Recovered Material

scroll1

Listed here are all the in character information collected on missions that have been submitted to Valley Archives. To read any of the reports just click on one of the links below to expand and contract the yearly listings.

If you wish to send in any material for publication, please send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .



The Story of Sir Pendragon and Erelan Black PDF Print E-mail
The race of Aldonar was long reviled by many, especially those of a goodly persuasion and none more so than members of Halmaddons Heights.  The hatred of the Aldonar was so intense that an entire Sect was formed to combat them, the Knights of Mandragon.  

The Knights of Mandragon are a small sect within the Heights that have dedicated themselves to the eradication of the Aldonar in all its forms.  Their order was set up by Sir Vincent Seutonius, a pious Knight who was utterly devoted to his family and in particular modelled himself on his uncle, Sir Mandragon.  Unfortunately Sir Mandragon met a cruel end at the hand of a vile Aldonar called Erelan Black, which was the primary reason for Sir Vincent setting up the order of the Knights of Mandragon in memory of his fallen uncle.

The fall of Sir Mandragon is a sorry tale of woe for his family and a lesson that revenge can lead to despair and justice is not always found.  This tale started with Sir Pendragon, the father of Sir Mandragon.  Sir Pendragon was a noble and lawful Knight who stood to protect the weak against the tide of evil.  He excelled in knightly combat and prided himself on seeking out powerful evil foes and challenging them to single combat.  He defeated many evil foes, with none being able to withstand his devotion and skill.  At the same time there was a young prince of the Aldonar, called Erelan Black, who had also developed somewhat of a reputation for excelling in knightly combat and defeating many goodly knights.

It was only a matter of time before these two powerful and opposing Knights would engage each other in a knightly duel to see who the pre-eminent knight upon Orin Rakatha was.  The scene was set and the two Knights and their squires met in a bright wood during High Sun.  The fight was spectacular and long with the skill of both Knights clearly evident, it was a joy to watch their dance of death and their squires looked on with open mouths, expressing their awe and admiration of the spectacle before them.  For a while it seemed that the pair were evenly matched with none of the two Knights being able to gain the upper hand, each Knightly ability being resisted by the other.  As the battle continued Erelan Black resorted to using the Evil sphere through his blade, but was easily resisted and turned aside by the devotions of Sir Pendragon.  As the battle continued it was Erelan Black who started to tire and falter as Sir Pendragon pushed the advantage.  Eventually Erelan Black stumbled and Sir Pendragon saw his opening to strike a fatal blow.  However at the last moment, Erelan Black turned aside the blade of Pendragon and dropped his shield to plunge a small dagger into the side of Sir Pendragon.

Both knights recovered their poise and Sir Pendragon looked down at the small wound in his side, confident that it was an insignificant wound.  The fight continued but Sir Pendragon started to move slowly and feel sluggish, his vision started to blur.  It was then that he looked upon the blade of Erelan Black that had been cast aside and he saw the remains of some liquid upon the blade.  He realised he had been dishonoured and laid low by a vile poison, what an ignoble end for such a valiant knight.  It was only a matter of time before Sir Pendragon stumbled again and fell to the blade of Erelan Black.

As Sir Pendragon fell his squire rushed to his side to pay the last rites to his fallen master.  Erelan Black slew the squire and buried his body within an unmarked grave, alongside his master, so that none would know of his cowardly act, using poison in a duel.  Erelan Black then left the scene of the battle to proclaim himself the greatest knight upon Orin Rakatha.  The wood where the duel took place was named Pendragon Wood in honour of the fallen knight.

Sir Mandragon was devastated at the loss of his father and vowed that he would avenge him.  He gathered a group of like-minded knights from Halmaddons Heights to take the fight to the Aldonar and seek out Erelan Black.  However, whilst Sir Mandragon was a noble and popular Knight, his skill did not match that of his father.  Eventually Sir Mandragon tracked down Erelan Black, in the very wood where his father was slain and challenged him to single combat.  Erelan Black accepted and the dual began.  Unfortunately it became quickly evident that Sir Mandragon was outclassed and he struggled against the superior foe, finally falling beneath the repeated blows of Erelan Black.  Not content with this easy victory, Erelan Black defiled the corpse of Sir Mandragon and got one of his Dymwan allies to raise the corpse as a foul undead.  There is a waystation within Pendragon Wood that was renamed Mandragons Folly to reflect this tragic turn of events.

Thus were the Knights of Mandragon formed.

Last Updated on Thursday, 27 September 2018 11:34
 
The Story of the Master of Shadow PDF Print E-mail

Aberash was a bright student who had a quick mind and immense capacity for remembering every detail, his recollection of information was extraordinary, even for one of his race, once something was committed to his memory it was never forgotten.  He easily made friends among his fellow students during his studies although several of them were jealous of his abilities. Aberash focussed his early studies on the element of Light, less interested in the aspects of Ice, although he excelled in that learning as well for completeness.  His manipulation of the primordial essence was astonishing and he soon became a Master and joined the exalted heights as one of the Masters of Law.


