Player Submission: Common Man’s Guide to the Evernight

At the end of the Age of Arrival, the town of Elmerton was ripped from Magesta and brought to Mongrella to defeat the Sleeping Lord Villarious. When the Elmerton was ripped from Magesta, what was left behind is known as the Evernight Forest. The Evernight is a lightless, soundless forest. Many who enter are lost, never to be seen again, but many other have appeared in Elmerton since it’s reappearance in 118 Age of Fortune.

According to what Elmertonians were told at the time, there were two timestreams of the History of Magesta and at the end of the age of Arrival, these somehow merged into one. Only those who were not present on Magesta at the end of the Age of Arrival have intact memories from before the merging. In most cases, the two different versions of a person merge, but sometimes two different versions of a person arrive out of the Evernight as separate people.

Two old men named Evernight Morris and Pep reside in the Evernight.  They have helped the town at Evernight Morrisvarious times. Together they have been able to bind bits of the Evernight to Elmertonians to allow them to be Everguides. Everguides are able to see and hear in the Evernight and are able to navigate it to a limited degree. Current Everguides is town currently or recently are Solun, Dante, Scindo, Galynn, Alianora, and Felix.

Pep is a Mavin – a former Steward of Magic – and as such has access to the memories of every Steward of Magic that ever lived, including Sadius, the creator of Magesta. Morris, however, is a relative unknown. According to Everguide Scindo, Morris has no memories during the time period between the departure of Elmerton to its return 117 years later. When Scindo asked Pep flatly “what is Morris” Pep’s reply was “what do you want him to be?” Scindo said he “is not convinced that [Pep’s reply] was not an answer.” Scindo and Galynn suspect the possibility that Morris and Pep respectively are future versions of themselves, there is reason to believe that Morris is a manifestation of the Evernight itself.

Through the Evernight it is possible to travel to other places and times although usually not far from Elmerton, Only Everguides have been able to navigate the paths with any control or purpose.  Recently the Everguides were asked by Morris to blaze a path to the Bloodwaters so other people in Elmerton can get to them. Felix has succeeded in doing so, it is now possible  with Everguide assistance to walk the path to the time at Shrieber’s Farm when the clear Bloodwaters were manifest and for people find the bloodwater color to which they are attuned.

The Dawnbreakers were an organization created by House Windlock to protect and police the Evernight Forest. Over the course of more than a century, oversight became lax and the job became an easy one causing  numbers swell and the Dawnbreakers to became careless. When the town of Elmerton returned and displaced the Evernight, most of the Dawnbeakers inside the Evernight died.

With most Dawnbreakers dead, and Elmerton where the Evernight once stood, Countess Teadei Windlock disbanded the organization on the 1st of Newgreen, 118 AoF.  The Dawnbreakers came to capture Morris at some point, but were defeated by the town of Elmerton. My knowledge of the incident remains limited to Scindo saying that Morris claimed he “didn’t want to go back.”

The destruction of the Dawnbreakers caused the creation of a new entity, Byron. Byron is a Dusk Night currently residing in a house in the Evernight. Dusk Nights are created when a large number of people die simultaneously (often in battle, hence “knight”) at the Shadowstream (i.e “dusk”) When the town was seeking Byron’s aid, he was asked what he wanted. He expressed a desire for the Darkwalker , described in detail below. The incarnation of Pestilence, Morkanthos, was recently trapped in Byron’s basement, but has since been released.

The Darkwalker is a “golem-like” being built by the Shadow Smith Sardkern Scurath. He did so while Dark Walkerunder the mental and physical control of a cult of madmen known as the Ashynnied. The Ashynnied worship and are controlled by a what they call “The Darkness” but is in actuality 3 distinct beings, temporal doppelgangers assuming the form of “Dark Stars”. The Darkwalker is a conduit from the Evernight to the Shadow Realm that currently is a one-way trip that can only be used by “marked members” of the Ashynnied. That could change to be a two way conduit, but the Shadow Smith created a “failsafe” such that a single person or group could not entirely control the Darkwalker.

