No Goblins Allowed :: From the Vault: The Armory

Found on: The Amphiseum
They call the shield "Grim Vengeance" for a reason. It took a monumental effort to track down the story behind why this shield was ensconced like a sacred object in the abandoned arena I was led to. After digging into the matter far more than I care to admit, I did finally learn what I'd set out to, and now I'm not sure if I should keep the damned thing or not...

The Shield of Darius wrote:

In times long passed, there was a duelmaster of tremendous skill and renown, a warrior called as Darius. However, once he had conquered the arenas of his homeland, the challenges became scarce, few and far between, and he was driven to seek greater challenges. He was accustomed to the company of kings, and it was one such member of the royalty that told him of the ultimate trial, an otherwordly arena spoken of in legend. So Darius sought out an invitation to the mythical Amphiseum, and little time passed before he gained entry into that prestigious ring.

However, it was not what he had anticipated. The foes he faced gave him that excitement he craved, the fame that would take him to greater heights, but though his skill was great, his pride dwarfed even that, and seeing the prowess of those he might battle, his ego was shaken to the core. Upon the stage of the Amphiseum, he wished to prove himself, but doubt crept like a shadow behind him. Finally, he could take no more sought a way to ease his mind, to restore his confidence. He needed to make a deal.

He approached a demon well known throughout the arena, a being whose seat was crafted from the bones of gamblers, Baa'Yial. Darius told the demon of his concerns and the demon smiled and told him he could grant Darius's desires. He gifted him a shield, promising he would never fall in battle so long as he had the shield. the price would simply be to become his champion. If he could win 100 consecutive battles in Baa'Yial's name, the demon would free him from his service.

Darius knew there had to be more to it than that, but the shield was only a precaution after all, the price not that high... He took the shield.

True to his word, Baa'Yial's shield was everything Darius wished for. It allowed him to fight as never before, freeing him of the concerns that had shackled him before, and he grew in fame and confidence. Victories continued to collect around him, nearing half his appointed task, and it seemed he would quickly rise to stand among the highest ranks of the Amphiseum, even among the power of the planeswalkers who ruled the ring.

Until he found a sword pressed to the hilt through his chest.

Stunned, he looked upon the blood flowing out of his chest until it stopped... and then rage took him. Robbed of his weapons, robbed of his senses, he beat his opponent to death with the shield that was meant to protect him and only as he stood over the shattered body of his opponent did the cold truth sink in. Darius was dead.... but Baa'Yial's promise held true. He had not fallen and in that moment fury shook through his undead flesh as he understood the cursed existence he had brought on himself. Nevertheless, his only hope lay in completing the task given to him.

With every victory following that, he felt more of himself waste away, replaced by the darkness that dwelled within. His flesh withered, improbably strong despite it. His soul was trapped in that mummifying shell, and all the joys of his life wasted away. Without the need to eat or sleep, without the ability to satiate anything save the bloodlust of the arena, it became his only purpose. The only thing left to him the freedom he was promised.

At last, that fateful 100th duel came and though it was a fierce match, it seemed to pass in a haze for Darius. He would at last know rest, and he climbed the steps to the pavilion given over to the demonic spectators. He stood before Baa'Yial's throne and demanded he be freed, but all that caused was a deep chortle from within Baa'Yial's corpulent form. He shook his head and told Darius that his task was scarcely over. Darius stood confused while the demon informed him that when he died, that was still considered a loss, even if he had beaten his opponent.

That dark rage swept through him once more and he leapt upon the demon. Baa'Yial fought back, but to his own shock, found his handiwork was perhaps too effectual. Darius proceeded to beat him to death with his bare hands, and standing over the shattered seat, he threw away the shield and demanded some way off the Amphiseum. Another demon, known as Lilin, took the shield as payment and offered him a chance to go anywhere he wished. He simply told her to find him someplace he could die and that was the last heard of Darius.

Lilin, for her part, handed the shield to her chosen, an immense golem, and dubbed it "Grim Vengeance". She said it seemed fitting.

There's something satisfying about seeing someone fall beneath the weight of their pride, but it feels wrong to take satisfaction in Darius's plight. He was far from a saint, but nobody deserves the fate thrust upon him. I hate to consider it, but when I see the craftsmanship of the shield, I have to think that Darius might still be out there somewhere, trying to find some way to end his horrible existence.

