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Who rules the githzerai?
- Thread starter Piratecat
- Start date
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
The dialogue with Dak'kon in Planescape Torment spends a lot of time on githzerai philosophy. Someone combined all the important text in the game to a single document in order to make a story.
Here is the link. I highly recommend reading anything that deals with Dakkon.
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/dl.php?s=PST&f=Torment/trmttext.zip
Some gems:
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"Your features are... unfamiliar to me. What are you? "
"A githzerai." When he said no more, I repeated his statement, as a question.
"A githzerai?"
"A githzerai is one of the People." Again I had to prompt him.
"One of the People?"
"A githzerai." Wondering if he wasn't as humorless as he appeared, I asked my question again.
"Yes, but what is a githzerai, exactly? " Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Our history does not need to be made *known* to you. We would bleed to death on time's blade before I recited a fraction of the histories of our People."
"I don't need to know your histories... but I would know of your people as they are now. "
"*Know* this and accept it as an answer: We are the People who make our home upon the shifting plane of Limbo." With a deft motion, Dak'kon slipped the blade from his back and held it before him.
"There, we mold the matter of Limbo with our minds. We forge cities with our thoughts." As I watched, a series of rippling waves of metal began to roll forth from the center of the blade. The pitch and crest of the waves matched the inflections in Dak'kon's voice. "In its chaos we dwell, with only our *knowing* to preserve us. We are the githzerai."
"What is that blade you have... it moved, shifted in response to your voice. "
"It is a *karach* blade. It is an object that lets others *know* the rank of the wielder."
"What rank does the blade signify? "
"The blade is a symbol carried by the *zerth.* A *zerth* is one who *knows* the words of Zerthimon. In *knowing* the words of Zerthimon, they *know* themselves."
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I considered the message of the third circle for a long while, and realized its essence could be summed up in a saying I had heard Dak'kon use. I told him I had come to *know* the third circle.
"Endure. In enduring, grow strong."
The words I spoke seemed to strike Dak'kon strangely... as I spoke them, his forehead creased, then resettled into its normal passive expression. He gave me another githzerai 'spell,' unlocked somehow from the circle. I wondered if there was more to learn.
"Very well... is there more you can teach me?"
As I asked the words, I suddenly noticed that Dak'kon wasn't looking at me. He was holding the Unbroken Circle in his hands, studying it. His blade had taken on the same texture as the Unbroken Circle... and Dak'kon suddenly seemed *older* somehow.
"Dak'kon?" I asked, concerned.
Dak'kon's black eyes rose from the Circle and looked at me.
"*Know* that I did not believe you would come to *know* the teachings of the Circle. It is... a difficult path you will walk in learning the Way of Zerthimon. Is your mind focused on this matter?"
When I assured him it was, he unlocked the fourth circle for me. I glanced at what was before me, which concerned a traitor to their people. But it was late, and I couldn't see what this traitor's tale had to tell the githzerai. I decided to take up its study again, later.
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"And which of them was you, Dak'kon? Were you the slave?" Dak'kon was silent for a moment, and the surface of his blade swam, as if in turmoil.
"*Know* that this one owed you a service. In owing this to you, it became as slavery."
"How did this come to be?"
"*Know* the tale is long. The matter is between me and the other that was once you. *Know* that if you hear it, *know* it shall be a long tale."
"Upon the rolling Plane of Limbo, the People shape cities from the chaos with their thoughts. *Know* that there is no place for a divided mind." Dak'kon raised the blade from his shoulder and held it before him. As he stared at it, it *sharpened* until it was almost as thin as a piece of paper.
"A divided mind is an unfocused mind. A divided mind fractures walls and weakens stone." As Dak'kon spoke, the edges of the blade corroded slightly, the metal misting and melting along the edges. "Many divided minds may *destroy* a city."
"Long have I *known* the words of Zerthimon. Through my voice, many have come to *know* the words of Zerthimon. The *zerth* protect the community from all threats, whether to the body or the mind. They are the guiding stones in the chaos. So it came to pass that I spoke the words of Zerthimon without *knowing* the words of Zerthimon. It came to pass that I no longer *knew* myself."
"So... you doubted the words? "
"No." Dak'kon's voice was edged, and his blade *sharpened* in response. "I *knew* the words. Yet it came into my heart that perhaps others did not *know* the words as Zerthimon *knew* them. And so division formed. As my mind became as two, as my mind became divided, those that looked to me as a guiding stone became divided. Many scores of githzerai, many hundreds of scores of githzerai... doubted. Shra'kt'lor died that day."
"The enemies of Zerthimon came. *Know* that their hatred of his words and the People lent their blades strength. *Know* that they sensed the weakened city, and they brought war with them. Many githzerai drowned in the chaos and beneath the blades of our enemies." Small beads of metal appeared on the surface of the blade, as if it was blistering. "*Know* this happened long ago."
"As I fell from the walls of Shra'kt'lor, *know* that my self was broken. My blade was mist, my mind divided. I was adrift upon Limbo's seas, and I wished to drown. I died for days, my mind awash in division, when death finally came to me. It wore your skin, and it had your voice."
