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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Herremann the Wise" data-source="post: 1911345" data-attributes="member: 11300">The Arcadys ScrollThis is so cool! Thanks everyone for the feedback; it makes the efforts of writing, editting, re-editting, re-writing and re-editting once more worth while.***OK, to have one's work compared to Sep's (even if it is only the darkness and atmosphere's tenor) is to be cherished. Thank you for reading - I am humbled.In regards to Sarrash, I don't want to let too many cats out of the bag except to say that he is not your run-of-the-mill Pit Fiend. He is quite different in terms of his station in the diabolical ordering of Hell's minions and in many ways more powerful, insidious and depraved than most. I dare to say that you will enjoy a slightly different twist on what has gone before.I was going to downplay certain elements that resulted in Tunthi's following of Lucifus to the ends of the "Urth" but your feedback has made me realise that it would not do justice to the entwined backstory I crafted when I created the character of Lucifus. As such, I have been working on five updates that I hope to release before Christmas. There is just too much fun to be had that would be unfair of me not to let you guys in on. Thanks again for your reading and valued feedback.I kind of realised that I most probably should have some sort of warning somewhere for this story hour. I don't think Eric's grandma would fully appreciate some of the places I intend to go with this tale. She would certainly find it a bumpy ride. However, everything has a purpose, rude or crass for the sake of nought but to be rude or crass does not sit well with me. Venturing into the pits of darkness that represent Lucifus's sordid past however are needed to fully understand the events to follow. The descent of Lucifus's soul has only just begun!And by the way, I have not forgotten your own story hour either. I am preparing a precise, measured and full response to the world you are so graciously letting us enter.LOLHe-that-shall-not-be-named and Lucifus Cray share a few things in common although officially representing opposing ends of the spectrum.I'll try to get Paul the DM to offer some commentary, he's been following the story hour, shaking his head with a smile upon the face. Some of the players have also been following but they're sick of all this Lucifus Smucifus rubbish. They want their characters up in lights. Hmmm... can't wait for one particular instance where...There is so much room to move with the Alienist, so many directions in which you can take them. Insects sounds interesting as a phobia. Lucifus's phobia goes in a slightly different direction again. He's just reaching the point in his development when his fears will become particularly evident. Their manifestation however will be a lot of fun and very amusing if not a little strange.Apologies for stealing Urth from you. In truth though, Paul constructed this world well over twenty years ago so he beat all of us to the punch. Nethendawe too. I just love that name.Look forward to reading more of your own SH. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Best RegardsHerremann the Wise***The actual SH update here is actually quite short <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid    :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" /> , all in preparation for a mega pre-christmas update. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> ***Later that Evening, Past the Mid of Night back in Ugari’s Pavilion…Lucifus touched the scroll with reverence, his fingers delicately caressing its length, the feel of the ancient vellum coarsely familiar under his fingers. It was bound and sealed using a long forgotten method that Lucifus had tried himself to replicate but without success. His eyes and gaze could not leave the scroll as he spoke, “This is my most precious possession. I hope you understand the cost… in more ways than one.”Ugari, inches away from his face, her arms delicately coiled around his person whispered quietly, seductively “I know it was worth it. I can sense the power running through you; the furthest spirits obey and heed your command”. Lucifus pondered in wishful thought, the shamaness’ words having little impact on his ego or mood.The scroll was in fact his long forgotten master’s. It was the type of item, priceless in it’s own right that could never be bought for simple gold. It was an Arcadys Scroll{1}. Just the mere thought of the power held within its form shook Lucifus’s soul as he sought its seal, tracing the outline of the ancient blackened wax. His hands started shaking in anticipation and dread. He could not believe what he was about to do; he had envisaged this moment for so long but had never really contemplated beyond anticipation of the act. Closing his eyes, he uttered the incantation that would nullify the seal’s abjurative magics… and with a twist of his hand, the seal was broken, the tightly bound parchment released, unfurling, expanding in girth, a sigh released like the sound of some distant soul’s anguish.He carefully placed the skin upon the large even granite block in front of him, its flat grey darkness nurturing the exquisitely elegant weight of the scroll. With a single finger, he delicately opened the scroll’s length marvelling at the feel of the vellum, the coldness of the pure gold rod forming its spine tingled Lucifus as he contacted its perfection. From Lucifus’s closer observation, he thought the skin of some hellish and diabolical being, lovingly rubbed and kneaded, massaged and polished to the incredibly fine membrane it had become. The inks used upon the scroll were varied in vibrance, colour and material; the pigments seeming to lift off of the surface as every so often an arcane perturbance glistened across the sheet like some evanescent arcing of current - evidence of the extreme power held within its single page.