Elliott Teron's Blog

The Blood of Temornac

When the Jade Emperor and Vali of One-Thousand came upon the dragon Temornac's lair, their purpose was twofold: to punish Temornac for her vanity by trapping her in human form, and for Vali to ingest a measure of her blood. What did the warrior have to gain from this?

The benefits of dragon blood were clear, as Vali became the greatest of the One-Thousand, even surpassing the might Fan Ju-Long and Yoshida Tenzen, who were counted among his peers. When one is infused with the blood of a dragon, they are granted herculean strength, allowing them to perform epic feats such as leaping over houses or ripping trees out of the ground. The imbiber is also granted a hardened skeleton, heightened senses, and a healing factor. Suffice to say, a warrior with dragon blood can survive the same punishment they can dole out.

Of course, dragon blood has its downfalls. The blood feeds on the innate rage of its drinker and extrapolates it, making the drinker prone to outbursts of anger. Even the smallest slight can turn violent. Vali was able to control himself despite this, but the same might not be said if there were to be future imbibers.
Dragon blood only functions so long as the dragon lives. When a dragon dies, all trace of them vanishes, leaving only bones.

To drink the Blood of Temornac is to be bonded to the dragon herself. The dragon would be free to slay the drinker, but the drinker cannot harm the dragon in any capacity. Only Temornac herself would know the true extent of this bond, if it does extend further.

One interesting note is Vali mentioned seeing ghosts after he took the Blood of Temornac. These ghosts were often howling skeletons draped in corroded armor, which Vali recognized as Yurukhan Steppe-Warriors, Blesonnian Warrior-Monks, and the occasional Man of Aesir. When Vali told Umr At-Tawil of these ghosts, Umr nonchalantly theorized they must be the ghosts of warriors Temornac had eaten alive. Having narrowly avoided a similar fate, Vali decided it best not to think about the ghosts too much.

Fan Ju-long, the Demon of One-Thousand and Yue Lien, Lotus of One-Thousand

When the Warriors of One-Thousand appear before Vera in The Lost Princess, there are six of them, each turned to Arlys’ service. Umr At-Tawil mentions later that the Warriors numbered ten in all. Today we will talk about two of the six who did not escape Her influence: Fan Ju-long and Yue Lien.

Fan Ju-Long was a warrior dating back to the old kingdoms beyond the far-eastern land of Seika, where he is regarded as a legend. He was the right hand of a tyrant, who ruled the land by holding the country's child emperor hostage. Ju-long's sheer might formed the linchpin of the tyrant's plot; without Fan Ju-long, the tyrant would have been overthrown at an instant. However, the tyrant was a clever man who knew the desires of his subjects, and kept Ju-long's loyalty by giving him a woman: Yue Lien, the tyrant's most treasured dancer.

Fan Ju-long was in love the moment he laid eyes on Yue Lien, and desperately sought ways to make her happy. Lien was repulsed by Ju-long at first, but she would prove as cunning as her liege. As she warmed up to him, she found she could manipulate Ju-long with her wiles, and began to prod him along in a scheme of her own: Ju-long was strong, but the tyrant was a parasite...The throne ought to belong to Ju-long, with Lien as his empress.

The people suffered under the tyrant's rule. The land withered under the people's suffering. The state as a whole was crippled by the land's withering. A rebellion had been brewing beneath the tyrant's notice, and before the tyrant realized what was happening, a coalition of three great factions was at his door. This was Ju-long's chance. The warrior turned on the tyrant and slew him with a great swing of his halberd, and then took command of the tyrant's forces. Emboldened by Ju-long's ambition, the late-tyrant's army surged against the rebels behind their new lord.

Having been bid to stay back, Lien watched from a high tower as her lover rode out to meet the rebels in combat. She vanished shortly after his blade first met the enemy.

Fan Ju-long took to war on a steed that was faster than any had ever seen. The pair of black peacock feathers affixed to his demonic helmet made him the very vision of a meteor sent from Hell when he crashed into the rebel lines. Men scattered and limbs flew with each swing of Ju-long's halberd as he carved into the rebel lines. Swing after bloody swing would see Ju-long ever closer to the rebel leaders while sending men fleeing straight onto the blades of Ju-long's troops. Soon enough, Ju-long stood before three men; the leaders of one of the factions. One of the three, a regal man with a gloriously-kept beard, stepped forward. He bellowed his name, Guang Shen, and thrust his halberd toward Ju-long, challenging him to single combat.

What became of the duel between Fan Ju-long and Guang Shen is not known to the people of the Far East, only that both men were never seen again. The absence of their leader caused the late-tyrant's men to rout, and this event would cause the empire to be split into three kingdoms, each belonging to one of the factions responsible. These kingdoms would go on to wage a great war...With or without Ju-Long and Shen.

