Headed over to check out the old Gatekeeper ruins in Pinnacle. They are peculiar and very old, and beautiful. I think some of the symbols I see on them are similar to ones I saw in the Cave Heart of Ghaash Dar when I was in the Demon Wastes. More peculiar is that as soon as the symbols catch my eye, they’re gone again. They make my Mark from the testing ritattotual tingle, once, the first time I touch one of them. After that, I can’t make it tingle again by touching any other ruin, nor the same one again.…
Off to Stormhome
- Published
- Make a comment on Off to Stormhome
Nymm, 1001 YK The airship was great. Once again, the Captain, Captain Ter’ral d’Lyrandar, had met my sister. Apparently, she was on Khorvaire briefly (that reminds me, I really need to write to her). Her great work, and hopefully my semi-sparkling personality, had me eating at the captain’s table for the trip’s duration. A Lyrandar airship over Khorvaire airspace is pretty safe and this trip goes without issue. Well, there was another passenger that I found annoying, but a grumpy Kundarak who thinks everyone on the ship should be there to serve his every whim would likely get on anyone’s…
Time for a Vacation
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.…
A Brief History of Goblinoid Culture on Ancient Khorvaire
The Dhakaani Empire was a massive goblinoid nation that dominated most of Khorvaire over a period extending from about 15,000 years ago to about 5000 years ago. They fought a war against invaders from Xoriat, the plane of madness, called the Daelkyr. They joined forces with a group of Orc druids that would become called the Gatekeepers. This war raged on for millennia and the Daelkyr were eventually defeated by the combined forces of the Dhakaani Empire and the Gatekeepers. However, the war exhausted the resources of goblins. The Daelkyr were thousands of years into their fight with the incredible…