Tetch's Book of Questions(transcripted by Clorneth's hand)A book of Questions: Contemplation for the Enemies of Corruption Threat the Erl and His Warlords like Adversaries, not monsters. Consider how to defect them a logic puzzle, or a mystery, not a series of tournaments, not mindless targets. They have purpose. They have the ability to reason. And adapt. Through my own observations, I liken this chapter of our scuffles to a game of chess. Chess is oft referred to as �The Game of Gods.� I will expound more about the Chess metaphor later, but, suffice to say: It is not wise to allow our opponent to know our strategies in advance, allowing him to counter us. Be Wary: Learn. Observe. Question. Shade, Hope Sir Tetch Korucanata, 2002 --------------------------------------------------------- The Beginning: When I first saw the forest runner�s creed, it was as thus: �By Steel By Reason, by magic By Fire, I vow to protect and Sanctify the world with my every Breath, Let the purity of Body, Mind And Spirit sustain me in my Quest. This I swear by what was lost, By what can Never be Regained�� �This is my Oath My Life is Sacrifice MY Sacrifice is for Life� Why was the creed written into such a shape? I do not know. But the result remind me of a pawn on a chess board. Does the person that wrote this creed think of the forest runners as a group of Pawns? Possibly, If so, where are they on the board? Who created the Creed? My understanding is the creed was invented when the order was created. Further, it was created, most likely, by people from the Fallen Kingdom of Tantarill. Why does the first line include Magic? Magic was the first Aspect of Nature to fall, why include it in the Oath? Does the order; Steel, Reason, Magic and Fire: actually refer to a specific foe? What was lost? What can never be Regained? ---------------------------------- Creed: Continued The forest runners, for the most part, seem to treat the creed something like a Mantra - something that protects them from becoming corrupted. There is nothing to prove or disprove their faith is misplaced. Perhaps the �curative� and protective value is solely found in the resolution and solidarity they find the the world themselves. Perhaps it is actually a form of spell. Perhaps it is more, perhaps it is not. Some writing about the Enemy: There are few documents about the adversary, or rather, few that I have had the opportunity to read or copy, but what few I do have access to I will record here, followed by my observations, adding things I have learned, and including questions that may need answering. Note: Reeve never says that anything in here is true, only that is is �commonly understood; however, common is not necessarily true. A treatise of the Wiles and Ways of Corruption Offered to the Kathrani, at the request of the Munuko, for dissemination among the Righteous. By Reevem Elder of the Sacred Order of the Woods. Preface Be advised, the lore herin recorded is the labor of a hundred generations of brave souls, both of common ilk and of the Order. The compilations of so many lives� work has never before been accomplished. Pirior attempts by this author have met with peculiar opposition, including but hardly limited to direct intervention by the minions of the Ancient Enemy, and more subtly, by decay of the very materials of the previous volumes. It is with dismay that I was driven to run far from my homeland and stay in hiding whilst I completed this tome. Sadly, I fear that the bearer of this lore may become the target of retribution. The hands, indeed the very limbs of the Lord of Corruption extend further than was once thought. Reader, take from this compendium that which you need to know. Record in your heart and mind the way of protecting yourself and other from Corruption. Then give his book to some other who might benefit. For then this knowledge will spread and its source shall not be fixed. Corruption favors the inert. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Authors Comments: I recommend that in addition to memorizing the ways of protecting yourself and others that you also make your own copy of this tome, or at least the pertinent parts, and pass the knowledge onto others. Ignorance is dangerous. Tetch ----- Hands vs Limbs: The Limbs of Corruption are the six Warlords. The Hands of Corruption are the minions under those Warlords.  