Of course, their fates are known to Umr At-Tawil, for he saw both Ju-long and Shen as too important to lose, and intervened by spiriting the two to Jasconius. Both men were outraged, but soon came around for their own reasons. Ju-long saw that Lien stood with Umr, apparently having proven her mettle when she lashed out at him as he appeared to her in the high tower. Ju-long and Lien were glad to be rid of the troubles back home, and happily became two of Umr's Warriors of One-Thousand, taking up the names of the Demon and the Lotus, respectively. Shen, angered to be separated from his brothers, came to understand the gravity of Umr's mission, and joined the Warriors with the name Bearded King.

During the titanic clash at Old Cagliostro that would shape the course of history, Fan Ju-long was at the head of the Warriors of One-Thousand when they charged against the dark goddess with Yue Lien close behind. Even Vali, Dragon-Knight of One-Thousand, could nary keep up with the Demon and his Lotus. Alas, for all of their ferocity, it would be centuries before they or any of the One-Thousand were seen again...

Riddle's Keeper Lore Drop 5: The Hellsbark Armor

Who are the greatest craftsmen in Jasconius? Is it the Brass Empire, who work riveted Urfaerrum into almost everything they make? Was it Cagliostro, able to build clockwork machines from delicate cogs? Could it be Blesoon, whose warrior-monks are donned in tempered steel?

It's easy for anyone to fancy themselves the greatest when they never have (and likely never will) lay eyes on those who truly are the greatest, for the diminutive Lillipat of Vanir keep themselves isolated from humans and even their own peers. Only Umr At-Tawil has sought them out and succeeded.

The dwarfish creatures are able to shape the plant-matter that grows in the Yggdramor Deathwood into forms as varied as the plants themselves. When handling plants that constantly shift and evolve, this makes the possibilities near-endless. One device that wound up in the hands of King Gaio of Old Cagliostro and then those of Selene Abradas and Sir Jerrod Wallace, called the 'Brathad-Glainn,' was made by Lilliputian hands. Appearing as little more than a wooden handle with an organic lens, the little device was instrumental in Jerrod's search for his friends.

But none of their creations holds a candle to one of their greatest: a suit of armor wrought from Hellsbark. There is only a single Hellsbark tree in existence, making any part of that tree (to say nothing of anything crafted from it) priceless. Only the eldest of Lilliputian craftsmen have the time, skill, and patience to shape the jet-black wood, but the results are well worth it.

Wearing a full suit of the stuff can turn the lowliest warrior into a demigod of endurance, as they would be encased in light-weight and impossibly-durable wood plating that can reactively seal shut without impeding movement. This makes the wearer immune to fire, acids, gas attacks, and even the pressure of the deep sea. In the case of fire, the Hellsbark can maintain a safe temperature against extreme heat, but is less effective against cold. Being a living plant, the armor is still able to produce oxygen for the wearer in hostile environments...so long as their helmet remains sealed.

The Hellsbark Armor is not without its price: once donned, the armor seals onto the wearer's body. It cannot be removed by any means, as Hellsbark is too strong to be surgically cut. Even the Lillipat are unable to affect the armor once donned. The wearer gives up their appearance and no small amount of comfort in exchange for unmatched protection. It is no question of the implications should the armor fall into evil hands...But what would have to happen to good hands for them to willingly don this black armor?

Riddle's Keeper Lore Drop 4: The Merfolk of the Jasconian Ocean

There many things that lurk in the depths of the ocean between Jasconius and Seika that humans cannot fathom, but a surprising number of things humans can and do so on a regular basis...

At first, the merfolk would seem two different races, especially when one first hears of them being referred to as Tritons and Mermaids, and then witnesses them in the flesh. The tall Tritons with their shark-like teeth. and the fair Mermaids in their delicate fins seem too different to be the same species. They are indeed the same race, with their genders being wildly different from one another. It's possible there are more forms of Merfolk, but none that have been (or perhaps can be) observed by humans.

Mermaids resemble human women with koi-like features, taking pride in the vivid colors of their skin and the dazzling shapes of their fins, which hang around their chests and legs like a dress. While beautiful to behold, Mermaids had the dubious pleasure of being referred to as 'Sirens' for a very long time, and still are by the more bigoted sailor. The reason for this is their song; Mermaids are famous for their lilting and sonorous Whalesong that sounds pleasant to human ears but can be deadly to those who don't understand the ominous tones. The Whalesong is a magical practice all its own, capable of such feats as commanding the waves and sea creatures, and when turned directly against a victim, inducing a dream-like state. All can often result in death for the subject, their bodies given to maws both real and imagined.

