the
dirt streamed off the hill's surface, a craggy mass of black rock was
revealed underneath, pulsating as though it were a breathing thing.
Small cracks began to pucker along the entire massive monument, each one
opening to reveal a pale eye with inky elongated pupils like those of a
cuttlefish. There must have been tens of thousands of those terrible
eyes that stared out at us. As the dirt cleared, hundreds of tentacles
flopped from the sides of this horror, each as thick as an elder tree of
Jojobo and twice as long as the fields we worked.
A Soulless God was in our midst.
An eerie silence descended upon us. There were no shouts of terror,
though surely we must have wanted to scream until our throats bled. My
own great eye was locked onto one of the many eyes of the Soulless God
that towered silently over us. I don't remember standing up, but there I
was before it, like the other krokani farmhands, as though we were
statues frozen in a gallery waiting for nothing but to be displayed. The
terrible eyes stared back at us, and the Soulless God was unmoving as
well. But beneath this quiet surface, there was much going on as we
watched it and it watched us.
Not able to look away or even blink, I stared until a cold numbing pain
spread throughout my great eye. My mind was as frozen as my limbs, sunk
down in some deep pool of oblivion that robbed me of conscious thought.
How long I stood there, locked in the gaze of the Soulless God, I do not
know, but gradually I became aware of thoughts that were not my own.
I was a chosen of the Glory, the alien thoughts told me, the Glory of
Crazen, and I would submit and serve him unto my dying days. There was
no doubt about my obedience. I knew I would gladly be his slave. How can
I describe that dark attraction, which was neither love nor desire, but
some more primordial need to join the whole, like a nail needing to be
hammered.
Something inside me was screaming, though, some small part of who I was
had not yet submitted, some piece of my soul that had not yet died. I
stood there, in the field, aware of almost nothing but the clothes on my
back and the spade in my hand.
The spade.
How I found the courage and strength I do not know, but my hand was
suddenly in motion as I plunged the spade into my one eye. I screamed in
agony, but the pain was welcome, reminding me that I was still mortal,
still alive. The connection to the Soulless God had severed. I collapsed
to the ground, clutching my ruined eye which leaked viscous fluid and
blood. I heard one or two krokani stir beside me, my voice momentarily
breaking their mesmerized state, but none were able to follow my example
and blind themselves, if they were even aware of what I did.
Though blind, I began running away as fast as I could, tripping over
rocks and potatoes, even slamming into other krokani who remained
standing stupefied before the Soulless God. I had no destination in
mind, only to get away from the monstrous horror. It wasn't until I was
knocked nearly senseless by a cypress tree that I realized I was near
the Parun cliffs and the crashing I heard was the waves breaking against
the rocks below. Sobbing uncontrollably, I collapsed at the base of the
tree.
For hours, I must have laid there and cried until my great wracking sobs
turned to whimpers. The pain of having stabbed my eye was now in full
flame, but the pain of losing my father, the village, everyone I knew
and loved, that pain was even greater still. And where could I go now
that I was blind? Even if I knew of such a place, how could I possibly
get there. The magnitude of my desolation was overwhelming and I would
have cried even more but I had used all the bloody tears I had.
Though I couldn't tell what hour it was as all was darkness now, the air
started getting cooler and I knew night must be approaching. I crawled
along the base of the trees; my only goal to as far away from the horror
as possible, when I heard movement behind me. I froze, not knowing who
or what it was. Then I heard my name.
"Aurelia? Aurelia, is that you?" the voice was belonged to my father,
though it was curiously flat and slightly deeper than usual.
"Father?" I said. "Is it really you?"
"You should not have ruined your eye, Aurelia." he said. "Now you will
never know the Glory of Crazen."
Leaning down, he grasped my arm and pulled me up. His skin felt harder
and rougher somehow, and his grip was painful. I tried to pull away but
his fingers tightened until it felt as though he would rip the skin from
my arm.
"Please, father! Let me go!"