The shield itself is of a dark metal and the serrated outer edges are framed by great curling horns. The interior bears a demonic visage which I can only assume is meant to be Baa'Yial, but that is just supposition. Its eyes and mouth glow with a sepuchral red light, and disturbingly, it gives the impression that it is watching. I can't say if it is the anger of its wielder or just the malignance of its maker, but it's as damned an item as I have ever seen.

I like it! It helps fill out the history of the Amphiseum, which I certainly approve of, and tells a nice Faustian story on top of it. It makes me a little curious about Lilin and her golem and where the shield went from there, but then again, that's what a good prompt is meant to do!

Out of curiosity, which card were you auto-carding? It's not coming up on mine.

Quote:

Out of curiosity, which card were you auto-carding? It's not coming up on mine.

Should be fixed now.

Not gonna lie, this definitely called to my mind the Ghost Gladiators from Adventure Time.

I like this. The tale does end abruptly but the base story is intriguing. It's cool to see the Amphiseum fleshed out more, particularly with some more devilry afoot beyond the machinations of the Dual-Walkers.

I dig the Throne of Bone reference too

The other thing to note (and Barinellos, feel free to correct me if I'm misreading something) is that these come primarily from Maral rather than Raleris, and there is a somewhat less "scholarly" approach to them. I think Maral is less inclined to chase down the whole story than Raleris is, because it's not her focus. She cares, I suspect, more about the artifact itself than a complete view of its history.

Found On: Kokkinos

During my search for the Winter Heart, I spent a season on Kokkinos, trying to find more leads on the gem. Irritatingly, it seems most of the history before the erection of the "ziggurat" is missing. Raleris's books probably have a more complete history than the people living on the world. More so, the knowledge doesn't seem to be lost, but has been actively eradicated, as if someone wished to sweep history clean for one reason or another.

Despite that though, there are still a few legends left from the period during the Ziggurat's construction. The period before that seems to have become mythical to those that live on the plane, due in no small part to the eternal blizzard that has gripped the world, making the era before its presence an alien and fantastic world that exists only in myth and tales. Honestly, I don't think anybody even believes in a time before the storm anymore.

Regardless of their belief or not, it's obvious that there was a thriving world before the ice age and the myths of that age persist even beyond history's reach. I was trying to learn more about the Winter's Heart, of which there's damned little to nothing, when I ran across a different legend that piqued my curiosity. It was the myth of the fall of the city of Cangrexo.

The Sea Dragon's Fang wrote:

In warmer times, when the glaciers did not hold the world in an icy grip, the great mountains were thrust out of mighty seas and upon the shores of one of those inland oceans stood the stronghold city of Cangrexo. Mightiest city state of its time, it was a jewel that many coveted. From the sea it was defended by a number of island strongholds, but from the shore it was utterly unassailable, surrounded by a great stone wall. Many times, it weathered the siege of invading armies, but none envied Cangrexo as much as the warlord Krios.

He had overseen over a dozen sieges, desperate to control the city, but never before had he managed to overcome the great walls. However, the evening before yet another attack, a great thunderstorm stirred in the skies above the sea, casting Cangrexos in pale fulgent flashes. Krios took it as a sign that they would finally succeed, and a great feast was thrown together. Perhaps it was foolish to celebrate before the battle, but his men needed a reason to fight, a reason to believe that they could take Cangrexos. However, the feast was interrupted as the dancing lightning reached a frenzied peak and from the clouds an immense body plummeted from the heavens.

With a resounding, world shaking crash of thunder and a tremendous cloud of dust, a body crashed to the ground. Approaching the crater, Krios found something he had only heard of in tales but had never seen. One of the great thunder wyrms, a sea dragon. It coughed wetly, blood pooling all around and Krios and his finest men climbed down into the dragon's grave. In a startling turn, it gazed his way and spoke.

It asked him what he sought, why he had come to see the mighty beast in its most humiliating moment. Krios told him it was not his intention, but they had seen the mighty battle, though they had scarcely understood how fierce it was. The sea dragon seemed amused at that, but told Krios that he would be better served flattering a being that was longer for the world. The warlord told him he could not think of anything he would rather do on the eve of such a great battle. He told the dragon of Cangrexos and his many attempts to break the city and with his last breaths, the sea dragon told him that if he truly wished to crack those walls, he could have done it easily. For his flattery then, the dragon told him to take a tooth from his mouth once he died and it would ensure his victory. It was not long after that the sea dragon's breath rattled and stilled for all time.