Tritons are huge humanoids with finned forearms and calves with a singular, large fin crowning their cranium. The skin on their gray bodies with white chest and abdomen is rougher than sandpaper, and lets the Triton swim swiftly. Tritons are rarely seen in their bare forms; when they show themselves to humans, it is in a huge suit of corroded sea-metal armor that betrays nothing of the Triton within except a pair of glowing red eyes from an abyssal visor. Hefting massive hooks wrought from whale bone or even looted ship anchors, there's a very specific reason they arm themselves as such that goes back to Jasconius' origins.

Long ago, when Jasconian humans turned their eyes to the sea, a faction of Tritons were the first to reply. The Tritons taught the old Jaconians of the art of seafaring, but there was a darker purpose to the design of the ships they chose to give to the humans. Finding the Seikanese junks too difficult to attack, the Tritons gave the Jasconians a boat with a curved bottom. When the Jasconians began to set sail, tales were spun of armored giants emerging from the depths with massive hooks to grasp the sides of boats, easily flipping them over and sending the unfortunate sailors and their bounty sinking to the depths.

These days, Jasconian ships have grown far too large and well-armed to be viable for attacks by the Merfolk, save those Mermaids who can provoke the largest of sea monsters with their song. Instead, most Merfolk are cordial with the humans they meet, as if they didn't give humans a boat design just to exploit it. It's not as if humans can really do anything in retaliation for such, for how can they make war with a foe they cannot follow?

The Nilemen of Sothis

Umr At-Tawil once mused of having the Nilemen as an ally against Arlys. Umr found them impossible to convince, leading the Warriors of One-Thousand to be (mostly) humans. Their collective adamancy and possible indifference stems from somewhere one might not expect...

Living in the desert region of Sothis, the Nilemen are a race of bipeds who take pride in what they've built despite the harsh conditions. They appear as if they are crocodiles who decided to stand on two legs, resulting in a hunched appearance. Much like their human counterparts, they drape themselves in flowing cotton clothing, though its more out of symbolism (and decency) than any practical reason. Even without standing at their full height, Nilemen tower over humans and can stare an Arlysian Cauldron-Born in the eye. While they make particularly fierce warriors, it takes an oddly-specific event to see a Nileman roused: a direct threat to their cat (or cats) will throw a Nileman into an unstoppable rampage until the threat is destroyed.

…Cats?

Oh yes...Nilemen love their cats. A Nileman settlement is infested with lazy, sun-bathing kitties, and the Nilemen love every single one. They love cats so much, their culture has evolved to center around the furry things; Nilemen believe when a cat and a Nileman are in the same room, it is the cat who is in charge! The idea of being chosen by a weeks-old kitten is not only heartwarming to a Nileman, but a privilege and an honor. A Nileman, chosen or not, would give their life in defense of a cat, begging the question if this is not just a one-sided example of symbiosis...though cats are handy in guarding Nileman eggs from predators.

All this love of cats has to stem from somewhere, and that somewhere is Bastet. A being neither god nor Old One, Bastet is mother to all cats, and has walked Jasconius for time immemorial. While her true form is a slender black cat, she is able to shapeshift, often taking the form of a human woman with three sets of breasts. An aloof and indifferent creature who probably only settled in Sothis because it was warm, Bastet is still an object of worship by the Nilemen and a number of Sothan humans, and for a good reason: Bastet and all of her children are anathema to the Old Ones and all those who serve them. 

Bastet is aware of the plight that humanity faces with the Arlysians; she doesn't care. The Arlysians do not seem to target animals, and thus do not provoke the Nilemen. She has far more reason to hate humans, who have done more to hurt her children than any Arlysian. That said, she would never join forces with Arlys herself...Bastet might find humans at fault, but punishing them sounds like far too much work. Let someone else handle that, it's been barely ten minutes since her last nap and she's tired.

Riddle's Keeper Lore Drop 2: Abdul of One-Thousand 

When the Warriors of One-Thousand appear before Vera in The Lost Princess, there are six of them, all turned to Arlys’ service. Umr At-Tawil mentions later that the Warriors numbered ten in all. Today we will talk about one of the four who escaped Her influence: Abdul Al’Sahir.
 
Abdul was a wizard from the desert region of Sothis, notorious for his hunger for arcane knowledge. The lengths he would go in this pursuit were unsettling, to say the least, yet often resulted in pushing the boundaries of magic ever further. Despite the advances made by his hand, Abdul was too often dismissed as a madman by his peers. Rumours persisted that he communed with demons, djinn, and things beyond space and time…Perhaps those rumours were not entirely unfounded, for Abdul would be the first human to make contact with Umr At-Tawil, an extraplanar being in the flesh.

