RuneScape Forum Archive | Draconic Interactions (3)

Darlantan

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<I am... focusing... even if... everything is blurring..****;
Caelidorus closed his eyes, though his muscles remained tensed. His 'mind voice' sounded as if he was heavily intoxicated.

Forlirn glanced toward the ancient before simply nodding. Frilarth remained silent, but the lack of a "no" seemed to be as good as a "yes" for Umbra.
Umbra closed his eyes, ignoring Matthew's question for the moment. "I suggest you brace yourselves. Mentally." The air all throughout the temple grew dark again, then suddenly everything became pure black. There'd be a strong sense of disorientation as all physical senses seemed to fade away. Then everything was complete blackness, in every sense.

When they'd come to their senses some indeterminable time later, they'd find themselves still seeming to be in their bodies, though in different surroundings. They seemed to be in the reading room of a great library, near a lit fireplace of black stone with various surrounding chairs and cushions, some human-sized, some dragon-sized. It seemed to be an endless structure of black stone; rows and rows of bookcases were set in the walls, all filled with books as far as the eye could see.
Umbra stood near Caelidorus, having taken on a form similar in shape to that of Thlorian. He was reaching a claw inside the **** on Caelidorus' side; seconds later, he removed a writhing black mass and stepped back, holding it high and slowly crushing it in a claw. "The taint is removed. You can treat his wound normally now. Yes, it is a spiritual wound, and yes, you could not normally treat such a wound. However, you are all currently spirits yourself; you can mend it like a physical wound in your current states."

20-Jul-2014 02:53:18

Darlantan

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The ancient produced a large vial from seemingly nowhere as he continued crushing the abyssal thing he removed from Caelidorus, holding it beneath the abomination as it seemed to become a liquid, pouring into the vial. "Fresh Abyssal essence, not fully transformed but infused with the taint... yes, this may prove extremely useful. Perhaps I will be able to fashion a weapon to harm the creatures with this. I would return the stolen life essence to the son of Ventus, but I am master of shadow, not of Abyssal energies. I could not remove the taint perfectly; he will be weakened for a time, but his spirit will recover."
Umbra turned toward the fireplace, appearing several feet in front if it in the blink of an eye. "Now the questions. For your earlier question, the necklace grants Thlorian no power. It is for Nihil alone. It is much like an arcane focus; in his possession, his influence over the world would grow exponentially if he gained entry once again. It is a precious artefact to him; for you to hold it now, Thlorian likely meant for it to fall into your hands. To answer other questions I expect... Yes, I am an ancient, lord of Shadow. My domain is close to the Abyss, but I have no power over the Abyss. Nihil, or *ril*roth as you may call him, is, shall you say, my sworn enemy. Unlike Nihil, I am not one of the elder ancients, but one of the younger; however, I am one of the eldest of the youngers, and one of the few with a level enough head to not follow the elders like a blind child. Also unlike other ancients, I will freely reveal many details of our 'race' that others would kill you for knowing. I care not if you learn secrets which may be used against the others; I care only for poetry and vengeance against Nihil, in that order. Of course, if I tell you precisely what an ancient is you will realize the idiocy in going about slaying them, if you are capable."

20-Jul-2014 03:14:33

Darlantan

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Umbra paused to sip from a glass of wine which had seemingly replaced the vial he was carrying earlier.
"What else... Ah yes, the city you nearly perished in is the ruins of the capital of my created children, those you may know as shadow dragons. It was they who built the kingdom and the temple the insisted upon worshipping me in, but shortly before the Rend they were decieved by Nihil and pledged themselves to him. Regardless of whether the legends of conflict between the ancients are true or if he sought to prevent my rebirth, Nihil struck me down and imprisoned me in my current form. My children built the greater temple to worship him, then were dragged into the Abyss during Nihil's imprisonment and twisted into the accursed creatures the children of Lux call 'The Seekers.' Although enough of my essence was woven into the temple to allow me to physically manifest within it, my true body has been my soulstone ever since Nihil's betrayal. I have sat untouched on my altar for what I expect has been countless millennia."
The ancient grew silent for several moments, then turned away from the fire and made a gesture with a claw, tables laden with all manner of food and drink materializing in the spacious seating area. "When you have tended to your friend, relax. Enjoy yourself. Indulge. You shall be here for awhile, and I can extend time freely within here if more is required. You currently reside within my body, after all and one of the perks of a being of my nature is I don't have to obey laws of time and space within myself. Of course, food and drink will not nourish you here for you are not present in your physical bodies, but the associated sensations will be undiminished. And the rest for your minds will be very real. I expect your minds are in need of rest after traversing my city. That none of your minds seem to have broken on the way is a remarkable feat in its own right."
"Now then... What are your questions?"

