Khalazdad

At the gates today a strange sound was heard. Two or three organ notes played in ascension, echoing down as though in a vast hall or catherdral. There were no other witnesses. I went to the Road of Battles to see if any others heard the sound. They denied it. The meaning is unknown. K - update: now I know the meaning. It was notice that the Shades have offered me an alliance. They want me to "build an army worthy of Necrovion." I don't think they know me very well. I am not tempted to serve them and betray my homelands in this manner. K

This is the head of the Shade Sentinel. I don't recall it having a body - perhaps its dead eyes were so hypnotic I merely did not notice. Nonetheless, this is what I recall. Feel free to add, subtract or change if you remember it differently. K

Never tried to put a pic in a forum before... Here goes nothing... Holy junk drawer, that worked! This is a picture of Renavoid drawing a picture of Khalazdad dissolving into bright colors one fateful day... K

Thankyou for the artist's Rendition. You are awesome. This is what Khalazdad wishes he looked like... K

You will see a similar event in the Legend Teller's stories. The connection is currently not known. K

Your argument is vulgar and convincing. Mental note made. What else do people think we need to know from Shades? K

The Path of Yog Sohoth The gates to Necrovion are sealed with an eloborate five-pointed star and the notice "only gods may enter". This star symbol appears on the front of the Necronomicon; in the Lovecraftian mythos this is a book of magic and lore written by Abdul Al Hazred, the Mad Arab. There are versions of it written by various IRL characters based on the mythos of Lovecraft. The significance of Yog Sohoth is not known; Yog Soggoth is the trickster god of Lovecraftian lore. Corpulent, headless and nude, his tricks are often fatal and gory. As with most of Lovecraft's gods, to be in his presence is to become mad. He seeks to enter the mortal world and feast upon us. How this relates to the boundary between No Mans's Land and Necrovion is not currently known. Perhaps witnessing the Shades would be as maddening as witnessing an Elder Thing. It is said that none survive Deep Necrovion unchanged. You are invited to speculate. The seal on the path resemble the Elder Seal that holds extraplanar entities. It represents the power of the Elder or Outer gods. Many mischeivious and supernatural things are bound by it. Interestingly, we ourselves cannot pass it without special countenance. What does this say about us?

" Members of the group also started to change color...and shape. They distorted into strange, glowing masses of color, behaving in a way that is akin to Shades…eerie, glowing Shades… Some of their numbers never return to normal. In fact, they changed so much that they simply…vanished. " Something akin to this happened to the Necrovion party; waiting outide the gate for contact, we were suddenly transformed into multicolored lights. We reformed inside Necrovion, unaware of what had happened. One wonders if these two events are related; however, the Shades denied any involvement in the transport. Khalazdad Greymantle Speaker with Shades

The Ferryman met with the delegation of Shade seekers outside the gate. He confirmed having seen a pillar of darkness and described it as both beautiful and terrifying but, on the subject of evil, demurred. He could not tell us much about Shades except what they themselves had revealed. He said they are reflections of us and could be anywhere. Little else was gained but fellowship was enjoyed. They demurred when asked how to solve her murder and accused us thinking strangely. It is not my intent to defeat the Shades at this time but to determine if they need defeating. At this time the answer seems to be 'no.' Keep thinking - your mind is agile and I would see what else it comes up with. K

I attempted to confront Wodin with these findings. Wodin declined to debate his position and accused me of wanting him dead. To exacerbate the poblem, several others wanted to chime in, confusing the scene greatly. My position is only that the Shades are a reflection of us and want what we want; if we want war, then so do they. And if he wants war very badly, he makes them more strongly want war. But if he wants merely to guard the land, then they want to guard the land, also. As a bright light, he is creating stronger Shades but that seems of no consequence if he remains to balance them. Wodin's position - as much as could be heard between others shouting theirs - is that he comes from a place overrun by Shades. He hates them for destroying his world and he is here to see that it doesn't happen again. I do not oppose this position. Neither do I support a war with the Shades at this time. - Khalazdad Greymantle

