Below is a log I happen to have found about the clan and the original ideas. I'm not sure if the current GMs are going to follow the same ideas, but would be interesting to learn more about their plans. I wish I hadn't missed the meeting, I would have been bugging GMs all night.
Tale of the Whistling Woods As Told By Guild Guru Atrathien(edited).
Atrathien says, "Okay..."
Atrathien says, "In the days when the Dragon Priests ruled in Shard, and the Elothean peoples were driven into hiding..."
Atrathien says, "Those that were free, that is...The Dragon Priests began experimenting with creating living weapons... Creatures that were little better than slaves, and would serve the Priests in conquering the whole of Elanthia. Many of their failed experiments still exist, though most are confined to the Dark Hand.
Atrathien says, "Their first experiment was a total disaster, and created the Whistling Wood... They used dark magics to transform a breed of insects into ravenous creatures that could eat their way through steel, or stone. When they "hatched", these insects swarmed through the wood, eating their way through the trees."
Atrathien says, "The Dragon Priests were able to contain them, but no one knows for sure if all of their nests were destroyed."
Atrathien winks.
Atrathien says, "Their second experiment was to summon a race of creatures from another Realm, and force them into servitude...
Atrathien says, "It was a good idea, and most likely would have worked...As I was saying... It would have worked, except they summoned the wrong group of creatures... They summoned a type of Fae, those who were too childlike to follow orders well. They were very deadly creatures, but they considered life and death a game, rather than a serious matter...Eventually, the Dragon Priests had to seal them away in caves of ice..."
Atrathien says, "Experiment number two was a failure as well. Of course, a few of those creatures have managed to escape....Some of you may have met the frostweavers?"
Atrathien raises an eyebrow.
Atrathien says, "Okay...So after two failures, the Dragon Priests attempt something relatively less daring...They knew that Hav'roth and Peri'el had once converted lizards into S'Kra...So they decided to try the same. There was a race of lizards inhabiting the lands around Shard...They used their dark magics to warp these creatures into their current form... the Adan'f. Four different groups were bred from the lizard stock...The bloodwarriors, meant to be the infantry and heavy fighters... The shadow mages, meant to utilize the forces of magic and darkness... The spirit dancers, meant to summon the forces of the World Dragon to aid the other two in their battles... And the breeders, the only group that can lay eggs. Which you will probably never encounter."
Atrathien grins.
Atrathien says, "The blood warriors and the shadow mages are both male... They and the breeders produce all the eggs, where random chance determines if it is a warrior, a mage, a dancer, or another breeder. Each of the different groups can be distinguished by variations in their body type... Which are enhanced by their training."
Atrathien says, "Anyway...The Dragon Priests began training this new race to fight beside them in battles... They discovered that the blood warriors and the shadow mages were both very biddable. They would follow orders, even leading suicide charges into enemy groups.. But they weren't that bright."
Atrathien grins.
Atrathien says, "So, they worked their magics on the Spirit Dancers, giving them a higher intelligence, and making them the leaders of the race... Unfortunately...This also made the spirit dancers slightly mad..They had intelligence equal to a man's, but the instincts of a beast. About the time when they were starting to send the Adan'f out into the world to fight alongside their S'Kra soldiers... Dzree died. And the whole empire collapsed. Alec the Phoenix and the Elotheans captured Shard again...And drove the Dragon Priest's creations into the Dark Hand...Including the Adan'f."
Atrathien says, "The Adan'f, however, were never very satisfied with their imprisonment... They worshiped the Dragon Priests as gods... And in their feeble minds, they had been driven away from their masters, and forced into exile. In recent years, they have reclaimed the Whisling Wood, where the Dragon Priests were buried after they were defeated."
Atrathien asks, "You have all seen the sign at the entrance to the burial mounds?"
Atrathien says, "That was placed there at Alec's order, to prevent anyone from digging up the bodies of the Priests...However, the Adan'f have been digging holes in the mounds, unearthing weapons and armor that was scattered at the top when they were buried. Which is where the hammers and bows come from...The Shadow Clan has been concentrating on another area of the Dark Hand, one far more dangerous than the Adan'f... This inattention has allowed them to escape..."
Atrathien says, "The priests buried in those mounds died over 300 years ago."
