Kyuad's Lorebook

Kyuad's lorebook is a collection of notes he's taken as he's studied and experienced life. It doesn't have a strong theme yet, nor has it aided him in any great and impressive deeds.

Important Entries

The Chimera

This creature was being held captive by Possiogn when encountered at ShadowWall. Other research tells me that the Chimera of legend is from the Aruun, and is said to be the only one. However, the one encountered seems to be a young creature. This strange being looked like a conglomeration of different creatures. It had leathery wings, horns across the spine of its back and shoulders, a long serpentine tail, rear hooves like a horse, front paws like a great cat, and three heads. One head was certainly draconic; the center head was feline, like a tiger or lioness; the third head was that of a goat with dark fur. Each of these faces had a look of fear and intelligence that was disturbing. Overall, the beast was as tall as an elf at the shoulder, as long as a Dorn from neck to shanks, and heavy enough to require two boro to pull the cart.

Aranesil, or Spider-Elf

Rumors abound about a group of dwarves who encountered strange spiders in the Kaladruns with distorted and disturbing elvish body parts. These were black-skinned and seemed to be fused with the spider's body. Something matching this description was being held captive by Possiogn when encountered at ShadowWall. This creature, however, was fearsome in its beauty. The elf body, extant from the pelvis upward, seemed to be growing out of the thorax, in place of the head. With the 8 spider legs and two humanoid arms, it looked fully capable of virtually anything that either origin creature may attempt. Upon dissection, it became clear that the amalgamation did not end at the simple conjoining, but extended to every part of the creature's structure. The eyes were wide and uniformly black, just as with spiders. Within the mouth were found very long, extendable fangs just behind the normal row of teeth. The jaw opened suprisingly wide, making it possible for this creature to bit ahold of any size of creature with fangs that were capable of exuding very caustic poison. The poison sacs were found in the base of the spider torso. Each was slightly larger than a human's head and very full of poison that was capable of dissolving wood and other organic material tested. The poison had a milky white consistancy and smelled of mineral.

When encountered the creature spoke Danisil and seemed to be in agony, requesting that we kill him. We were obliging before it became evident whether he was as naturally capable with magic as his kin of likeness.

Possiogn claimed to have been responsible for the creation of this creature, however this is unlikely. It would be interesting to find more. The sexual dimorphism of elf and spider are opposed - in the amalgamation is it the male or female that is larger? Lacking mammalian reproductive organs, how is fertilization performed?

What to call this creature? Araneae and Danisil make strage compounds. Daneae and Aransil are the easiest, but obviously not ideal, as one is a common name and the other is simply too confusing, as it is a homophone of Erunsil. Danider is an acceptable term, though it sounds casual, and is specific to the Danisil. Arachnisil is perhaps the best option, though it does nothing to differentiate the creature from a possible elf-scorpion abomonation. Therefore, I shall classify these as Aranesil. Common names given to racial specifics are acceptable, such as Danider or Carachnid.

Megartkorvid, or Crow Beast

This creature seems to be a bear-sized flightless bird with a second set of wide talons instead of wings. A creature like this was being held captive by Possiogn when encountered at ShadowWall. According to its appearance it most closely resembles a crow or rook, though with arms instead of wings. Because it also resembles a Roc, and it cannot fly, we have taken to calling them Running Rocs.

The size of the things was remarkable for any bird, and the amount of feathers was astounding, especially since these were each considerably large feathers. The colors around the face of the creature were mostly black, with some brown. Toward the extremities the colors shifted to being more tan. The talons were wide-set and all four were front-facing. The "wing-claws" were similar, though with much longer talons. The feathers of the arms and ruff were longest, though the feathers of the arms were not long enough or situated in such a way as to make flight easy (or possible, perhaps) for the creature. The bill was long and very thick, with a slight downward curve. This was black, with a ridge of pale brown along the center of the peak. These appeared very worn on the ends, either meaning a poor diet or that they frequently encountered metal or stone. The eyes were set just behind the beak on either side of the head, which would give it monocular vision.

The creatures attacked by running on its legs and setting down from time to time onto its front legs for stability. The length of the front talons most likely made using the front legs for running difficult. While running it spread the front legs out wide in an impressive display, though it never seemed to gain any loft as other birds do.

The feathers seem to exude a sort of dark magical aura, and cause uneasiness. Undoubtedly the creatures are formed of magic.

Craigth

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The Ruinous Dance of the Brakkilorg

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Lolth, sister of Aradil

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Ossyon

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The Obsidian Spire and the Sinister Glade

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Dire Alliance of the Dead Marshes

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Nature of the Splinter Steed

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On Natural Mirrors

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Woodland Marks of the Elven Watchers

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Origins of The Sunder Shard

It is told that Vrolk travelled beneath the Spine of the World and back again with terrible artifacts and ideas to build his fortress of death. Hellish deals were made under the mountains, two of the most powerful artifacts he came away with were the Cadaverous Eye and the Sunder Shard. The Eye is all but unknown, however the Sunder Shard is said to have been the seed that grew the black tower in the Dead Marsh.

This Sunder Shard could possibly be from one of two origins, according to Kyuad's studies...

#1. The fact that the Vile gathered it from beneath the Kaldrune Mts. suggests that it is possible that it is related to the things that dwell in the deep... Many terrible things lay in the dark far below in the recesses between rock and Dwarven mines. Their is told tales of the Slumberer, a foul beast old as the mountain itself. It sleeps in the depths below the old city of Moria, feared even by the dark denizens that infest the ancient city buried in the ash and bone of the men of stone who died when the greatest Dwarven city fell. The Shard could be an artifact of volcanic means, a rock which is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced by volcanoes when a felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth. It is found only within the margins of felsic lava flows, where cooling is more rapid. The Slumberer Beneath the Spine of the World nests within this felsic lava flow and as it writhes in hate the Shard may have been formed. The Shard like basalt would be dark because of ferromagnesian enrichment. Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because it is not crystalline. Its composition is very similar to that of granite and rhyolite. Because obsidian is metastable at the Aryth's surface. over time the glass becomes fine-grained mineral crystals), no obsidian has been found that is older than the pre-Sundering. If such a Shard were taken it conceivably could be magically worked to grow into such as thing as the black spike knows as the Obsidan Spire.
It is called "Sunder Shard" due to the fact that something that happened during or post-Sundering seemed to have made these mystical materials exist...

#2. A second educated theory would be that the Shard is somewhat less unique but equally as mystical. In difference this theory focuses on the Shard as Tektites (Elven for the Scar glass) which are natural glass objects, up to a few centimeters in size, which were rumored to have been formed by the impact causing the Scar in the Northern Marches when the Shadow fell. Tektites are obsidian shards produced by the lunar volcanic eruptions exposed on the Sundering, though few scientists are able to fathom this hypothesis. Tektites are among the "driest" rocks, with an average water content of 0.005%. This is very unusual, as most if not all of the craters where tektites may have formed were underwater/snow-ice before impact. This suggests that the tektites were formed under phenomenal temperature and pressure. An (unnoted) Sarcoson scientist's terrestrial-impact theory states that the impact melted material from Aryth's surface and catapulted it up to several hundred miles away from the impact site. The molten material cooled and solidified to glass. This impact theory states, tektites cannot be found everywhere on Aryth's surface. They are only found in strewnfields, which are associated with known impact craters. How it would have come to the Vile's attention from the peoples/things under the Spine of the World are unknown. Regardless this Shard would likely have similar makeup of the felsic shards noted above...
It is called "Sunder Shard" due to the fact that these materials seem to have been created as a direct result of the Shadow's fall to Aryth...

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