"Me?" I asked, wondering how I had been there.
Dak'kon replied, "You asked that I hear you."
As Dak'kon said the words, my vision bled outwards, and a crawling sensation began to worm its way up through the back of my skull... I felt nauseous for a moment, and my vision was suddenly as chaos, smeared, twisted, and I was someplace else, someplace in the *past*... I surrendered to the memory.
Everything around me was in turmoil - my vision was hazy, swirling, dizzying, all at ONCE... there was mist, pockets of fire, islands of mud, stone, and ice-covered rocks swimming through the Plane like fish, impacting and dissolving, droplets of water arcing through the howling air, and lashing my skin like teeth - I choked back my nausea, and I steadied myself; this was the Plane of *Limbo,* all was chaos, nothing was stable... I focused on the dying man that lay before me. It was why I had come to this place.
I examined the *zerth,* saw if he still lived. The 'man' was a githzerai, his body embedded in an earthen pocket that swirled around him - unconsciously, he had formed a grave from the elements, and though bits of fire and water licked at his face, he did not respond. His hands were ashen, his coal-black eyes focusing on nothing - his emaciated frame spoke of starvation, but I knew it was the least of his wounds. It was faith that dealt him the mortal blow.
I looked for the blade he carried. In his limp left hand was a twisted mass of metal, its surface having melted around his hand like a gauntlet. As I watched, it steamed and hissed, like a diseased snake. The githzerai did not seem to be aware of it... but it was that weapon that had brought me here.
"Dak'kon, *zerth* of Shra'kt'lor-Drowning, last wielder of the *karach* blade, know that I have come to you with the words of Zerthimon, carved not in chaos, but in stone, carved by the will in an Unbroken Circle."
At the word 'Zerthimon,' Dak'kon's eyes rolled in their sockets, and they attempted to focus upon me. With effort, he cracked his mouth to speak, but only a dry hiss emerged. I brought forth the stone from my pack and held it before him so he could see.
"Know that the words of Zerthimon inscribed upon this stone are true, and know that your divided mind need be divided no longer. All you must do is take the stone and you shall *know* yourself again."
Dak'kon's eyes flickered over the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, and for a moment, I thought he might be too close to death to recognize it. Then the right hand twitched, and he pulled it slowly from its earthen prison, the clumps of earth streaming off it becoming water in Limbo's chaotic winds. His skeletal hands clutched the stone, like a drowning man, and his eyes flashed.
"Know that I have saved your life, Dak'kon, *zerth* of Shra'kt'lor."
Dak'kon's eyes turned from the stone and flickered over me, and he hissed again, too dry for a moment to muster the words. He blinked, slowly, then spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, but the words were what I wanted to hear.
"My... life is yours... until yours is no more..." I closed my eyes, and returned to the present.
"So you got the Circle from me? "
"Yes. In *knowing* its words, I *knew* myself. "
"Tell me about that other 'me'... the incarnation you knew. What was he like?"
Dak'kon's gaze travelled through me, and he fell silent.
"Dak'kon? " I prompted.
"*Know* that he was different. *Know* that the differences were not marked on the skin, nor in the Way of the weapon, nor in the attire that cloaked him. *Know* that he was different in the way of thought and the means he acted upon his thoughts. His WILL became substance. *Know* that he saw others and did NOT see them. He *knew* only how they could serve him. His heart was treacherous, and it was cold, and never did its coldness burn him."
"Did it ever touch you, Dak'kon? Did he betray you?" Dak'kon's blade began bleeding into a dull, flat black, and I watched as edges, like teeth, began sprouting from the edge of the blade. His face clenched, and he spoke through his teeth.
"It is not my *will* you *know* of this."
"*Tell* me, Dak'kon. Did he ever *betray* you?"
"I surrendered my WORD to him. I surrendered my SELF."
"What are you talking about? "
"The People do not allow themselves to be enslaved to another in deed or chains. If we find ourselves in such a cage, we ACT to free ourselves, even if it means we must endure another cage for a time. You performed a great service for me. In so doing, you enslaved me. I acted to free myself. *Know* that I surrendered my word and my self to *act* in your name until your death." I felt a sense of horror.
"But... I can't die."
"That was not *known* to this one. I surrendered my *word* to him. I surrendered my *self.* *Know* that there is now nothing left that I may surrender except my life. *Know* now that I follow you only so I might die." Now I knew why he had been so reluctant to speak of this. I felt compassion for the tormented one in front of me, searched for some way to ease his pain.
"Dak'kon, it doesn't have to be that way... I can release you. I no longer wish you to be a slave - consider the debt paid."
"No..." Dak'kon's forehead creased in pain, and his eyes stared through me. "It is not your word that carries the weight, and your word will not free me. The word that chains me is mine. The torment is mine. I *know* in my heart that the chains remain. Words will not free them."
"Is there any way you can be freed?"
"You must die a final death. Yet your path is not death's path. There is *no* resolution to this matter." I couldn't accept that.
"I swear I will find one, Dak'kon. I will find one that sets you free." Dak'kon's voice became ragged, as if he had suddenly become sick.