A Truth about Necrovion There is no truth, only relative points of view. The following is what I have learned from my adventures in Necrovion. It may not be true to you. I have provided all the evidence on the Forum so you may decide for yourself. The Nature of Necrovion Necrovion is a mirror. It reflects Marind's Bell and the No Man's Lands - and possibly the Archive lands. It does not seem to reflect Golemus or Loreroot but this is undetermined at this time. Now 'mirror' does not mean in the usual sense that everything hree is reflected there in reverse. The outline, the geography, the architecture are individual. And yet things there do reflect things in the rest of the world. Ours is a world of sunshine, bright skies, endless day. Theirs is a world of oppressive darkness. And, in the middle, a small group of people willing to embrace ambiguity. The Nature of the Shades If Necrovion is a mirror, the Shades are the images that appear when we look into the glass. They are not a reflection of each of us but rather a reflection of our actions. They are created by our strivings for good or for ill, our obsessions, temptations yielded to and resisted. If we are hostile, they are hostile. If we are meek, they are meek (although uncomfortable in this state). If we seek dialogue, they seek dialogue. They see us a strange, small, isolated creatures, short on abilities. And yet they have curiosity about us - which probably reflected our curiosity about them. The Nature of Marind's Bell The Shades do NOT see outside lands as a reflection of their own. We are not what they see when they look into the mirror. My studies were not successful in answering any of the abiding metaphysical questions about the nature of us - how and why we come to be here, why we begin formless then accrue form, why we can attach these creatures and armors to ourselves, why we fight without dying. War If one would war with the shades, one might as well war with ones' self. Wodin and his army are reflected in Necrovion; the stronger he becomes, the more willing are the Shades to fight him. His bright light casts many Shades. Perhaps no harm would come of a war - the balance looks after itself. But what damage do we do ourselves making us capable of the atrocities of war? What paucity of spirit to we embrace when we fail to embrace the darkness? For to battle the darkness is to become lost in the light. The Next Mission I will seek in the future to have deeper contact with the shades, an expedition to answer the leftover fundamental questions of our existence. - These are the words of Khalazdad of the Desert, Eater of the Weak, Student of the Grey Path