Krios wasted no time and had his men pull one of the beast's teeth, a task that took ten of his strongest men. The tooth was the size of a man's torso, sharper than a sword on one end and blunt upon the other. Not knowing what else to do, he commanded his armorer's to affix it to a haft and he would wield the weapon in battle the next day. They worked feverishly through the night, but upon the dawn, Krios had his maul. It was a crude thing, but he swung the hammer as if it hadn't taken many of his finest to carry the tremendous thing.

Raising it above his head with a bellow, Krios charged Cangrexos. Arrows rained about him, but he did not falter and with a might swing of the maul, he struck the wall with all his might. A resounding crack, like the earth opening or a thunder clap, echoed against the mountains and stunned silence reigned for several heartbeats. Then, with slow grace, like an avalanche, the wall broke and fell.

The invaders wasted no time and rushed the city, storming the grand chambers of its queen, and scarcely anyone dared stand in their way. The wall should not have fallen, they muttered in shock. It had been their greatest defense. In some ways, it had been their ONLY defense. The armies of Cangrexos did not occupy the city, but the island fortresses meant to repel attacks by the sea. It did not take long for them to surrender to their new king, all the will fleeing from the people of Cangrexos and at last Krios attained his goal.

The irony that the rise of the Ziggurat heralded the end of Cangrexos's reign as the mightiest city is palpable, but I admire Krios for his persistence. Still, the story stirred my curiosity, and there was enough that remained that I worked out where the mythical city was supposed to be. It took months, but I finally found it. Or rather, I found the glacier which sat atop it. The seas had frozen over long ago, nothing but mountain ranges and deep channels left on the face of Kokkinos, but I was gripped to know if I was right. I still had a task to learn more of the Winter's Heart, but I had other ways to investigate and so I carved runes into the mountain face itself and willed them to life.

I told the stone golems to begin excavation, not exactly my finest work, but they would serve their purpose. I watched them for a few days, adding more to their numbers until they made a full platoon and then continued on my journey. By the time I learned what I needed to know and returned, the golems had dismantled half the glacier and discovered the ruins of Cangrexos. A fair portion was still entombed in ice, but the armory and palace were among the portions they had uncovered, and it did not take long before I managed to find the final resting spot of Krios's hammer. It was in bad condition, but I've restored worse before. I left Kokkinos that day and took the hammer with me, and it's been in my vault ever since.

I like both of these so far!

RE: The Shield -

Demons, man. It's always the fine print where they get you. Like others mentioned, there are several interesting threads which could be teased out from this one.

It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!"

Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands...

RE: The Maul -

I'm curious about whether the maul can smash up pretty much anything with super effectiveness, or whether it was something specific about walls or that wall in particular?

Also, I love Malal's little good-enough-for-government-work assessment at the end when she's slapping the golems together. Made me smile.

I like the Maul, and I really like the history you are setting up with Kokkinos between this and the Winter Heart. I have a small degree of trepidation about how long Maral was on Kokkinos, just because the Maguvs were trained to be on the look-out for possible 'walkers, but if she kept a relatively low profile, it's not a problem. There are giants on the plane, so she was probably just able to fit in.

OrcishLibrarian wrote:

It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!"

Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands...

... I kind of want to see that now. Plus, you have to admit, the idea of an immortal zombie warrior beating a demon to death with his bare hands is one of the most METAL THINGS EVER.

Barinellos wrote:

OrcishLibrarian wrote:

... I kind of want to see that now. Plus, you have to admit, the idea of an immortal zombie warrior beating a demon to death with his bare hands is one of the most METAL THINGS EVER.

I just assume that one of the other objects in Malal's vault is an unreleased Dio LP titled Throne of Bone, and that this precise image is depicted on the album cover.

I also am glad to have contributed to Kokkinos. I only feel a bit awkward because now the other planes of the wheel are a little light in comparison. And I kind of want you to play around in the history I've let out of the box.

