Post by Masterbard Alyster Darkharp on Mar 12, 2008 18:32:37 GMT -5
[Opening Narrative]
This is a story that began long ago, before Netheril, before
the Crown Wars, perhaps even before Lord Ao's creation of our world.
During this dark age, the dreaded race known to some as the illithid,
to others as the Mind Flayers, ruled all that exists. The Blood War
itself was halted under the absoloute mental dominion of this terrible
evil. But, even during this time of despair, hope existed. A race of
slaves, known as the Gith, won free of the psionic control of their
masters, and made war against them. Among the heros of those people,
who would become the Githyanki, and the Githzeri, was the hero
Zerthimon, who, with aid of a great artifact, shattered the plane
spanning empire once and for all.
Part I: Zerthimon's Triumph
[Chorus]
Zerthimon was a Gith slave's son
Who knew that he would be the one
To cast their masters down beneath
The the stone of a thousand worlds?
Shattered minds, and a shattered ring
Shattered chains of the way unseen
Shattered empire, scattered thralls
Zerthimon's triumph shattered all!
[Verse #1]
Through the lense of time I peer
Into it's depths, across the worlds
Across ancient pages a slaves
legend unfurls.
Before they were locked below in
the deep, the flayers a mighty
empire did keep.
[Verse #2]
Spanning every world we can name,
from tiny kingdom to far distant
plane.
The Gith were a people they kept
in chains, two peoples though
they later became.
[Verse #3]
Risen above the mental lash,
a rebellion was born and slave
and master clashed.
An artifact born of the will of
the slaves, or was it by their
masters made?
[Chorus]
Zerthimon was a Gith slave's son
Who knew that he would be the one
To cast their masters down beneath
The the stone of a thousand worlds?
Shattered minds, and a shattered ring
Shattered chains of the way unseen
Shattered empire, scattered thralls
Zerthimon's triumph shattered all!
[Verse #4]
Into the hands of the Gith it fell,
and it was born by a great hero,
a gith rebel.
Zerthimon was this heroes name
and into the mind flayer council
he came.
[Verse #5]
Wielding this power proved his end,
But the empire was broken and
scattered to the winds.
Also broken was the artifact
of his peoples liberation from the
mind flayer's trap
[Outro]
Through the lense of time I peer
Into the future of our home
Will we find what was unmade
Once upon a throne?
[Narrative #2]
With the dominion of the Mind Flayers broken, the Gith broke into two factions,
fleeing the remnants of their former masters. The Githyanki fled to the
Astral Plane, consumed with anger and hatred, vowing to destroy not only
the mind flayers, but any threat to the Gith that could be found. The
Githzeri chose instead to isolate themselves in a distant plane, a place
unknown to this world, called Limbo. In the roiling chaos, they devoted
themselves to the way of self discovery, becoming talented monks and warriors
of the mind. As for the illithid, those that remained were driven beneath
the ground, beaten, but not broken in spirit. In the same portion of the
multiverse as the unknown plane of Limbo, there rose a mind flayer by the
name of T'nal. T'nal was brilliant, even by the standards of the illithid.
He was also powerful, powerful enough to wrest secrets known only to the
mighty elder brains, rulers of the Mind Flayers. Alas, as with all such
knowledge, it is sealed away from mere mortals because it is, as a certain
Gith once told me, "Not their's to know." T'nal was driven mad, but not the
raving mad of the lunatic. In the clarity that such madness can seem to
offer, T'nal embraced undeath, becoming an Alhoon, an illithid lich. And
with this transformation, his power grew, and the last touch of sanity
abandoned him. After countless eons of such existence, he decided he would
raise an army, free of thought and free of life, to scour all traces of
awareness from this and all other worlds. The Silent Dominion.
Part II: The Silent Dominion
[Verse #1]
This army lies dead
But not yet defeated
It's soldiers have died
But they have not retreated
[Verse #2]
It's herald is silence
Never sleeping
Never weeping
[Verse #3]
It's soldiers are quiet
Never fearing
Never cheering
[Chorus]
They are damned!
[Verse #4]
We must overcome
Undeath must be undone
The thing that was broken
Must be reassembled into one
[Verse #5]
Our herald is hope
Never bowing
Never doubting
[Verse #6]
Our soldiers are skulking
Always creeping
Secrets keeping
[Chorus]
You are damned!