On a chessboard, l-r, back row Maggot Nasnie Ang Rail Erl King Kytsim Polth Irrad 2nd back row Rotling Lost One Laughing Dead Forest Runners Phantom Skalds Wolds Treatise: Cont. Corruption: To understand Corruption one must be able to discern the difference between it and evil. Thus definitions become of paramount import. Evil, as it is understood in the Lost Kingdoms, is not a force of Nature. There are many degrees of evil, many faces it wears. Yet never, in history, has evil been more than a label attached to the actions of thinking beings. Evil may well be a matter of perception, but it is far from being a force of Nature. More likely it is spurred on by Nature. Evil is, to our minds, merely the performing of a cruelty upon the undeserving despite obvious and available recourse. When one cannot but perform evil it is a different matter. The wolf who kills the child for food is not evil; it can�t but hunt for food. The wolf that kills the hunter is not evil; it cannot but defend itselfs. The hunter who kills more wolves than his warmth and nourishment require is a different matter altogether. In contrast Corruption is very much a force of nature, perhaps more against nature than of it. Ancient scholars felt that Corruption was the result of humanity�s evils. an adverse, symptomatic effect of the uses of magic. Others believe that Corruption was the result of humanity�s evils. But it seem that these and many other theories are only half truths, too narrow in scope. Corruption is anti-life, or to keep with the circumspect term: Anti-nature. Consider nature. One might say that collectively nature exerts itself on the stuff of the universe, ordering it, organizing it, make the world through a vast array of circles. Life and Death. Day and Night. Rain and Sun. Corruption is similar in that it effects the stuff of the universe, but it is outside of or perhaps parasitic to nature. It may well be that corruption cannot exist without first having had a natural world to work with. Nevertheless it is the result of Corruption that the Natural world forever by changed from that which is cyclical and progressive to something utterly unlivable. It is most certainly better to allow that we can never discern the goals of such an inhuman force, only that it is something we must fight against or die out like fish in a stagnant pool. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author�s Note What is twice now that Reeve cautions us against inaction. But how to act, that is the question. How do you fight a mountain? Or an ocean? If corruption is a force of �Nature� how can it be stopped? Reeve is incorrect about god �Survingin� the rise of the Erl-King. I know of several that have influenced the area: The Norne Tana Torne Eris Treatise: Cont. Mythos: A great deal of how our Ancient Enemy works is shrouded in the abysmal past. Once there were gods worshipped in the now - Lost Kingdoms. Some of them are worshipped in much the same way in the Northern Realms. Some seem to have different names in the north. Some seem to have disappeared forever. Most histories teach that in times of greatest peril humanity has found the most solidarity in faith. There are no gods worshipped in the Lost Kingdoms. Insofar as deities go there are only the Norne; a trio of sister who seem to be possessed of godly power and get are not worshipped by any. In truth the only deity known to have harmlessly weathered the ascension of the Lord of Corruption is the Erl-King Himself. He is worshipped by a few disgusting creatures, but in no organized manner. The only religion is survival. As most nomads and other people of untamed regions might convey, survival equates to a certain few things. Fortitude, fertility, and knowledge are chief among these things. Fortitude is nearly all a part of birth and blood. Fertility, while certainly tied to the body, is at least in part a social development. But knowledge is the religion of the Sacred Order of the Woods. Many cultures this author has encountered reduce all of reality to four essential elements. Be that as it may, a peculiar variation of this emerged out of the unknown past of the Lost Kingdoms. There are six aspects of nature. They are, in relative triads, Stone, Water and Magic, and Flesh, Spirit and Mind. Rather than expund on this dry topic I will merely state that these are the anchors of Corruption. Their likeness, or perversions thereof, are to be seen in all the minions of the Erl-King ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author�s Note: Although Reeve didn�t expand on it, I will discuss the �dry� topic of the aspects of nature later. There are a few things that I wish to comment on here, thought. Forest runners, at least those I have met, all seem to forswear gods, and seem� to scoff at the effectiveness of a gods power and humanity�s dependence on them. Perhaps this is due to the trials and oaths they take when becoming part of the sacred order of the Woods. Perhaps it is the symptom of Ang�s Corruption. In either case, we must remember one thing: Gods cannot help up while we are actually IN the Lost Kingdoms. If the forest Runners �worshop� knowledge, and the aspect of nature called �Mind� is corrupted, are the forest runners unwitting pawns of Nashie? I should comment here, and stress the fact, that I trust the forest runners. Their dedications is not a question. I only comment that it is possible that they are being subtly manipulated by the forces of corruption. They are our allies. But their values are not our values. Their lives are very different from ours. Trust them, but