Several parties are interested in controlling the Darkwalker. As mentioned above, Byron is one such party. Rebekah Sky – matriarch of the cannibalistic Blackgates below elmerton and one of the main contenders to the be the next Shadow Queen – is another. Anyone else who would seek to be Shadow Queen of Shadow Consort would also be interested in the Darkwalker. Of course, anyone else interested in quick passage between the Evernight and the Shadow Realm would find controlling the Darkwalker advantageous. A shadowmancer from the Dimension of Daent his tried to take control of the Darkwalker to return home.

FilcherThe only other known residents of the Evernight are creatures with “skull-like visages” and protruding horns and teeth known to the town as Filchers. Filchers with different color faces have different abilities  Blue ones seem to have psychic powers, with a noted focus on delusions. Brown ones appear as patches of darkness moving low to the ground, with the Filcher itself popping out only briefly to to take a look around or steal small objects. This may be the reason for the name “Filcher.” While cloaked in darkness, brown Filchers are not affected by attacks or spells, save for the spell Dismissal, which forces the darkness back, exposing the Filcher for a brief time.

Filchers with red markings are competent fighters, but are seemingly displaced in time, reacting to attacks and spells before or after the attacks take place (from an observer’s perspective) According to Galynn’s diagnosis spell, they suffer from a “temporal abnormality.” Red Filchers may react to some stimuli immediately, some stimuli after a delay and some stimuli before the cause occurred.

For more information, consult an Everguide (Solun, Dante, Scindo, Galynn, Alianora, or Felix.)

RybinvanHoltseal

 

Yours in Knowledge,

Rybin vanHolt

Historian and Scholar

Player Submission: Common Man’s Guide to Dream Creatures

Dream creatures of all sorts are becoming more and more common these days, and thus the common man needs to know how to interact with them and how to defend oneself if necessary.

smigget

An artist’s rendition of a Smigget serving his favorite beverage: Tea.

As you may know, Magesta has it’s own dream realm, conveniently called “the Dream Realm”. When someone from Magestra dreams, the Dream Realm is where they go. Brimm is a different dream realm, a shared realm where people from a number of dimensions that don’t have their own dream realms go to dream. Brimm is home to a number of creatures that you may have heard of, such as Smiggets, Dozers, Jabberwockeys, and Jub-Jub birds. Many of these creatures are Tane.

Tane are dream creatures from Brimm that are shapechangers: they can change their form and mimic others. However, if a normally flighty and changeable Tane gets it in its head to be a specific thing, it is possible for it to — with dedication and effort — actually fundamentally change to become that other thing.

In part because of the influence of the Gatekeeper and his Dreamweaver, Hearkin, many of the dream creatures one encounters these days on Magesta are actually from Brimm.

You see, in order to usurp the natural order of things on Magesta and become the Incarnation of Death, the Gatekeeper must also usurp the mantle of the Incarnation of Dream, since Death and Dream together are what is known as a liminal (one being with two forms). The Gatekeeper is using the changeable nature of Tane to convince a pair of Tane to become the Incarnations of Death and Dream. If successful, he plans to take the Incarnationhood from the Death Tane. Thus, the Gatekeeper and his allies are shaping Tane and other inhabitants of Brimm to suit their own goals.

Tane are not inherently hostile, and most are intensely curious about whatever it is that they are choosing to be. Once they have chosen to become something else, they are not easily discouraged, but can sometimes be sidetracked by convincing them that a certain course of action is necessary in order to reach their desired goal.

Unlike other shapechangers, or undercover agents of the Portal Authority for that matter, a Tane has to identify itself as a Tane if asked directly. “Are you a Tane?” works wonders. How is this useful you might ask? Being dream creatures, Tane have some inherent weaknesses.

The most common and easily exploitable is that Tane are vulnerable to an Awaken spell, as such a spell causes a pain reaction in them. Remember that an Awaken spell can be cast at range with a thrown spell component, but psionicists should also keep in mind that within close range, Awaken can be cast with sufficient power to overcome spell resistance. It is possible to even dismiss Tane back to Brimm in some cases with repeated castings, although this does not always work.

I also have secondhand reports that dream creatures in general are vulnerable if you “bring their own tricks to bear upon them.” This requires more evidence to determine the exact effects, but psionicists are encouraged to use sleep, delusions, and other psychic spells when defending themselves against hostile dream creatures.