Dseth says, "so shadow clans are like guardans"
Atrathien says, "The Shadow Clan is, yes."
Atrathien nods to Dseth.
Atrathien says, "They are warriors dedicated to fighting the evil which resides in the Dark Hand."
Atrathien says, "Anyway... The blood warriors and the shadow mages might not have left the Dark Hand when they did... If one of their sacred talismans had not been stolen... When Amiss stole their staff... The blood warriors and shadow mages were sent to retrieve it...Working together, Amiss and one of the members of Shadow Clan were able to trick the Adan'f into believing they had retrieved the staff...When in fact they had only taken a copy The real staff is now in the care of a player, who has to be very careful never to touch the staff...Doing so for an extended period of time would alert the Adan'f that their talisman is still missing. Considering it is one of the few relics the Adan'f have of the Dragon Priests, they would stop at nothing to retrieve it."
Atrathien says, "Now... Since the Gorbesh invaded recently, Shadow Clan is even more distracted And the spirit dancers are able to move north, following the blood warriors and the shadow mages."
Atrathien says, "Of course..."
The Starforger's Hammer hanging from Atrathien's waist begins to glow with a dusky red light. Slowly growing brighter, the light shifts to a pure white color before Atrathien pats the weapon, making the glow subside.
Atrathien says, "Since the spirit dancers wield the magic of the World Dragon, it is quite possible they will find some way to return their Dragon Priest masters to life.. And those masters are far more powerful than the weak remnants of the cult today."
Edgee asks, "aren't the bodies decayed?"
Atrathien asks, "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"
Atrathien cackles!
Atrathien says, "But anyway, that's what I have planned for the area..."
Atrathien grins.
Steeler asks, "why all the figurines and stuff?"
Atrathien says, "They're items the Dragon Priests had on them when they died."
Atrathien says, "The batons were used by the Dragon Priests to command the Adan'f. The silver discs are for something else."
Atrathien smirks.
Talineth waves a long golden baton inlaid in black opal with the image of a scaled dragon at Sunnie.
Atrathien says, "They have a very vague connection to something I'm going to do in the area, but which players probably won't know about."
Atrathien says, "I just do it for my own reasons, to add depth to the area.".
Atrathien grins at you.
Atrathien rests one hand on his familiar's mane, while the other gestures intricately in the air. A banshee wail fills the air as Atrathien is engulfed in a swirling vortex of winds. You close your eyes to keep from being blinded, and when the wind dies down, you open them to find Atrathien and his familiar gone.
CHOCOLATE
DR-GHISEL
Re: Shadow Clan info
01/15/2003 09:19 PM CST
The latest in-game book written about the area is called _Treatise to the Gathered_ and can be found in the Crossing guildhall treehouse. But please, keep chatting :)
GM Ghisel
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
BENNERR
Re: Shadow Clan info
01/15/2003 10:13 PM CST
I don't even know how to read a book let alone find our tree house. Someone read it, copy it and send it to me please.
Arctuniol
"In an open world, Who needs windows or gates?"
Arctuniol
"In an open world, Who needs windows or gates?"
NKRISS
Re: Shadow Clan info
01/16/2003 04:59 AM CST
147 in this folder was more or less the whole of the book, but I suggest reading it. I suggest reading all of the books in the treehouse if you haven't yet done so. Even you Arct, get some culture! kicks
-Teeklin Tessenoak, Proud Ranger of Elanthia
"Fallacious cognitions spewed from televisions do mold our decisions. So stop and take a look, and you'll see what I see now." -Incubus
-Teeklin Tessenoak, Proud Ranger of Elanthia
"Fallacious cognitions spewed from televisions do mold our decisions. So stop and take a look, and you'll see what I see now." -Incubus
PBOMBARD
Re: Shadow Clan info
01/16/2003 05:37 AM CST
Just remember...
The following was ripped out of the Treatise of the Gathered:
"It is not my desire to cast accusations upon any of the Gathered, but we must now talk of the Elves' precedents for the Dragon Priests' treacherous experiments. They have themselves used Life magics to birth new races of being upon our land. We know of their harmful actions across the ocean on the island of M'riss, for example, where the Elves created from lizards the race of S'kra. In the powerful transformation, the Life magic of the land consumed itself, leaving only sand and dust of once- lush forests."
