RuneScape Forum Archive | Draconic Interactions (3)

Basileus257

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"Well then, to be entirely blunt, I hope that Ventus and the others who share his view meet an 'unfortunate' end someday. Their genocide is not justice. Rather it sounds like the continuation of a cycle that has been repeated numerous times. A mortal race evolves into sentience, expands throughout both worlds, gains power and influence, goes to war with other races, and is then destoryed by the four. There has to be a better way then that. Anyway, you never mentioned your views on mortals. I'm guessing you are more in the neutral catagory yourself." Matt asked.

"Well, I guess helping him is worth a shot anyway. It sounds like he is the only real chance we have. If (and hopefully when) we get to this Temple of the Ancients, we will have to remember to see if there is anything regarding what will happen if Thlorian is left in charge of the abyss." Matt said before turning to Animus.

"You must be Animus then. My name is Matthew. I'm guessing you knew that already though. In truth, I hope to be moving on rather soon. This place is quite nice and Umbra has been a good host. Still though, our worlds are in danger, as I am sure you know. It seems wrong for us to be reading Umbras books or sampling the food on the table when we could be out there. Plus, it is hard to wrap my head around the fact that time is not moving forward. It feels like it is. But that's beside the point. My friend, Rhen, called you here for a couple of reasons. First, we were hoping you could tell us how to reach the temple of the ancients. Second, we were hoping to examine the mind of Frilarn. He is the small silver dragon. Apparantly he was infected by the abyss but that apparantly is not possible. Plus, I am sure we have some questions we'd like you to answer if you are willing. You brought Animus here Rhen, so why don't you ask your questions first." Matt said.

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

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

06-Aug-2014 03:14:41

NarBloodwolf

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''It is good to see you again Animus.'' said Rhen in greeting to Animus. ''My questions can wait till a further time but as Matt asked.....we need your help getting to the Temple of the Ancients on the Darkstar. Umbra said you might be ale to help us in some way and we believe our next objective we seek is there. Also....we need to look into Frilarn's mind to find how he was tainted even though he should not be and second to see if he has any knowledge that might help us because of being tainted by the abyss. I know you can do the second...but what do you say....can you help us reach the temple?''

From Umbra had said about the temple it would be dangerous to go there even if they found a way since it was in the Abyss. They would be walking right on Nihil's home turf and they would not know what to expect. That was unless Frilarn knew something Umbra did not but that was a slim chance and a high hope. But at this point hope was all the group seemed to have against Nihil.

07-Aug-2014 21:57:08

Darlantan

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"Quite frankly, I do not care," Umbra replied. "Even if you were to learn my Name, you'd be unable to do much of anything with it. My physical body is nothing more than an unbreaking gem and my influence on the world is minimal. The others... well, I might be more concerned if they actually deigned to visit me, but they chosse not to. I've told you the consequences of slaying an ancient, and there is one Name which may prove of great use: Nihil's. Of course, his particular Name may prove deadly... one must comprehend every part and aspect of the ancient to use the Name. With one such as Nihil, that may break your mind."

"A rather difficult perspective for one such as myself to consider, as I fit the catagory of 'giant godlike dragon' as does Nihil, and we were both present in my city for a rather long span of time. Though this emperor seems rather paranoid if the mere presence of a gigantic dragon would lead him to destroy his cities. Not that he would actually see me coming if I still had the ability to do so. One of the advantages of being the manifestation of shadow is I can be shadow, and I do not believe mortals are capable of spotting one engaging in shadow-walking without the use of magic. Perhaps why Thlorian moves so easily unseen here. He is a master of shadow-walking."

08-Aug-2014 20:11:37

Darlantan

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"I find mortals... entertaining, for lack of a better term. Well, some mortals; there are many of your kind who are rather drab and boring. But the artists tend to be good company... particularly the writers... at least those who haven't been overly influenced by ancients in their works. But the four would simply arise again if slain and likely be even more brutal. They never did develop their will far beyond their base natures... but what they have developed is a great deal more than the complete lack of will a newly arisen ancient possesses. They would develop over time... but I expect what will their replacements would develop would be even more brutal toward your kind then the last. The world is far more broken then it was when they first arose, after all..."

