misc.lua

-- ToME - Tales of Maj'Eyal
-- Copyright (C) 2009, 2010 Nicolas Casalini
--
-- This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-- it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-- the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-- (at your option) any later version.
--
-- This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-- but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-- MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-- GNU General Public License for more details.
--
-- You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-- along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
--
-- Nicolas Casalini "DarkGod"
-- darkgod@te4.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Temple of Creation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

newLore{
	id = "temple-creation-note-1",
	category = "temple of creation",
	name = "tract of destruction",
	lore = [[#{bold}#Tract of Destruction#{normal}#

Though armies would fall before the Spellblaze's might, though forests were razed and the skies bled red with fire, they always felt that the earth would endure. It seemed eternal, unmoving. Not even the fury of the Spellblaze could hope to destroy it.

How wrong they were. The Nalorën people, long secluded, were prepared to fend off any attacks on their land, but how could they hope to stop the land itself crumbling? Seeing their home literally tearing itself apart, plains and forests tumbling into the seas... For one brief, terrible moment, they beheld the true extent of the Spellblaze's power. Not only was it destroying the people of the world, but the world itself.

The lands of the Narlorën had sunk beneath the waves.]],
}

newLore{
	id = "temple-creation-note-2",
	category = "temple of creation",
	name = "tract of anarchy",
	lore = [[#{bold}#Tract of Anarchy#{normal}#

For the years following the cataclysm, chaos reigned. Their culture, their way of life, it was as broken and fractured as the land itself. Nalorë civilisation was reduced to a few isolated and feeble settlements, scratching out meagre existences as land, mind and body was warped in both shape and spirit.

Faced with the idea of their great race failing – another victim of the Spellblaze, a footnote in the annals of history – impassioned pleas were sent to their elven brothers: The Shalorën, the Thalorën. Aid was even requested from human and halfling, embroiled in their own petty squabbles as they were.

The Nalorën received no answer.]],
}

newLore{
	id = "temple-creation-note-3",
	category = "temple of creation",
	name = "tract of acceptance",
	lore = [[#{bold}#Tract of Acceptance#{normal}#

Betrayed by the Shalorën, wilful and destructive, and the Thalorën, aloof and suspicious, a long, seething silence fell over the remaining Nalorën people. It was during this period of grim introspection that salvation was suddenly and unexpectedly granted. The ancient Sher'Tul magicks, long pondered over by the land's mystics, would bear fruit at last.

The same force that destroyed the Nalorën would save them. Through the Sher'Tul's magic, the Nalorën became able to breathe water as if it was air. Their bodies became adapted for existence under the waves, their legs becoming long, snake-like tails. Such drastic metamorphosis would naturally cause horror, you may expect. However, the Nalorën saw the possibilities their new forms provided: Their sunken lands were their own once again. Their homes would be rebuilt, their civilisation reborn. Nalorën no more, the denizens of the sunken kingdom would come to be known as 'nagas'...]],
}

newLore{
	id = "temple-creation-note-4",
	category = "temple of creation",
	name = "personal note (Slasul)",
	lore = [[At long last, the temple finally reveals its secrets to me, and my plans can be set in motion. Lithe in form, faultless in combat, unmatched in speed both above the waves and beneath... nature couldn't have hoped to create such a race as nagas. With the Temple of Creation now open to me however, we may become so much more. With my guidance, my careful shaping of the Sher'Tul's magicks, under my expert hand our great race shall soon reach its zenith. A new tract shall soon be written: The Tract of the Devourer.
]],
}

--------------------------------------------------------------
-- Myths of creations
--------------------------------------------------------------

newLore{
	id = "creation-elf",
	category = "myths of creation",
	name = "memories of Artelia Firstborn",
	lore = [[#{italic}#This scroll looks ancient, possibly going back millennia, but has been incredibly well-preserved.#{normal}#

I remember when I first woke, and I drew my first breath, and the fresh young air of the world filled me with vitality. I opened my eyes, and above me stood a figure of outstanding radiance. She was tall and slim, crowned in silver hair that fell to the ground in silken tresses. Her skin was pale to the point of luminance, and her eyes were brighter than the stars.

I watched her for what felt like a century, and she watched me, and I saw tears form in her eyes. I did not have a voice yet, but I thought, "Why does she look so sad?" And I felt then her reply in my thoughts, "For you are beautiful, and far more beautiful than all else in the world. But this is a world of pain and sorrow, and I cannot bear to think of my creation come to harm. I will give you strength to endure many years, and a voice to express all desires, but the burden of sadness will follow you forever. At that thought I weep..."

I felt then strength come into my limbs, and a voice rise in my throat. I rose to the ground and I looked around, and in awe of the world around me and the stars above me I sang loudly for joy. And the woman smiled as she heard my voice, and her tears stopped, so I continued to sing for a while to entertain her. But then I said, "Am I alone?" She nodded, and said, "There are no others like you." At this I felt sad, and she could see the loneliness in my heart. She seemed to hesitate a moment, and said, "Though it pains me, I cannot deny your desires. You will sleep now, and when you awaken you will be among people like yourself, and you will walk out into this broken world and try to mend it."

As she finished speaking I instantly fell into a trance, and when I awoke I saw the world had changed, and there was now a blazing light in the sky - it was the new-born Sun. And I saw all around dozens more people like me, and others similar in appearance but varying in traits and abilities. I woke them up, and gathered them together, and we all expressed delight in each other's being, and named ourselves Alorë. But the woman was gone, and no others knew anything about her, and my searches for any trace of her were in vain.