"You may still be of use to the Glory, Aurelia," he said, ignoring my
pleas. "I will try to make sure you go the breeding pits. Think of the
honor! You would spawn krokani who will grow up only knowing the Glory."
"Father! What are you saying!"
But he said no more, just started dragging me away in his iron grip. I
begged him to let me go, but I realized there was nothing left of the
father that raised me. Who this was dragging me to my doom, I did not
know, but it was not my father.
In a panic, I kicked out at him, causing him to grunt and release me.
Pushing him away, I ran at full speed, heedless of the roots and rocks I
stumbled over, not caring that branches cut my face. I heard the thing
that called himself my father shout my name, but that only spurred me to
run faster. He was coming up behind me, I heard his footfalls, reminding
me that I had nowhere to go.
But I did have somewhere to go. The sound of crashing waves was my
beacon. Better to die than let myself be taken to whatever torment
awaited me.
I threw myself off the cliffs and fell into the icy waters of the
Amberle Sea, where I blessedly embraced oblivion.
"Diary of Aurelia Serrano", By High Elder Aurelia Serrano (Page 2)
Despite my efforts, death had eluded me. I awoke in a panic, still
thinking my possessed father was chasing me. But I found myself
thrashing about in a bed. Did I dream it all? But the pain in my eye, or
my once eye, was throbbing and I reached up to find a cloth had been
bound around my head where my eye once was. The pain was dull, kept at
bay from some salve that had been applied when I was unconscious.
Feeling about, I found the sheets were soft and clean, and the air was
warm and smelled of a well-tended fire.
"Hello?" I called out weakly. "Is anyone there?"
I heard a door open and soft footsteps enter. A warm furred hand reached
down to cover my own cold hand and squeeze gently.
"Be not afraid, Aurelia," said a deep feminine voice. "You are safe
here."
"You know my name?"
"You were ranting in your delirium. We pieced together who you are and
what had happened."
"What did happen after ..." I couldn't finish the sentence. "Where am I
and how did I get here?"
"You were found nearly drowned by a merian family. Luckily, we were
searching for survivors and the merian brought you to us. You were very
close to death but our healers were able to save you."
"Searching for survivors?" I said, my mind trying to process what I was
being told. "How many others did you save? My father was alive before I
... before I came here. But he was different somehow. Did you find him?"
"There were no other survivors, Aurelia," she said softly. "I am sorry.
Your father was dominated by the Soulless God Crazen. Once that bond is
fully formed, he will forever serve the Soulless."
Unable to stop myself, I began to cry again, making a ruin of the
bandages that bound my eye. The stranger let me cry until I was only
reduced to sniffling.
"But as to where you are," she said once I had quieted, "you are in the
house of Shallah in Lirangsha."
"I do not know those names."
"Shallah is a Vernal Goddess, ascended to divinity from a krokani like
you. Indeed, she is the last krokani ever to ascend, or ever will
ascend, for that path is forbidden now to your race."
"I don't understand."
"All krokani are susceptible to the power of the Soulless God Crazen. We
do not know why. It was found that ascending to divinity does not make a
krokani immune from Crazen. Have you heard of the Terrors of Ffar? No?
Well, hopefully that bit of shameful history will pass to obscurity.
Suffice to say, two vernal gods who were ascended from krokani were
dominated by the will of Crazen. Those were some dark times indeed. When
it was discovered what happened, all krokani were forbidden from
ascending as the danger was too great that they too would be dominated.
Shallah is the last of the krokani vernal gods, and we must keep her
safe from Crazen."
"You are not Shallah?"
"No," she laughed. "I am the Lady Hooleh Ironclaw, a Knight of the Order
of Shallah. We are an order devoted to Shallah, mostly of the tae'dae
race. We serve Shallah utterly, and to finding those like you and
bringing them here to Lirangsha."
"Like me?"
"As you found out, blinding yourself frees you from the influence of the
Soulless God Crazen. This is not unknown, at least in areas more
populous than a place like Parun. Many krokani blind themselves rather
than be enslaved to Crazen. You are quite unusual though, to have
blinded yourself during the domination process. Indeed, the Goddess
Shallah wants to meet you herself. Are you feeling up to moving?"