"Frilarn is the easier matter, so I shall speak of him first," Animus answered. "I have gazed into him and what I have seen is most... unusual. Although he is unaware, his memories indicate he was slain by a Seeker. However, he possesses an unusually strong connection to Lux... It appears he somehow called forth an aspect of Lux as he was torn apart; his memory is then nothing but a blinding light until he woke in an unfamiliar land with an unfamiliar body. His mind is in an unusual state. Though he lives, the deathsign of the Seeker remains within his mind. Although it is alive, his mind thus believes itself dead and exists in a fragmented state of dissonance. Higher thought appears nigh impossible, as his mind is too occupied declaring itself alive and dead at the same time. He likely experiences little mentally beyond simple instinct. I expect his change in body is the result of the same reason, but that is a guess."

08-Aug-2014 20:49:27

Darlantan

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"As for the Temple... I do not know if I can aid your entry, but I am capable of providing my knowledge on it," Animus continued. "In the past, mortals occasionally entered the temple, often on a type of pilgrimage. Most left immediately; some aspect of the Temple fills mortals with extreme unease. Those who braved to remain... I could not view those memories, as they were obscured from me by the same force which prevents me from entering the Temple. Now there are only a handful of living mortals who have seen the Temple... but I have walked the Mindpaths extensively and I have seen a link to the Temple in each and every mortal mind I have seen. Specifically, a thread to the Temple seems to exist within the memories of every mortal; it appears most strongly in those possessing great creativity. That would suggest deep meditation would allow any mortal to follow the connection. However, few of the threads... I sense they stretch further than the Temple and into the mind of another mortal as if this mortal can draw from the Temple. This particular mortal... he is vastly different. I cannot glimpse his mind, as it is not composed of my essence. He approached sister Anima in the past; she told me she could not glimpse his soul, for it was not of her essence. In fact, she said she could smell Vates on this mortal, but saw there was not a trace of a single ancient's essence existing in his being, spiritual or physical. She described his body as a patchwork: it appeared to be human but several body parts were exchanged with those of a bipedal dragon beyond the great eastern sea, as if by surgery. Those parts held ancient essence within them, but none of the human body or spiritual self did. He may hold the key to the Temple... no other such mortal exists in this world. It is as if he is of neither the world nor the Abyss."
"...Im... Impossible," Umbra stammered after a moment, appearing visibly shaken. "This... this is the only world..."

08-Aug-2014 21:13:50

Darlantan

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Thlorian watched the northern Elunian horizon, waiting. The wait was not long; the flaring light of the Darkstar appeared, and even with the comet at it's farthest point from the world he could feel a surge of immense power wash over the land. It would be even greater when the comet reached its zenith directly overhead; it would be the perfect catalyst for the ritual. Which meant it was time to begin.
Raising his hands above the focus stone in the center of the circle with his palms facing the sky, Thlorian began chanting. Around him, the cult of dark mages did the same. It was not necessary... but he had given them clear instructions to guard against anybody seeking to disrupt the ritual in the rare chance somebody had somehow gotten wind of it. They were powerful... not enough to last indefinitely, but they would last long enough for the spell to complete. Now it was a matter of chanting and waiting.

08-Aug-2014 21:49:28

Basileus257

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"I will bear that in mind Umbra. I will try not to let word of your Name spread too far. I doubt many would take me seriously anyway. I know if I had heard all of this even a couple of days ago, I would have questioned the sanity of the person speaking it. Maybe it would be good for mortals to try using Nihils name to control him. After all, if we control Nihil then we halt any threat from the abyss. The risk is great, like you mentioned, but the reward could make any sacrifice worthwhile." Matt replied.

"I should have worded that better. I didn't mean that he would go and massacre his population for no reason. Instead, he would likely use the city as a sacrifice in an attempt to destory an ancient. To be more specific, you would land and then some sort of massive weapon would be used. The city would either be destoryed or at least it's population would be killed in the hopes that you would die with it. I suppose that this scenerio would more apply to another ancient though. Like you said, you could sneak up on us without us seeing you coming. In the eyes of many humans, one city is a worthwhile price to destory an ancient. Of course, even if they did kill one of your kind, the aftermath would be disasterous for everyone." Matt said.

"Then the only option is to try to control them in my opinion. My people mean a lot to me and I do not see any other way to protect them. If those four losing their independence mean that billions of human lives will be saved then I say go for it. Of course.... it would have to be someone else. I honestly have no idea on where to start trying to figure out their name or anything like that. Maybe I do not understand all of this correctly but it sounds like the best option for everyone."