20-Jul-2014 03:45:55

NarBloodwolf

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When Rhen awoke he was in awe of the new surroundings as he pushed himself off the floor. He also took in every word Umbra spoke. If the worlds were not in dire need of being protected from destruction, Rhen could spend an eternity here reading the volumes amassed on the shelves. When Umbra asked if there were any questions Rhen wanted to just spout out question after question. This was like a dream come true to him. But there was two questions in particular that Rhen wanted answers to.

''I have only two questions for the time being. I have been told the void and the abyss are close to another and yet not much is known about either. I do understand you said your domain is the shadows but what call you tell me of the Abyss and its relations to the void? My second question is about the culture of the ancients in general.'' said Rhen pausing for a moment as he turned to face Umbra.''When we visited Anima among her children the Soulbound.....another ancient Nex said something about another ancient he only referred to only as 'Him'. When pressed on the topic by Matt the two seemed to dodge the topic slightly. Who exactly were Anima and Nex speaking of and why do they not speak his name?''

Part of Rhen wanted to know more of the unnamed Ancient that struck fear into even the Ancient of Death himself. But in his gut Rhen did not want to know should they come face to face with the one Nex and Anima had spoken to. But it was always Rhen's thirst for knowledge that drove him to want to know the answers to even the questions he did not want to ask and know the answer.

20-Jul-2014 04:23:42

Basileus257

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Matt awoke to find himself slumped in one of the chairs meant to seat a human. He gazed around the room, his mind in a daze. Glancing down at himself, he saw his body was there. However he remembered being in the ruins of Umbra's temple only a moment ago. To try to make sense of the situation only caused his head to ache. He shook his head and stood up. His first thought was to check on the status of Caelidorus*****;Caelidorus, are you alright? Umbra.... he pulled something out of you. He says that you should be okay now. How do you feel? Can I get you anything?>

Matt walked over to the table and filled a glass with a bottle of what would be considered expensive wine in Neuva. Sipping from the glass, he then made his way to the nearest bookcase and looked at the volumes of books lining the shelves to see what it was that Umbra spent eternity reading. When Umbra had finished speaking, Matt paused to allow what was said to sink in. Though much of it went over his head, he still found himself with an abundance of questions. He decided to limit himself to a few for the time being so as not to overwhelm the ancient.

"Umbra I.... I would like to begin by thanking you for helping Caelidorus. You could have easily turned us away but you chose instead to welcome us into your.... I guess i'll go with home because I am not sure just how to describe this place. If there is anyway I can return the favour then please just ask and I will do what I can for you. If I may, I have several questions of my own. My first question is a simple one but I expect answering it will be much more difficult. Just what exactly is an Ancient? I mean, I know that you are essentially giant dragons with godlike powers, but there must be more to you then that. My second question follows up on something you mentioned. You said that we would regret slaying an ancient. Well, lets say... your sister Anima were found by my people and slain. What would happen?" Matt asked.

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

20-Jul-2014 05:03:03

Basileus257

Posts: 1,584 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Matt paused to sip at the wine he had taken. "My people would throw everything they have into fighting your race if they knew you existed. If Nihil returns then I think the discovery of at least a few members of your race by the general population is a likely possibility. Now, I have just one more question for the time being. Can you describe these elders for me? What is the difference between an Ancient such as yourself and one that you call an elder? Finally, why are you so opposed to obeying them? Is there something about these elders that causes you to question their intentions?"

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

20-Jul-2014 05:13:04

Darlantan

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<I... I only feel pain now. In the way I feel it, that is. By the clan, that was awful. It was if something had simply made my entire being stop working. I lost feeling in my body... in my senses... and my thoughts were as if somebody poured mud into my mind and I had to think through it. I would definitely advise you don't let one of those things so much as scratch you. I think I shall simply lay for now... I am exhausted****;
The Tempest slowly stretched out, opening his eyes and blinking as he noticed Frilarth had resumed licking at his wound. Forlirn had settled on one of the massive cushions, watching the ancient intently.

Most of the books Matt glanced at has fanciful names written on the spines; if he opened one, he'd likely be greeted with poetry. More notable was each and every book appeared to have Umbra listed as the author.

Umbra gracefully sat himself in a cushioned armchair facing away from the fireplace, regarding each of his guests in turn. "Yes... good questions, with long answers. I shall answer out of order, for some answers stray into the others. Do forgive me if I ramble; it has been longer than few mortal races can even comprehend since I've spoken to somebody other than myself. Favors we shall speak of later, and as for this being my home... this is a closer thing than a home, but you may think of it as such. 'Home' is likely the closest concept you have to describe this place. Ah, but now for answers... I shall start with the void, for it is least related to the other questions."

