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Copper Tales - PlotOur story begins in a coastal village where, as you can imagine the primary profession is fisherman. On the inland side of the village there are a few corn fields, an orchard and a small vineyard. Legend has it that the inhabitants are descended from refuges escaping from defeat on some far-flung continent. |
Febra hears of a 30gp salary for taking battle artefacts from Bannermane to the university in Pluris. What could be easier? But how does she persuade her friends to join her?
The team try buying equipment but find that they have to scrouge and steal most of it or go without. This should demonstrate some of the lack of role play in most peoples attitude to character equipment.
A disgraced old trooper is assigned to the team to guide them to Pluris. He teaches them valuable lessons in wilderness survival.
The artifact they pick up at Bannermane is able to show scenes from the past when properly activated. Unfortunately the item has a twisted sense of control and since it chooses which scene to show it attempts to motivate people towards it's own cryptic purpose. The party camp outside Bannermane and Febra manages to activate the item. Scenes from the battle are seen by the party including the disbandment of an elite guard.
Speck has to learn to Read Magic somewhere along the line to enter into first level magehood. Is it possible he could teach himself to do this?
The artifact once unearthed is an item of extreme magic. It emenates a signal which artisans of the socrcery are sensitive too. One of the 'evil' (I use that word loosley as good and evil are not so black and white in this tale) members of the council becomes aware of the artifact and sends a small band of henchman led by the Captain of the Council's Protectorate. The camp is attacked at night and escape only by the sacrifice of the old trooper (kiled by the hand of the Captain), before the fight begins th eold man sensing his fate slips a scroll into one of the party's backpack. The scroll is written by the old tropper asking the individual who he feels closest to (Arn maybe?), to clear his disgraced name. (This effectivly is a subquest, but one that will influence some way on the main plotline. I am of the thought that the vision of the disbanded elite unit is linked in someway to the old trooper???).
Arn? vows to carry out the quest once the party has delivered the artifact to the university. The party begins to question why they were sent to collect such an important and valuable item.
On arrival at the university they are taking to the quarters of the scholar (perhaps scholars in honour and belief in their lore take on the name of the university or school they reside at ie..Umberto DeFache schooled at the Umberto Lore School.??) Pluris Lamentor. Lamentor is aware of the artefact's power but feared bringing any needless attention to it by employing anyone from the university to seek it out. He had not bargained on any adventurer types being skilled in any type of lore or magics (Speck). Lamentor wants the artefact for himself he intends to use it to enforce his rise within the council. He is not part of the greater council plot only a greedy man seeking more personnel power. How he came by the knowledge of the arftifact is not yet clear (not to me anyway!).
[Note on Scholars names: I think it would be a good idea if scholars were often refered by their chair, i.e. the Pluris Emeritas Professor of Theology / the Pluris Emeritas. This would be like the houses of parliament where MPs are often refered to as 'the right honourable member for Finchely' rather than by name. This also brings about the question, how will Gru Staedak be refered to? He isn't an academic in the formal sense. I would suggest something like the "the Venerable Father" or the "Respected Respresentative of Grey".
There is no state religion in Vedian. Lore and philosophy are inherent in the structure and make up of its society. The lore masters and philosphers war between each other to be inducted into the Druidic Council. The Council has to vote in a new member whose works have achieved high enough merit.
The council always has forty members when a new lore master is brought in another must be relieved of post. While the incoming individual is voted by all council the outgoing faction is decided on by only members of the High Druidic Order. The common people are not deemed to play any part in the understandings of lore and philosophy. The opinions of the common man are irrelevant to the higher thinking of the council.