For the record too, I hope you guys have been noting the fact that this iteration of FtV has been so far much more tied to the MEM canon.
The next one is the first deviation from that, but we aren't done with the references, and there are some... really significant ones coming up.

@ Raven: No, I totally get everything you mentioned. I've been taking the liberties your well placed preoccupation has given me, but that's at least partially because I wanted to help you get some of your material a little more breathing room without you having to do it.
The other is... well, I've manipulated, I mean....collaborated with everyone else, but you have the war of the wheel keeping you busy.

But at the time I first thought of War, there was NOTHING like it in the archives. We had nothing like a major event with a lot of players, at least some of which come from separate creators, in the same storyline.

I mean, there was the Vasilias stuff, which is cool, but I wanted something bigger. Of course, since then, we've had the ever-expanding world of Beryl and her interactions, so we're starting to get more of that with Orcish, Ruwin and you.

Which brings me to the reason that I even bring it up here of all places, because Maral DOES make sense with the plot we'd constructed.
But I'm too busy to sink myself into that, and sadly, everyone else is already involved in other stuff.

Author:	Barinellos [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:24 am ]
Post subject:	From the Vault: The Armory
So, as promised, a new thread for a different wing of Maral's vault, this time packed with legendary weapons! Though in fairness, some of them aren't necessarily magical in nature, but they have some history that, regardless, should prove interesting. To begin... I'm going to be cheating. You see, I promised that these would be weapons, but the first one is actually... a shield. Grim Vengeance Found on: The Amphiseum They call the shield "Grim Vengeance" for a reason. It took a monumental effort to track down the story behind why this shield was ensconced like a sacred object in the abandoned arena I was led to. After digging into the matter far more than I care to admit, I did finally learn what I'd set out to, and now I'm not sure if I should keep the damned thing or not... The Shield of Darius wrote: In times long passed, there was a duelmaster of tremendous skill and renown, a warrior called as Darius. However, once he had conquered the arenas of his homeland, the challenges became scarce, few and far between, and he was driven to seek greater challenges. He was accustomed to the company of kings, and it was one such member of the royalty that told him of the ultimate trial, an otherwordly arena spoken of in legend. So Darius sought out an invitation to the mythical Amphiseum, and little time passed before he gained entry into that prestigious ring. However, it was not what he had anticipated. The foes he faced gave him that excitement he craved, the fame that would take him to greater heights, but though his skill was great, his pride dwarfed even that, and seeing the prowess of those he might battle, his ego was shaken to the core. Upon the stage of the Amphiseum, he wished to prove himself, but doubt crept like a shadow behind him. Finally, he could take no more sought a way to ease his mind, to restore his confidence. He needed to make a deal. He approached a demon well known throughout the arena, a being whose seat was crafted from the bones of gamblers, Baa'Yial. Darius told the demon of his concerns and the demon smiled and told him he could grant Darius's desires. He gifted him a shield, promising he would never fall in battle so long as he had the shield. the price would simply be to become his champion. If he could win 100 consecutive battles in Baa'Yial's name, the demon would free him from his service. Darius knew there had to be more to it than that, but the shield was only a precaution after all, the price not that high... He took the shield. True to his word, Baa'Yial's shield was everything Darius wished for. It allowed him to fight as never before, freeing him of the concerns that had shackled him before, and he grew in fame and confidence. Victories continued to collect around him, nearing half his appointed task, and it seemed he would quickly rise to stand among the highest ranks of the Amphiseum, even among the power of the planeswalkers who ruled the ring. Until he found a sword pressed to the hilt through his chest. Stunned, he looked upon the blood flowing out of his chest until it stopped... and then rage took him. Robbed of his weapons, robbed of his senses, he beat his opponent to death with the shield that was meant to protect him and only as he stood over the shattered body of his opponent did the cold truth sink in. Darius was dead.... but Baa'Yial's promise held true. He had not fallen and in that moment fury shook through his undead flesh as he understood the cursed existence he had brought on himself. Nevertheless, his only hope lay in completing the task given to him. With every victory following that, he felt more of himself waste away, replaced by the darkness that dwelled within. His flesh withered, improbably strong despite it. His soul was trapped in that mummifying shell, and all the joys of his life wasted away. Without the need to eat or sleep, without the ability to satiate anything save the bloodlust of the arena, it became his only purpose. The only thing left to him the freedom he was promised. At last, that fateful 100th duel came and though it was a fierce match, it seemed to pass in a haze for Darius. He would at last know rest, and he climbed the steps to the pavilion given over to the demonic spectators. He stood before Baa'Yial's throne and demanded he be freed, but all that caused was a deep chortle from within Baa'Yial's corpulent form. He shook his head and told Darius that his task was scarcely over. Darius stood confused while the demon informed him that when he died, that was still considered a loss, even if he had beaten his opponent. That dark rage swept through him once more and he leapt upon the demon. Baa'Yial fought back, but to his own shock, found his handiwork was perhaps too effectual. Darius proceeded to beat him to death with his bare hands, and standing over the shattered seat, he threw away the shield and demanded some way off the Amphiseum. Another demon, known as Lilin, took the shield as payment and offered him a chance to go anywhere he wished. He simply told her to find him someplace he could die and that was the last heard of Darius. Lilin, for her part, handed the shield to her chosen, an immense golem, and dubbed it "Grim Vengeance". She said it seemed fitting. There's something satisfying about seeing someone fall beneath the weight of their pride, but it feels wrong to take satisfaction in Darius's plight. He was far from a saint, but nobody deserves the fate thrust upon him. I hate to consider it, but when I see the craftsmanship of the shield, I have to think that Darius might still be out there somewhere, trying to find some way to end his horrible existence. The shield itself is of a dark metal and the serrated outer edges are framed by great curling horns. The interior bears a demonic visage which I can only assume is meant to be Baa'Yial, but that is just supposition. Its eyes and mouth glow with a sepuchral red light, and disturbingly, it gives the impression that it is watching. I can't say if it is the anger of its wielder or just the malignance of its maker, but it's as damned an item as I have ever seen.

