Khalazdad

This place is too quiet. Thus, I bring you this tale. Loreroot has long fascinated me. The beings that can be found there reflect the nature of Loreroot itself - they are lively and fecund, full of vitality, and yet they grow up in place full of food and water and comfort. I know a thing they do not know in Loreroot: I know the ways of the Desert. In the Sands, we do not have an excess of of water and food to make us strong; we do not have shelter to teach us to guard ourselves; we do not have safety at any moment to teach us to be good people. We have only danger and privation and one another. Thus we are deadly. What I wondered was whether I could apply the principles of desert training to the most underused of the Lorerootian assets, the Lorerootian Archer, and perhaps bring it up to the standards of strength and discipline needed to compete at high levels. Hardship breeds the strength to weather it. The King who will conquer first subjugates his people to breed in them the strength they will need to subjugate others. A soldier must come from a savage place where he fights for his life every moment. Thus, I gathered to me a troupe of these archers and raised them under my hand, raised them in the harsh sun and shifting sands of Necrovion, raised them in danger and peril with never a moment's surcease. Mostly they could nto survive the harshness of the conditions to which they were subjected. I took their water and put it in my own cistern. But a few survived. A few grew beyond the limits imposed on them by beneficient conditions. These ones, they learned to withstand the sun and the punishing wind. They learned to be AS the wind, shifting and formless. They learned desert power: mobility is the key to victory. Do not adopt a seige mentality. Have no home, no base, no fortress, no position to attack. Be as the sands, shifting and dangerous and corrosive. The three that were left I made to battle each other, until only the greatest of them had survived. He was not the strongest, by no means - but strength is not everything. He was the one who was as the wind. And he is the one I will replicate. Those others that did not survive... they too will have their uses. But that is a tale for another time. Here: look upon what your Lorerootian Archer has become in my service. Look upon the Grizzled Archer. [attachment=822:grizzled_archer.jpg] Lorerootian Archer Grizzled Archer Vital Energy 2300 Vital Energy 1800 Attack 160 Attack 200 Defence 15 Defense 10 Initiative 4 Initiative 20 Special: immune to lifesteal

Name: War Maker: .Khalazdad. Started: A long time ago Duration: until I am bored with it Objective: Answer 6 questions Reward: My Spell Document or one entry into Necrovion Additional notes: put some effort into it or I will snub you. Name: Letters Maker: .Khalazdad. Started: 12 feb 09 Duration: May 1 Objective: Its a secret - you have to solve a small quest to get the larger. Reward: Wish

Notably, I have little to add. This means a lot to me, and perhaps to you also - that you have no need of my wisdom or counsel in this matter. I would suggest only that the two rely on their instincts after taking counsel, because what happens inside the self is not amenable to logical process. K

I tried to purify the water in the well. Necrovion is tainted, so tainted; I can obtain something fresh water from there, but only with difficulty. I used a Grasan as a filter. Do you wish to see what he became, taking the taint from the water? He became animistic. K [attachment=669:grasan_giant.jpg]

The Darkness Wars drained the lands of the living and the resources of the Dead. There was much suffering, and much. Balance has been restored - but at what cost and for how long? The Necrovion Sentinels no longer train in the fighting arts. The warriors have gone, replaced by scholars. Sages, if you will, once again inhabit the Sagelands of old. We study all the arts of darkness. Deception and statecraft, murder and warfare, poison and vendetta... but also the nature of existence on both sides of the Sand, uses of imagination, philosophy and the application of power, biology and life and death. Nor do we hoard this knowledge. We are building lessons for the world, in the spirit of reconciliation. We hope there will never be another Darkness War. When people are well acquainted with their own darknesses, when people do not repress their sensual spirit, they have no need to hate us or to suppose that we hate them. Come to us to learn what you will of the Dark Arts. We will teach you freely, openly. You need not join our ranks to learn our secrets. Only come before us and ask. We ask no price - because it was already paid during the Darkness Wars. Rajj Khalazdad Greymantle Grand Master, Necrovion Sentinels

Necrovion Sentinels will support this endeavor. A Maritime guild has potential. To those who see. K

Thankyou for your good wishes. The man behind the keyboard completed his 35th trek around the sun. I've stopped counting age in years and have moved to centuries - I'm now .35. J for K

The response to this was great. Just great. My personal thanks to everyone who participated in this contest/experiment. Much very good work was added here, and there are several portraits I would have used. In the end, I had to decide based on how well each matched the existing data, and then choose arbtrarily. No slight on those not selected. So without further ado: Morquor is the winner of this challenge. The prize is that I will wear your portrait. But only part of the time. Morrel is also the winner. The prize is that I will wear YOUR portrait. But only part of the time. The reason for all this is a story not yet told.... J for K

Don't irritate me, Stormrunner. I'll... er... Actually, go ahead and irritate me. I was probably going to kill you anyway. So in the end you lose nothing. K

Classic, Penny. Classic. As to the uniform question: clothes are a toughy but go around and look at the pages of my Sentinels. You should notice one uniform element. K

Thankyou, Blckthorn. Those are indeed gnarly. We have ourselves a contest. Only ten days remain. Whatever else happens, I already have some great portraits. K

This is what I think of when Glaistig is talking. Well, as best as I can do, anyway. K

Actually Necro and Loreroot were open to contest last time - nonpublic meant places like Golemus or Sages Keep or the islands. Stuff like that. (There was some confusion, I did get it clarified at hig levels). So pardon some folks for doing what was always legal in the past. For the part of my flying minions, it was just inconvinient that I got the gate opening power just at the time when Heads contest started. God I hate heads. Also if you swear at Khalazdad in public, he will take you off the "kill quickly" list and add you to the "Barry Manilow Albums for Eternity" list, so settle down. Its just a game. K

In many ways we are defined by our enemies. I grieve the loss of Wodin, who by opposing me made me greater. hate is the other side of love. Your concept of your enemy also defines you. If only the weak come against you, perhaps it is because you cannot imagine holding off the strong. If only a loser would disagree with you, then perhaps only a loser would take the time, because you are projecting what you hate in yourself onto those with whom you argue. I do enjoy the light-hearted teasing from my friends, but there is a serious side here too. Take these points to heart as you sharpen your pencils. Love the dark or hate it, how you respond defines you as much as me. And in defense of Rex, who won't stoop to self-defense, its his IRL signature under the texted-in initials. J for K