From an IC perspective there are those that think it was ripped out by a S'kra, since many seemed to be infuriated when the book was first read. Others think the elves removed it to protect their secret.
From an OOC perspective, no one knows WHY this was removed. I was VERY disappointed since it has been widely acknowledged that the IC books contain falsehoods and this paragraph was an awesome addition for roleplaying and IC debate.
-pete
The following was ripped out of the Treatise of the Gathered:
"It is not my desire to cast accusations upon any of the Gathered, but we must now talk of the Elves' precedents for the Dragon Priests' treacherous experiments. They have themselves used Life magics to birth new races of being upon our land. We know of their harmful actions across the ocean on the island of M'riss, for example, where the Elves created from lizards the race of S'kra. In the powerful transformation, the Life magic of the land consumed itself, leaving only sand and dust of once- lush forests."
From an IC perspective there are those that think it was ripped out by a S'kra, since many seemed to be infuriated when the book was first read. Others think the elves removed it to protect their secret.
From an OOC perspective, no one knows WHY this was removed. I was VERY disappointed since it has been widely acknowledged that the IC books contain falsehoods and this paragraph was an awesome addition for roleplaying and IC debate.
-pete
CHOCOLATE
Re: Shadow Clan info
01/16/2003 12:41 PM CST
Do you a request here is the book from the Ranger Treehouse by way of http://wilderun.net/library/hoetg.htm
Treatise to the Gathered
An Address to the Great Gathering
by Peregrine Oisin Enoc
Greetings to you this day, Rangers and friends, I am pleased to introduce myself to you. I am Peregrine Oisin Enoc, originally of the Adamantian midlands and recently of the southland Domain of Ilithi. In my youth I was a student of the University, but I have come recently to join a group of experienced scouts to study the lands reclaimed after the defeat of the Dragon Priests. To the Rangers here Gathered, I present the fruit of our work: a treatise on the development of a grave threat to our south we have come to call the Dark Hand.
It is believed by some, and some of you no doubt, that this is not a concern that needs be shared by those beyond this Domain. It is my solemn hope that my words should change your thinking on this.
The first argument is quite simply that the rulers of this land have proven either unable or unwilling to deal conclusively with this matter. The second argument, derived of the first, is that if there is no defense of the southern lands the threat will move northward - and do not think for a heartbeat that the great chasm or a few rivers should give it any more pause than it did the armies of its creators.
But I shall start at the beginning, as all things should.
In the time before memory, a great river of tears is said to have run through the Stormfells, carving a deep canyon through the mountains and emptying itself into the lake on which sits the site of Shard.
Only the Elves recall the wet wood that grew in the moist and fertile wake of the rivers' passing. They tell of massive trees, close-growing and thick- trunked; carpets of moss in varieties unseen since; great masses of berry bushes and a wealth of animal life. Some of you, perhaps, will find this in your memory and tell of it to others around your cook- fires this night.
Just how the wet wood caught ablaze is still an issue of much contention between the Elves and Dwarves of this land. It is not my intention to open the debate anew, only to explain that the wet wood burned, scorching the basin to its bedrock and displacing its inhabitants to the forests north and west. Only ash and dust remained to greet the Dwarves who arrived as the stone cooled.
Until recently, natives of these lands knew this canyon as Silver Bowl for the ore seams and gem mines that the Dwarves found had been uncovered by the fire. Thick veins of metal and precious gems were bled from the land to build great cities and the fortunes of their rulers. As the spires of the crystal city rose, the mines emptied and the last breath of Life escaped the great mountain hollow.
You see how the land was stripped of her defenses and left to be filled with whatever came? The minions of Dzree came and made this place a well of shadow known as Blackthorn Canyon in which lives the Dark Hand. Here ends the basin's natural history and begins its most unnatural history.
During their reign of terror, the Dragon Priests' tinkered with certain "dark" elements of Life magic in seeking to create an army of living weapons to complete their conquest. These meddlings adulterated the land and created foul, distorted creatures to walk upon it.
Their first attempt involved the transmutation of a particular insect breed into an army capable of eating whatever lay in its path, be it wood, stone or steel. Once hatched, however, the army was uncontrollable and swarmed through the Whistling Wood. Though Priests set fire to most of their nests, our scouts have reason to believe some of these creatures remain.
Dzree then turned her eye to the fae, using her power to summon a form of frost fae to our Plane from another. Again, their creation proved beyond the Priests' control and they were imprisoned in the ice caves.
It is not my desire to cast accusations upon any of the Gathered, but we must now talk of the Elves' precedents for the Dragon Priests' treacherous experiments. They have themselves used Life magics to birth new races of being upon our land. We know of their harmful actions across the ocean on the island of M'riss, for example, where the Elves created from lizards the race of S'kra. In the powerful transformation, the Life magic of the land consumed itself, leaving only sand and dust of once- lush forests.
Following this dangerous precedent, the Dragon Priests endeavored upon their third attempt to create an army. Corrupting a local type of lizard, the Dragon Priests created an intelligent and powerful creature called the Adan'f. Many of you have never seen one, and may never, but each of you should know these might have been your captors were it not for the sudden death of their Priestess and the army of Eloths under Ferdahl Alec's command.
The Adan'f are with us still, though without their masters to organize their ranks they exist only in scattered bands throughout the Adamantian southlands fouled by the Dragon Priests.
Each of the Dragon Priests' forays with these "dark" elements caused greater shifts in the Balance, and none was more severe than the shifts still caused by the Dark Hand.
In her last days, Dzree created the 'Hand as a breeding ground for the Adan'f in the barren Silver Bowl. With the land so stripped, there was nothing left in the canyon to balance the "dark" elements Dzree employed. Her magics filled the mines and camps with thick tangles of bizarre flora and teams of deformed creatures that threatened even their makers.
As the Dragon Priest armies marched north, those remaining in the canyon were overcome and enslaved by the growing power of the wood. We believe it no coincidence that as the Dark Hand strengthened and matured, the Priestess' empire slid into chaos and crumbled before our armies.
Because we know disturbances in the Balance ripple outward like a stone cast into calm water, Dzree's legacy remains a threat to all of our lands. This day, the canyon writhes with unnatural flora and echoes with the cries of creatures born of the Hand as tortured corruptions of their natural forms.
A forest alive, the Dark Hand consumes light and warmth to feed its growth as it stalks our realms with a terrible certainty. There is a sentience to the wood that we are just now beginning to understand and each revelation seems more terrible. The defenses built by the Eloth Corik stand yet at the canyon's mouth, but stone will not alone keep back the wood's advance.
It is therefore my ardent plea to the Gathered that we resolve among our realms and races to cease all tampering with the magics of Life and stand united as Rangers against the results of such foolishness in the past.
With the sun's rise we will depart this Gathering for the slopes of the Stormfells to examine the Hand's growth from above. If you wish to confirm my reports with your own senses, then join us and proof will be yours.
I offer now my most gracious thanks to the Gathered for hearing our treatise this day.
Kaun, Shadow Clan decendent
Treatise to the Gathered
An Address to the Great Gathering
by Peregrine Oisin Enoc
Greetings to you this day, Rangers and friends, I am pleased to introduce myself to you. I am Peregrine Oisin Enoc, originally of the Adamantian midlands and recently of the southland Domain of Ilithi. In my youth I was a student of the University, but I have come recently to join a group of experienced scouts to study the lands reclaimed after the defeat of the Dragon Priests. To the Rangers here Gathered, I present the fruit of our work: a treatise on the development of a grave threat to our south we have come to call the Dark Hand.
It is believed by some, and some of you no doubt, that this is not a concern that needs be shared by those beyond this Domain. It is my solemn hope that my words should change your thinking on this.
The first argument is quite simply that the rulers of this land have proven either unable or unwilling to deal conclusively with this matter. The second argument, derived of the first, is that if there is no defense of the southern lands the threat will move northward - and do not think for a heartbeat that the great chasm or a few rivers should give it any more pause than it did the armies of its creators.
But I shall start at the beginning, as all things should.
In the time before memory, a great river of tears is said to have run through the Stormfells, carving a deep canyon through the mountains and emptying itself into the lake on which sits the site of Shard.
Only the Elves recall the wet wood that grew in the moist and fertile wake of the rivers' passing. They tell of massive trees, close-growing and thick- trunked; carpets of moss in varieties unseen since; great masses of berry bushes and a wealth of animal life. Some of you, perhaps, will find this in your memory and tell of it to others around your cook- fires this night.
Just how the wet wood caught ablaze is still an issue of much contention between the Elves and Dwarves of this land. It is not my intention to open the debate anew, only to explain that the wet wood burned, scorching the basin to its bedrock and displacing its inhabitants to the forests north and west. Only ash and dust remained to greet the Dwarves who arrived as the stone cooled.
Until recently, natives of these lands knew this canyon as Silver Bowl for the ore seams and gem mines that the Dwarves found had been uncovered by the fire. Thick veins of metal and precious gems were bled from the land to build great cities and the fortunes of their rulers. As the spires of the crystal city rose, the mines emptied and the last breath of Life escaped the great mountain hollow.
You see how the land was stripped of her defenses and left to be filled with whatever came? The minions of Dzree came and made this place a well of shadow known as Blackthorn Canyon in which lives the Dark Hand. Here ends the basin's natural history and begins its most unnatural history.
During their reign of terror, the Dragon Priests' tinkered with certain "dark" elements of Life magic in seeking to create an army of living weapons to complete their conquest. These meddlings adulterated the land and created foul, distorted creatures to walk upon it.
Their first attempt involved the transmutation of a particular insect breed into an army capable of eating whatever lay in its path, be it wood, stone or steel. Once hatched, however, the army was uncontrollable and swarmed through the Whistling Wood. Though Priests set fire to most of their nests, our scouts have reason to believe some of these creatures remain.
Dzree then turned her eye to the fae, using her power to summon a form of frost fae to our Plane from another. Again, their creation proved beyond the Priests' control and they were imprisoned in the ice caves.
It is not my desire to cast accusations upon any of the Gathered, but we must now talk of the Elves' precedents for the Dragon Priests' treacherous experiments. They have themselves used Life magics to birth new races of being upon our land. We know of their harmful actions across the ocean on the island of M'riss, for example, where the Elves created from lizards the race of S'kra. In the powerful transformation, the Life magic of the land consumed itself, leaving only sand and dust of once- lush forests.
Following this dangerous precedent, the Dragon Priests endeavored upon their third attempt to create an army. Corrupting a local type of lizard, the Dragon Priests created an intelligent and powerful creature called the Adan'f. Many of you have never seen one, and may never, but each of you should know these might have been your captors were it not for the sudden death of their Priestess and the army of Eloths under Ferdahl Alec's command.
The Adan'f are with us still, though without their masters to organize their ranks they exist only in scattered bands throughout the Adamantian southlands fouled by the Dragon Priests.
Each of the Dragon Priests' forays with these "dark" elements caused greater shifts in the Balance, and none was more severe than the shifts still caused by the Dark Hand.
In her last days, Dzree created the 'Hand as a breeding ground for the Adan'f in the barren Silver Bowl. With the land so stripped, there was nothing left in the canyon to balance the "dark" elements Dzree employed. Her magics filled the mines and camps with thick tangles of bizarre flora and teams of deformed creatures that threatened even their makers.
As the Dragon Priest armies marched north, those remaining in the canyon were overcome and enslaved by the growing power of the wood. We believe it no coincidence that as the Dark Hand strengthened and matured, the Priestess' empire slid into chaos and crumbled before our armies.
Because we know disturbances in the Balance ripple outward like a stone cast into calm water, Dzree's legacy remains a threat to all of our lands. This day, the canyon writhes with unnatural flora and echoes with the cries of creatures born of the Hand as tortured corruptions of their natural forms.
A forest alive, the Dark Hand consumes light and warmth to feed its growth as it stalks our realms with a terrible certainty. There is a sentience to the wood that we are just now beginning to understand and each revelation seems more terrible. The defenses built by the Eloth Corik stand yet at the canyon's mouth, but stone will not alone keep back the wood's advance.
It is therefore my ardent plea to the Gathered that we resolve among our realms and races to cease all tampering with the magics of Life and stand united as Rangers against the results of such foolishness in the past.
With the sun's rise we will depart this Gathering for the slopes of the Stormfells to examine the Hand's growth from above. If you wish to confirm my reports with your own senses, then join us and proof will be yours.
I offer now my most gracious thanks to the Gathered for hearing our treatise this day.
Kaun, Shadow Clan decendent