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:46 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
I like it! It helps fill out the history of the Amphiseum, which I certainly approve of, and tells a nice Faustian story on top of it. It makes me a little curious about Lilin and her golem and where the shield went from there, but then again, that's what a good prompt is meant to do! Out of curiosity, which card were you auto-carding? It's not coming up on mine.

Author:	Barinellos [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 4:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
RavenoftheBlack wrote: I like it! It helps fill out the history of the Amphiseum, which I certainly approve of, and tells a nice Faustian story on top of it. It makes me a little curious about Lilin and her golem and where the shield went from there, but then again, that's what a good prompt is meant to do! It is a good question, isn't it? Well, it'll be one of many that comes out of this iteration. I'm actually aiming for a much tighter canon with all of these artifacts since they don't have the burden of travel involved in their origins. Quote: Out of curiosity, which card were you auto-carding? It's not coming up on mine. Should be fixed now.

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Barinellos wrote: Quote: Out of curiosity, which card were you auto-carding? It's not coming up on mine. Should be fixed now. Ahh, yeah, that's kind of what I figured, but I couldn't be sure!

Author:	KeeperofManyNames [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Not gonna lie, this definitely called to my mind the Ghost Gladiators from Adventure Time. I like this. The tale does end abruptly but the base story is intriguing. It's cool to see the Amphiseum fleshed out more, particularly with some more devilry afoot beyond the machinations of the Dual-Walkers. I dig the Throne of Bone reference too

No Goblins Allowed http://862838.jrbdt8wd.asia/

From the Vault: The Armory http://862838.jrbdt8wd.asia/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4801	Page 1 of 4

Author:	Barinellos [ Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
KeeperofManyNames wrote: Not gonna lie, this definitely called to my mind the Ghost Gladiators from Adventure Time. I like this. The tale does end abruptly but the base story is intriguing. It's cool to see the Amphiseum fleshed out more, particularly with some more devilry afoot beyond the machinations of the Dual-Walkers. I dig the Throne of Bone reference too I dunno, I don't see an issue with these stories ending abruptly considering the format in which they are being told. I mean... They DON'T have an ending, or they come abruptly because something happens. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to legends.

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
The other thing to note (and Barinellos, feel free to correct me if I'm misreading something) is that these come primarily from Maral rather than Raleris, and there is a somewhat less "scholarly" approach to them. I think Maral is less inclined to chase down the whole story than Raleris is, because it's not her focus. She cares, I suspect, more about the artifact itself than a complete view of its history.

