Graterras Chapter 3: Darkness Revealed [IC]

[Notus]

Marcus shaked his head in a negative as an answer to Duncan. Some parts of the mage's talk did get his attention, not to mention the mages themselves. He found it specially weird to hear of the "Ten" divines. He never was specially good with numbers, but as far as the young man knew there were only nine gods... Or so he had been told up to now.

[Flux]

Nero glanced at Glicks while they were seated around the table, hoping the kobold would give him some kind of hint as to when they were supposed to meet. He had not know that Glicks would be a headmaster here, though he was scarcely surprised based on what he'd seen on the previous night. His attention was turned back to the conversation as he hear one of the mages speak up.

"...willing to give the information to these heros, regarding the Plate of Hatred, and the other 9 shards of the Ten Divines..."

Information. That was something Nero appreciated. However, it was the other part of the sentence that caught his attention more. Ten Divines? Nero had never been particularly pious, nor had he believed much in the gods before recent events, but even he knew that there were supposed to be nine. It seemed that this information would be valuable indeed. Valuable enough that these mages would keep it from being common knowledge. He sat back, waiting to hear what they had to say.

[Chevaleresse]

The Ten? This is new to me. I know of the Nine, and the Wanderers, and I believe the Victonari mentioned his own gods, but I do not know of this tenth. Xavier looked about in askance, but his companions seemed as confused as he was. However, he was more concerned about these "shards" mentioned. The elf cleared his throat. "No, I do not believe any of us have. What are these shards you refer to, and how does the Plate of Hatred relate to them?"

[Chim]

Sigurd didn’t listen to the ranting by the Masters. Even if they didn’t agree to give them information about those ten shards, he would convince them anyway. All these yes or no discussions were pointless to him. He lost his concentration when the Half Orc was about to speak again. Instead he admired the craftsmanship of the table, when he started slowly to realize something. It was when Xavier mentioned the word ‘shards’ again that he remembered.

“Oy, I don’t know who that Arcano fellow is, but I’m pretty sure there are only nine Divines.”

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The magic in the air was so thick that one could cut it with a sword. It was probably the Elf blood that ran in her that reacted to the magic, although Helze was certain she couldn't perform any tricks of her own that involved the mystic. A circle of important-looking spellcasters sat before them, and what a strange set they were, especially with one that almost looked like an Undead being.

Her eye fell upon the one wearing wolf pelts, and a frown crossed her face. Did he kill them solely to wear them? It was cold here, yes, but not so much inside as it was outside. The ranger wondered how her wolf companion was, wandering out on the outskirts of Nevermore, out in the frigid cold.

Also, the Ten Divines? That was new, that was something she hadn't heard of. Although magic was something not in her area of expertise, she kept her ears alert for this new information.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Well, all of that will be answered in time, but it shall be a long process. You all must fully understand the situation." Duncan said.

"Then let me tell them." Sapphire said, the actual first thing she said the entire meeting. It must have been a rare occurance for her to talk, as all of the gathered wizards gasped and looked surprised, there were muffled murmurs before all eyes fell on the Victonari woman.

"Are you sure Sapphire? You have never spoke to most of us, let alone outsiders." Bane said.

"I will be fine Bane, you have no need to worry. I know these tales better than anyone else here, it is only fitting I tell them." she said, a slight wavering in her voice. It was clear she was frightened at this prospect. The heros got a feeling Sapphire was probably a withdrawn individual, that did not often speak, but when she did it was important. This was highly evident by the way all of the Headmasters were acting, while they were puzzled by it at first, they now seemed to respect her decision and them all seemed to silently agree to let her speak.

"Well, you used to the Keeper of Knowledge here as well Sapphire, I would hope you would know as much. Fill them in, you could do the best job out of any of us here." said Slystina, a warm smile on her face.