21-Jul-2014 04:35:48

Darlantan

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"The Abyss and the void share similar energies and superficial similarities," the ancient began, crossing his legs in his chair. "They are both corruptive and taint their 'victims,' but the energies of the void are quite energetic... and highly destructive as a result. The energies of the Abyss are twisting, changing and morphing things into abominations rather than into ash. Both planes are similar in being generally endless expanses of space filled with magical energy... but the void is a very minor plane, having little impact on the world. The Abyss is a major plane; one could say it is the major plane, rivaled only by the physical plane contained within it, the plane you know as the world around you. There is no true link between the void and the Abyss; they simply possess similarities in their natures. The void is also... anomalous, an untapped force of sorts, for while it is indeed a magical force, it has never manifested as an ancient."
"Which leads to the next question: what is an ancient? We are not truly gods, though many have called us gods and worshipped us as such... but not even Nihil was foolish enough to call himself a god. Even for an ancient, to name oneself a god is the greatest foolishness. I doubt any of you have ever met one who calls himself 'god,' at least not one who lives still. The is a certain force... a being unknown to us, called Lhaargvaihr-" when the ancient spoke the name, there was more than just hearing it; for a split second, everybody would feel an intense terror and see flashes of untold destruction "-in our tongue. 'Godslayer' in yours. Even we know little of this being, only that he appears to any who name themselves a god and utterly destroys them, even if they be an ancient. It is said in our legends that he seeks a true god, for only a god could defeat him. But even among us, his intentions are only legend; we know only that self-proclaimed gods die by his hand."

21-Jul-2014 05:03:30

Darlantan

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Umbra frowned slightly, then shook his head.
"Ah, but that is irrelevant to the question. An ancient... well, there are certain creative forces which make up the world, responsible both for its creation and maintaining it in its current state. The process of creation... well, it might seem strange to you. While newer forces come about primarily from the state of the world, the older ones simply... arose. As time passed in the young world, certain... 'ideas,' as I shall call them, came about. They were a faint awareness of something that did not exist, but from them the forces arose. But the forces were... 'young,' for lack of a better word. Weak, inconsistent, raw... they lacked the order you are familiar with. But much as the forces arose from the 'ideas,' the forces... coalesced. They realized their true, quintessential forms, the purest aspect of the forces. These forms are the beings you know as ancients. We are not simply dragons representing an aspect of the world; we are those aspects of the world, fully and totally, in every respect. Difficult for most creatures to comprehend... but Nihil is the easiest ancient to use as an example. As you may already know, Nihil's domain is the Abyss; thus, he is the realized aspect of the Abyss. Were his body to stand before you, you would see him in his entirity; were he to consume you, you would enter him. Yet he is also the entirity of the Abyss; were you to step into the Abyss, you would also enter Nihil. Although you would not be able to tell by the physical laws you abide by; were Nihil to devour you, you would physically be present in his body, not the Abyss. Unless he devoured you in the Abyss. But beyond the physical and on the terms of the creative forces- or perhaps the spiritual, if you prefer -Nihil and the Abyss are on and the same. The distinction arises only from the ways in which forces represent in the world. Which might hint to you as to why slaying an ancient is typically... foolish."

21-Jul-2014 05:28:51

Darlantan

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"You see, when an ancient manifests, the force which it represents becomes... ordered. The chaos fades and it acts as it should, becoming a dependable force. The ancient acts as a sort of nexus for that force, stabilizing it and keeping it working as it should. Slaying the ancient... well, that destroys the nexus. In addition to causing the force the ancient represent to fall into disarray, the destruction of the ancient causes a backlash through that force, causing great wave of destruction through anything the force is deeply entwined with. That... well, that's not entirely true. The nexus created by the ancient does not require the ancient to remain, but for the ancient's essence- or, shall I say, bloodline -to remain intact. That is one of the major reasons why we created dragons of our 'element' emblazoned with our soul sigils. But if there is no ancient and no bloodline... then the nexus collapses."
"Anima... ironic your race would consider slaying her, for she is perhaps the most important ancient to your race's survival. It was with her manifestation that the sentient races we did not directly create finally arose into being, for it is from her all souls arise. To slay her... even I do not know what the extent of the resulting catastrophe would be. Your kind might suddenly devolve into bestial animals... perhaps you might all suddenly die in an eruption of pure power. Or perhaps... you would all simply become soulless. Your societies would quickly degenerate; it is from the soul which the 'good' in mortal creatures arises. You would no longer have a true identity or the possibility of an afterlife; you would become nothing more than your physical bodies. I cannot say exactly what would happen... but I am near certain that only our direct children would remain to 'inherit the world,' for only they possess enough of our essence to substitute for a soul. But even they would suffer, for they are not without souls..."

21-Jul-2014 05:58:10

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Draconic Interactions (3)