Author:	Barinellos [ Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:12 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
RavenoftheBlack wrote: The other thing to note (and Barinellos, feel free to correct me if I'm misreading something) is that these come primarily from Maral rather than Raleris, and there is a somewhat less "scholarly" approach to them. I think Maral is less inclined to chase down the whole story than Raleris is, because it's not her focus. She cares, I suspect, more about the artifact itself than a complete view of its history. Yeah, these are directly from Maral about things that she's found in her travels, rather than being pointed to by Raleris.

Author:	KeeperofManyNames [ Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Those are fair points. It's an odd sort of thing to navigate, though--not exactly typical. I do like that there's a tangible difference between Raleris's and Maral's writing here.

Author:	Barinellos [ Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:03 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Next up, an actual weapon! Maul of Cangrexo Found On: Kokkinos During my search for the Winter Heart, I spent a season on Kokkinos, trying to find more leads on the gem. Irritatingly, it seems most of the history before the erection of the "ziggurat" is missing. Raleris's books probably have a more complete history than the people living on the world. More so, the knowledge doesn't seem to be lost, but has been actively eradicated, as if someone wished to sweep history clean for one reason or another. Despite that though, there are still a few legends left from the period during the Ziggurat's construction. The period before that seems to have become mythical to those that live on the plane, due in no small part to the eternal blizzard that has gripped the world, making the era before its presence an alien and fantastic world that exists only in myth and tales. Honestly, I don't think anybody even believes in a time before the storm anymore. Regardless of their belief or not, it's obvious that there was a thriving world before the ice age and the myths of that age persist even beyond history's reach. I was trying to learn more about the Winter's Heart, of which there's damned little to nothing, when I ran across a different legend that piqued my curiosity. It was the myth of the fall of the city of Cangrexo. The Sea Dragon's Fang wrote: In warmer times, when the glaciers did not hold the world in an icy grip, the great mountains were thrust out of mighty seas and upon the shores of one of those inland oceans stood the stronghold city of Cangrexo. Mightiest city state of its time, it was a jewel that many coveted. From the sea it was defended by a number of island strongholds, but from the shore it was utterly unassailable, surrounded by a great stone wall. Many times, it weathered the siege of invading armies, but none envied Cangrexo as much as the warlord Krios. He had overseen over a dozen sieges, desperate to control the city, but never before had he managed to overcome the great walls. However, the evening before yet another attack, a great thunderstorm stirred in the skies above the sea, casting Cangrexos in pale fulgent flashes. Krios took it as a sign that they would finally succeed, and a great feast was thrown together. Perhaps it was foolish to celebrate before the battle, but his men needed a reason to fight, a reason to believe that they could take Cangrexos. However, the feast was interrupted as the dancing lightning reached a frenzied peak and from the clouds an immense body plummeted from the heavens. With a resounding, world shaking crash of thunder and a tremendous cloud of dust, a body crashed to the ground. Approaching the crater, Krios found something he had only heard of in tales but had never seen. One of the great thunder wyrms, a sea dragon. It coughed wetly, blood pooling all around and Krios and his finest men climbed down into the dragon's grave. In a startling turn, it gazed his way and spoke. It asked him what he sought, why he had come to see the mighty beast in its most humiliating moment. Krios told him it was not his intention, but they had seen the mighty battle, though they had scarcely understood how fierce it was. The sea dragon seemed amused at that, but told Krios that he would be better served flattering a being that was longer for the world. The warlord told him he could not think of anything he would rather do on the eve of such a great battle. He told the dragon of Cangrexos and his many attempts to break the city and with his last breaths, the sea dragon told him that if he truly wished to crack those walls, he could have done it easily. For his flattery then, the dragon told him to take a tooth from his mouth once he died and it would ensure his victory. It was not long after that the sea dragon's breath rattled and stilled for all time. Krios wasted no time and had his men pull one of the beast's teeth, a task that took ten of his strongest men. The tooth was the size of a man's torso, sharper than a sword on one end and blunt upon the other. Not knowing what else to do, he commanded his armorer's to affix it to a haft and he would wield the weapon in battle the next day. They worked feverishly through the night, but upon the dawn, Krios had his maul. It was a crude thing, but he swung the hammer as if it hadn't taken many of his finest to carry the tremendous thing. Raising it above his head with a bellow, Krios charged Cangrexos. Arrows rained about him, but he did not falter and with a might swing of the maul, he struck the wall with all his might. A resounding crack, like the earth opening or a thunder clap, echoed against the mountains and stunned silence reigned for several heartbeats. Then, with slow grace, like an avalanche, the wall broke and fell. The invaders wasted no time and rushed the city, storming the grand chambers of its queen, and scarcely anyone dared stand in their way. The wall should not have fallen, they muttered in shock. It had been their greatest defense. In some ways, it had been their ONLY defense. The armies of Cangrexos did not occupy the city, but the island fortresses meant to repel attacks by the sea. It did not take long for them to surrender to their new king, all the will fleeing from the people of Cangrexos and at last Krios attained his goal. The irony that the rise of the Ziggurat heralded the end of Cangrexos's reign as the mightiest city is palpable, but I admire Krios for his persistence. Still, the story stirred my curiosity, and there was enough that remained that I worked out where the mythical city was supposed to be. It took months, but I finally found it. Or rather, I found the glacier which sat atop it. The seas had frozen over long ago, nothing but mountain ranges and deep channels left on the face of Kokkinos, but I was gripped to know if I was right. I still had a task to learn more of the Winter's Heart, but I had other ways to investigate and so I carved runes into the mountain face itself and willed them to life. I told the stone golems to begin excavation, not exactly my finest work, but they would serve their purpose. I watched them for a few days, adding more to their numbers until they made a full platoon and then continued on my journey. By the time I learned what I needed to know and returned, the golems had dismantled half the glacier and discovered the ruins of Cangrexos. A fair portion was still entombed in ice, but the armory and palace were among the portions they had uncovered, and it did not take long before I managed to find the final resting spot of Krios's hammer. It was in bad condition, but I've restored worse before. I left Kokkinos that day and took the hammer with me, and it's been in my vault ever since.