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

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

09-Aug-2014 01:51:59

Basileus257

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

After Animus had finished speaking, Matt shook his head, trying to make sense of what had been said. Out of all that was said, the idea that there was an entirely seperate world that this individual had originated in was perhaps the most confusing. *How can there be any other worlds besides Neuva and Elune? Surely that is impossible!~ "I don't understand. Are you suggesting that there is some other world besides Neuva and Elune and that this world does not have anything to do with our worlds? How is that possible and how would this individual get here? Even if what you say is true, then that still begs the question: How do we find this person? Neuva and Elune are massive. We could search for decades and not find a trace of him. Have you any idea on where he could have gone?" Matt asked.

A few miles outside of the capital of the Imperium, the detachment of men had reached a small hill with a clear view of the ritual site in the forest. They were members of the Brotherhood of the Flaming Sword. The Brotherhood was an all male group of elite warriors who worshipped Emperor Romanos and his family as gods. Their loyalty and skill were beyond question. They lay there, dressed all in black, watching the ritual sight. Most used binoculars but two used the scope of their sniper rifles instead. "Tis a cold night. Winter has just begun yet I already long for the summer." One of them muttered. "By the holy Emperor, be quiet!" Another replied, this one the leader of the group. "The Emperor has ordered us to watch over this place, so that is what we shall do. I will not hear any complaints. You swore to serve Him and you swore to die for Him if He wills it. You should be grateful that He chose you to serve tonight." "Y-yes Brother Captain. I did not been to question His wisdom." The first replied. With that, all were silent, waiting for something of note to happen.

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

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

09-Aug-2014 02:46:58

NarBloodwolf

Posts: 8,239 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Rhen stood almost dumbfounded at Animus's words. Another world aside from Elune and Nueva? The though both excited and frightened Rhen for the prospect of new knowledge was a tantalizing thought. But at the same time what dangers cam with the possibility of another world? Who knew what was there. But more importantly....he wanted to know how the mortal Animus spoke of, although human, could graft limbs from creatures that should not be compatible with human biology. Unless the biology of the mortal's human portions were different than the humans on Nueva and Elune.

All of it was an interesting thought. But the problem remained as to how to find the mortal and ask him for his knowledge of the temple. Matt pointed it out clearly that without a way of tracking the mortal then they would search for eternity and by then it would be too late for the worlds. Rhen pondered the thought for a moment thinking what had been said thus far.

''Animus....the threads in the minds of mortals that you mentioned. Could you use those threads to track the one mortal we seek? You may not be able to read his mind but surly by following the connections you can track his location yes?'' said Rhen after a long moment of thought.

09-Aug-2014 16:03:44

Darlantan

Posts: 3,189 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"It might do good, but it could also do harm. Using a Name invokes the power of the respective ancient. If a mortal uses it and both fails and somehow survives failing with their mind intact, they will be at the full mercy of the ancient. In Nihil's case, he would likely insinuate his hooks into their mind and control them like a puppet."

"They'd have to be rather blind to not notice the after effects of slaying an ancient. I hardly know your people, but I think it would be cataclysmic enough to make them reconsider trying to kill another."

"You would need their Names to control them, and a mortal misusing a single one of their Names once would prompt the genocide you wish to prevent. Although perhaps I should be a bit clearer... when a mortal is born, it possesses a capacity for freewill which it will fill when it ages. When an ancient arises, no such capacity exists. New ancients have no freewill and act completely at the whim of their respective elements. It takes great time and effort for an ancient to develop it's own will, and it takes a high degree of self-control to prevent losing an ancient's will and devolving back into the primal state. The four never developed a great amount of will... but even that is far safer for your race than facing the four in their primal states."

"There are not other worlds... That... is impossible..." Umbra interrupted.
"I believe there are other worlds. Many other worlds," Animus stated rather calmly. "There is much in the minds of mortals which simply does not fit with the world. As for the mortal... I know exactly where he is, but that is through the Mindpaths, not the physical world. However..."
Animus abruptly blinked out of existence as if he had never been there. Seconds later, he reappeared.
"He was last sighted approximately three days ago on Neuva on the outskirts of a place mortals call the Imperium. He was mistaken for a half-blood. Ah, and how he got here... I expect only Vates knows. He watches over the world."

10-Aug-2014 15:42:02

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Draconic Interactions (3)