Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Order Of Madness Forum Index -> Guild Lore
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Armithist
Guildmaster

user avatar

Joined: 30 Jun 2014
Posts: 29

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: new guild lore

0

To understand the origins and the reason for the order of madness I must first tell you a story. I call it a story because it takes place in a time in which little is known. To be honest none is sure exactly when this story begins. Some have placed it with earliest beginnings of the human race others have it much later. The only thing I can say for certain is that the story begins with a man named Ezarin. Everything else I'm about to tell you about this man I have learned from stories and legends that I have been told. Also some of the information I have gotten from Hellester for he is the only one who knows the entire story. All who know Hellester know how hard it is to get a straight answer from him. For the most part his answers only lead to more questions or simply confound and confused as he talks or relates to things that no one has even heard of or may not even exist. So I have done my best to sift through the stories, legends and the information I have gathered from Hellester to piece together this story.

The beginning of the story 

Ezarin was born one of the most gifted mages to have ever lived. It was obvious to all that his control and sensitivity to Magicka were far greater than many other mages even when he was a small child. Ezarin grew up in a small tribe as humans were rather barbaric during this time which makes this story even stranger because you would suspect a child with such power to be an elf or even one of the ancient dwarfs, not a human. All in the village watched in awww as Ezarin grew up with the ease in which he used his talents in everyday life no different than others use there hands to grasp a spoon. Even as a child Ezarin's thirst for knowledge and the way things worked never ended. He got into a lot of trouble as he grew up going places he shouldn't be in searching for new discoveries. This seemed to only get worse as he got older as he would spend a great deal of time chasing the next discovery if he wasn't doing this his nose was in a book. By the age of 15 he could quote every known book and many books no one had even heard of. But it was obvious to him that he had learned all he could in the area in which he lived so even at this young age he set off in the search of new things. The most surprising thing about this story is how Ezarin was able to remain neutral with so many conflicts in which he came in contact with during this time. Some say he was able to do this because ALL feared him but its more likely that his kind heart and towering intellect allowed him to convince all that he meant no harm and had no interest in the wars in which were being fought. Many years past in fact many more than the normal life span of a man. It seems that somehow Ezarin's control over Magicka allowed him to greatly extend his life span. Ezarin traveled great distances and had seen and learned all that he could. Only the plains of oblivion had information that he had not gathered so with his ever growing thirst for knowledge he opened a portal and began his search of new things in oblivion. As one would suspect this search took him many ages and his power grew to the point of being a god but Ezarin had no desire for such things he simply wanted to know all things. Eventually his search lead him to the Shivering Isles. It is here that he stumbled upon something completely new, something that had been lost for so long that even the Daedric Princes have no knowledge of it. He first discovered a powerful illusion in catacombs deep under the Shivering Isles. Just finding and navigating the catacombs was more than any before him had been able to do. At the end of his journey through the catacombs he sensed that there was more than just a dead end. Although this feeling was very faint and completely undetectable until he got within a few feet of the back wall of a narrow passage. He remained in this passage for quite some time trying to figure out the nature of this illusion and a way to break it. But no matter what he tried nothing seemed to affect it or give him any insight into how it was even created. As time went on he became more and more perplexed. For the first time the greatest mage and scholar to ever exist was stumped. Many years went by and his frustration and anger grew with each passing year as he learned nothing and nothing he tried worked. It is then for the first time in