That’s right! As fun as the trip back with Jhazaali was, there was still some overthinking about the nightmare that is the Wastes going on in my head. MU definitely wanted me to take a position as an Assistant Professor now, but I decided it was time to take some time away from academics and just go experience the real world. Yes, Umbragen, Dhakaani, and Ghaash’kala are very real, but they are not day-to-day Khorvairen or Xen’drikan real. I did take an adjunct professor position and taught one short-session class before I left. Since I’d also made a decent amount…
Back to Sharn, Again & a New Book, Again.
Barrakas, 1000 – Dravago, 1001 YK We made it back to Bloodcliff Bay and got a ride back to Zarash’ak. Our orc escorts had given us a fair amount of gold that they said should help us get back to Sharn. It was plenty, so I was surprised when the tickets Jhazaali got us were for an extended trip on a non-elemental ship. She made some comment about even Dhakaani needing the occasional break and so we had a very pleasant, if I do say so myself, journey back to Sharn. I did spend more than a year with Jhazaali…
Should I Stay or Should I Go
The next day was a full explanation of the trial. It wasn’t really going to take as long as I thought it would since it was a simple set of ritualistic spells of divination and divine fire magic. These would mark us as clean, and we were free to leave, or they would burn our heart out of our chest. Wait! What?!? By the Gods it would be nice to get info like that before you head off on an adventure. I guess that’s what adventuring is about though. Unexpected highs, unexpected lows, and unexpected, tortuously painful death. I guess…
Ghaash Dar: Stronghold of the Clans
The four Ghaash’kala clans normally don’t interact much but Ghaash Daar is an exception. The guardians and priests of the various clans make frequent pilgrimages here as part of their worship of Kalok Shash, the Binding Flame. Due to its importance, Ghaash Dar is also the most populous and best defended of the Ghaash’kala’s enclaves. It is a veritable city unto itself, connected to the Labyrinth by an astonishing number of smaller tunnels. Gort is a member of the Vaanka clan. Vaanka cover their Clan Hold in carvings which tell the story of the Ghaash’kala and extoll the virtues of…
The Creepiest Port on Khorvaire
Bloodcliff Bay. From here the Labyrinth of the Demon Wastes opens up. This is likely the closest thing to a “safe” harbor. The water, however, is tainted with a reddish substance the Ghaash’kala call taarik’urrva, which means “rosy molasses” in their tongue. Fitting because the stuff is viscous and sticky, like syrup, but deceptively dangerous, like a rose. Any creature falling into these waters is certain to exhaust itself and drown. Ships become mired here as if they ran aground, depending on the consistency of the “blood.” Some shipwrecks, decades-old, have not completely sunk, despite their crews being long dead.…
Another Boat Ride – Elemental but Not Lyrandar
Eyre – Barrakas, 1000 YK It’s late by the time the discussion is finished so we spend the night in Wroat and hop the first train back to Sharn in the morning. Gort and Jhazaali make plans for us to get on a ship headed to the Shadow Marches for a supply drop and pickup of dragonshards. I’m am blessed to be traveling with people with the resources for this sort of travel because I know I could never afford it on my own. It turns out to be an elemental galleon but not one owned or operated by House…
Off to Wroat
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Gort wants to head out ASAP but I need to get my stuff and tell people I’m going to be gone. I ask him for two days. He’s not thrilled with the timeline but accepts it. Two days later we’re on the lightningrail to Wroat. It’s about a seven-hour trip but Gort had us on the 5 AM, so we get into the capitol early in the afternoon. During the trip, I convinced Gort to teach me a few conversational basics in Orc and I taught him a proper greeting for him to use when meeting this “great smith of…
Orcs? Yeah, I’m Interested
Therendor – Eyre, 1000 YK Gortigoth the Hand is one of the Ghaash’kala, “Ghost Guardians,” of the Demon Wastes. An Orc kala’sha (paladin) of Kalok Shash, the Binding Flame. To the rest of Khorvaire, it is more widely known as the Silver Flame. Gortigoth, or Gort, was looking for a Dhakaani smith who had been shown to him in a vision. He’d been to Darguun but had no luck there as the true Dhakaani were not very open about who and where they were and Lhesh Haruuc’s new nation wasn’t too keen on outsiders poking around to find groups that…
Huh. Guess I Should Find Something to Do
Vult, 999 – Therendor, 1000 YK So, I’ve got a fancy degree and I’m in Sharn. I’m offered a lecturing position at MU but I’d like to do fieldwork. I also want to keep learning new things but am not sure what to do next. After concentrating so long on my thesis and then the lecture tour about the Volaar I’d kinda’ forgotten to plan much further into the future. Luckily, someone showed up to give me a new project.
A New Book and Another Degree
Nymm – Aryth, 999 YK My return to Sharn was nice. Kat had graduated and was gone but she had left a letter and a couple more had piled up since her leaving two months prior. It was unlikely she’d be returning to Khorvaire for a few decades (elves) and we had both discussed the fact that we would likely move on without one another for a long while. No surprise there but we are still friends and write when we can. Gwen was still at Shava House but was setting to leave for Valenar within the week. Sid and…
Some Brief Thoughts on the Volaar
I spent a little over a year with the Volaar and can attest to their incredible skill with stone, steel, and any number of rarer substances. The Volaar have been away from “our” world for many years but they have sages as intelligent as any I have found within Morgrave. They are fully devoted to their Empire and this goes beyond their families, their friends, and themselves as individuals. Within Kech Volaar, and the little bit I’d seen of Kech Shaarat (Bladebearers) this is unwavering and is true for each and every member. This differs from the general goblinoids of…
Volaar Draal, the Wordbearers, and the Sword
Olarune, 998 – Dravago, 999 YK Volaar Draal is a small city of under 10,000 inhabitants. It is carved into the Seawall Mountains and has been here for thousands of years. It is here that I finally meet Jhazaali’s clan, Kech Volaar, or the “Wordbearers.” Kech Volaar are the keepers of the lore of the ancient Dhakaani Empire, and though one of the smallest Kechs, its armorers and stonemasons are unmatched in all of Darguun, and possibly all of Khorvaire. This great skill has allowed their fortifications to hold against more aggressive clans. Again, the Dhakaani clans have isolated themselves…