Post by vexxcapez on Dec 6, 2011 3:22:09 GMT -5
*Sub Story*
Once upon a time, back in the days when the magic flowed free and the gods mingled with the mortals, there was a powerful and prominent order: The Order Of The Nightingales. The Nightingales were individuals with a flair for stealth and the darker side of magic. They were often thieves when they joined. These individuals were hand picked by the great god Nocturnal, who was worshipped by the Order. Nocturnal would give these thieves a trial, a test of sorts. If they passed, she would bestow upon them her blessing, henceforth turning them into a Nightingale. They would gain the ability to merge with the shadows, becoming near invisible except to the trained eye, and their soul would entwine with the spirits of Nightingales long dead, bringing them incredible luck and the skill of their predecessors in moments of great need. They would receive a set of Nightingale cloaks and a hood as a symbol of their belief, and the mark of Nocturnal, otherwise known as the Nightingale tattoo, would be burned into their palm by the shadows. All this came at a price however. In death, a Nightingale's soul would be preserved and caught by Nocturnal rather than moving on, and the former Nightingale would become Nocturnal's servant for eternity, dedicated to helping the living Nightingales and protecting the shrines.
During the height of this era, the god of death and nether, Zasusti, became power hungry, and wanted more than the nether. He wanted to rule the dimension of the living as well. He prepared his armies of the undead and at the apex of the Rift-Solstice (an eve which happens once every millennium, where the barriers between dimensions is weakest), Zasusti attempted his master scheme. Zasusti planned to use the brief weakness in the dimension barrier as a chance to rip a hole through, setting up an obsidian gate to hold open the gap, allowing him and all his minions to pass through in physical form with ease! Now while Zasusti could already manipulate the life world through projections of himself, there was no telling what he could do in physical form. So the order of the nightingales moved to stop him. Surrounding the weak point in the Barrier, they built the Endersyphax, an impenetrable temple which housed the Chamber of Nocturnal. The Chamber was actually a dimensional twist generator. The carefully carved contours and the advanced, dwarven technology used to build it worked together to channel and convert the shadow energies which give nightingales their power into a dimensional disruption field. The field would completely obliterate anything that tried to cross the dimensions! But to seal the barriers, that would take something more. So the Nightingale orbs were created. Each nightingale linked an orb with their soul. When used the orbs would drain their soul for raw mana, an energy impossible to obtain any other way. The mana would be projected into a bubble around the nether, neutralizing almost all interdimensional activity. The disruption field would prevent Zatusti from interfering with the mana bubble long enough for it to form.
The eve came, and the barriers fell. The nightingales activated and unleashed the flow of shadow into the chamber, and the disruption beam blasted into the breach. Zasusti howled in anger. The orbs glew, and the nightingales gasped as their souls were eaten away, and a stream of purple twirled from the orbs into the break. The bubble started to form. More and more energy it took....sapping away at their life forces. Dozens of nightingales of weaker spirit ceased to exist as their souls were completely absorbed. But at last, it was done. Zasusti was stopped and the world saved, but at a high cost. The magica throughout Mirugan were weaker, as the mana border made it difficult for the gods to kend their powers. Communication with the dead ceased to be possible. And the nightingales? Their ties with Nocturnal weakened, they lost most of their power. With over half their numbers dead from the sealing, they never recovered. They built a protective seal over the shadowblaze (the device used to provide the shadow energy for The Chamber) and locked it. It could only be unlocked with both a mark of Nocturnal and the Shadowkey present. The shadowkey was given to the royal family for safekeeping, and the chamber was sealed and left until it may be needed once more. Their luck dry and most magic gone, the nightingales numbers dwindled even further, until only a few remained, passing on the title and tattoo from generation to generation, watching the walls of the dimension, guarding the great divide....
And now, recently, the apex of the Rift-Solstice approaches once more. Zasusti has increased his plotting and evil doings, and plans to re-attenpt the establishment of a gateway. The nightingales all gone, the last one killed yesterday on his way to warn the king, the orbs (filled with the souls of the dead nightingales) scattered, the location of the Endersyphax unknown except to the Nightingales, and the mana bubble weak from various attempts to open nether portals from this side, we are in the most danger yet! The chamber must be reaactivated and the orbs replaced, to re-seal the nether, and thwart Zasustis plans once more!