"*Know* you have added other words to my words." His expression was pained, and his gaze met mine. "Now you have chained us both."
I was sorry to have caused him more pain, but I still meant to find a way to set him free.
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I think Dak'kon became powerful, but was not exiled. When his strong thoughts started being devisive, his mind sowed doubt to the other githzerai in his home, causing a civil war and the city to cease to exist.
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Dak'kon proceeded to unlock the sixth circle, so that I might study it. I began to read the sixth circle.
"Upon the Blasted Plains, Zerthimon told Gith there cannot be two skies. In the wake of his words, came war."
"Upon the Blasted Plains, the People had achieved victory over their *illithid* masters. They *knew* freedom."
"Yet before the green fires had died from the battlefield, Gith spoke of continuing the war. Many, still filled with the bloodlust in their hearts, agreed with her. She spoke of not merely defeating the *illithids,* but destroying all *illithids* across the Planes. After the *illithids* had been exterminated, they would bring war to all other races they encountered."
"In Gith's heart, fires raged. She lived in war, and in war, she *knew* herself. All that her eyes saw, she wanted to conquer."
"Zerthimon spoke the beginnings of that which was against Gith's will. He spoke that the People already *knew* freedom. Now they should *know* themselves again and mend the damage that had been done to the People. Behind his words were many other hearts of the People who were weary of the war against the *illithid.*"
"*Know* that Gith's heart was not Zerthimon's heart on this matter. She said that the war would continue. The *illithid* would be destroyed. Their flesh would be no more. Then the People would claim the False Worlds as their own. Gith told Zerthimon that they would be under the same sky in this matter. The words were like bared steel."
"From Zerthimon came the Pronouncement of Two Skies. In the wake of his words came war."
I told Dak'kon what I had come to *know.*
"I know that Zerthimon's devotion to the People was such that he was willing to protect them from themselves. He knew the *illithids* had come not to *know* themselves in their obsession with control and domination. So he chose to stop Gith before she carried the People to their deaths. There must be balance in all things, or else the self will not hold."
He twisted the circle of Zerthimon, but this time there were two plates with gith spells, not one. I switched my gaze from the plates he was holding to him.
"Dak'kon... is that second plate for you?"
Dak'kon fell silent. His blade had ceased shimmering, the film freezing upon its surface. He was staring at the second plate, paralyzed.
"Do *you* know the Sixth Circle?" Dak'kon looked up, but his coal-black eyes did not meet my gaze.
"*Know* there is nothing more I may teach you. You *know* the Way as the People *know* it, and it shall give you the direction by which you may *know* yourself."
"That's *not* what I asked. Do you *know* the Sixth Circle or not?" Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice slow and careful.
"It has come to pass that I do not *know* the Sixth Circle of Zerthimon. Once, I *knew* it, but I *know* now I only saw the words." Dak'kon's eyes stared through me. "That is all. It is my path that I no longer *know* the Way of Zerthimon."
"Dak'kon... there is one other thing I would *know.* Why is Vilquar's Eye in the Circle of Zerthimon? It seems strange. It tells of how the People benefited from a treachery from their own. It seems... " Dak'kon's eyes flashed.
"I have told you it is part of the telling of how the People came to *know* freedom. Do you not listen?" His voice flattened, as if he was reciting a passage from memory. "It tells the People that even in the greatest treachery, a greater *knowing* may be achieved."
"It doesn't sound to me like you believe that. I think there's another reason Vilquar's Eye is in the Circle of Zerthimon. It is set there because of the Sixth Circle and the Pronouncement of Two Skies. It's there to justify Zerthimon's treachery to the People upon the Blasted Plains."
Dak'kon was silent, and his blade bled into a dead-black, teeth rippling along the edge.
"He divided the People upon the Blasted Plains, Dak'kon. He divided your race, when they were on the path of victory. I would *like* to believe that it was because he wished to save the People from themselves - but I don't think *you* believe that."
Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then he spoke, slowly. "I... do not *know* the Sixth Circle as it is *known* to others. I fear that the Third Circle, the Fourth Circle and the Sixth Circle are more closely linked than many *know.* It is in that *knowing* that I have lost myself."
"In the Third Circle, Zerthimon submerged his will to deceive the *illithids,* then in the Fourth Circle, it speaks of the benefits of *treachery.* Then in the Sixth Circle, Zerthimon divides his people before they exterminate the *illithids.* Do you think Zerthimon's words may not have been his own?"
"*Know* my words, and *know* the wound that lies upon my heart: I fear that when Zerthimon was upon the Pillars of Silence, he did not submerge his will. I fear his will was taken from him by the *illithids.* And when he spoke upon the Blasted Plains, it was their words he spoke. I fear that what he did was not for the People's sake, but for our former masters."
"It's possible, but *know* it doesn't necessarily mean that h..."
"Then *know* this and speak of it NO MORE." Dak'kon voice was like a knife. "*Know* that I shall never *know* the TRUTH. There is NO resolution to this matter, for I shall NEVER *know* Zerthimon's heart upon the Blasted Plains." His coal black eyes glared at the stone circle in his hand. "And so I do not *know* myself because of the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon."