The adventure is concluded for now. Here are the annals of our journey. After much community effort of offering sacrifices, exhortation, and expenditure of energy, we were transported within Necrovion. We took a moment to regroup as we had been scattered. Some powerful figures joined with us for their own purposes – Jonn, Simply Zero, SmartAlekRJ; we also discovered BigC trapped inside, weakened from his injuries. A bit of exploration led us to a boundary place, a cave linking inner and outer Necrovion. There were no shades, but this seemed a likely place to make contact. We camped and did inside what we had done outside: chanted, offered sacrifices, and were patient. One of us offered a few drops of blood and heat. Our patience was rewarded as a Shade Sentinel appeared from the cave. It initially sneered at us and the confusion was palpable. Some wanted to taunt the Shade, others to offer it battle, most just to ask it questions. The elected leader of the group asked for cooperation and settled the Shade with some dialogue and the offer of provender. The shade accepted. In the ensuing quite, each had a chance to speak. The Shade was uncomfortable with our presence. It said we upset the balance; the Shade would go on to discuss balance in detail. What follows is a rough transcription of the dialogue. Some assumed the Shade was lying, or holding something back – and this was wise; we take nothing at face value. However, this seems a good place to start. These people were present Shade Sentinel *BigC* *Glaistig* *Shoeps* Braiton EZEebs Elsdragon Khalazdad Lulu Mr Item OneRain Vilinec Yoric dst tampa db w0tp *phrog* .Muratus del Mu GlorDamar The description of the Shade is as follows: “Nightmares for some, fascination for others, Shades rule the obscure side of this world, balancing for all that is opposing them.” We asked what the nature of Shades was; how they came to be and how they filled space. It replied, “I am not interested in such complicated matters ... and we do not want to balance anything, but certain things that happen outside make us react in different ways , so probably its all about some sort of...balance… as you call it”. The Shade asked if we experienced individual memories, to which we confessed. This led us to ask about how Shades remembered – as the land itself? Forward and backward in time? The Shade replied that they could indeed remember into the future, and “that’s why I can also change it ....I heard that is something you cant do ...but then again, there are many things you cant do ...so ..” Confused by our linear way of thinking, it went on, “its strange ..how we fear you so much and how weak you are comparing to us ...but I wonder why that might be.” We asked after the Shades’ intentions towards our lands. The Shade replied, “is Marind that is causing all this. She kept her identity when she died ... and she is simply destroying our balance. and now Wodin ...its all summing up against us ...but you will never be able to defeat us...defeating the shades will only cause more unbalance and more shades ...and since we leave for that, the war is something we embrace.” The Shade was asked if they were spirits of the dead, if dying or violence made them. It answered, “oh, nono ...no way ...Marind is dead ... we still exist ...we are the effect to the cause ...and the cause its called by you balance.” We asked if the Shades were good or evil or even thought in those terms. It replied, “evil or good, that is so uncertain both in your world as well in mine I don’t think I can consider all of you evil, or all of us evil, that has no meaning in this situation.” The Shade again stated that our presence was causing the balance to go wild as we did not wish to redress it. We offered to leave and wondered if it could be contacted in the future. The Shade demurred as to how we had gotten there but said this would not be our last contact as it could remember a future in which we spoke again. Regarding the existence of right and wrong, the Shade said, yes ... but its also dependent on a third thing its like left and right ... but comparing to what road? Sometimes the goal is just a state ...a way to be ...not a precise purpose...then right and wrong are relative to that state you seek.” In response to the question of who built Necrovion and the observation that the buildings look as do ours, it said, “Necrovion is divided in two I am just a sentinel of the first circle ... deep inside Necrovion there are other things ...” In response to an unheard question regarding the House of Liquid Dust, the shade said, “there is no turning back to what happened there. Shades outside Necrovion, that is worse than you can think. some thing you should know about us is that the lack of memory makes us to be different based on the world we are in. We asked if it were possible to recruit a shade as a traveling companion; the Shade demurred, saying “I heard such things that Golemus managed to capture a shade and train it as a personal companion...such a danger to the balance is an atrocity, I can not allow that.” This being one of the few unequivocal statements the Shade made, we quickly moved on. When asked how it became a Shade, the Shade answered only, “I do not recall a beginning to this.” We asked if, since it could remember the future, its efforts would turn out to be successful. It said their efforts were always successful but that success was a mutable term. In response to I know not what question, it said, “let’s put it this way, if you seek strength then the shades will be stronger , if you seek peace then the Necrovion gates will be open and your world will be gray ... shades want what you want , you want to defeat us , we want the same, you want to be at peace with us and assimilate us then we want the same, its more of your decision since from our point of view things are the same. The balance is kept” We asked how the Shades viewed Wodin. It said, “wodin is like a strong light that is causing a lot of shades[sic]. in our eyes, your Wodin is like a sum of many little lights together.” Perhaps on the same subject, it said, “I don’t see what you are trying to achieve with this fight of yours, for us is a natural thing for you it seems like an unfortunate event, but it will always happen, regardless of what you do .. although some tried to do certain things and it didn’t turn up well” When asked how Shades fight, it replied, “in fighting it all has to do with the immediate balance , not the global balance, so if you will fight a lot of us in a close space then all our strength is divided and it seems we are weak, but if you fight just a few and rarely then we are indeed a sum of all our strength. Remember we think of us as connected, not only in memory but also in strength.” When asked about the social structure of the Shades, it replied, “you heard of dark water? [the waters of the underworld? at the fountain of dark vibrations?] Our social ranks as you call them are given not for a individual shade, because our identity is shifting, but is more like this.. you have 1000 drops of dark water, 500 of them are the shade army that is used to balance the small things in the world outside, 300 are 100 demons used to rule those shades (3 drops for a demon), and 200 drops are a few powerful shades that rule.” When we began to part ways, it said, “after such a long time together, I don’t know who got more close ..I towards you or you towards the shades ... but for sure I don’t like this situation, this mixture makes me sick, I like nice fighting and refreshing wars ... It asked us some questions, also. What do we fear? If we had to choose black, white or grey, with the accompanying symbolism, what would we? To these questions each answered in their way. The meeting then dissolved. One of use followed the Shade when it left, tracking it to a sacrificial altar rather like Fenth’s Press, which we had used to try to attract their attention. The writer of these notes, who was also the inadequate leader of this party of worthies, fell prey to exhaustion then and remembers naught else. Most remiss: he does not recall if we removed Big C from his imprisonment in Necrovion. Despite his maniacal hatred, I rather hope we did. - Khalazdad of the Desert

This is well said. I would make one correction, however: this is no longer my mission alone. Here is a partial list of those who have committed to help that I remember (I know there are many more I was remiss in recording) - please add your name to the list if you also wish to help. *Glaistig* Holy Alucard Braiton GlorDamar Khalazdad Lulu Old One Rand alThor Sage Mc Quincy SaintDane dst emowarrior w0tp Evoker MorganJade reggaeman Sacred Fire eigger La Muerte BrainUpdate Gargant Ledah Khalazdad

The water may be a metaphor. It seems to represent the barrier between worlds or outer space (or the Aether, which marks the boundary between the material and astral planes). It also may represent the barrier between the inner and outer worlds - that is, the inside of Simply Zero's unconscious mind. In such a setting, one expects to encounter shadows of one's self. Shadows are aspects of the self that ordinarily don't have a voice. They make themselves felt through dreams, Freudian slips, inspirations and rash actions. When confronting such a shadow, know that the more one resists it, the stronger it gets. The best course of action is always to embrace and integrate the shadow. Acknowledge its qualities, for good and bad, and see how they fit into the totality of the person. My advice: agree with the being that it is Simply Zero but deny that you are not Simply Zero. Find out what it wants you to know. Then find out how it wants to behave, and see how its behavior might benefit you in the future. K