Author:	OrcishLibrarian [ Fri Jul 18, 2014 12:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
I like both of these so far! RE: The Shield - Demons, man. It's always the fine print where they get you. Like others mentioned, there are several interesting threads which could be teased out from this one. It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!" Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands... RE: The Maul - I'm curious about whether the maul can smash up pretty much anything with super effectiveness, or whether it was something specific about walls or that wall in particular? Also, I love Malal's little good-enough-for-government-work assessment at the end when she's slapping the golems together. Made me smile.

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
I like the Maul, and I really like the history you are setting up with Kokkinos between this and the Winter Heart. I have a small degree of trepidation about how long Maral was on Kokkinos, just because the Maguvs were trained to be on the look-out for possible 'walkers, but if she kept a relatively low profile, it's not a problem. There are giants on the plane, so she was probably just able to fit in. Also, Orcish's question about the maul's overall effectiveness makes me sort of want to see a story where Maral is testing out some of these artifacts...

Author:	Barinellos [ Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
OrcishLibrarian wrote: I like both of these so far! RE: The Shield - Demons, man. It's always the fine print where they get you. Like others mentioned, there are several interesting threads which could be teased out from this one. It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!" Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands... ... I kind of want to see that now. Plus, you have to admit, the idea of an immortal zombie warrior beating a demon to death with his bare hands is one of the most METAL THINGS EVER. One thing that I must say I a little disheartened that nobody picked up is the question of... WHERE exactly Maral learned the story. It's actually in the text if you look at it just right. Suddenly the two faces look like a vase. Quote: RE: The Maul - I'm curious about whether the maul can smash up pretty much anything with super effectiveness, or whether it was something specific about walls or that wall in particular? Also, I love Malal's little good-enough-for-government-work assessment at the end when she's slapping the golems together. Made me smile. I like to think that the maul specifically pretty much always hits with "super effective" accuracy. That being said, I feel like the ability sort of has a disconnect with its origins, but then again, MAGIC SPIKED HAMMER and to a degree, we have no idea what Krios's armorer's brought to it either. And yeah, the golems were a demonstration of Maral's capacity when she's in "good enough" mode. She's not much in the way of from the hip magic, but she is DAMNED impressive when given the time to work. RavenoftheBlack wrote: I like the Maul, and I really like the history you are setting up with Kokkinos between this and the Winter Heart. I have a small degree of trepidation about how long Maral was on Kokkinos, just because the Maguvs were trained to be on the look-out for possible 'walkers, but if she kept a relatively low profile, it's not a problem. There are giants on the plane, so she was probably just able to fit in. You wouldn't think a giant could be stealthy, but Maral is a wascally wabbit. I also am glad to have contributed to Kokkinos. I only feel a bit awkward because now the other planes of the wheel are a little light in comparison. And I kind of want you to play around in the history I've let out of the box.