his life that he had ever acted out of rage that he threw the full extent of his power at the illusion. This was not some complex spell it was nothing more than pure raw energy that created an explosion so great that all in the Shivering Isles felt it. As the dust cleared and his anger subsided he realized that he had done it through sheer force the illusion had collapsed and for the first time he could see the huge door that laid beyond. Upon inspecting the door he realized that the force of the blast had made several small cracks in it. He sat there for some time trying to decipher the glyph's on the door. It was upon inspecting these glyph's that he seen a thick coal black liquid seeping from the cracks in the door. He went to touch the liquid to see what it was but quickly pulled his hand back before touching it when he felt the sheer power that resided in it. He watched as the liquid formed pools at the base of the door and it seemed to be drawn together as if it was alive and trying to reform itself.  While he was watching and studying the liquid he saw a large rat scurry up to it seemingly wanting a drink when it touch the liquid it dropped dead. Ezarin began to collect the rats in the tunnels and run tests. He found that the liquid was just as likely to kill the living as it was to resurrect the dead. In fact this substance seem to follow no rules whatsoever at times its effects would be beneficial in various ways at other times it would have the exact opposite effect. Ezarin quickly realized that not only did the substance seem to be completely chaotic it was also just a small part of a much larger being. It also became evident as more and more of it pooled together it actually began to effect and twist all around it as if it was slowly changing the reality around it to a chaotic state. To stop this being from completely consuming and changing all of the Shivering Isles and possibly all beyond to its chaotic nature Ezarin erected a force field to stop the advance and contain the creature. Over time the demands and sheer power needed to keep the creature contained began to push Ezarin to the limits of what he could do, realizing that he could not keep this up and that he would need help if he was to stop the creature from advancing into the Shivering Isles. This is when he contacted his old friend and another mage of great power Hellester. He gave to Hellester the tomes that he had written during his time in oblivion hoping that Hellester could find someway to help him contain or even push back the creature into its cell. But even though Hellester was a powerful mage his mind was not ready to learn the secrets that mortals were not meant to know. As he studied the tomes they began to twist his mind and he began to lose touch with reality. This is why these tomes are now known as the tomes of madness. Although Hellester had suffered from his studies of the tomes he was able to figure out a way in which he could gather power from ancient artifacts and transfer it to Ezarin. This began the endless cycle of the rebirth of the order of madness as it would gather artifacts and then return to the Shivering Isles to bestow the power of the artifacts upon Ezarin so that he could continue to hold the chaos at bay. One would be a fool to think that all this could take place in the Shivering Isles without the mad god finding out. Sheogorath upon learning of what was going on found he had no choice but to help Ezarin and The Order of Madness if he wished to keep his realm from slipping in to complete chaos. As you can imagine the fact that this was all the fault of Ezarin was not lost on Sheogorath (The Mad God). Although he could not help to find the humor in the fact that the one that released the creature from its cell was now imprisoned by it. He also became very fond of Hellester and his new state, in fact at times it became difficult to tell who was actually the mad god. The cycle of the order of madness continued for many ages until it became evident that the creature had become stuck. It had came to far into this realm and no longer had the option of going back but the combined strength of Ezarin and Sheogorath would not allow it to come forward. Being locked in this state was slowly killing the creature and it began to push even harder making it even more difficult to contain. This is why unlike all other times Hellester has not returned with the rest of the order of madness. He stays behind in a hope with his power added to the others they may be able to end this threat once and for all. The rest of the order continues its mission to gather objects of power to help in this effort. 