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And then the final discovery that Zerthimon made his declaration of the Two Skies in order to stop 'the people' from losing themselves and becoming like the illiads.
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I was actually more interested in the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon Dak'kon carried. I borrowed it from him, for I was interested in re-reading Zerthimon's sayings for any new insights. I looked at the stone, ready to unlock one of my previous readings.
As I examined the rings of the Second Circle, I found a strange link in the plate that mentioned the laboring of the Gith people to achieve the Rising. A new circle emerged from the link, and I unlocked it, pulling the plate forth so I could study it. I had, I realized, found a seventh circle, which I began to read.
"*Know* that the Rising of the People against the *illithid* was a thing built upon many turnings. Many were the People who lived and died under time's blade while the Rising was shaped."
"The Rising was shaped upon a slow foundation. Steel was gathered so that it might mark *illithid* flesh. A means of *knowing* the movements of the *illithids* was established, at first weak and confused, then stronger, like a child finding its voice. When the movements were *known,* then the *illithids* were observed. In observing them, their ways of the mind were *known.*"
"When the ways of the *illithid* were *known,* many of the People were gathered and taught in secret the means to shield their minds, and the way to harness their will as weapons. They were taught the scripture of steel, and most importantly, they were given the *knowing* of freedom."
"These things were not learned quickly. The *knowing* of much of the ways was slow, and in all these things, time's weight fell upon all. From the *knowing* of one's reflection in a steel blade, to the *knowing* of submerging the will, to the *knowing* of seeing itself. All of these things and more the People built upon. In time, they came to *know* the whole."
Dak'kon had been silently watching me all this time. I told him I had found a seventh circle, and told him what it spoke of.
"It speaks of time as an ally, not as an enemy. It says that patience can sharpen even the smallest of efforts into a weapon that can strike the heart of an empire. Your victories may be small, but over time, a greater victory may be achieved." Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then he spoke.
"Will you make this Circle *known* to me?" I showed him how to unlock the seventh circle. There were also two plates containing githzerai 'spells' for us as well. Dak'kon looked at the plate I gave him, then shifted his gaze to me.
"There is much you have come to *know* of the Circle, and your *knowing* carries a greater weight than mine." Dak'kon matched my gaze. "*Know* that your path is mine, and it shall come to pass that as you *knew* the Way of Zerthimon from me, I shall *know* the Way of Zerthimon from you."
I studied the circle for more hidden texts. I suddenly become aware of a pattern in the way the links were formed... I hooked my fingers into the sides of the Circle, and unlocked a hidden segment, pulling the plate forth so I could study it.
"*Know* that a mind divided divides the man. The will and the hand must be as one. In *knowing* the self, one becomes strong."
"*Know* that if you *know* a course of action to be true in your heart, do not betray it because the path leads to hardship. *Know* that without suffering, the Rising would have never been, and the People would never have come to *know* themselves."
"*Know* that there is nothing in all the Worlds that can stand against unity. When all *know* a single purpose, when all hands are guided by one will, and all act with the same intent, the Planes themselves may be moved."
"A divided mind is one that does not *know* itself. When it is divided, it cleaves the body in two. When one has a single purpose, the body is strengthened. In *knowing* the self, grow strong."
I spoke to Dak'kon of what I had learned in this eighth circle.
"It speaks of focus and discipline... about how not *knowing* oneself can physically divide the man. It also speaks of the weaknesses that division causes. It seems to me that it tells one to not only *know* themselves and take strength from that, but that your focus can reveal weaknesses in your enemy." I then showed Dak'kon how to unlock the eighth circle, and again gained two plates with 'spells.' I looked into Dak'kon's black eyes.
"There are two plates here... we should both study them, you and I. I think when you *know* the Eighth Circle, perhaps then you will *know* Zerthimon's heart when he made the Pronouncement of Two Skies. His words were not those of the *illithids,* but of the People."
Dak'kon stared at the plates, his eyes flickering over the geometries upon them, then looked up and matched my gaze. His blade bent, shifted, until the shimmering I noticed before had become a silver glow. He seemed *stronger* somehow.
"*Know* that when death comes for you, *know* that I shall meet its blade with mine. *Know* that when all dies around you, *know* I shall live for your sake."
"When we die, Dak'kon, it shall be the same death. It shall be the Pronouncement of Two Deaths As One."
My discovery of the Eighth Circle brought Dak'kon to a greater understanding of himself and removed the *doubt* that had afflicted him. I literally watched him shed the coat of years when I told him of the Eighth Circle. In hearing my words, Dak'kon made the Pronouncement of Two Deaths As One, where he swore that when death came for me, he would meet its blade with his.
I felt as though I had finally accomplished something worthwhile in this incarnation. Dak'kon was no longer the tormented slave; although still bound by his words, I believe he now thought of himself as my companion, and that he would have continued to travel with me even without his oath.
[/sblock]
Here is the link. I highly recommend reading anything that deals with Dakkon.