*written by PajosFTW*
Once upon a time, back in the days when the magic flowed free and the gods mingled with the mortals, there was a powerful and prominent order: The Order Of The Nightingales. The Nightingales were individuals with a flair for stealth and the darker side of magic. They were often thieves when they joined. These individuals were hand picked by the great god Nocturnal, who was worshipped by the Order. Nocturnal would give these thieves a trial, a test of sorts. If they passed, she would bestow upon them her blessing, henceforth turning them into a Nightingale. They would gain the ability to merge with the shadows, becoming near invisible except to the trained eye, and their soul would entwine with the spirits of Nightingales long dead, bringing them incredible luck and the skill of their predecessors in moments of great need. They would receive a set of Nightingale cloaks and a hood as a symbol of their belief, and the mark of Nocturnal, otherwise known as the Nightingale tattoo, would be burned into their palm by the shadows. All this came at a price however. In death, a Nightingale's soul would be preserved and caught by Nocturnal rather than moving on, and the former Nightingale would become Nocturnal's servant for eternity, dedicated to helping the living Nightingales and protecting the shrines.
During the height of this era, the god of death and nether, Zasusti, became power hungry, and wanted more than the nether. He wanted to rule the dimension of the living as well. He prepared his armies of the undead and at the apex of the Rift-Solstice (an eve which happens once every millennium, where the barriers between dimensions is weakest), Zasusti attempted his master scheme. Zasusti planned to use the brief weakness in the dimension barrier as a chance to rip a hole through, setting up an obsidian gate to hold open the gap, allowing him and all his minions to pass through in physical form with ease! Now while Zasusti could already manipulate the life world through projections of himself, there was no telling what he could do in physical form. So the order of the nightingales moved to stop him. Surrounding the weak point in the Barrier, they built the Endersyphax, an impenetrable temple which housed the Chamber of Nocturnal. The Chamber was actually a dimensional twist generator. The carefully carved contours and the advanced, dwarven technology used to build it worked together to channel and convert the shadow energies which give nightingales their power into a dimensional disruption field. The field would completely obliterate anything that tried to cross the dimensions! But to seal the barriers, that would take something more. So the Nightingale orbs were created. Each nightingale linked an orb with their soul. When used the orbs would drain their soul for raw mana, an energy impossible to obtain any other way. The mana would be projected into a bubble around the nether, neutralizing almost all interdimensional activity. The disruption field would prevent Zatusti from interfering with the mana bubble long enough for it to form.
The eve came, and the barriers fell. The nightingales activated and unleashed the flow of shadow into the chamber, and the disruption beam blasted into the breach. Zasusti howled in anger. The orbs glew, and the nightingales gasped as their souls were eaten away, and a stream of purple twirled from the orbs into the break. The bubble started to form. More and more energy it took....sapping away at their life forces. Dozens of nightingales of weaker spirit ceased to exist as their souls were completely absorbed. But at last, it was done. Zasusti was stopped and the world saved, but at a high cost. The magica throughout Mirugan were weaker, as the mana border made it difficult for the gods to kend their powers. Communication with the dead ceased to be possible. And the nightingales? Their ties with Nocturnal weakened, they lost most of their power. With over half their numbers dead from the sealing, they never recovered. They built a protective seal over the shadowblaze (the device used to provide the shadow energy for The Chamber) and locked it. It could only be unlocked with both a mark of Nocturnal and the Shadowkey present. The shadowkey was given to the royal family for safekeeping, and the chamber was sealed and left until it may be needed once more. Their luck dry and most magic gone, the nightingales numbers dwindled even further, until only a few remained, passing on the title and tattoo from generation to generation, watching the walls of the dimension, guarding the great divide....
And now, recently, the apex of the Rift-Solstice approaches once more. Zasusti has increased his plotting and evil doings, and plans to re-attenpt the establishment of a gateway. The nightingales all gone, the last one killed yesterday on his way to warn the king, the orbs (filled with the souls of the dead nightingales) scattered, the location of the Endersyphax unknown except to the Nightingales, and the mana bubble weak from various attempts to open nether portals from this side, we are in the most danger yet! The chamber must be reaactivated and the orbs replaced, to re-seal the nether, and thwart Zasustis plans once more!
*written by PajosFTW*