"Anyway, as I am sure you all know, or maybe you don't." Sapphire started. "Anyway, in the beginning of the universe there was only Io. He was the only thing in the known universe, and he swam in the inky black abyss. However, the Nine-Fold Dragon soon grew bored of the nothingness, he wanted something to exist alongside him so that it could share the universe with him. He soon began creating stars to light the horrible darkness. He created thousands and he continued to do so, until one day he ran out of energy. He had created so many stars and beautiful things that he forgot to take care of himself, and thus, he began to die, but before he did, he had one final act. He Split his body into Nine Dragon Gods, and two more entities. These Entities were the Brothers, Bartallimo and Arcano, 2 of the Ten Divines you call your pantheon Bartallimo and his brother Arcano were meant to lead the dragons to create the rest of the universe as Io wanted, as it was Io's dying wish. And so they created many worlds and galaxies and formed the the universe as we know it today. However, they created one world that Io wanted in particular, our world Graterras. Io wanted a place were he could have frolicked with other beings, and not feel alone, and in particular wanted it to be a fantastic place like no other. As such, the Dragons, thought they would create Curators of this world other gods to help them keep this world the place Io wanted it to be. From every one of the Nations you know today, the Dragons each created a god to rule over certain aspects of the world. They then Named Bartallimo King of the Gods, and gave him the banner of being the God of Balance. He would keep order amongst the gods so that Graterras could be a happy and beautiful place. However, this greatly angered Arcano. He had just as much to do with everything as Bartallimo did, but he was forced to be a lowly god of magic, well in his eyes at least. He grew jealous of his brother's power and how unfair it was that the Nine Dragons, seemed almost forget how he helped them as much, if not more than Bartallimo did. He slowly descended into complete and utter madness. Much later, the gods were in crisis, as they had found out not was all well with Graterras. A Massive War started, and to this day it is known as the Great Cataclysmic War. Hundreds of years of progress were undone in a few days, as the races of the worlds grew hatred for each other. The exact reasons are unknown to this day, however something else is known. The gods believed in was an imbalance in their own Pantheon that had caused the war, and it is their fault that the War happened. Their Imperfect state caused the beings they made to be as imperfect as they were. They had to achieve pure balance if they wanted the world to be the true world Io wanted. They all looked to Bartallimo to solve the crisis as he was indeed the God of Balance, he should know the way to balance the Pantheon. However, Bartallimo could only find one single solution. And that solution was to kill his own brother Arcano. His madness was what caused the imbalance, and threw off the peace of the world. All the creations they had created, were tainted with his madness and the jealousy of his own brother, and so it doomed all the creations to be like Arcano. And So Bartallimo, slew his own borther and struck all references to his name and who he was from the known universe. Arcano, had a single tear roll down his cheek, and then in a final fit of rage, He screamed to the Heavens. What he said is lost to the ages. Arcano is not the true name of the God of Magic, we know not what it was as that too is lost forever. And that is the tale of Arcano and the Ten Divines, as such the general public does not know this. It was something that only the Scholar Knights, the Victonari and a select few have known for centuries."

"And that brings us to the more important issue, the one of how this relates to the Plate of Hatred." Said Duncan, now taking over the conversation. Sappire was visibly shaking, so he probably took over now to prevent her from haiving to speak any longer. It seemed rude, but the heros knew he meant well. "It was said Long ago a race of Strange People lived, called the Children of Arcano himself, The Umbranari. They were a strange race, but we have no idea what they looked like or even most of their culture. It is said they were immortals that were the very essence of pwoer and magic. However, they were all murdered and killed in a Great War Centuries after the Great Cataclysmic War. Having still been around from that they tried to stop it from happening again, only to anger most of the other races and be taken out by them. It is known as The Grey Cleanse. Before they died out however, they created one weapon of mass destruction......something to try and save them, and they made it with the Final Black tear of their Creator. They Forged the Plate of Hatred and shaped it in the form of what they hated most man. The Angelside of Plate represented what man showed to the world, and the Demon half represented what they truly were. Later it came to mean all of Human and Demi-human life on Graterras as they all fell in league to defeat them after the Plate of Hatred was forged. In an anchient Human text, it was said that an Umbranari using the Plate killed an entire army of of Human Forces, all by his lonesome..This text is one of the only remaining references to the Umbranari, and how the plate of hatred was discovered. After the Grey Cleanse, the Plate disappeared for centuries as the Leader of the Humans at the time had dropped it into the Mouth of the Abyss reportedly. Though that isn't known to be true as the accounts we do have all conflict." Duncan paused here attempting to regain his breath. "Can one of you take the rest for me? I am a bit winded."

"Sure thing" said Ilifaren. "Now listen up youngsters. The Plate of Hatred relates to these shards for one reason and one reason alone. The Shards are pieces of the other gods. They are important objects of the Gods past, such as the Black Tear of Arcano. They are the key to destroying the Plate of Hatred, or at least Neutralizing its powers, we are not sure they can destroy the plate....or if anything can, but we know they will nullify its magic. The thing is, the shards are all know to be in the literal birthplaces of the gods. In each Nation, there is a natural wonder of great magnitude were one of the Dragon Gods created them. Now, it is known that these shards exist, however, it is not known what any of them are, or what any of them are capable of. These Objects could very much have the power to destroy the world if they fall into the wrong hands, so they are just as dangerous as the Plate of Hatred if not more.. It is also assumed each one has a Guardian of immense power, so even getting them is a dangerous task. It is for this reason we had to vote if we could give you this information. The very Fate of the World Relies on you few, and what you do with these objects. So, forgive our hesitance, but now you know why some of us were at first."