After saying I wished to meet the goddess, Lady Hooleh helped me dress
in a shift. I worried inanely how I looked, for I had no idea what these
clothes were that I now wore, whether they had colors or patterns or
were clean or dirty. I only knew that it felt like a simple garment made
of cotton and that it at least fit me well. I realized there were many
things that I would need to get used to in this blind state. Lady Hooleh
had me hold her elbow as she guided me to the Goddess Shallah. I had no
idea how far away we travelled, only that we walked slowly, Lady Hooleh
warning me when there were steps or a doorway. I should have counted the
turns and number of steps but it was too late once the thought occurred
to me.
Along the way, Lady Hooleh explained that Lirangsha was a retreat in a
hidden valley, well away from any cities or other populations.
Apparently, the Soulless God Crazen was hunting for the Goddess Shallah.
Those krokani who were dominated by Crazen called themselves the
Dominators, though it was an irony lost on them. These Dominators,
according to Lady Hooleh, would pay dearly to discover Lirangsha's
location. There was much speculation that the bond between Crazen and
the Dominators had changed the Soulless God, making him more cunning and
extending his reach through those enslaved.
When we finally reached the Goddess Shallah's chamber, I felt her
presence as soon as we entered, a warm glow that made the air hum. Lady
Hooleh removed my hand from her elbow and gently pushed me forward. Not
knowing what to do, I prostrated myself on the floor.
"Oh, no, that won't do," said the Goddess Shallah, her voice amused.
Trembling before her, the Goddess reached down and placed a hand upon my
brow and her touch was like a warm summer embrace. The pain in my ruined
eye instantly dissolved to nothing and I felt my spirits lift for the
first time since this ordeal began. She then lifted me to my feet and
guided me towards a cushioned seat. She sat down across from me and held
my hand.
"So this is brave Aurelia," Shallah said, her voice itself like a balm.
"Yes, my lady," I whispered.
"Other than the knights who follow me, everyone in Lirangsha Retreat is
blind. Do you know that? Ah, I'm sure Hooleh has explained that much. Do
you know that I blinded myself as well?"
"You?" I couldn't conceive of it.
"Yes," she laughed, though sadly. "I thought it would make me immune to
Crazen, but ascending has given me divine sight. Thus, even without my
eye, I am susceptible to his domination. In a way, I am jealous of those
of you who have escaped him, though I grieve at the price you had to
pay."
"I gladly pay this price, my lady. I would cut out my tongue and chop
off my ears to escape that fate."
"Brave Aurelia! Thankfully, that will not be necessary! Tell me, though,
when Crazen was dominating you, before you blinded yourself, could you
see his thoughts? Did you glimpse where the Fortress of the Dominators
is located? What his plans might be? Where he might strike next?"
"No, my lady," I said after thinking back on it. "There was only one
thought I remember. To serve the Glory."
"Ah, well, that was perhaps too much to hope for," she said. "The Glory!
That is what the Dominators call Crazen. Your father was dominated, I
know. You need to understand that there is no hope for him. Even if we
were to cut out his eye now, he would still be linked to Crazen. Even
worse, Crazen would know where he is and know everything that he knows.
We cannot take a Dominator prisoner. We cannot show them even the
slightest mercy."
"I understand, my lady."
"Oh, but on to a more pleasant subject!" she said. "It is my hope to
give everyone in Lirangsha back their sight. I wish I could heal you
directly, but when a krokani blinds him or herself, not even the powers
of the Vernal Gods can reverse that damage. But know hope! The Sisters
of the Hearth believe they have a solution."
"Who are they?"
"Two vernal goddesses known as Il'vania and Il'garala. They have
developed methods to anchor power to landmarks in the land, which have
proved to be some of the most powerful magicks we have ever seen. They
are an interesting pair. The Goddess Il'vania is very outgoing and
travels from city to city, creating anchors that draw power from the
earth itself to defend and hide and even heal. Her sister, the Goddess
Il'garala is more of a brooding sort, usually found alone in the
wilderness, creating anchors that often take the offensive, much to the
surprise of the Soulless Gods. Anyway, we call these anchors
hearthstones, though they can look like almost anything. As for Il'vania
and Il'garala, we call them the Sisters of the Hearth, though I don't
think Il'garala likes the term very much!"