Author:	OrcishLibrarian [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:03 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Barinellos wrote: OrcishLibrarian wrote: It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!" Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands... ... I kind of want to see that now. Plus, you have to admit, the idea of an immortal zombie warrior beating a demon to death with his bare hands is one of the most METAL THINGS EVER. I just assume that one of the other objects in Malal's vault is an unreleased Dio LP titled Throne of Bone, and that this precise image is depicted on the album cover.

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Author:	Barinellos [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:06 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
OrcishLibrarian wrote: Barinellos wrote: OrcishLibrarian wrote: It's funny, but the moment at the end actually made me think of Willy Wonka: "You stole Fizzy Lifting Drink! You lose! Good day, sir!" Only, you know, if Charlie Bucket had then beaten Willy Wonka to death with his bare hands... ... I kind of want to see that now. Plus, you have to admit, the idea of an immortal zombie warrior beating a demon to death with his bare hands is one of the most METAL THINGS EVER. I just assume that one of the other objects in Malal's vault is an unreleased Dio LP titled Throne of Bone, and that this precise image is depicted on the album cover. Kind of implies some interesting things about an album going platinum in her vault, am I right?

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:06 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
Barinellos wrote: I also am glad to have contributed to Kokkinos. I only feel a bit awkward because now the other planes of the wheel are a little light in comparison. And I kind of want you to play around in the history I've let out of the box. I'd love to, and some day I likely will. But for the foreseeable future, I'll be enraptured with War of the Wheel. This summer was supposed to help me get ahead, so that I would be nearly done by the time school started up again. Sadly, these things have not come to pass, and in fact I've gotten way behind. I'm trying to kick it into overdrive now to get back the buffer I've sort of squandered, but it's difficult for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's been a lot more to read around here recently (which is awesome, but a commitment of time to stay caught up) and I like to try to read and comment on as much as possible. Secondly, now that the strands of WotW are starting to come together, things are getting more complex as I go, meaning chapters are taking longer to write. Thirdly, I'm getting a little burned out with it. Don't get me wrong, I still love the story, and I'm really happy with the direction it's going and how it's coming together, and I don't think I'd do anything different. But it is getting me to a place where its eating up a lot of my creative drive. Anyway, long story short, I won't be doing any history-defining, for the Wheel or anywhere else, until I'm done with WotW, unless that history directly impacts the story.

Author:	Barinellos [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:11 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
For the record too, I hope you guys have been noting the fact that this iteration of FtV has been so far much more tied to the MEM canon. The next one is the first deviation from that, but we aren't done with the references, and there are some... really significant ones coming up. @ Raven: No, I totally get everything you mentioned. I've been taking the liberties your well placed preoccupation has given me, but that's at least partially because I wanted to help you get some of your material a little more breathing room without you having to do it. The other is... well, I've manipulated, I mean....collaborated with everyone else, but you have the war of the wheel keeping you busy.

Author:	Barinellos [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:28 am ]
Post subject:	Re: From the Vault: The Armory
RavenoftheBlack wrote: But at the time I first thought of War, there was NOTHING like it in the archives. We had nothing like a major event with a lot of players, at least some of which come from separate creators, in the same storyline. Well... nothing publicly known at least. Quote: I mean, there was the Vasilias stuff, which is cool, but I wanted something bigger. Of course, since then, we've had the ever-expanding world of Beryl and her interactions, so we're starting to get more of that with Orcish, Ruwin and you. Which actually brings me to something that I worked out... last week, I think it was, but as the last surviving member of the conspirators of the Molcru/Vasilias epic, I've decided that... Molcru never fit. Beast wanted a Lich vs Lich fight, but his involvement was always strange. Which brings me to the reason that I even bring it up here of all places, because Maral DOES make sense with the plot we'd constructed. But I'm too busy to sink myself into that, and sadly, everyone else is already involved in other stuff.