Legend has it that Abdul spent three days and three nights bartering arcane knowledge with Umr, even revealing the name of the ancient djinn who held the Silver Key in its possession. How Umr managed to track down the djinn and acquire the Silver Key is anyone’s guess; the fact is he is never seen without it in his hand. When he returned to Abdul, Umr spoke of his plans to gather the mightiest heroes in Jasconius to face the dark goddess Arlys, and requested Abdul be the first to join the ‘Warriors of One-Thousand.’ Abdul was more than happy for the opportunity to test his powers against a god, and accepted.

Abdul and Umr went their separate ways while the latter sought out more heroes. Abdul poured his hours into his books with a newfound purpose, and he learned of an ancient power hidden far to the north of Sothis: a tome called the Law of Cryomancy. Abdul made preparations at once to travel to the Asgardian Fringe and claim the tome. When he was about to leave, Umr appeared before him with the second of One-Thousand at his side: a samurai from the land of Seika named Yoshida Tenzen. At Tenzen’s hip was a cursed sword, and Umr had deemed it necessary to dub the greedy kami who lived inside, the sword’s namesake Susanu, as the third of One-Thousand. Umr bid Tenzen to join Abdul in his journey, and the two unlikely allies became fast friends.

In the Asgardian Fringe, Abdul and Tenzen walked the ruins of Hamelin Long-Gone in search of the tome, and encountered numerous Men of Aesir who had claimed the ruins as their home. The undead Aesir were no match for Abdul and Tenzen, but the same could not be said for the Balor-King Ghaull; a titanic battle rattled the ancient city, ending with Ghaull driven off and the Men of Aesir abandoning Hamelin forever. Before Ghaull disappeared into the tundra, Abdul stole a morsel of the Balor-King’s knowledge; a spell with a dark purpose. With the Law of Cryomancy in hand, Abdul wasted no time in delving its secrets when he and Tenzen returned to Sothis.

It quickly became clear that the power contained within the Law of Cryomancy was a force of nature not to be trifled with; to use it required the subject to abandon all other forms of magic. Abdul found a power beyond all others he had learned, but one that was all too happy to kill the user if they drew too deeply. Before Abdul could take the plunge, there was one more spell he would need to use, the very same he stole from Ghaull:
 
A ritual to cheat death; Abdul perverted his own existence and became a Lich.
 
With death no longer a concern, Abdul was free to delve as deep as he wanted into the magicks outlined in the Law of Cryomancy without consequence, and that was well, for Umr had finished gathering the Warriors of One-Thousand, ten in all. They all would convene in Old Cagliostro when the troubles within came to a head…

On that fateful day when the Warriors gave themselves to banish Arlys, Abdul unwittingly escaped the fate of his peers. While his body was destroyed, his soul was elsewhere, stored within Abdul’s phylactery: a warped notebook bound by blackened hide. While its whereabouts are unknown, it is likely Abdul’s phylactery still persists; Abdul was quite meticulous in choosing something durable yet fitting. One who finds the phylactery would become privy to most of the undead wizard’s secrets…and all of his rambling.

Who are the Men of Aesir?

North of Cagliostro and east of the Yurukhan Steppes lay the Asgardian Fringe, a hinterland of ice and decay. The denizens of this wasteland call themselves the Men of Aesir, and each is a timeless warrior of several centuries. They appear to be unnaturally tall humans, around 8 to 10 feet at the shoulder, with frozen, decaying flesh and matted hair. While they are called Men of Aesir, women of similar qualities have been spotted in their ranks.

Legend has it that, long ago, an ancient city in the north called Hamelin once thrived. When vermin threatened to drag Hamelin down, the people of Hamelin each offered a piece of silver to any who could drive them out. A strange sorcerer with a fife appeared, and with his music, led the vermin into the tundra to freeze to death. The people of Hamelin, thinking little of the sorcerer, refused to pay him. Outraged, the sorcerer played a new and far more sinister tune. Thus were all of Hamelin's children led into the tundra, never to be seen again...

...Or so Hamelin's people thought. Decades later, the city began to wane in its glory, having been so deprived of its future. That's when a monstrous, one-eyed necromancer that came to be known as Ghaull arrived with an army of undead giants at his back. They ravaged Hamelin and annihilated its people, leaving the ruined shell of the city as a stark warning to those who don't pay their debts, be they great or small. Walking the ruined streets of Hamelin, one could swear they could hear a fife's droning...

Ghaull, now the Balor-King of the Aesir, has since turned his one eye towards the Vanir in their great forest on the other side of the Yurukhan Steppes. While the steppe-warriors have beaten his forces back each time they've ventured out, Ghaull seems determined to push through the steppes and face the Mab of the Vanir herself in battle, an event the Yurukhan see as the beginning of the end-times. Only time will tell whether Ghaull will succeed in having his war with the Vanir, or if he simply loses interest in the Vanir and turns his eye to the southern realms...