((Hukuna is back baby, and a lore knowledge bomb to boot.))

[Jory]

Dru nodded sagely, taking in all this new information quite smoothly. At first, he'd been shocked to hear that there were more than the Nine and the Wanderers, but the more the cerulean-scaled Victonari spoke of the true lore of Graterras, the more Drug'thok knew if had to be correct. The version they had all been told their entire lives had always seemed a bit too rosy for Dru to entirely believe that Nine all-powerful beings were able to come together without any conflict. And so, he ended up being the first of the party to recover from the evident shock on many of their faces. He once more stood up and cleared his throat, addressing the council.

"We have traveled far to get here. We have seen and done things that no mortal should ever need to bear witness to. And yet we have survived through sheer tenacity, our ability to work as a team, and the intervention of those who care enough to aid us," Dru began, looking meaningfully toward his group at his mention of the Victonari from Passthrough. "We will recover these Shards, no matter the cost. Because in the end, so long as the Plate of Hatred exists, we're all living on a deadline anyway. How do we begin our journey?"

[Notus]

Marcus rubbed his temple and laid back in the chair when the mages finished telling them the story of the Plate and the Nine Shards. Holy hell, it was a lot to take in just one go.

"So, in short, we have to travel through all Graterras and gather these Shards in order to prevent the end of the world or something alike." The Templar made a little pause, as if considering the idea. Then he opened a smile. "Yep, looks nice. I'm in! As you said, there is a Shard in each nation of Graterras right? Any clues on where to find the Shadowed Island's one?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I don't suggest starting with that one. It is the only one we have any information on, and it is not pretty information." Morlak said.

"Aye, he speaks the truth I am afraid." said Slystina. "We did know of it's whereabouts, as it used to be in the Mouth of the Abyss, however, rumor says something got to it already. The Mouth of the Abyss is the known roosting grounds of over 200 Adult Shadow Dragons."

"Let's say whatever got to that Shard, isn't something I think you want to deal with until you have some of the others." said Eileen Turncoat.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Admittedly the sudden influx of this long-lost lore left Helzebeth stunned. The tales were not as they seemed, not as she'd known them to be. For a while, all that registered was, firstly, that the despicable armor that the monster from Brinestar wore had once been tossed down the bottomless pit they had traversed earlier. No wonder it reeked with such evil. And secondly, there were multiple Shards-- of what? The Gods' pasts?-- that they had to collect in order to stop this madness.

Before she could speak, however, the Fire Templar named Marcus practically took the words out of her mouth. Still a bit dumbfounded, she managed to ask, "What do we do once we've gathered these Shards? Is there any more data as to where and how to find them?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"No, there is.....none." said Duncan. A shamed look upon his face. "We know of the shards, but not what to do with them. You will have to look for those answers on your quest."

Helzebeth only.

Helze felt a rippling at the back of her mind. It felt familiar......it was Blue again. Though it was unlike when he was talking outside. It felt more like the dream she had before, direct contact to her mind. "I am sorry to barge in once more....but these shards are what I was talking about. Your father.....accidentally came across Tectaniteus's Shard....He is the key to finding it. I am sorry I didn't fully disclose earlier, but you would not have believed me. The Wizard's don't know anymore then what they have told you...and your father is my only lead for now."

Nero only.

Nero felt a small rapping on his shoulder, from an oaken staff. It was Glicks. in a hushed tone "Follow meesa, we have work to do. Be real hush hush." Glicks took his hand then and tried to lead him elsewhere. It was small, like a child's hand, though it was a bit more furry. It also felt aged. Glicks must have been old by a Kobold's standards, at least to Nero's knowledge of them.

Sigurd Only

"These Wizards don't seem smart......I know where the shard of Draven lies.....and more importantly....a few of the others. It wasn't my task from the Gentleman, but those of his other generals, The Angels of Death. I am one of them, well at least he thinks I am. I am a god that only pretends to kneel before him. However, the other Angels of Death are almost as powerful as me Burly Bull, I suggest you make a plan with the others in your group." The Crimson King said into Sigurd's Mind. ((remember bold an italic, just like the above text, otherwise you are saying it out loud.....and they will probably think you are insane......))

[Supernovae]

Oarloff had tried to pay attention. Really, he tried his best. But, he still couldn't keep his mind off of his encounter with Mr. Buttons. He wanted to ask the council about him, but papa had told him to be on his bestest behavior and that's what he had to do, he couldn't disappoint him again.

When he came back in to the conversation after his daydreams about what new abilities he had he couldn't' help but here that the group was looking for some missing shard. It caused him to think back to last night again. He decided it was too important, he had to tell them about Mr. Buttons.

"Umm..." he started unsure of how to talk to the council, "Me thinks me knows someone who knows where the shards is... Should me ask him?"

Edited September 23, 2014 by Supernovae

[Chevaleresse]

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Who would that be?" He had his doubts about the ogre's friends, but stranger sights than a knowledgeable half-ogre had greeted his eyes in the past.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Morlak stood up. He walked over, his wooden sandals clacking loudly on the floor under his weight. Bells, coconuts etc all clacked together at the end of his staff which looked totemic in nature. He was a muscly guy for a Wizard. Though, those that knew of magic would know why. Conjurers faced massive pressure on their bodies from their magic, and it took huge amounts of stamina to cast the most powerful of their spells. It was the most demanding on the body, even more so than Evoking, Dru and all the Templars schools of magic. He shifted down to one knee, with the sound of cascading beads. He wore many bone necklaces, with beads of a multitude of colours. He looked eye-level with the Half-Ogre, trying not to scare him, but to let him know he was his fellow, a brother in his struggles. He placed his hand on his shoulder as he looked to Xavier for a quick second, and then looked back. "As your friend asked child, who is this person you speak of?"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Feeling the now-familiar psychic link activating in her mind and hearing the Illithid's voice, the ranger had to suppress herself from giving away any surprise. My... Father? Truly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around how involved in this he actually is... The third thing that the sages had mentioned finally registered.

Guardians.

It clicked in her head almost audibly. But didn't they say that there is a powerful guardian for each Shard? What if he-- she struggled to breathe normally. To others, it might've looked like her chest was just rising and falling at a faster rate.

[Supernovae]

Oarloff smiled sheepishly at the man, "His name is misturr buttons! He's a magical goat," Oarloff stopped, the ogre may not be the sharpest bulb in the bunch, but even he knew that goats didn't talk, "Oh and he gave me magical powers last night, he said he was very, very happy that me saved him. Oh, you should have seen him talk Misturr Marcus he was just the nicest goatie that me had ever met. And look Misturr buttons gave me this as well," Oarloff lifted his hand to show the silver tree off. "He also tolded me that me can ask him help whenever me needs to! Oh, he was just so smart, definitely the smartest goatie that me had ever met, he MUST know where the shard is!"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Morlak looked at the symbol. And he recognized it. "That......that Silver Tree.....it is the Holy Symbol of Bartimis.....Child, can you call this Mister Buttons here, right now?"

[Supernovae]

Suddenly a promise jumped back into the ogre's mind, a promise made to his father. The ogre's enthusiastic behavior suddenly became timid, "Umm... Papa said that me had to be on me best behaviors. Me doesn't want to disserpoint hims..."

The ogre paused, realizing he began rubbing his tummy as he often did when he was faced with a moral dilemma. "Well, maybe Misturr Buttons can help them? Plus, this man looks very, very smart he wouldn't ask me to call Misturr Buttons unless he knows it will be smart."

Oarloff sat in deep contemplation for quite some time, continuously rubbing his stomach, only pausing to make a strange grunting sound from time to time. Without warning the ogre had made his decision, he jumped from his chair, nearly knocking the table over, and pointed a finger in the air. "Okay, me will do it." The ogre pulled the ribbon from under his belly and held it in his hand. "OOOOOOH MISTURRR BUTTONS. MISSSSSSSSTUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRR BUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTONS. PLEASE COME HELP USSS MISTUR BUTTONS!"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

And suddenly......the Ribbon started to pulse with a Silver Light. a puff of white smoke. (with the strange smell of grass and apples.) appeared in the middle of the Headmaster's Table. There were many gasps as they soon realized in the middle of the table stood what appeared to be a man. He wore a Giant Silver Tree on his head, that had a single yellow apple hanging off of it. He had a Beard made of Pure Ivy, like the kind that grew on a tree's side. He wore a Lovely coat of velvet, it was Silver in colour with Green trim. His eyes were wild like the Forest, and yet kinder than any you had ever seen. He held in his left hand a crook made of Dogwood, and in his right he held a small book. Oarloff than heard a familiar voice, one that sounded like Mister Buttons. "Hello, Oarloff, Child you have called for Mister Buttons, and he has answered, what is it you need?"

[Supernovae]

Oarloff gasped. "But, but you is not misturr buttons. You is a person and Misturr Buttons is a goatie." Oarloff paused, realizing the man sounded just as the goat had. "Oh ho ho ho ho! You is very, very funny Misturr Buttons. Me gets it, you can change shapes, so instead of looking like an adorable goatie, you pretends to be a man. Probably so you can buy foods and stuff, very clever Misturr Buttons."

The look on Oarloff's face was almost absurdly cheerful. For whatever reason, Oarloff just seemed to love talking to Mr. Buttons. "These peoples are looking for, ummm..." The ogre began to snap his fingers, trying to remember it was that his friends wanted to know about, "Oh, it's a shard or something?!?! Oh, no me was just so, so excited to see you that me had forgotten what me wanted to ask, oh silly me."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

First the sudden re-introduction of the lores that she'd once known, then the revelation that her father was actually more deeply rooted in this fight that she thought, and now, the revelation that the mediocre, run-of-the-mill-looking goat that the gentle Ogre rescued earlier turned out to be a deity of some sort. The Half-Elf stared, now dumbfounded. After all this, I think that I may have just seen everything, she thought. At this point she wondered if the Mind Flayer could read her mind as well as while she was fast asleep.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Helze only.

"I am still here, sorry.....I am just as dumbfounded as you.....never thought that goat was Bartimis....and thank heavens I am not in that room right now....He would instantly recognize me." Blue said. "I know this is lot process....even I am having trouble believing it. All mentions of these..shards have been stricken from Seeker's personal Library of Knowledge. I think the Gods hid them with good reason, to avoid another Plate of Haatred being created....but I wonder if they left this knowledge here...so that the humans and demi-humans of the world could defend themselves if the Plate ever resurfaced again."

Mister Buttons.

"It is quite alright Child. It isn't your fault Oarloff, sometimes we forget....I forget to water my hat sometimes. Luckily never long enough that it dies. This Tree is Betsy by the way. She is a good friend of mine. Probably like some of these people around me are to you. Are some of these people your friends Oarloff? Do they know why you brought me here?" Mister Buttons said twirling his Mustache.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Bartimis. Bartimis, the patron god of the Paladins, heeded the call of an Ogre, a mortal. Helzebeth was barely aware and thankful of the fact that her mouth wasn't gaping open. It was a lot to process. Unable to blame anybody for being stricken quiet like her, she could also barely gather her thoughts and ask the knowledgeable Illithid in her head things she wished to know. "Sh... Shard..." she only managed to stammer out. Then, remembering herself and the question they wanted to ask, she bowed in reverence to the deity that stood before them. "Lord of Life, we-- we are searching for the Shards. Of the gods. That-- that we may defeat an unholy demon who-- who holds the Plate of Hatred in his p-position," she said, stuttering, her mind still bamboozled. A tree name Betsy? she thought, giddily. "O-our companion thought that y-you, my lord, might know where they lay."

[Jory]

Dru simply sat at the table, his mouth hanging wide open in shock. Bartimis's appearance in the room took everything Dru knew (or thought he had known) about the divines and threw it through the tallest window in the nearest vicinity, then ran it over with several horse-drawn coaches. What in the actual hell is going on here? he thought to himself. It's one thing for the Divines to reach out to one in a dream. It's another thing entirely for one of them to heed the call of a mortal and actually appear on this plane of reality. Who knows what the consequences could be?

[Chim]

Sigurd wasn’t paying much attention. Listening wasn’t a skill he was good at so he was thankful when Marcus summed everything up. He was almost his loud self again when Boney started talking.

Ooh Boney, I thought you were gone. And are you serious? You know about these shards? Tell me where they are and what they look like!

The idea of finding these shards excited Sigurd. He felt like a little kid wielding his first sword again. And this was the perfect way to prove everyone, especially a certain Fire Templar, that he was right all along when he decided to take Boney with them.

He could already imagine them apologize to him and watch in awe as he lead them to shard after shard and eventually slayed the Gentleman. In fact, he was so caught up in his imagination, he completely missed the entrance of a God. The only thing he saw was a weird looking tree that popped out of nowhere.

“Oi, what’s with the tree in the middle of the room? Is this some magic trick that’s supposed to help us with these shards?”

((Damn, suddenly everyone moves so fast))