Aberash was one of the leading lights in the fight against the Void, gaining the notice of the Black Pharaoh for his ability and earning a place among his guard, accompanying the Black Pharaoh on his assaults against the Void.  It wasn’t until the battle of a thousand stars in the distant plane of Kulthea that Aberash found his abilities lacking, unable to pierce the dark night. This failure greatly troubled Aberash and his demeanour slowly changed, becoming much more sullen and prone to outbursts of anger.


The Black Pharaoh took Aberash to one side and suggested that he turn his considerable talents to expand his knowledge and become a more rounded Master.  This was something unheard of among his people, to become a Master of more than one discipline. So it was that after the lesson of Kulteha did Aberash turn his attention to the element of Darkness.  As before his skill at learning was astonishing and he worked hard and long to attain the title of Master of Darkness, together with his mastery of Light. Thus Aberash became the first of the Mystics to become a dual Master.


With this new knowledge the abilities of Aberash increased manifold and he changed his name to that of Bezaleel.  Thus did Bezaleel stand at the side of the Black Pharaoh becoming his right hand man and never again failing his mentor.  Bezaleel naturally followed his mentor to the newly created prison, Orin Raktha, and there was tasked with a great service, to watch over the Void and keep it in check, in particular its attempted corruption of magic.  


Bezaleel embodied the Node of Shadow and called it into himself to watch over it and stem its influence.  For over a thousand years did Bezaleel complete this task, but over time the influence of the Black Pharaoh lessened, as he slept, and the pulsing heart of the Void did grow stronger.  Once, where a champion of Life stood, became a corruption of Darkness and the heart of Bezaleel did turn by the honeyed words of Velash. A true Master of Shadow was born and Bezaleel did betray his heritage to serve Velash and the Void.


Last Updated on Thursday, 27 September 2018 11:32
 
The Story of the Mystics PDF Print E-mail

The Creators of Orin Rakatha are referred to as the Mystics and were a small race of people who spent eons travelling the Cosmos, collating vast knowledge and power.  They were a lawful and generally peaceful race who preferred to nurture and guide rather than destroy or dominate.


The Mystics were led by a group of their finest minds, referred to as the Masters.  The Masters had long ago mastered the Spheres and Elements and had managed to achieve the peak of their chosen profession; the results of their labour and dedication granted them immortality.  They were second to none within their chosen profession and in many places were regarded as Gods or Avatars.


The Masters were ruled by a family which consisted of six people; the Mother and Father (their names have been lost in the ages) and their four children called the Traveller, the Black Pharaoh, the Green and the Master of Time.  The members of this family were the most powerful Masters among their people and were referred to as the Masters of Judgment. The remaining Masters were referred to as the Masters of Law (changed later to Lore).



The Mystics were strong champions of the Life Sphere who constantly worked to thwart the Void and its minions.  Towards the end of the Mystics existence (which had already been extended long beyond anything else ever recorded) the Mystics were chosen by the Life Sphere to help contain the expansion of the Void and in particular imprison the Aspect of Darkness.  They were granted the knowledge and power to create a plane of their own in which to rest their collective consciousness rather than travel to the Hall of Heroes or return to the Life Sphere. However, this knowledge and power would come at a price.



And so it was that after many centuries of roaming the Mystics were able to create a place of their own and thus Orin Rakatha was born.  Orin Rakatha is not a natural plane but is instead a collection of bits of other planes that were brought together and bound by the Mystics, with knowledge granted direct from the Life Sphere.  This land was encircled within a large mountainous range and the Mists were then created to inhabit this mountain range and bind the bits of other planes together to form the Land.



The final act of the creation of Orin Rakatha was to breathe life into this new creation and give it a sentience to help guide, protect and nurture those who dwelt upon it.  The Life Sphere set a Tree of Life upon Orin Rakatha to bind it to the Life Sphere and infused itself within the Mother and Father from the ruling family who gave up their very essence to become the Mists (the Father) and the Land (the Mother), to be guided by their four children, the Masters of Judgment.



And so it was that Orin Rakatha came into being.




As a result of all of the powerful spells and invocations used to create Orin Rakatha and bind the different bits of other planes together, there are a number of points where this energy has accumulated.  These points are called Nodes and are a concentration of one particular type of energy used during the creation process; element, sphere or emotion. These Nodes are connected directly to the Fundamental Planes and the Spheres and act as mini beacons to the Life Sphere.  There is at least one Node for all of the elements and at least one for each type of Aspect from the primary Spheres and their subsets.