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/dl.php?s=PST&f=Torment/trmttext.zip
Some gems:
[sblock]
"Your features are... unfamiliar to me. What are you? "
"A githzerai." When he said no more, I repeated his statement, as a question.
"A githzerai?"
"A githzerai is one of the People." Again I had to prompt him.
"One of the People?"
"A githzerai." Wondering if he wasn't as humorless as he appeared, I asked my question again.
"Yes, but what is a githzerai, exactly? " Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Our history does not need to be made *known* to you. We would bleed to death on time's blade before I recited a fraction of the histories of our People."
"I don't need to know your histories... but I would know of your people as they are now. "
"*Know* this and accept it as an answer: We are the People who make our home upon the shifting plane of Limbo." With a deft motion, Dak'kon slipped the blade from his back and held it before him.
"There, we mold the matter of Limbo with our minds. We forge cities with our thoughts." As I watched, a series of rippling waves of metal began to roll forth from the center of the blade. The pitch and crest of the waves matched the inflections in Dak'kon's voice. "In its chaos we dwell, with only our *knowing* to preserve us. We are the githzerai."
"What is that blade you have... it moved, shifted in response to your voice. "
"It is a *karach* blade. It is an object that lets others *know* the rank of the wielder."
"What rank does the blade signify? "
"The blade is a symbol carried by the *zerth.* A *zerth* is one who *knows* the words of Zerthimon. In *knowing* the words of Zerthimon, they *know* themselves."
[/sblock]
[sblock]
I considered the message of the third circle for a long while, and realized its essence could be summed up in a saying I had heard Dak'kon use. I told him I had come to *know* the third circle.
"Endure. In enduring, grow strong."
The words I spoke seemed to strike Dak'kon strangely... as I spoke them, his forehead creased, then resettled into its normal passive expression. He gave me another githzerai 'spell,' unlocked somehow from the circle. I wondered if there was more to learn.
"Very well... is there more you can teach me?"
As I asked the words, I suddenly noticed that Dak'kon wasn't looking at me. He was holding the Unbroken Circle in his hands, studying it. His blade had taken on the same texture as the Unbroken Circle... and Dak'kon suddenly seemed *older* somehow.
"Dak'kon?" I asked, concerned.
Dak'kon's black eyes rose from the Circle and looked at me.
"*Know* that I did not believe you would come to *know* the teachings of the Circle. It is... a difficult path you will walk in learning the Way of Zerthimon. Is your mind focused on this matter?"
When I assured him it was, he unlocked the fourth circle for me. I glanced at what was before me, which concerned a traitor to their people. But it was late, and I couldn't see what this traitor's tale had to tell the githzerai. I decided to take up its study again, later.
[/sblock]
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"And which of them was you, Dak'kon? Were you the slave?" Dak'kon was silent for a moment, and the surface of his blade swam, as if in turmoil.
"*Know* that this one owed you a service. In owing this to you, it became as slavery."
"How did this come to be?"
"*Know* the tale is long. The matter is between me and the other that was once you. *Know* that if you hear it, *know* it shall be a long tale."
"Upon the rolling Plane of Limbo, the People shape cities from the chaos with their thoughts. *Know* that there is no place for a divided mind." Dak'kon raised the blade from his shoulder and held it before him. As he stared at it, it *sharpened* until it was almost as thin as a piece of paper.
"A divided mind is an unfocused mind. A divided mind fractures walls and weakens stone." As Dak'kon spoke, the edges of the blade corroded slightly, the metal misting and melting along the edges. "Many divided minds may *destroy* a city."
"Long have I *known* the words of Zerthimon. Through my voice, many have come to *know* the words of Zerthimon. The *zerth* protect the community from all threats, whether to the body or the mind. They are the guiding stones in the chaos. So it came to pass that I spoke the words of Zerthimon without *knowing* the words of Zerthimon. It came to pass that I no longer *knew* myself."
"So... you doubted the words? "
"No." Dak'kon's voice was edged, and his blade *sharpened* in response. "I *knew* the words. Yet it came into my heart that perhaps others did not *know* the words as Zerthimon *knew* them. And so division formed. As my mind became as two, as my mind became divided, those that looked to me as a guiding stone became divided. Many scores of githzerai, many hundreds of scores of githzerai... doubted. Shra'kt'lor died that day."
"The enemies of Zerthimon came. *Know* that their hatred of his words and the People lent their blades strength. *Know* that they sensed the weakened city, and they brought war with them. Many githzerai drowned in the chaos and beneath the blades of our enemies." Small beads of metal appeared on the surface of the blade, as if it was blistering. "*Know* this happened long ago."
"As I fell from the walls of Shra'kt'lor, *know* that my self was broken. My blade was mist, my mind divided. I was adrift upon Limbo's seas, and I wished to drown. I died for days, my mind awash in division, when death finally came to me. It wore your skin, and it had your voice."
"Me?" I asked, wondering how I had been there.
Dak'kon replied, "You asked that I hear you."
As Dak'kon said the words, my vision bled outwards, and a crawling sensation began to worm its way up through the back of my skull... I felt nauseous for a moment, and my vision was suddenly as chaos, smeared, twisted, and I was someplace else, someplace in the *past*... I surrendered to the memory.