"To be able to see again, my lady, that is beyond anything I could ever
hope for!"
"Oh, and there will be so much more!" she said.
I did not know what she meant at that time. I wish I never would know.
"Diary of Aurelia Serrano", By High Elder Aurelia Serrano (Page 3)
Months went by as I settled into the Lirangsha Retreat, learning how to
adjust to my eyeless state. At that time, there were maybe only fifty of
us in residence, not including the Knights of Shallah, who would come
and go without any discernible schedule. Because of my audience with the
Goddess Shallah, I was given a higher honor than I rightly deserved and
found myself often being sought for advice and counsel. There was one
thing I could contribute to the community, though, and that was the
knowledge of farming. Rather than importing food into the retreat, I had
Lady Hooleh transport livestock and seed. Even blind, we could care for
animals and plant crops. The Goddess Shallah approved of this, saying
that Lirangsha must be self-reliant, and my standing rose yet again.
The day finally came where the Sisters of the Hearth arrived. We could
not see them, of course, but their booming voices were easily
discernible. The Goddess Il'vania had a deep rolling voice that always
seemed to be on the verge of laughing, and she enjoyed teasing her
sister. On the other hand, the Goddess Il'garala was just as loud, but
her voice was slightly strident and always to the point. Though
Il'garala didn't seem to mind the teasing, sometimes she even responded
with dry wit, she was obviously less comfortable among society unlike
her sister Il'vania who arranged elaborate dinners for us almost every
day.
With the help of Shallah, the Sisters of the Hearth were building a huge
structure in the middle of Lirangsha, which they called the Pacopticon.
It would hold the anchor they said would give us sight. It was during
this time that I really missed being able to see. How many mortals could
claim to witness three gods creating one of their great works? But all
we could do was hear what they were doing, the grind of rock against
rock, the whoosh of heavy objects being propelled over our heads, the
pounding of great pylons into the earth.
When all was ready, the Goddess Shallah gathered us into the enormous
main chamber. She also recalled all the Knights of Shallah to attend. We
held hands and stood before her as her voice came down from atop a dais
where she stood along with the Sisters of the Hearth.
"When we are done here," Shallah said, "all of you who have given your
eye will regain your sight as I promised, but you will gain something
more. You will also become immortal, or nearly so."
Everyone gasped in surprise. What did this mean? Immortality? We did not
ask for this.
"So long as you live in Lirangsha," continued Shallah, "you will not
die. Other of the eyeless who come here will also be given this, my gift
to all who make the sacrifice of their eye. For my dear tae'dae knights,
I will give you a special gift as well. You will also have long life and
further, you will always know the whereabouts of the Dominators, those
krokani who have been dominated by Crazen."
The Knights of Shallah roared with excitement, and it took several
minutes for them to calm down. They would finally gain an edge against
their sworn enemies.
"You don't want to tell them the rest?" asked the Goddess Il'vania.
"No," said Shallah. "Let this moment be one of joy."
Sudden warmth touched my skin, then spread deep into me until it felt as
though my bones were glowing. Even my hair felt infused with power,
waving about my head as though I were floating in the sea. A small
tickling began from behind my brow, somewhere in the center of my skull.
All of us who were holding hands grabbed each other even tighter. The
tickling turned into a strong vibration, that wasn't painful but nearly
so. A loud whirring sound echoed throughout the chamber, and as it died
out we heard the screaming of the Knights of Shallah.
There was some disturbance with the knights and we could not tell what
was happening. They were shouting at the Sisters of the Hearth to stop,
yelling on Shallah not to do what she was doing. It was all confusion.