[Narrative #3]
Blight of T'nal has long been known to this land, but his true horror had
yet to begin. Prior to the destruction caused by the Silent Dominion, a
source unknown, speaking through the minds of commoners, bid adventurers
of this land, myself included, to find "that which can shatter the Dominion."
Shortly after this unknown agent of our eventual salvation spoke his warning,
dark tidings of things to come arrived. The nights became times of restless
spirits, freed from bodies but not from service to the beings of this world,
they proclaimed the coming of the Silent Dominion. Witnessing these events, the
bard Darkharp traveled to the temple of the Binder of What is Known, at my
request, to make an offering.Upon completion of his tithe, I spoke to him of
this unknown agent, and this item he had bid I and others to seek. Fate was
kind, and through the providence of Lady Luck, soon after, Darkharp had come
upon a potent item. Unknown to us at the time it's true power, he kept it
safe, hidden in his possession. When the spectral dead of the Dominion began
to seek his life, like any with sense and need of knowledge in the ways of
magic, he made haste to the temple of Mystra. There, a second goddess showed
her benevolence, for there that day was the Sage of Shadowdale. We learned
the nature of the item, a fraction of the item that could end the terror of
the Dominion, the Annulus, bane of mind flayers and their thought taking ilk.
The Sage revealed it's importance, but said it was not in his intrests to hold
it safe, or to allow us to hide it in the temple of Mystra. For his safety,
and by extention, all of our safety, Darkharp entrusted the item to me, and we
promised to speak to no one else of this item until it seemed wise. For several
days, this seemed to be enough. But T'nal was no paper tiger, and had commited
grave acts in his bid for power. Armies of the dead soon poured forth, and
leading them was a dracolich of great power. They laid waste to Isinhold, in
a single night enslaving all who dwelt in that town under the yoke of the
living mind flayers T'nal ruled like a god. Seeing this attack, we realized
that two scholars would not be enough to guard this item of such importance.
We fled to Suzail, to the War Wizard's tower, and surrendered the fragment.
We also divulged information of the shard, and it's power, to a handful of other
trustworthy souls. As we did such, the gods once more expressed their desire
to protect their servants. A cleric of the Binder recieved a vision from her
lord, expressing in riddle form the location of the four shards. Those who
would stand against the Silent Dominion were to seek the Chaos that hunts mire,
the Dread that lies in fire, the Dead Twice Cursed, and keep safe that which
lies with Order. While Darkharp, myself, and others sought to learn the true
meaning of the other two shards, a party of adventurers, including a paladin
of great reknown, a humble rogue, and a mighty dwarf warrior traveled to the
Tun, seeking the great slaad that was the Chaos which hunted mire. Known as 'No Eye'.
Part III: Old No-Eye
[Verse #1]
Once he was blue, or was he once red?
None knows for sure, nor has he said.
What we do know is that he was green,
This I can say without having seen!
[Chorus #1]
Old No-Eye
A Chaos Scion
Far from home and the spawning stone!
He's slain many brothers!
He's been many colors,
But now he is none!
His next stop would have been
All in one to darken skin!
[Verse #2]
After the green he was grey it would seem,
And then he would take a year long retreat!
Emerging with the power of the grave,
Combined with the strength of the insane!
[Chorus #2]
Old No-Eye
This chaos hunts mire
Deep in the Tun with an ancient stone!
He's hiding in rushes!
He's lacking three others,
That others are hunting!
His next fight might just end
With him without the stone again!
[Verse #3]
Once he had lived another long century
His skin would fade into white eventually
Now with a hide like unblemished snow
For a hundred more years chaos he must sew!
[Chorus #3]
Old No-Eye
He never did rise
To the height of power in his final hour!
He was growing quite near
He should have been a seer!
The he might have seen
That the shard was the first small crack
In a shattered dream of fading to black!
[Narrative #4]
As these events unfolded, a third goddess threw her chips in with mortals,
expressing her fury that any would dare to steal the power of her children
for themselves. As the dracolich that was once the mighty Nau'thaerin, Forgetten
Child of the Dragon Queen, began her attack on High Horn, from deep in the
mountains a streak of crimson burned the sky, casting back the tide of undead
that marched further into Cormyr. The Prince of the Peaks, Soveriegn of the
Mountains, and Dread that lies in Fire, Dread Saug'ver'thulnausus, had made
his presence known. And through his arrival, we were able to find the third shard.