This is the location of the other support groups. Seemed logical. Perhaps my writing is too indirect and can be mistaken for an historical edification. K

Simply Zero dove from a high place into what he thought was empty space. He dissociated for a while, then came to consciousness surrounded by dark water. After floating there for a time, he realized he was on a raft with another person. The person claimed to be Simply Zero. The water may be a metaphor. It seems to represent the barrier between worlds or outer space (or the Aether, which marks the boundary between the material and astral planes). It also may represent the barrier between the inner and outer worlds - that is, the inside of Simply Zero's unconscious mind. In such a setting, one expects to encounter shadows of one's self. Shadows are aspects of the self that ordinarily don't have a voice. They make themselves felt through dreams, Freudian slips, inspirations and rash actions. When confronting such a shadow, know that the more one resists it, the stronger it gets. The best course of action is always to embrace and integrate the shadow. Acknowledge its qualities, for good and bad, and see how they fit into the totality of the person. My advice: agree with the being that it is Simply Zero but deny that you are not Simply Zero. Find out what it wants you to know. Then find out how it wants to behave, and see how its behavior might benefit you int the future. K

Please sign Khalazdad up for the 'evil' team - although 'evil' has such negative connotations. He prefers to be thought of as 'morally ambiguous.' K

If you write in lemon juice isn't it revealed by heat? Try holding the pages up to the flames without burning them and see if there is an invisible ink effect. K

If other games are on Wiki, see what they say about theirs. Also, is Magicduel at the top of any polls? The only free game? Can we think of anything else that would make the game notable to someone who doesn't play any games? K

A good start for learning to create and edit Wikipedia pages is the Wikipedia instructions available here: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents You might have to cut and paste the link as I don't know how to turn it on... K

Its a little time consuming. Also, you have to be perfect - use their format, reference, be objective (no schilling), no spelling or grammar errors. I've done it before but won't really have a lot of time owing to finals week. Any other volunteers? Anyone want to prep content and put it out there for edit? Otherwise I could commit to getting something up in the next 20 days, but everyone would have to live with what I wrote. See my other posts for writing style. K or JD, IRL

On the subject of advertising: Why is there no Wikipedia article concerning MagicDuel? Its free and like half the world uses Wiki. It just takes time to write the article. K

Under "interface" it would be nice to have a way to manage rituals other than attacking someone and way to set a defensive ritual without creating a new one. K.

The Shadow In the practice of certain types of psychotherapy we are very much concerned with the "shadow side". This is a way to conceptualize the aspects of our personality that we consciously think of as unacceptable, such as lust or aggression or other primal urges. When we repress the shadow side it becomes stronger; the more you try not to gamble the more intense becomes the urge; the more you wrestle with your hostility the bigger is the blow-up when it comes. In Jungian analysis, one might try to help the patient to integrate their shadow side. This work might entail talking to that part of one’s personality as though it were a separate entity, sitting in an empty chair in the room. We might ask it what it wants and why. We might try to reach an accommodation with it. We might try to see its good qualities – gambling is a kind of risk taking that requires bravery, for example, and a life in which one never gambled at all would be both dull and unsuccessful. The more we are conscious of and accepting of the shadow side the less it dominates our character. We seem to have a situation here in which the shadow side is no longer a metaphor but a pseudo-material manifestation of darker aspects of our characters. The Grasan is a hulking great behemoth; obese and moribund, it consumes to excess because it has nothing else to occupy it until you put it to work crushing your enemies. It takes on fights only with multiple adversaries, perhaps symbolizing a wish to challenge society itself or a negation of the individual. The Dark Archer is a being of pure hate that wishes only slaughter. As it grows it learns to slaughter without hating, to focus on the act of destruction as a boon, a way of leaving a mark on a meaningless world. Other such themes abound here. What of the Barren Soul that seeks to heal? At first it does not know whom to heal or when. It conducts its act of contrition entirely at random. As it grows it learns to apply itself in a meaningful manner, healing those most in need. As with the shadow side of the psyche, these beings grow stronger the more one tries to keep them down. One sends them to do battle, to be crushed and beaten. While they might be repressed for a while, they never go away and eventually come back stronger – just as do our neuroses and addictions. The act of repression becomes one of affirmation: I am this corpulent beast; I am this wounded healer; I am this discarded sniper. The ultimate expression of the parallel comes in the “sacrifice” of the beings. In this process, one finally embraces the being as an aspect of the self and takes on its strengths and essence. Tellingly, the characteristic most affected is value: we devalue these aspects of ourselves and are enriched when we learn to integrate them. This, of course, is just the way I see things. I hope it helps others think about both the game world and their real lives a little differently. And if you find it to be drivel, I understand. I value that part of myself that does go on so. K. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++