When sight returned to me, I couldn't tell what exactly I was seeing. I
had been blind so long now that it took me several long minutes to grasp
what I was looking at. Every person now had an aura, shimmering spheres
of reds and blues, greens and yellows. Certainly I had not seen that
before! Even some objects had auras. When I focused upon the dais, I saw
the Sisters of the Hearth for the first time. Their auras were like
golden rainbows. The Sisters of the Hearth were tall broad women with
enormous silver horns that curved from either side of their foreheads.
They must have ascended from the taurian race.
Between the Sisters of the Hearth stood Shallah, who was slumped down
onto her knees and held up by the sisters. Shallah herself we could now
see appeared as an attractive krokani woman of middle years with only
smooth skin where her eye once was. The Knights of Shallah, who were all
tae'dae, enormous bearish men and women, were crazed with grief, trying
to rush forward but were repelled by some force that surrounded the
three goddesses. I was trying to focus on what I was seeing but it was
almost beyond imagining. An almost incandescent pink light was spilling
out of Shallah's chest, out of which the sisters were pulling out a
glowing red sphere. They paused briefly, as Shallah raised her hands one
final time.
"Please listen to me, my beloveds," the Goddess Shallah said, her voice
quieting us all, even her grieving knights. "You must know that my very
existence creates a grave danger to the entirety of this world and all
other worlds. If Crazen were to dominate me, the result would be
unimaginably horrific. Please, my beloveds, listen! What I do here today
is not only my gift to you, but a gift to future generations. You must
welcome all the eyeless ones to share this gift. They will all be given
a place here. My knights, you will continue to find the eyeless and
bring them here so they may know life. One half of my heart will be
given into your keeping which will allow you to better know the
movements of the Dominators and Crazen. And for those in the Lirangsha
Retreat, you will hold the other half of my heart! I beseech you to be
the caretakers of hope and beauty for the future! As you will be
immortal, I ask you strive to become artists and scholars, philosophers
and poet. Find the secrets to the enlightenment of the mind and the
soul. When the Vernal Wars end, when the future is free of fear and
danger, then you will be discovered again, to spread peace and beauty
throughout Lusternia itself. Please let not my sacrifice be in vain!
Become my gift to the world! Become that bright shining future that I
dream of!"
Then Shallah's heart broke in two, as did all our hearts that day. One
half of her heart was taken by the Knights of the Order of Shallah. The
other half of her heart became the power that ran through the
Pancopticon, giving us never-ending life. We had our mandate to take all
the eyeless into retreat and to prepare ourselves as the reservoir of
enlightenment which would be Shallah's legacy to the future.
How terribly sad that the gift and the dream would turn out to be a
curse and a nightmare.
"Diary of Aurelia Serrano", By High Elder Aurelia Serrano (Page 4)
After the Goddess Shallah sacrificed herself for us, of course we were
determined to follow her final wishes. We would become scholars and
artists, philosophers and poets, dedicating ourselves to the
enlightenment of the mind and soul. As the months became years and then
decades became centuries, the Knights of Shallah continuously brought us
the eyeless, and they were bound to the heart of Shallah as soon as they
looked upon it. It was what Shallah wanted, or so we thought. Despite
the fact that we could not bear young, perhaps a small price for the
gift of Shallah, our numbers still grew exponentially. It finally came
to a point where we could not feed or house all those within Lirangsha.
Even though we were immortal, we were not immune to the depredations of
hunger and thirst. We were not immune to pain and suffering. It happened
so gradually that we didn't realized how terrible our situation became
until it was too late. Perhaps it was a weak harvest or a particularly
bitter winter, but suddenly one day we realized we were starving and
miserable, our salvation had turned into a living nightmare.
I recall the first time I died.
A number of us decided we had lived too long and would depart Lirangsha
to make room for the younger eyeless. Shallah sacrificed herself or us.
Those of us who had lived a hundred years or more in Lirangsha would
then sacrifice ourselves for the greater whole. It was a neat and noble
solution.
After saying our good byes, I led a group of us elders who agreed to
sacrifice ourselves out of Lirangsha Retreat. We made the long climb out
of the valley and up over the surrounding hills. Without being within
Lirangsha's borders, my sight began to fade until I was again completely
blind. We should have been expecting this but it surprised me anyway.