Which brings us to the tricks that Tane and other dream creatures have. Be alert and on your guard. Watch for your companions to suddenly fall asleep or act strangely from delusions. If you have ways to grant yourself or others psychic resistances, use them. Also, calling out to friends to let them know what is going on is extremely helpful.

For further information on dream creatures and Brimm, the best contact would be Minister Tellah Forgedheart in Hatchport. Unfortunately, there are no current Dreamweavers in town, but Tellah has been in Elmerton on a semi-regular basis lately.

 

Yours in Knowledge,

 

Rybin vanHoltRybinvanHoltseal

Historian and Scholar

Player Submission: Common Man’s Guide to Minions of Tshurkurka

The subject of this moon’s installment of my series is the minions of Tshurkurka. While this guide will not tell you everything you need to know about Tshurkurka, it will prepare you with a basic understanding and equip you with the Knowledge necessary to combat his servitors.

Tshurkurka was a Tzigane of the Remeika family who found an ancient tome from which he learned much of blood magic and necromancy. He plundered the graves of his family ancestors for power, and eventually sought out the grave of the Tzigane necromancer Gallus.

Gallus had been exiled by the Tzigane is his time and been banished from the from the physical realm. In his attempt to absorb Gallus’ power, Tshurkurka somehow absorbed Gallus’ banishment.

Noshi faceMost of Tshurkurka’s servants are outcast Tzigane. When a Tzigane is cast out, he or she is cursed with a teardrop tattoo under the eye as an outward symbol and a reminder to everyone that that person has betrayed their family. Those who serve Tshurkurka each bear a red teardrop and additionally have a silver crescent moon around each eye. These servitors are called Noshi.

There are three types of Noshi. The weakest are still living but have the ability to reflect and turns spells back upon the caster, suggesting a lunar connection. The second type of Noshi are undead Noshi. These creatures have typical undead traits: immunity to most spirit and psychic effects, vulnerability to cure spells, etc.

The most dangerous type of Noshi are undead that have been made into constructs. In addition to the immunities common to undead, they are capable of absorbing an opponent’s entire life force, sometimes even in response to being struck with a weapon! Be prepared to dodge or deflect such attacks, and keep in mind that it is often difficult to distinguish these foes from other less powerful Noshi.

Currently Tshurkurka is using these Noshi to gather spiritual energy, and has an arrangement worked out with the Gatekeeper whereby the Gatekeeper gains the best “bits” and Tshurkura keeps the rest. It is unclear what the Tshurkurka gains in exchange.

Another threat created by Tshurkurka are the so-called “Grave Elementals” — essentially an animated grave site, earth and all. They are highly destructive and difficult to take down but are not invulnerable. As creatures of elemental earth they are vulnerable to lightning, and and they are also vulnerable to spirit energy.

Grave Elementals are capable of causing minor earthquakes, knocking over people in a large area, and pummeling single foes. Keep in mind that while Grave Elementals hit like a ton of rocks, they are also dumb as rocks and slow as molasses. They will tend to pursue one foe until another strikes it harder. Even if you cannot deal damage of a type to which it is vulnerable, in many cases you can simply strike from behind once or twice and walk away (running is rarely necessary). This is especially effective as a way to gain a Grave Elemental’s attention and keep it from striking a foe that has been knocked off of it’s feet.

In fact, standing behind a Grave Elemental is often an effective way to stay out of the shockwave and avoid being knocked down. You can then attack it from behind, causing it to turn and focus on you and allowing your allies to regain their footing.

For further information on Tshurkurka, contact Majento or myself.

Yours in Knowledge,RybinvanHoltseal

Rybin vanHolt

Historian and Scholar

Player Submission: Common Man’s Guide to the Incarnations and the Allegiant

This Guide will be a departure from the previous entries. In the spirit of the month of Enlightening (Editor’s Note: this article was received in Enlightening, but is only being published now), I will be enlightening you with Knowledge regarding the Incarnations and the Allegiant. This essay will also touch upon the Bloodwaters.

Incarnations

The Incarnations are embodiments of the most important concepts in Magesta. There are many minor Incarnations, but the Great Incarnations technically number 17. The chart below contains 19, though it should be noted that the Creator is technically not an Incarnation (currently) and Death and Dream are technically the same liminal Incarnation. Usually, the Incarnations are counted as 18, counting Death and Dream separately and excluding the Creator.