Last edited by Armithist on Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:12 pm; edited 2 times in total
Armithist
Guildmaster

user avatar

Joined: 30 Jun 2014
Posts: 29

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Guild Lore

0

Please feel free to edit, fix, and or add to the guild lore because this is not my lore its the guild lore.

Tailger
Officer

user avatar

Joined: 29 Jun 2014
Posts: 59

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: new guild lore

0

Finally got a chance to give this story the attention it deserves.  Well done!

 

What you have right now is a lot of disposition, which is great for getting an idea on the board but makes it a little hard to read.  I've been thinking about this a bit and there are many approaches I could use to break up the lore a bit and make it easier to read.  The easiest one would be to turn parts of it into a conversation narrative between two or more people involved in the story.

 

First a couple of questions.  I'll see if I can find you on C3 Armithist  soonish if you want to talk them out.

 

This story appears to be coming from a first person perspective, telling a third-person story.  Who is the voice right now?  Who is actually telling this story?

 

I need to understand the character Ezarian a bit better.  So far I gather that Ezarian is extremely intelligent with a high regard knowledge and understanding.  Ezarian carries an unsatisfiable curiosity for the nature of the world that he sees. Ezarian cares more about ideas than relationships. Ezarian also prefers to think then act and is not subject to rash, quick decisions.  Ezarian is extremely fair and will evaluate all sides of a problem thoroughly before taking any side, if ever.

How would Ezarian act in a dialog?  Would he be reserved and thoughtful or condescending and sarcastic?  Something that would help me is some sample dialog from Ezarian so I can glean some mannerisms and word selection.

 

One area I would like to expand on is the initial conversation between Hellester and Ezarian after Ezararian admits that he needs help to contain the chaos.  A really interesting dialog could take place there if I can get a handle on both characters.  Do you have an idea on the mechanics of how they would communicate?  Would Hellester make a trip into the Shivering Isles or would they have some intra-plane form of communication?

 

I'll probably have more, but work keeps interrupting me so I'd better get back to it.

 

Tailger
Officer

user avatar

Joined: 29 Jun 2014
Posts: 59

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: new guild lore

0

I'm still working on this, sorry its taking so long, life has been busy lately.

 

Here is an example of one of the style I am writing in. Note that there are still some TODOs and WIP notes for myself in here, but it should give you a flavor for what I am aiming for.

 

Something like this:

 

Ezarin grunted as he keeled before the monolithic door.  His mind focused on every crack as a black shapeless menace poked and prodded at the ward sealing the cracks.  The dark void contained within was testing his defenses again.  Keeping the ward up was becoming more fatiguing every time the shapeless void stirred.  It was learning, toying with, and taunting Ezarin's containment with every moment.

 

Ezarin shakes his head, trying again to regain focus.  A bit of self-doubt started to creep into his mind.  A distant voice echoed in the thoughts swirling around him proclaiming, "This is not a battle you can win Ezarin.".  Every day that voice was becoming just a bit more pronounced, and today is the day Ezarin might pay it some mind.

 

With a stoic expression, Ezarin reaches down to a pendent draped loosely around his neck.  He grasps it firmly in his palm and takes a deep breath.  The shapeless void prodding the ward in front of him was still toying with the defenses but Ezarin had enough concentration in his spirit to turn his focus on the pendent for just a moment.

 

Just like a simple conjuring spell, Ezarin's mind pierced through the veil of oblivion to open a conduit to the sister pendent, in possession of another powerful mage, Hellester.  [ TODO, Intro to Hellester here ]. 

[ TODO, the story so far dialog goes here, catching Hellester up to the present day. This will also catch the reader up too since they are injected mid-story. ]

Hellester's  voice picks up a bit of urgency as the reality of events Shivering Isles sinks in as he says "Is there anything that can be done to completely contain this shapeless chaos?"

 

Ezarin takes a deep breath and collects his thoughts before he says, "Yes Hellester there is one remaining choice.  It is risky but it may work.  Seek the journals I have conjured into the candlelit room of the imperial library.  You remember the fifth wall in that room?"

Hellester seems perplexed as he asked, "Yes, I remember the fifth wall in that room, but surly no space for any books could fit within what I thought was just a mere divider in the library."

 

Ezarin's concentration is pulled back to the ward, but after a moment he says, "It is an illusion old friend.  The wall contains a small pocket of moonshadow, big enough to store the imperial library.  The way will reveal itself under the light of a full Secunda and Masser, a bit of a challenge so deep within the imperial library."

 

Hellester smiles, "A few well placed portals may shed some moonlight into your moonshadow pocket."

 

Ezarin says, "I have faith in you old friend.", as the pendent slips from his hand, returning to refocus the ward keeping the black shapeless menace at bay.

 

---

 

Still much more to come, but what do you think of the writing style so far?

 

Posts from:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Order Of Madness Forum Index -> Guild Lore All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum