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al-qadim:diary [2020-11-15 19:01] – The Tale of the Crimson Blasphemy www-data | al-qadim:diary [2020-11-22 18:27] – Magarib www-data | ||
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brought upon the staff instead. The staff takes the sickness from the | brought upon the staff instead. The staff takes the sickness from the | ||
patients upon itself to carry it. | patients upon itself to carry it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 25 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Unforgettable Eye | ||
+ | |||
+ | The unforgettable eye of Xorn has become a great thing. The eye is the | ||
+ | only eye that has never been seen before. It has no name, or any | ||
+ | description that it has spoken. It is not a living being, but forms an | ||
+ | intelligent being. The eye is a power of the living. It is the only | ||
+ | power that can help the party. It is a powerful spell, used to itself | ||
+ | to create a living eye. There is no known example of a creature that | ||
+ | is immune to the eye's effects, and, if the creature is the eye's | ||
+ | host, it will still be affected by the eye's spell power. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The eye can create a single eye, or a series | ||
+ | of eyes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The unforgettable eye of Xorn is my eye; | ||
+ | I see neither matter nor form. | ||
+ | I see only the sight of the beloved, | ||
+ | And the heart of the heart. | ||
+ | I am the light into which | ||
+ | the heart is drawn. | ||
+ | I am the sun which is opened; | ||
+ | The moon which is opened through the web. | ||
+ | I am the moon which is the bride of the dove. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The unforgettable eye of Xorn is the ancient marble that bakes each | ||
+ | night. A caliph once told the sages that this stone is the source of | ||
+ | God's power, and the next day the Caliph ordered the stone to be | ||
+ | quarried. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Xorn's name was a matter of conjecture, until a halfling emir showed | ||
+ | him the stone and fancied that it was a powerful spell working in the | ||
+ | direction of the Veins of the Earth. The emir used the item to hope to | ||
+ | find a way to open a gate and get the items he sought, but he | ||
+ | discovered that the wall around the tower was too thick and had no | ||
+ | further use, save as a conduit by which to dispose of the stone. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Larval Innkeep | ||
+ | |||
+ | Hanna' | ||
+ | she took over the family inn. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She has a large following among the sailors of Safaq, and her inn has | ||
+ | been associated with them for many years. She has a reputation for her | ||
+ | wit and intelligence. She has an excellent relationship with the | ||
+ | villagers. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She was still under the spell of her mother' | ||
+ | |||
+ | She was the younger daughter of a merchant who was a trusted adviser | ||
+ | to her father. This merchant, Hanna' | ||
+ | a proud and powerful woman of the royal court. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Mutated beyond recognition she was torn to shreds by her fellow moths. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Blood Moth | ||
+ | |||
+ | To call the Blood Moth unnatural would be a misconception. The Blood | ||
+ | Moth is as natural as death itself. It is cruel, it is remorseless, | ||
+ | and it is brutally destructive. These things are in its nature. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Its life cycle occurs over the course of many eons and across | ||
+ | interstellar distances: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 1. The first stage is the death of a planet. An Egg is planted within | ||
+ | the dying world, and becomes a portal to the next planet to be | ||
+ | | ||
+ | |||
+ | 2. The Larva emerges on the next planet and feasts upon its | ||
+ | | ||
+ | | ||
+ | |||
+ | 3. Once the metamorphosis is complete, the Moth emerges and finds a | ||
+ | new world to devour somewhere else in the cosmos. A psychic tether | ||
+ | is established between the two planets and a new Egg is planted | ||
+ | | ||
+ | | ||
+ | |||
+ | How long this abberant cycle of rebirth has been happening, is | ||
+ | unknowable, as is the number of worlds that the Blood Moth has | ||
+ | destroyed this way. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 26 to Gammam 1 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Best Friends | ||
+ | |||
+ | Hidi, the desert rider, is a kind-hearted man of understanding and | ||
+ | daring. He is Aman's most devoted friend. The sha'ir is a substitute | ||
+ | for the desert rider. She and Hidi have a mutual friendship. They are | ||
+ | not related by blood. The sha'ir is a member of the court of Efreets. | ||
+ | The desert rider is an ordinary Son of the Wolf. He is a warrior and a | ||
+ | descendant of the legendary hero Tarkash. The sha'ir is a master of | ||
+ | the magical arts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A desert rider and a sha'ir who are best friends. Their relationship | ||
+ | is so close that they are even sometimes called " | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | that is a secret. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The desert has a reputation for being a magical place. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Four Tables | ||
+ | |||
+ | The House of Dhi'b had been pitched near the shore of a great sea, and | ||
+ | the Sheikh' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The House of Dhi'b, a traveller years ago, in a land far beyond the | ||
+ | Mountains of the Loregiver. The House has long been a home of the | ||
+ | monk. The monks are considered a leading force in the civilization of | ||
+ | the High Desert, and when the dao Ajayib in 1054, they captured the | ||
+ | citadel and brought the monastics to the palace, where they were held | ||
+ | prisoner for nearly a decade. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The House of Dhi'b has four tables, different in size. The table for | ||
+ | the food, for the drink, for the ceremony, and for the unspeakable | ||
+ | power. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Rival Clan | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rival clans of al-Badia are always welcome guests, as long as the | ||
+ | guest is serious. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The guest is asked to stand in a circle at a small table between two | ||
+ | heaps of stones. The guest is then given a cloak so that he can see | ||
+ | the wooden table. The guest stands up and the guest is asked to raise | ||
+ | his hand to the table. The guest must be a member of the opposite clan | ||
+ | to win the favor of al-Badia. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rival clans of al-Badia run the houses of the temples, each strong | ||
+ | enough to fight its own kindred. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is said that only the strong, the brave, and the strong-hearted are | ||
+ | chosen to manage the temples. | ||
+ | |||