“Leave me now Ugari. This will take some time and an extended period of concentration{2}. I cannot allow my focus to lapse, nor my will to falter.” Lucifus looked once more at the scroll before adding, “I will call for you tomorrow eve when I am ready and have prepared the circle of power.”Ugari{3} glanced at the ground inside her pavilion before considering him once more with her dark luscious eyes, her hands teasing him before rising. She left without a word – her thoughts on the beast the wizard had promised her so many moons before.***{1} Arcadys – pronounced according to the Proto-Beltratian dialect (ar-kay-dees) – was an ancient summoner of particular power and note. Innovative, methodical yet incredibly powerful in his brilliance, Arcadys’s vibrant connection to both the Nine Hells and the Infinite Layers of the Abyss made him a power unto himself, a law in the lands of the deepest and unchartered south of Urth. Eventually, he would disappear as those of his ilk eventually must, destroyed by a creature beyond his considerable power but not before the giving of several legacies to the magical world. The calling of diabolical and infernal creatures has always been haphazard and to this day still is. However, Arcadys was able to find a new and more powerful way to call these creatures, unknown to those of Urth until that point. The secrets of his method however would die with him except for a small number of scrolls, some of which were reputed to contain his most powerful magical calling and conjuration. The scroll Lucifus currently held represented the pinnacle of Arcadys work and study.{2} Lucifus’s abilities of concentration and focus had been multiplied manyfold by the purchase of a small trinket, soon after the death of his former master Norrigan Salaiz in the bazaars of Amborna. The Ring of Nourishment (a.k.a. a ring of sustenance) enabled the user to never again have need of food or water nor the gentle benefit of many hours of sleep. Lucifus found that a short slumber was all that he required and even this, he could forego here and there with minimal effect. The extra hours of consciousness provided by the bauble allowed Lucifus a productivity bordering upon the epic; be it in the researching of innovative and original magics, the crafting of powerful items or the pleasuring of large proportions of the female gender.{3} It is most likely worth noting that Ugari is not typical in terms of her position as the spiritual leader of the Strauchn Clan. She is relatively young for a Shamaness (in her late twenties) and has only the slightest taint/augmentation of orc blood – the wide cheekbones and strong sinews but not the jutting jaw, protruding laniaries (canine teeth) or retreated nasal bone normally evident in the richer blooded half-breed. In effect, she was quite pretty if abundantly exotic by conventional Beltratian or Ambornan standards and taste.Her power is relatively on par with other spiritual leaders dotted across the primordial Derman landscape. She was a foundling, discovered by the Shamaness that went before her: the Shamaness Ochrisi na Dura. Ugari was raised without favour but between her obvious power and the mysterious foreknowledge that she would eventually ascend to spiritual leadership, Ochrisi always knew who was fated to succeed her.The passing of the clan’s spiritual flame from one generation to the next was like most activities performed by the Strauchn clan: bloody, frenzied and without mercy. Eventually, the spiritual leader would weaken to the point of being challenged by another within the clan who had the power to command the spirits of the land and sea. The two would battle to the death and thus would the victor be charged as the new Shamaness of the clan. However, it must be noted that rather than fearing one’s death, the Shamaness would die painfully but secure in the knowledge that the spiritual power of the clan would continue. Ugari’s victory over Ochrisi na Dura was quick; her power, dominance and superiority clear to all. Several hideous spirit entities had carried her clawed carcass high into the frigid air before dropping it far out into the sea’s awful depths.While all feared Ugari’s wrath, the whisperings here and there of occasional disapproval were inevitable when it came to her spiritual leadership. In particular, her relationship with the foreigner Lucifus was cause for a certain amount of unfortunate gossip and innuendo. Many thought the power or "Gurtha" placed upon the Tuk-Tuk inappropriate. The current clan leader Tunthi in fact viewed the warlock somewhere between a maggot and a slug – albeit a very powerful maggot or slug.Extra Player’s Note: While unfortunately represented by a simple roll of the dice, those of us who prefer to keep to the logic, rarity and profound specialty of magic would not think of having our PC’s just “cracking” open a scroll, taking a Spellcraft check and casting from it. The studying of an incredibly powerful scroll for an entire day for us represents in fact an extreme rush by the Player Character to unearth its power. Under normal circumstances, the study of such a scroll would take many days, months or in the case of trying to fully understand Arcadys finest magics, years. Lucifus however was compelled by his agreement to Ugari to conjure the diabolical creature promised as quickly as possible upon his first ascension (to alienist). Lucifus’s ego and vanity were strong enough at this point that he did not question his use of the Arcadys Scroll. If viewed from a particular perspective in fact, Lucifus’s conduct could even be construed as somewhat gallant.</blockquote>

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