Still, determined to make our sacrifice, we helped each other to
continue on.
The farther away we were from Lirangsha, the weaker we became. Sleep
pulled at us constantly. I remember on the tenth day of our trek old
Jules Nestor passed on in the night. His body was as cold as ice, but
with the rising of the sun, his corpse faded away along with the morning
dew.
When my time came, I laid down, my head heavy, my limbs weak and aching,
and dreamt of Shallah, beloved Shallah, her eyeless face before me
leaning over my own, whispering softly words that comforted, though I
could not remember them later.
When I woke, I found myself back in the Pacopticon. Jules was there,
waiting, sadly smiling at me. We had been born again in the Heart of
Shallah.
And so we were trapped in Lirangsha, unable to leave, unable to die,
only able to exist in this state of everlasting despair.
Thankfully the Knights of Shallah knew of our plight, and brought the
Sisters of the Hearth to us. Il'vania and Il'garala both wept at what
Shallah's sacrifice had unknowingly wrought. Together, they found a way
to save us. They directed us to create tunnels below the Pacopticon,
which they called the Terminus. There we would be able to enter an
everlasting sleep. Our dreams would float above the spire of the
Pacopticon as colorful bubbles that bobbed among the gathering clouds,
the echoes of our dreams.
I and the other elders of Lirangsha divided the population into
different groups. Only one group would remain awake at any moment while
all the others would be interned within the Terminus to await their turn
to be in the cycle of awakening. For every year awake, we would be sleep
in the Terminus for ten years. It was a delicate balance to maintain.
And so we can continue to follow Shallah's path, preserving our art and
song and philosophy, discovering the enlightenment of the mind and soul,
awaiting the time that the Vernal Wars end and we can be found to give
ourselves to the world, Shallah's final gift. The Knights of Shallah
eventually stopped coming and no more eyeless refugees were brought. Did
the Vernal Wars end? Were the Knights of Shallah destroyed? With our
cycles of awakening, the centuries slipped past us like water through a
sieve.
We can only wait to be found.
Perhaps we wait for you.
-
A Goloth is a type of cheese
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
-
Ain't nobody got time for that
-
But I did really enjoy the book. Now we know more about Il'vania, yay.
-
log in at http://lusternia.com then direct your browser to http://lusternia.com/game/news and click the appropriate section
Also this was Maxyenka's description:
Nearing fifteen feet in height and with a torso as thick as a pillar of stone, the Goloth Maxyenka
crackles with a terrible, psionic energy. Armoured in thick black metal that shines with a dark
lustre, the Goloth's great limbs are as thick as trees, the dark alien metal concealing them
shifting in plates as the massive, muscular form beneath flexes them in use. Cropped black hair
hangs across his broad, thick forehead, a single, burning eye gazing out from beneath it. Descending
from his shoulders, a long golden cloak of fine material drapes across the Goloth's back, whipping
about occasionally in a violent explosion of psionic energy. All about the massive Goloth Maxyenka
hangs a volatile and explosive presence of energy, barely contained psionic power riding upon waves
of raw, manifested malevolence and terrible, cosmic power.
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
Still not sure about the wheel and the goloths
Want to know...
Betting I can't do anything in game to find out.
Bee tee dubs, have we killed "the Undying One". He's supposed to be above all of the Goloths
"He was well fed, and on his way to being slightly intoxicated--which contributed to his sense of wellbeing. And, most important, he was among friends. There can't be much more to life than this, he thought." -Pug's thoughts on his first Ale (via Raymond Feist)
Visit my personal authorial website. (coming back up soon, with my first publications)
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Then somehow, the dominators managed to return to the basin without dying, though they needed something (a 'cure') to make it possible for Maxyenka to return to the basin and not die.
The Goloths might be to Crazen as Ice Angels are to Zenos?
I don't know where the Wheel itself came from, cause I didn't think the Soulless Gods were big on making stuff. And I'm not sure if the Goloths were Undying Ones before Crazen was imprisoned, or if Maxyenka only became known as that because he had escaped through the Wheel.
I know how you feel, I used to feel that way myself when I was in the lower circles, things do occasionally pop up though that lower circle players can have roles in or participate in, probably the best place for such things seems to be in Divine Orders, though that is just personal speculation in that respect.
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
I guess I'm just kind of flustered at the learning curve for "hardcore bashing" or "hardcore influencing". I'm currently level 79 and have been grinding up from 0% 78 for the last 3 real life weeks and have only made it to about 30%. Even as a warrior with surge etc., I find it very difficult to hunt places that give decent experience, and that's with being a human which ups the experience I get. At this point though, linked astral and Icewynd only gives me about .2% per kill and it takes a good deal of time to kill them solo. Those mobs are tough enough to where I am close to dying the whole fight, which is a great challenge, but ultimately very nervewracking, especially in Icewynd as I don't think you conglut.
I just recently started influencing and make about .2% from each of the guards in Serenwilde, but it still feels rather unimpressive. Thankfully I only had to get influence up to master to be able to fairly easily empower the guards, and it's likely how I'll level for a bit, but I'm very worried because I'm set up right now to almost max experience gain without artifacts or Wheel buffs (Harmony, Human) and I still feel like it's already creeping along really slowly. What's the 98-99 grind going to be like? .001% per kill/influenced target?
Very sorry to hijack but I've been thinking about this for awhile.
"He was well fed, and on his way to being slightly intoxicated--which contributed to his sense of wellbeing. And, most important, he was among friends. There can't be much more to life than this, he thought." -Pug's thoughts on his first Ale (via Raymond Feist)
Visit my personal authorial website. (coming back up soon, with my first publications)
Coding Resources: Mechanic's Corner | Code Academy | StackOverflow
50% from Harmony Karma
200% from Legendary Ikon (influencing only boost)
100% from Goldentonic
100% from Kiss of the Fates
100% from Silvertongue
50% from... I think it was freezetag.
(If you were to time it for during a great hunt, you'd also have that on top of any other bonuses, allowing for an even more massive boost)
Even with all those I was getting 0.7% of a circle from a priestess if I remember correctly.
There is no denying it is a long path and it can seem a bit daunting, but it is definitely doable with some perserverence. Doing things like Aetherhunts can speed things up quite a bit though.
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
*********************POLITICS OF THE LIRANGSHA RETREAT*********************
Sphere of Influence:
Village Leader: High Elder Aurelia Serrano
Serenwilde: Neutral
Glomdoring: Neutral
Celest: Neutral
Magnagora: Neutral
Gaudiguch: Neutral
Hallifax: Neutral
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this specific event, just being a demigod probably doesn't afford much advantage. At least, from what I observed when I was around. I'm not sure how the latter part went, but as far as bashing the dominators went, it isn't meant to be done solo by anyone, especially not with stacks of 20 dominators or more.
I hadn't thought about looking through here or the oldforums for bashing threads. Maybe I'll look for those. I do generally try to clear out Icewynd and Astral as many times a day as possible, but being Seren I am occasionally target of Glom attacks on Astral if I'm up there alone, so that presents a problem.
Also:
50% from Harmony Karma can get easily
200% from Legendary Ikon (influencing only boost), no idea how to obtain this, but would love it
100% from Goldentonic, really expensive and rare if I'm not mistaken.
100% from Kiss of the Fates, credits, can't afford
100% from Silvertongue, Illuminati, right? Don't have
I know there are other things to gather and that I should really consider buying credits to fuel my path to demi, but sadly I can't afford them at this time.
"He was well fed, and on his way to being slightly intoxicated--which contributed to his sense of wellbeing. And, most important, he was among friends. There can't be much more to life than this, he thought." -Pug's thoughts on his first Ale (via Raymond Feist)
Visit my personal authorial website. (coming back up soon, with my first publications)
Coding Resources: Mechanic's Corner | Code Academy | StackOverflow