Once Orin Rakatha was created it shone like a strong beacon of the Life Sphere, which attracted the attention of the Darkness.  In an attempt to consume this newly formed plane before it was fully developed the Aspect of Darkness itself attacked Orin Rakatha and attempted to consume it from within.  The Aspect entered the land and sought out the strongest part of the Life Sphere to consume it (normally the Tree of Life). However, due to the nature of the land and its creation the Aspect struggled to focus on what the strongest connection to the Life Sphere was, as there appeared to be a number of strong connections (the Nodes, Mother and Mists).  The Aspect of Darkness entered deeper into the land just as the Life Sphere had hoped and then the trap was sprung.


Whilst the Aspect of Darkness was within the Land, seeking out the heart of the Life Sphere, the Mystics finalised their preparations and sealed the Land.  The Mother, infused with the Life Sphere, smothered the Aspect of Darkness causing it to shrink away from her glowing embrace into the very heart and depths of Orin Rakatha.  The Masters of Law/Lore gave of themselves and infused their essence within the Nodes, strengthening them, and the Father infused the Mists and rolled across the Lands, bringing the Life Sphere with it wherever he went.  This left just the Masters of Judgement fully awake to monitor and control the Land and guard against the Aspect of Darkness breaking free. Finally mortal races were brought to Orin Rakatha, followers of the Mystics, and were bound by blood into the Land creating the final seal of the Life Sphere upon Orin Rakatha.



The end result was many layers of the Life Sphere and strong champions of Life forming a cocoon around the Aspect of Darkness.  The Aspect was trapped within the heart of Orin Rakatha, unable to break free for fear of coming into contact with the Life Sphere.  Thus has the Aspect of Darkness remained trapped biding its time until it is able to break free once more, destroying Orin Rakatha in the process.


The first people of the Land consisted of a number of people that had served and aided the Mystics during their travels.  They were granted a place upon Orin Rakatha as a reward for their service and also to act as a further lock upon the prison of the Aspect of Darkness.


A number of the people were primitive tribesmen called the Hill people, the Forest people, the Mountain people and so on.  These first people lived in nomadic tribes in caves and around camp fires and were generally a primitive people concerned about survival, food, sex and other basic primal urges.  They were joined by the River People and the Sneverhime, who had followed the Mother and Father and chose to dedicate themselves to the land and what became of their mentors.


In addition to the first people each of the remaining Masters of Judgment (the four children) gathered together some of their own followers, people that they had encountered during their travels and had an affinity with.  They brought some of these people from their own lands to Orin Rakatha to help protect and guide them. These people were called the Halmadonians, the Otomi, the Dark Aspect and the Shendai.





The ruling families of these original six peoples were bound by blood to Orin Rakatha and their bloodline helped to strengthen the prison.  As long as their bloodline remains upon Orin Rakatha then the blood pacts will hold, strengthening the chains around the Aspect of Darkness.


This original people were initially alone, keeping to themselves, but after a number of years the first people were joined by a number of other races, groups and individuals who came to Orin Rakatha (as refuges from other places) and settled here.  As the inhabitants of the plane increased so did the order that had been imposed upon them begin to break down. Large-scale battles were fought, and the Masters of Law were no longer able to keep control. There was also the suggestion that some of the Masters of Law were becoming corrupted and deflected from their role of total impartiality by excessive contact with the lesser races and their combats, sufferings and strife.



Therefore the Masters of Judgement enacted the first Cataclysm and made massive alterations to the way in which Orin Rakatha was run.  The Masters of Judgement and Time retained their positions and roles but the Masters of Law agreed to alter their fundamental existence and become incorporated into the fabric of the Land (the Nodes) and a number of Towers that would form the basis of future law enforcement on the plane.



A number of the Masters of Law became incorporated into each of the Towers, where they maintained a specific favourable environment and a number of unusual rules to prevent combat and bloodshed.  Once incorporated into the physical structure they needed nothing to sustain them except continuing Law and Peace. The remaining Masters of Law become either bound within some of the special waystations, to provide connections to the Place of Myth and Legends, or bound into the Nodes of the Land.  Thus ended the era of the Masters of Law active control of the Land.



As time progressed the Mystics became so embroiled within their contemplations and their own immortality that they lost their way and even forgot their own roots.  The Masters of Law evolved into raw elements, spheres, emotions and vary between chaotic and lawful and consequently became Masters of Lore rather than Law. And so it was that the original race of the Mystics passed and their era came to an end.


The only person who still remembers the story of the Mystics, the first story, is the Master of Time and this memory of his lost people pains him greatly.  However, the Master of Time will continue to guard this first story and provide guidance for his Mother and Father, Orin Rakatha, as well as serve as the final memory for his fallen people.








Last Updated on Thursday, 27 September 2018 11:32
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

Page 4 of 20
© Copyright 2009-2021, All Rights Reserved