Everything around me was in turmoil - my vision was hazy, swirling, dizzying, all at ONCE... there was mist, pockets of fire, islands of mud, stone, and ice-covered rocks swimming through the Plane like fish, impacting and dissolving, droplets of water arcing through the howling air, and lashing my skin like teeth - I choked back my nausea, and I steadied myself; this was the Plane of *Limbo,* all was chaos, nothing was stable... I focused on the dying man that lay before me. It was why I had come to this place.
I examined the *zerth,* saw if he still lived. The 'man' was a githzerai, his body embedded in an earthen pocket that swirled around him - unconsciously, he had formed a grave from the elements, and though bits of fire and water licked at his face, he did not respond. His hands were ashen, his coal-black eyes focusing on nothing - his emaciated frame spoke of starvation, but I knew it was the least of his wounds. It was faith that dealt him the mortal blow.
I looked for the blade he carried. In his limp left hand was a twisted mass of metal, its surface having melted around his hand like a gauntlet. As I watched, it steamed and hissed, like a diseased snake. The githzerai did not seem to be aware of it... but it was that weapon that had brought me here.
"Dak'kon, *zerth* of Shra'kt'lor-Drowning, last wielder of the *karach* blade, know that I have come to you with the words of Zerthimon, carved not in chaos, but in stone, carved by the will in an Unbroken Circle."
At the word 'Zerthimon,' Dak'kon's eyes rolled in their sockets, and they attempted to focus upon me. With effort, he cracked his mouth to speak, but only a dry hiss emerged. I brought forth the stone from my pack and held it before him so he could see.
"Know that the words of Zerthimon inscribed upon this stone are true, and know that your divided mind need be divided no longer. All you must do is take the stone and you shall *know* yourself again."
Dak'kon's eyes flickered over the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, and for a moment, I thought he might be too close to death to recognize it. Then the right hand twitched, and he pulled it slowly from its earthen prison, the clumps of earth streaming off it becoming water in Limbo's chaotic winds. His skeletal hands clutched the stone, like a drowning man, and his eyes flashed.
"Know that I have saved your life, Dak'kon, *zerth* of Shra'kt'lor."
Dak'kon's eyes turned from the stone and flickered over me, and he hissed again, too dry for a moment to muster the words. He blinked, slowly, then spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, but the words were what I wanted to hear.
"My... life is yours... until yours is no more..." I closed my eyes, and returned to the present.
"So you got the Circle from me? "
"Yes. In *knowing* its words, I *knew* myself. "
"Tell me about that other 'me'... the incarnation you knew. What was he like?"
Dak'kon's gaze travelled through me, and he fell silent.
"Dak'kon? " I prompted.
"*Know* that he was different. *Know* that the differences were not marked on the skin, nor in the Way of the weapon, nor in the attire that cloaked him. *Know* that he was different in the way of thought and the means he acted upon his thoughts. His WILL became substance. *Know* that he saw others and did NOT see them. He *knew* only how they could serve him. His heart was treacherous, and it was cold, and never did its coldness burn him."
"Did it ever touch you, Dak'kon? Did he betray you?" Dak'kon's blade began bleeding into a dull, flat black, and I watched as edges, like teeth, began sprouting from the edge of the blade. His face clenched, and he spoke through his teeth.
"It is not my *will* you *know* of this."
"*Tell* me, Dak'kon. Did he ever *betray* you?"
"I surrendered my WORD to him. I surrendered my SELF."
"What are you talking about? "
"The People do not allow themselves to be enslaved to another in deed or chains. If we find ourselves in such a cage, we ACT to free ourselves, even if it means we must endure another cage for a time. You performed a great service for me. In so doing, you enslaved me. I acted to free myself. *Know* that I surrendered my word and my self to *act* in your name until your death." I felt a sense of horror.
"But... I can't die."
"That was not *known* to this one. I surrendered my *word* to him. I surrendered my *self.* *Know* that there is now nothing left that I may surrender except my life. *Know* now that I follow you only so I might die." Now I knew why he had been so reluctant to speak of this. I felt compassion for the tormented one in front of me, searched for some way to ease his pain.
"Dak'kon, it doesn't have to be that way... I can release you. I no longer wish you to be a slave - consider the debt paid."
"No..." Dak'kon's forehead creased in pain, and his eyes stared through me. "It is not your word that carries the weight, and your word will not free me. The word that chains me is mine. The torment is mine. I *know* in my heart that the chains remain. Words will not free them."
"Is there any way you can be freed?"
"You must die a final death. Yet your path is not death's path. There is *no* resolution to this matter." I couldn't accept that.
"I swear I will find one, Dak'kon. I will find one that sets you free." Dak'kon's voice became ragged, as if he had suddenly become sick.
"*Know* you have added other words to my words." His expression was pained, and his gaze met mine. "Now you have chained us both."
I was sorry to have caused him more pain, but I still meant to find a way to set him free.