Times passed and changed, and other creatures were found, and oft they were fell and vile and we did war with them. Then we found the Sher'Tul, and they delighted in our beauty, and taught us the ways of the Arts. And then the War came, and some of us helped them in their battles, but soon we saw we had no place beside such masters, and we retreated to the woods as the War raged to its catastrophic conclusion.

In all those centuries I still searched for the woman and found no trace. I know that the gods were all hunted down, and I remember the thorough searches of the Sher'Tul in their holy war. I grow old now, and some of those who first woke with me have passed away, and each passing night seem ever colder and lonelier. But still at times when I lie asleep I see her face or I hear her voice, and I know that one day, somehow, I will see her again.]],
}

newLore{
	id = "creation-human",
	category = "myths of creation",
	name = "human myth of creation",
	lore = [[At the start of time Sun was born, and Moon, and Eyal raised from the Darkness.
And Gerlyk walked Eyal with his three brothers.
But one day Gerlyk walked alone and realised he was alone, and he desired company.
So Gerlyk took a burning coal, and put stones around it, and wrapped it in earth, and bathed it in water and breathed his breath into it, and it became alive. And Gerlyk named it Human.
Now Gerlyk brought Human back to his brothers to see.
But Gerlyk's brothers were jealous and tore Human apart. One brother grabbed the stone, and one brother grabbed the earth, and one brother grabbed the water.
Gerlyk was sad, but took the burning coal that was left and made a new Human.
Then the brother with the earth copied him, but made a short creature, and called it Halfling.
And the brother with the stone made a thick creature, and called it Dwarf.
And the brother with the water made a thin creature, and called it Elf.
But Gerlyk's brothers grew jealous of each others creatures, and they fought, and they all were killed. And Elf cried and Dwarf cried and Halfling cried to see their creators fall.
And Gerlyk was sad, and looked at Human and said, "I am sorry, but this is not a time for creators any more. I must go."
And Gerlyk walked into the Darkness.
But Human did not cry, for the coal in his heart burned hot, and he knew he was not truly alone.]],
}

newLore{
	id = "creation-halfling",
	category = "myths of creation",
	name = "a logical analysis of creation, by philosopher Smythen",
	lore = [[Many are the tales of how our world was made, from the absurd to the romantic to the horrific. But they are all mere myths, with no more than seeds of truth to even the most reliable. The history of our race goes back far, but it is tantalisingly scant in details from before we met the other races. Indeed, it is only through our battles with the others that we halflings have any ancient records at all.

The elves one would suspect of having the greatest knowledge of elder times, but they are aloof and silent. One must judge from this that either they do not know, or that the truth ashames them. The latter would certainly not surprise me.

The humans have more myths than they have brain cells. It seems that each village has several versions of their own local tales, usually passed down orally over the ages. It is clear that not a single element of any of their myths can be construed to contain any essence of the truth.

The dwarves are reticent about the subject of how they were made. They say that such talk is "not profitable". However upon further pressing (and bribing) they will open up a little further. They as a race are of the most fervent belief that they were the last people to be made in Maj'Eyal. They say they are the "final product". Their word for all other races in fact translates directly to "prototype". This mostly singular outlook does of course seem absurd, but one need only look at the rest of dwarven society to see that they are an absurd race with ridiculous ideals. If they are what they consider perfection then I thank whatever god made me that I am flawed!

The subject of gods is of course a difficult one. Clearly there are no divine forces at work in the world today. But the world as we know it did not come from nothing, and even the great Sher'Tul clearly did naught more than manipulate the world - they did not make it.

By logical conjecture one can only presume that some great being made the world. This must have been a benevolent being, for it is clear that "He" created creatures separate from himself to walk the earth. Clearly this is we halflings. We are the only race that truly appreciates the world. We do not warp it with magic experiments like the Shaloren, nor hide from it like the Thaloren. We do not bring destruction like the orcs, or petty greed like the dwarves. And our understanding and knowledge is so far advanced than the humans that it is hard to understand why we share the same world with them at all. We were quite clearly the first of the current races to be created, and our natural feelings of entitlement to all there is in Maj'Eyal must stem from this.

Now that this has been clearly analysed in logical terms, one must consider the source of the other races. It is impossible that they were made by the same god - truly impossible. What strange being could create our race, so gifted and rounded, and yet make such warped and twisted creatures as the dwarves and humans? No, clearly other gods were responsible, lesser gods than our own which copied his grand design. But with fudging fingers and inelegant touches the works of their design were clearly far inferior to the subtleties and perfection which crafted us.

However there remains the matter of the Sher'Tul. Clearly these were of greater power than us, and yet they disappeared. One must presume that our god made this race before us, but was somehow unhappy with them, and so removed them and made us instead. We are not as powerful as the Sher'Tul - not yet at least - but we have our own gifts that evidently give us a greater place in our creator's heart. This would explain why we were the first race to unlock the powers of the Sher'Tul farportals. We had a natural affinity to the works of our elder brethren.

So what happened to these gods after they had made the races which we see today? One must presume strife between them, and that they killed themselves, or took their battle away from the world. Our creator, seeing the other gods killed or left, must have then entrusted the world to us halflings, knowing that we would rule over it in his stead. This is why at every point in history we have played a pivotal role in the shaping of our world. It is our rightful inheritance, and it is our duty to rule it well.]],
}