be wary. Think for yourself. Don�t follow blindly. It is my understanding that some gods have actually manages to survive the Erl-King other than the Norne alone. There is a region known as Loch Torne, far in the North of the Lost Kingdoms. The people of Loch Torne have their own deities. I have heard of two. Tanna Torne and The Red Man. If these two are still powers in the Lost Kingdom, perhaps others have also �survived� but it is unknown how they can help, since we know so little of them. Stone- Flesh Water- Spirit Magic-Mind Ways to inhibit the spread of Disease: Cleanliness- (Water) Quarantine - (Spirit) Purification- (Fire) Proper care of the Sick & Dead Nutrition - (Earth) Medicine (Air) Treatise: Cont. Flesh The most commonly understood aspect of corruption is that of flesh. It is disease, virulence, and decay of the physical form of all living things. These things exist beyond the influence of the Erl-King but with only a fraction the frequency or severity. Humanit has adapted to the inevitability of disease by adopting a nomadic lifestyle. History has taught us that fixed life, settled and Agrarian, leads very quickly to pestilence. While the nomadic cycles keep people from contracting disease they also keep birth rate down and a narrower margin between survival and starvation. While these are many, many diseases that afflict humans and other races, the most prevalent and aberrant is the least pleasant. It is generally referred to as Rotling Disease, but during the wards surrounding the Erl-King ascension some scholars called it Virulae Dermal Dementia. It is a condition that causes the skin to break out in painful sores. The symptoms are at first a sense of skin crawling and bouts of nausea. The second stage is usually characterized by a darkening of the skin, increased nausea, and extreme irritability. The third stage is marked by the breaking out of pus filled sores, and such extreme bodily anguish that the mind is completely lost. At this point the disease will have completely ruined the human it has afflicted, transforming him or her into a Rotling, a creature what will shortly be described. The onset of Rotling Disease is usually about three days, though it had moved faster and slower in some victims. While fast-acting and self-perpetuating, this disease is still relatively est to cure, if not so easy to prevent. By the faith and learning of the Sacred Order of the Woods each and every fully empowered Forest runner can sure this disease in its first stage without reserve or limitations. A forest runner cannot, however, sure himself. Once the disease passes into the second stage only magical remedies can aid the stricken. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author�s Note: Questions What do the Forest Runners hold �Faith� in? Where do they get the power to cure Rotling disease: Is it a skill/science? Or is it like a Paladin�s ability? Reeve has been infected by Rolting before. His account of what it feels like are likely first hand knowledge. Can someone that has become a Rotling be restored to humanity again? Or are they lost forever to Corruption? 11/5/03 In March of the year, Rotling were seen in the North, North of TF and TNW. They, and the wolds they were with, arrived by boat, somehow. Curing Rotling Disease: Cure disease spell Raise Dead should cure them. Forest runner Purification - 1st stage only. Fury has Slain Maggot for a brief time. Maggot may have been the King of the fallen Elf Kingdom. Treatise: Cont: Flesh The personification of Corrupted flesh is a creature known as Maggot. He is a humanid of an unknown species, covered head to toe in the sores of his disease. Maggot is a foul and powerful thing, known most well by the people of the Lost Kingdoms. He is ever abroad, hunting, harassing, spreading his disease. He is seldom without a contingent of Rotling, but can take any living creature and make it into a Rotling. Maggot is vicious and over-bearing but easily evaded. He is not a battlefield genius. His tendency is towards one or two enemies to �Play� with. Moaggot, like his Rotling, is susceptible to fire, though far more resistant to it than any rotling. Yet, such knowledge does little good in light of the fact that his pox Ridden corpse quickly knits itself back together from any wounds. Rotling are the most common bling in the Lost Kingdom. Once human, these horrors are feral, vicious things with no semblance of their former selves. Mercy, compassion, cunning and fear are completely alien to these things. They are drawn to combat where they seek only to overwhelm their enemies and spread their disease. Rotling seldom kill their opposition. They exception to this being Forest runners and other creatures who prove to be too resistant or troublesome. Generally speaking, a Rotling is quite easy to dispose of. They are as mortal as creatures can get. There are no natural or unnatural resistance to anything save disease. They are distinctly susceptible to fire. One touch from fire will completely immolate them in seconds. Even in death Rotling are dangerous. If killed by any other means than fire a Rotling corpse will immediately infect those nearest to it at death. Normally, all it takes to become infected is the touch of a Rotling. Fire is the only answer to Rotling. It should be noted that corpses left to fester too long have been know to contract Virulae Dermal Dementia. While magiced means to bring the victim back will cure the disease, after the corpse has been infected it will spread the disease to the uninfected that come too close. This fact has forced humanity within the Lost Kingdoms to adopt the practice of burning the dead. This custom is law for the forest runners a particular detail of this rite is that when a forest runner perform the burning the corpse may not be brought back as undead, or as a corrupted minion of any kind. This sanctification does not seem to harm the victim with regards to magically restorying life, but it will only last for so long as victim remains dead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author�s Notes: Reeve had killed Maggot with a sword called �Fury�. Like the forest runner creed the sword is likely of Tantarrll design, though it contains Sothron Runes upon it. It is possible that the sword was created with the help of Fire Elementals. Has anyone ever tried to �Kill� Maggot by casting �Cure disease� on him? Would purifying him in such a away put him down for good? Or, if the creed IS an indication of how to deal with the Warlords, should we put him down with Steel, the cure him, then burn the corpse? 10/5/03 Addendum- Flesh- Random thoughts. What purifies flesh? What is Flesh? What clean fresh both inside and out. Fire destroy flesh, purifying it, thought leaving nothing behind. Cure disease, healing magic, and certain herbs, poultices and applied knowledge can heal wounds and cure diseases. In the grander scheme of things, is this how we need to Purify and end Maggot�s threat? To Purify and end Maggot�s threat? A weapon of water, fire or healing? Flesh, unless armors, is notable frail. Swords puncture it. It's easily bruised, slashed, torn� But flesh is resilient. It is forgiving. It heals itself. It can adapt, somewhat, to damage. When burning the dead, the Forest Runners generally intome something like the following: �Death beget corruption Corruption begets Death Let what I do here beget no Evil Go to Oblivion in Peace.� 11/5/03 What is corrupted stone? Corruption of Flesh is under manifesting as... Treatise: Cont: Stone: Very little is understood about the corruption of stone as an aspect of Nature it is, quite literally, one of the most impenetrable essence. There is, perhaps, deeper meaning to the aspect of stone that we do not yet comprehend. Nevertheless, it has been corrupted. It is a very real part of the Erl King�s power. The champion of Corrupted Stone is a creature called Irrad (pronounced Ear-rod). The warlord is not so commonly seen as Maggot, but legends and recent accounts claim that Irrad is the closest thing to a battlefield general in the armies of corruption. Irrad is living stone; hulking; unstoppable. He enjoys torturing his enemies, usually by pulverizing their extremities while they still live. Unlike Maggot, Ang and Nasnie, Irrad has no direct domination over humans. THus his corruptive influences tend to effect us indirectly. He, like his hids, is incredibly strong. Both his blow and the blows that fall on him tend to have disastrous results, often time shattering the best-tempered steel and the strongest bones. He has thus far proven immune to all attacks upon him. While Irrad may command hardly any corrupted creature, he most often commands Rock wolds. Wold are smaller versions of himself, not nearly so intelligent. They share most of his strength and are a bane to weapons that strike them. However, they are extremely vulnerable to blunt weapons. They have been known to hurl boulders but are not immune to them. They are plentiful enough in the Lost Kingdoms to be a serious concern at all times. 10/5/03- Addendum- Stone- Random Thoughts How can stone be corrupted? How do you �cure� stone, or rather, how to you cure sick stone? Stone can be broken up with force. It can be worn down by air or water and time. It can be chiseled, shaped, built up, fused together. We rely on stone to be solid. As a foundation. It is, in one mind and cultures, dependable, sturdy, immobile� And yet Irrad is. His Wold are affected by force, usually dealf with blows of blant weapons. Fire has no effect on Stone, Really, save when faced with extreme heat, followed by extreme cold. Perhaps striking Irrad with Fury and Icicle? (Pages 1 through 10) |
Created by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee
at 06-08-17 04:17 PM
Last Modified by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 06-08-17 04:29 PM
Last Modified by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 06-08-17 04:29 PM