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I think Dak'kon became powerful, but was not exiled. When his strong thoughts started being devisive, his mind sowed doubt to the other githzerai in his home, causing a civil war and the city to cease to exist.
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Dak'kon proceeded to unlock the sixth circle, so that I might study it. I began to read the sixth circle.
"Upon the Blasted Plains, Zerthimon told Gith there cannot be two skies. In the wake of his words, came war."
"Upon the Blasted Plains, the People had achieved victory over their *illithid* masters. They *knew* freedom."
"Yet before the green fires had died from the battlefield, Gith spoke of continuing the war. Many, still filled with the bloodlust in their hearts, agreed with her. She spoke of not merely defeating the *illithids,* but destroying all *illithids* across the Planes. After the *illithids* had been exterminated, they would bring war to all other races they encountered."
"In Gith's heart, fires raged. She lived in war, and in war, she *knew* herself. All that her eyes saw, she wanted to conquer."
"Zerthimon spoke the beginnings of that which was against Gith's will. He spoke that the People already *knew* freedom. Now they should *know* themselves again and mend the damage that had been done to the People. Behind his words were many other hearts of the People who were weary of the war against the *illithid.*"
"*Know* that Gith's heart was not Zerthimon's heart on this matter. She said that the war would continue. The *illithid* would be destroyed. Their flesh would be no more. Then the People would claim the False Worlds as their own. Gith told Zerthimon that they would be under the same sky in this matter. The words were like bared steel."
"From Zerthimon came the Pronouncement of Two Skies. In the wake of his words came war."
I told Dak'kon what I had come to *know.*
"I know that Zerthimon's devotion to the People was such that he was willing to protect them from themselves. He knew the *illithids* had come not to *know* themselves in their obsession with control and domination. So he chose to stop Gith before she carried the People to their deaths. There must be balance in all things, or else the self will not hold."
He twisted the circle of Zerthimon, but this time there were two plates with gith spells, not one. I switched my gaze from the plates he was holding to him.
"Dak'kon... is that second plate for you?"
Dak'kon fell silent. His blade had ceased shimmering, the film freezing upon its surface. He was staring at the second plate, paralyzed.
"Do *you* know the Sixth Circle?" Dak'kon looked up, but his coal-black eyes did not meet my gaze.
"*Know* there is nothing more I may teach you. You *know* the Way as the People *know* it, and it shall give you the direction by which you may *know* yourself."
"That's *not* what I asked. Do you *know* the Sixth Circle or not?" Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice slow and careful.
"It has come to pass that I do not *know* the Sixth Circle of Zerthimon. Once, I *knew* it, but I *know* now I only saw the words." Dak'kon's eyes stared through me. "That is all. It is my path that I no longer *know* the Way of Zerthimon."
"Dak'kon... there is one other thing I would *know.* Why is Vilquar's Eye in the Circle of Zerthimon? It seems strange. It tells of how the People benefited from a treachery from their own. It seems... " Dak'kon's eyes flashed.
"I have told you it is part of the telling of how the People came to *know* freedom. Do you not listen?" His voice flattened, as if he was reciting a passage from memory. "It tells the People that even in the greatest treachery, a greater *knowing* may be achieved."
"It doesn't sound to me like you believe that. I think there's another reason Vilquar's Eye is in the Circle of Zerthimon. It is set there because of the Sixth Circle and the Pronouncement of Two Skies. It's there to justify Zerthimon's treachery to the People upon the Blasted Plains."
Dak'kon was silent, and his blade bled into a dead-black, teeth rippling along the edge.
"He divided the People upon the Blasted Plains, Dak'kon. He divided your race, when they were on the path of victory. I would *like* to believe that it was because he wished to save the People from themselves - but I don't think *you* believe that."
Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then he spoke, slowly. "I... do not *know* the Sixth Circle as it is *known* to others. I fear that the Third Circle, the Fourth Circle and the Sixth Circle are more closely linked than many *know.* It is in that *knowing* that I have lost myself."
"In the Third Circle, Zerthimon submerged his will to deceive the *illithids,* then in the Fourth Circle, it speaks of the benefits of *treachery.* Then in the Sixth Circle, Zerthimon divides his people before they exterminate the *illithids.* Do you think Zerthimon's words may not have been his own?"
"*Know* my words, and *know* the wound that lies upon my heart: I fear that when Zerthimon was upon the Pillars of Silence, he did not submerge his will. I fear his will was taken from him by the *illithids.* And when he spoke upon the Blasted Plains, it was their words he spoke. I fear that what he did was not for the People's sake, but for our former masters."
"It's possible, but *know* it doesn't necessarily mean that h..."
"Then *know* this and speak of it NO MORE." Dak'kon voice was like a knife. "*Know* that I shall never *know* the TRUTH. There is NO resolution to this matter, for I shall NEVER *know* Zerthimon's heart upon the Blasted Plains." His coal black eyes glared at the stone circle in his hand. "And so I do not *know* myself because of the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon."
[/sblock]
And then the final discovery that Zerthimon made his declaration of the Two Skies in order to stop 'the people' from losing themselves and becoming like the illiads.