It is from the Incarnations that we derive the days of the week and the months of the year. Since many members of town often struggle remembering the names of months, this chart includes the previous Age’s month names as well.

Age                                 Years                                      Incarnation                                         Day

Creation                              117?*                                        The Creator                                         Shapingday

Dream / Repose               3613                                            Dream                                               Dreamingday

War                                     1005                                             War                                                  Battleday

Tears                                   5375                                             Fear                                                 Weepingday

Gathering                           2877                                        Community                                       Gatheringday

Arrival / Waking              2007                                           Faith                                                   Wakingday

Fortune                               125+                                           Fortune                                              Fortuneday

 

Incarnation                                            Month                                               Old Month(Age of Arrival)

Nature                                                          Newgreen                                                              Impril

Music                                                            Petalsong                                                            Maygrelian

Knowledge                                                  Enlightening                                                          Ogrune

Magic                                                             Suncast                                                                   Gobly

Peace                                                             Stillbreeze                                                           Gnomegust

Labor                                                            Harvestwane                                                          Elftember

Death                                                            Reapingdusk                                                          Orctober

Evil                                                                Boneharvest                                                        Dwarvember

Law                                                                  Greysky                                                                Drakember

Chaos                                                             Ravingfrost                                                          Humanuary

Memory                                                      Reminiscence                                                           Faebruary

Life                                                                  Bloodthaw                                                              Marchestry

*Some scholars argue that since Death did not exist until the Age of Repose, measuring time for the Age of Creation is meaningless.

Allegiant Symbol AloneThe Allegiant

The Allegiant is an organization dedicated to worshiping, serving, and giving Agreement to the Incarnations. The Allegiant categorizes the Incarnations into three groups: the Head, the Heart, and the Hand.

Each of these three groups is tied to a different color of the Bloodwaters. While the Incarnations are manifestations of phenomena important to Magesta, the Bloodwaters are a sentient manifestation of the entire universe. There are five colors of the Bloodwaters, but only three are accessible from Magesta.

The Blue Bloodwaters are Spirit. Blue is the color of the Heart. The Heart is living. The Heart is emotion. The Heart is passion. The Heart sways rationality and gives drive to action. The Heart is Chaos, Death, Faith, Fear, Life, and Music.

The Red Bloodwaters are Magic and Energy. Red is the color of the Head. The Head is consciousness. The Head is reason. The Head is methodical. The Head is drive. The Head gives order to action and tempers emotion. The Incarnations of the Head are Dream, Memory, Knowledge, Magic, Evil, and Law.

The Yellow Bloodwaters are Time. Yellow is the color of the Hand. The Hand is action. The Hand is work, though not necessarily manual labor. The Hand is follow-through. The Hand is consequence. The Hand gives a means to both passion and ambition. The Hand is Community, Fortune, Labor, Peace, Nature, and War.

There are those in the Allegiant who serve all the Incarnations, but most Allegiant members are drawn to either the Head, the Heart, the Hand, or to one Incarnation in particular.

If you are interesting in learning more about the Incarnations and the Allegiant, please seek out one of the following people:

Oliver Finnestera, Minister of the Elmerton Allegiant

Rybin vanHolt, Cordent of the Head

Sebastian Dark, Yeoman of the Hand

Asmondaious, Confessor of the Heart

 

RybinvanHoltseal

Yours in Knowledge,

Rybin vanHolt

Historian and Scholar

Player Submission: A Common Man’s Guide to Marionettes and Werewolves

Granted, the two entities discussed in this issue do not have much in common, but as Elmerton is currently dealing with fear of these (and other) threats I will be covering both this moon in an effort to help those afflicted face their own fears. Let us begin with marionettes.

Emily's MarionetteMarionettes or “puppets” as they are sometimes called, are constructs that can be easily and quickly identified by their pale faces, rosy cheeks, and hinged jaws. Or at least, identification would be easy were it not for the fact that they tend to appear under cover of darkness.