Descending into the heart of the enemy, the Night Below, Darkharp and I came upon
a fiend, an abishai called Thraxeden. This great being served a greater one yet,
and through his aid, we met with the great dragon, and made a deal. He bid us
travel far, and find his rival in the lands of stone and ice, and do battle
with it. Risking life and limb, we two, with the rogue Torian, snuck far into
the domain of this foe, and to our luck, found our foe, and managed to defeat
the terrible beast. And so, our firey patron granted us the shard, in exchange
for a tribute to his glory, the very essence of Dread defined.
Part IV: Dread Defined
[Verse #1]
The definition of dread
Is crimson red
And looms above walls!
At the time of his birth
A portent shook the earth
Sung by heralds of woe!
[Chorus #1]
They sang,
"Cower in fear
For the time draws near
When nations will fall
Beneath hellfire and claw!"
They sang,
"Praise to his name
The mighty Dread Thain
Who lays waste to all
Like an ocean of flame!"
[Verse #2]
The definition of dread
Soars high overhead
His shadow is the night!
When he opens his maw
A great thunder shakes all
His breath burns like the sun!
[Chorus #2]
They sang,
"Shiver and tremble
For the world is an ember
That burns in his fire
Like a pile of dry timber!"
They sang,
"His heart is the fire
Of the forges and pyres
That burn in the hells
To be consumed by his ire!"
[Bridge]
Who can claim such greatness?
Who stands so tall above us?
The Dread Prince of the Peaks
Saug'ver'thulnausus!
[Verse #3]
The definition of dread
Tore all rivals to shreds
Long, long ago.
The stars are the cinders
From the blaze he has kindled
To burn down his foes.
[Chorus #3]
They sang,
"Hail the Dread Lord,
His wings are the storm,
The raging inferno that
Makes mothers mourn!"
They sang,
"Nothing is stronger,
No fire has burned longer,
And nothing can sate
This Dread's ravenous hunger!"
[Outro]
Who can claim such fame?
What paragon have I named?
The Dread Prince of the Peaks
Saug'ver'thulnausus!
[Narrative #5]
Alas, even with the favor of four gods, disaster still could strike. The
War Wizards, tasked with the protection of Order and Chaos, were manipulated
and betrayed from within, allowing both shards to be stolen by the Githyanki.
Worse, as time went on, the presence of the Dominion was felt in the minds of
many of their most vocal opponents. Tricked by the faces of friends, by the
power of their own pride, or simply by the fickle actions of fate, these souls
had their deepest secrets and memories ripped away, and, bereft of their past,
cast back into the world above. The Dominion expressed it's deepest cruelty in
this way, and it's most terrible power. One was forced to consider, if only
briefly, that T'nal's power rivaled that of the gods. Thankfully, such thoughts
of despair were fleeting. People were dying, friends were being left empty, and
the madness of one dark being loomed ever further into the land. But, in this
time, an elf priestess came to a realization. She knew the keeper of the final
shard, a poor lost soul, a being of undeath created through dark alchemy, instead
of dark magic. Once a drow of no small power, this being was named Vaelmar.
Cursed long ago by his wretched goddess, he was stripped of his beauty, his
standing, and his sanity. He thought he would be found by death, senseless and
brutal, in those cold tunnels. Instead, he was found by T'nal, madly clear and
far more brutal than the worst of deaths. Restrained by shackles of strongest
steel, his blood was drained away, and was replaced with the blood of a vampire,
gaining it's power, it's thrist, and a second madness placed upon him. He was
the Dead Twice Cursed, and he had come to hold the key to his former master's
destruction. However, he would not part with the shard lightly, for a third curse
had been visited upon him. Hope. Risking her body, her mind, and her very soul,
the preistess Vestele performed a ritual gleaned from the works of a dark scholar
and the power of a god of goodness. Channeling the power of the divine and the
power of her very soul, she did battle with T'nal's alchemy and Lolth's curse.
The curse of undeath was cruel but unchanging, but the curse of a goddess is
crueler indeed. During the ritual, painfully constructed, and lovingly performed,
the Flesh Carver took notice, and refused to release her hold upon this soul.
She fought, and let it seem as though she lost. Vaelmar's drow form was restored,
for a time. But this was not last. Vaelmar began to transform into a drider once
again, and because he allowed himself to hope, this was made far crueler.
He decided that, if he was to be so damned by fate, he would let this world
become a pit of death. This was not to be, however. The stone was wrested from
him by two adventurers. To some, that was the end. Vaelmar's final fate was not
decided that night, but it is not for me to tell. What matters is that the shard
was recoverd, and once more, the heros held two shards.