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I was actually more interested in the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon Dak'kon carried. I borrowed it from him, for I was interested in re-reading Zerthimon's sayings for any new insights. I looked at the stone, ready to unlock one of my previous readings.
As I examined the rings of the Second Circle, I found a strange link in the plate that mentioned the laboring of the Gith people to achieve the Rising. A new circle emerged from the link, and I unlocked it, pulling the plate forth so I could study it. I had, I realized, found a seventh circle, which I began to read.
"*Know* that the Rising of the People against the *illithid* was a thing built upon many turnings. Many were the People who lived and died under time's blade while the Rising was shaped."
"The Rising was shaped upon a slow foundation. Steel was gathered so that it might mark *illithid* flesh. A means of *knowing* the movements of the *illithids* was established, at first weak and confused, then stronger, like a child finding its voice. When the movements were *known,* then the *illithids* were observed. In observing them, their ways of the mind were *known.*"
"When the ways of the *illithid* were *known,* many of the People were gathered and taught in secret the means to shield their minds, and the way to harness their will as weapons. They were taught the scripture of steel, and most importantly, they were given the *knowing* of freedom."
"These things were not learned quickly. The *knowing* of much of the ways was slow, and in all these things, time's weight fell upon all. From the *knowing* of one's reflection in a steel blade, to the *knowing* of submerging the will, to the *knowing* of seeing itself. All of these things and more the People built upon. In time, they came to *know* the whole."
Dak'kon had been silently watching me all this time. I told him I had found a seventh circle, and told him what it spoke of.
"It speaks of time as an ally, not as an enemy. It says that patience can sharpen even the smallest of efforts into a weapon that can strike the heart of an empire. Your victories may be small, but over time, a greater victory may be achieved." Dak'kon was silent for a moment, then he spoke.
"Will you make this Circle *known* to me?" I showed him how to unlock the seventh circle. There were also two plates containing githzerai 'spells' for us as well. Dak'kon looked at the plate I gave him, then shifted his gaze to me.
"There is much you have come to *know* of the Circle, and your *knowing* carries a greater weight than mine." Dak'kon matched my gaze. "*Know* that your path is mine, and it shall come to pass that as you *knew* the Way of Zerthimon from me, I shall *know* the Way of Zerthimon from you."
I studied the circle for more hidden texts. I suddenly become aware of a pattern in the way the links were formed... I hooked my fingers into the sides of the Circle, and unlocked a hidden segment, pulling the plate forth so I could study it.
"*Know* that a mind divided divides the man. The will and the hand must be as one. In *knowing* the self, one becomes strong."
"*Know* that if you *know* a course of action to be true in your heart, do not betray it because the path leads to hardship. *Know* that without suffering, the Rising would have never been, and the People would never have come to *know* themselves."
"*Know* that there is nothing in all the Worlds that can stand against unity. When all *know* a single purpose, when all hands are guided by one will, and all act with the same intent, the Planes themselves may be moved."
"A divided mind is one that does not *know* itself. When it is divided, it cleaves the body in two. When one has a single purpose, the body is strengthened. In *knowing* the self, grow strong."
I spoke to Dak'kon of what I had learned in this eighth circle.
"It speaks of focus and discipline... about how not *knowing* oneself can physically divide the man. It also speaks of the weaknesses that division causes. It seems to me that it tells one to not only *know* themselves and take strength from that, but that your focus can reveal weaknesses in your enemy." I then showed Dak'kon how to unlock the eighth circle, and again gained two plates with 'spells.' I looked into Dak'kon's black eyes.
"There are two plates here... we should both study them, you and I. I think when you *know* the Eighth Circle, perhaps then you will *know* Zerthimon's heart when he made the Pronouncement of Two Skies. His words were not those of the *illithids,* but of the People."
Dak'kon stared at the plates, his eyes flickering over the geometries upon them, then looked up and matched my gaze. His blade bent, shifted, until the shimmering I noticed before had become a silver glow. He seemed *stronger* somehow.
"*Know* that when death comes for you, *know* that I shall meet its blade with mine. *Know* that when all dies around you, *know* I shall live for your sake."
"When we die, Dak'kon, it shall be the same death. It shall be the Pronouncement of Two Deaths As One."
My discovery of the Eighth Circle brought Dak'kon to a greater understanding of himself and removed the *doubt* that had afflicted him. I literally watched him shed the coat of years when I told him of the Eighth Circle. In hearing my words, Dak'kon made the Pronouncement of Two Deaths As One, where he swore that when death came for me, he would meet its blade with his.
I felt as though I had finally accomplished something worthwhile in this incarnation. Dak'kon was no longer the tormented slave; although still bound by his words, I believe he now thought of himself as my companion, and that he would have continued to travel with me even without his oath.
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Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
No problem, Paka. Because of the thoughts and dialogue in the game it is considered one of the best CRPGs of all time.
"What can change the nature of a man?" is the underlying question in the video game, since you play a man with no memory, but whose past crimes are severe, as he finds out.
"What can change the nature of a man?" is the underlying question in the video game, since you play a man with no memory, but whose past crimes are severe, as he finds out.