Any case of a lore master recruiting commoners into his philosphy is dubbed a cult. A cult is deemed by the council to be a philosophy of the people and therefore poluted and shunned by the Council. While there are many expamles over the ages of 'cult lore' the most memorable and damaging to the council was that of the Saban Monks. Pionor Saban was a druid of the high council for many years, it is said over time he began to be infatuated by the common man. [ed: See references to The Noble Savage philosophies, in which it is held that the natural state of man is good and wise.] His intellectual writings began to steer towards issues of free speech and outrageous ideas like schooling and lore for all. Saban was not simply relieved of duty as other scholars who's philosphy became outdated or illegible. He was 'cast down' from the order, stripped of all lore master rights, effectively he was returned to his flock: the common man. He did not go quietly but rallied many of his new followers and built a huge 'monastery' as he called it. He labelled it a 'school for the believers'. Intimating that any could attain the highest peaks of scholarship if their belief was true. It is said that the school was attacked and many followers struck down but this is now probably more myth than reality. What the texts do clearly state is that the order within the school turned and began to outwardly criticise the council. First in words and writings but later in violence and the formation of great magics. There are stories of mind control and summoning of great spirits. But as this force grew and truely threatened the continuence of the Druidic Council it vanished. No text are thought to exist to cast light on this event.
The council has discovered an ancient text created by the hand of MonPellia himself, it has the power to reveal past events to they that are willing and strong enough to witness them. The High Council realise that if the truth behind the Saban Monks demise and further details of its lore are discovered then another uprising could occur. They send out their Captain to recover the text but unknown to the council Lamentor has already discovered its where abouts and recruited a party to retrieve it.
The council believe that in their control they can deliver 'balance' to Vedian. [ed: The interpretation of balance varies from member to member so I want to clip this bit.]Their interpretation of balance is to ensure what ever the cost, actions must take place to restore it to centre at all times. It is a widely held belief amongst the council that if the common man discovers free will and equality he will by definition destroy himself and the land through his lack of wisdom. As man is inherently an emotional animal he can not be trusted to restore balance. The council will stop at nothing to hide the secrets of the Saban Monks, no 'evil' is too great, as it is justified by returning the land to balance. In fact they council do not deem these acts to be 'evil', this is not how they see it, there is no right and wrong. But as the situation worsens and the choices and acts they must commit to protect the truth become more'evil', the High Council begins to split. One of the council actively begins to aid the party without the others knowledge, eventually he is discovered and put to death I suspect. The artefact though is no prize to be mastered by just anyone. It is in effect part of MonPellia himself. Its truths are often given out in a tangled way and the party will often misread the messages.
A section of the council wishes to keep the Crown Prince from becoming sovreign in order to keep power in the hands of the council.
The council has to debate taking action about a temple being built to the goddess Ghia, deity of the healing arts.
I see the final confrontation being one of revelation, the Head Druid (to be decided) reveals to the party the truth behind man and his probable demise. he gives them a glimpse into a future without the council, with the land run by Kings and common men. War rages and deaths are plentiful. One of the party (whoever the lead is) is so angered by this 'deception' he pulls forth his dagger and thrusts it upon the unarmed old Druid, killing him. In this act he reveals the truth in the vision. Man will always destroy, he can not achieve balance. [ed: I think this ending may be too clear cut, after all couldn't it be that the leader has saved the world from a worse tyrant?]
There is no 'good' or 'evil' in the traditional sense. We already know that these terms become flexible under the pressure of circumstance, so it is no great leap to surmise that they are not absolute standards. Let us think rather in the terms of creation and destruction, the forces of the universe demand both of these quality for it's cycle of birth, death and re-birth. To judge a force of destruction as 'wrong' is to dub the universe wicked for being itself, a system in equilibrium. When powerful followers of the balance lose sight of these facts and believe that they must set the universe 'straight' again only disaster can follow - 'Otro nem mar cor-ecco pendua.' [trans. Judge no other but thyself'] as the Hidden Text of Inpur tells us.
The struggle between good and evil tells us little about the true purpose of the universe and hence the intended nature of man. We rely on the revelation of the divine within ourselves to reveal the will of our Creator. Each man is a microcosm of the chaos and order of the universe, a system in turmiol. The individual must settle the battle within himself before he can apprehend the purpose and nature of his actions in the world. Contemplation of the divine is the only path to inner peace. Inner peace is the only way to truly understand the external universe.
Without an absolute philosophical answer to the question of balance we must rely on the evolutionary systematic of law to guide Vedian through the rocky waters of history. The boundaries set upon our government by wise law makers prevents civil war, domestic uprising and ensures continuity between generations. Let the common man trust in the cumulative wisdom of years.