Part V: Twice-Cursed
[Verse #1]
Ebony skin and snow white hair
Eight claw tipped legs and
A paralyzing stare
Cursed by his kin for
Transgressions unknown
Cursed with a half-life
In a kingdom of stone
[Chorus #1]
Once bitten, twice-cursed
For both blood and revenge
His fangs athirst
Once fallen, twice immersed
In a struggle for his sanity
Woe the accursed
[Verse #2]
A tangled web spun to ensnare
This unfathomable monster is
Of a sort most rare
A kind heart once reversed
His unfortunate guise
But not his bloodthirst
[Chorus #2]
Twice reviled, once forgiven
From the sun and her skin
Were his fangs forbidden
Twice condemned, once immersed
In a world of darkness and
Eternal thirst
[Verse #3]
Dark complexion, purest mane
In his mishappen form
A noble creature is chained
Cursed by the queen of
The spiders to roam
By one unforseen kindness
He did not die alone
[Narrative #7]
The four shards had been found at last. Two were held by the people of this world,
two in the hands of the world traveling Githyanki. The time for battle between the
two drew near. Yethrik of the Githyanki was the keeper of the stolen shards. A foe
of no small power, he required the greatest party of combtants in this struggle yet
to subdue him. For this could not be resolved with words. The Gith can deal with no
humanoid race in peace, and it was unthinkable to surrender the shards to these
pirates. And so the last great battle for the Annulus was waged between two forces
with the same goal, between the forces of this world, and the forces of another.
Part VI: The Astral Arrow
[Verse #1]
The planewalker
The astral stalker
He who has walked from the
Stone of immortal remains
To hunt on our world for
Treasures long gone
[Verse #2]
His bowstring like thunder
His arrows the jagged
Lightning strikes
That tear our mortal
Souls asunder
[Chorus #1]
Will he be the one to make it whole?
If he does will it mean his soul?
A dangerous task for a Lich Queen's son
Who's soul may be consumed by she
Whom he serves so faithfully
[Verse #3]
The swift deathblow
The astral arrow
He came from the city on
The One in the Void
To scour our plane
For the shattered remains
[Verse #4]
He glides like a serpent
Between our worlds and
Around our blades and spells
To vanish into the air and escape
On the Astral Current
[Chorus #2]
Will he be the one to make it whole?
Not in time to save our souls!
A fitting fate for a Lich Queen's son
To die in vain and alone
In a place so far from home
[Narrative #8]
At last, that which was so long ago shattered was brought together to perform it's
task. While waiting for the magic to draw them back, however, one more battle was
to be fought. Two agents of the Silent Dominion came to do battle with the party.
After one last mighty battle however, we were victorious, and returned to the tower
of the War Wizards. There the Sage of Shadowdale reforged the Annulus. After a...
dispute... it was decided that the paladin Sharita would be tasked with traveling
to the lair of T'nal, to bring an end to the one who would bring an end to all.
Part VII: The Ender
[Chorus #1]
T'nal, T'nal
The end of all
This silent creeping doom
This lord among Alhoon
His withered hands clutching
For the scepter of nothing
His will is to destroy
To send us to the void
To the end
To descend
[Verse #1]
Into a world of paradox
A world of broken, lifeless rocks
A sprawling realm of bones
Beneath his lonesome throne
The end of all
T'nal, T'nal
[Chorus #2]
T'nal, T'nal
The end of all
This everpresent abscense
This evil everlasting
On his withered brow looming
The dull crown of un-doing
His will is to erase
The living and replace
Our lives threads
With the undead
[Verse #2]
To make all colors gray
A world of dark dismay
A sprawling dead dimension
Beneath a night unending
The end of all
T'nal, T'nal
[Narrative #9]
At last, T'nal was no more. The power of the Annulus blasted the one who used it, even
as it shattered itself. For many days, her fate unknown, the noble paladin at last returned
to her home. Those who were left without their past recalled themselves, and many of the
armies of the dead fell to dust. The war is not yet won, but it's greatest battle at least,
has been won. For now, that is the end.
Narratives by: Ailren Selinfer, The Sage of Alizarin
Songs by: The Bard, Darkharp
Performed by: Ailren Selinfer (Narrator)
Mynian Copperhand (Vocals, Yarting)
The Bard, Darkharp (Vocals, Piano)