Another signature of these constructs is their vocal tics. Each marionette appears to be capable of uttering only a few short phrases or sounds, often in childlike voices. Fear of these creatures is understandable, especially when such sounds include eerie laughter, questions such as “Are you my mommy?” or “Promise you won’t tell?” or bizarre offputting statements including “I LIKE you” or “I’m going to rip off your wings!” As these constructs are mindless, the last statement isn’t even likely to be directed at a person with wings.

Adding to the air of fear and compounding the uncertainty that marionettes create is that, when struck by weapons or targeted by spells, they will appear to suffer no ill effect. This can be unnerving to opponents that feel they are powerless to stop them, but despair not – they can be dealt with much like other foes.

One thing to watch for is that, once defeated, they will sometimes collapse to the ground, or sometimes hang in midair as if dangling from invisible strings. In either case, whether or not they are dealt a final blow, they will sometimes rise again. After they rise they can be dealt with again, but be aware of this possibility. They will eventually fade away.
For more information on marionettes and constructs in general, consult Reinen.

Werewolves are another matter. Werewolves are fearsome beasts, and even experienced fighters may run in terror when facing a werewolf. Advice to the Common Man in dealing with werewolves: Don’t.

At least not alone. Their ability to terrorize their opponents can instantaneously turn a 2-on-1 fight against them into a 1-on-1 fight, which heavily favors the werewolf. For this reason 3-to-1 odds (or better) are recommended. When the odds are against you, attempt to retreat and seek reinforcements.

Werewolves are incredibly strong and thus they can hit incredibly hard. Among other things, the immense strength of these beasts allows them to quickly shrug off snares and bonds, so if you entangle one, don’t expect that to buy you much time.

Another reason the Common Man would be best to avoid werewolves is their signature ability to regenerate. The surest way to stop their regeneration is a silver weapon, but that is not easy to come by. Shadow damage is also an effective way to stop regeneration. Any psionicist who has mastered the 5th Circle of Psionics should be able to enchant a weapon with shadow damage at least a handful of times per day.

That covers basic werewolves, but as adaptable shapeshifters, there are of course variations. For advanced abilities and tactics, Silver is an excellent resource.

Yours in Knowledge,

Rybin vanHoltRybinvanHoltseal

Historian and Scholar

PC Submission: Common Man’s Guide to Wood Trolls

In this installment of the Common Man’s Guide, we will tackle wood trolls (Note: physically tackling wood trolls is not advised). Wood trolls are commonly encountered while traveling in Irvanshire and are even more common in the nation of Kire Dero to the north.

Wood trolls are of human height and appear made of wood with long brown noses, long brown ears and long brown claws. They rarely if ever travel more than half a dozen paces from woods or other natural settings; entering a town or even a large building is a good way to lose a pursuing wood troll.

Wood trolls are not always hostile, but often are. When fighting wood trolls, be wary of being entangled. Any strike from a wood troll’s claws or any weapon it wields could entangle you if you are not careful. Be prepared to dodge or parry such strikes if you can. When entangled you are easy prey, so it is best to use superior numbers: bring a companion to protect your back.

Wood trolls seem to be attracted to shiny valuable objects, and searching wood trolls for valuables can prove profitable. Be sure to look in the following places when searching for coins or other items: under it’s bark on the torso and other places, inside the nose, and inside the ears. You’d be surprised what you can find if you’re thorough.

At this point one might be thinking that wood trolls may not seem like much of a threat, but we have not yet discussed one of the wood troll’s most important attributes: regeneration.

Wood trolls regenerate – that is to say they heal quickly – in natural settings which explains why they are loath to leave such places. Within about a minute a wood troll can fully heal from nearly any injury, unless that injury is caused by fire. Traveling with a nature caster is thus strongly advised when dealing with wood trolls. Any wounds cause to a wood troll by fire will not heal, though other wounds will. Dealing a final blow with fire is one sure way to finish off a wood troll. Keep in mind that any Magestry caster can use the cantrip Fire Strike as a way to eliminate an unconscious wood troll. If not dealt with quickly after being rendered unconscious, a wood troll can begin healing and awaken again, so exercise caution when looting.

Remember this motto: “Fight smarter not harder,” and you will not have trouble with the same troll twice.

For further expertise on fighting wood trolls, seek out Sandow in Elmerton.

 

Rybin vanHoltRybinvanHoltseal

Historian and Scholar